Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct Bookings
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Copyright © 2016 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation Technical Difficulties? Contact Citrix GoToWebinar 1-800-263-6317 [email protected] om Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct Bookings March 23rd, 2016 Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, Leonardo Scott Yankton, President, Scott Yankton Consulting Pam Levesque, General Manager, Blue Bay Inn Technical Difficulties? Contact Citrix GoToWebinar 1-800-263-6317 [email protected] om
Transcript of Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct Bookings
Copyright © 2016 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar1-800-263-6317
Clear-Cut Digital Marketing Strategies to Capture More Direct BookingsMarch 23rd, 2016
Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, LeonardoScott Yankton, President, Scott Yankton ConsultingPam Levesque, General Manager, Blue Bay Inn
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar1-800-263-6317
Darlene RondeauVice-President, Best Practices, Online MerchandisingLeonardo
@darlenerondeau
Follow:
@VFMLeonardo
Tweets & Questions:
#LeoWebinar
Scott YanktonPresidentScott Yankton Consulting
Pam LevesqueGeneral ManagerBlue Bay Inn
Blue Bay Inn
What’s in the way of getting more direct bookings?
Fuel Disputes Google’s Numbers It’s not the more than 20
sites often cited from Google research
According to Fuel, it is 10 or fewer, but on average between four and six
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More leisure travelers decide on a hotel by visiting the hotel’s website
Most travelers booked their stays online, half did so on the hotel’s own site
Few are using mobile devices
Clinch the Deal at Your “Store”
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Scott YanktonPresidentScott Yankton Consulting
Getting potential customers to your siteo SEO/Organico Cost Per Clicko Social Mediao Advertisingo Etc.
Once they are on your site, converting them!
According to Google, 52% of travelers visit your hotel’s website after seeing you on an OTA
The 2 Key Website Related Tasks
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Usability/User Experience –
How easy do you make it for users to
find what they want?
3 Keys to Better Conversion
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Social Proof –What do others
think of property?
Optimize Check-Out –
How easy is it to book?
1. Answer the most important user questions (so they can convert) In logical order Images/property stories (the most
requested item in my usability studies) http://www.jhousegreenwich.com/
Short videos Bullet points (before text)
Usability – User Experience
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2. Provide users with an easy, intuitive interface that doesn’t contain obstacles that discourage conversion Quick, efficient, intuitive navigation that
inspires confidence = higher conversion Confusing navigation results in users
leaving your site Obvious calls to action that pull users
down the desired path
Usability – User Experience
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Usability – User Experience
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Social Proof
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Offsite reviews on your site (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.) 77% of customers read reviews before they purchase online
(Forrester & Juniper Research Study) Customer Testimonials (text, image, video) Awards Third party certification icons that create confidence Evidence that shows that others are booking
Social Proof
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Optimizing Checkout – Only Asking for What You Need
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1. Only ask for what you need (loss of 10% per unnecessary field) 2. Tell users why you need the information you collect3. Minimal clicks/pages (to book on Expedia is 4 pages, it can be done
in 3)4. Clear calls to action (don’t make them guess where to click!)5. Don’t add calls to actions that distract from check out (like
registering)6. Assure customers that check out is safe (confidence icons)7. Add sense of urgency prompts8. Assure customers that they are getting the best deal possible
Best rate guarantee
Optimizing Checkout
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Optimizing Checkout – Sense of Urgency Prompts
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Make it easy for shoppers What others think matters Bigger, bolder, better Instill confidence Get out of the way
Key Takeaways
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Pam LevesqueGeneral ManagerBlue Bay Inn
Blue Bay Inn
Needed a modern website that was engaging and effective
Didn’t have a mobile optimized presence
Limited time & money Not very tech savvy More direct bookings Improved Occupancy Incremental revenue
Challenges & Goals
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Tell my story, my way Show the property and its
surroundings Emphasize with video Consists of imagery & rich
descriptions Integrated reviews Mapping features our unique
location
Our Digital Marketing Approach
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I’m where my guests are shopping
Booking opportunity at every turn and when it’s convenient
Encourages travel shoppers to reserve their room rather than put off
“Book Direct” Strategy on Mobile and Social Media
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Success is evident in our results Y-O-Y ending 2015, we were up $100,000 YTD 2016, up almost $20,000 over 2015 Our growth is directionally positive Guests tell us they loved the experience
Results
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Have a visually-strong website Mobile-friendly website Your website needs to be easy for
guests to navigate And easy for your business to
manage
Advice for Driving Direct Bookings
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Based on today’s content, will you attend future webinars?
About Leonardo
Invitations to upcoming webinars
Recording of this webinar. Share it with your colleagues
It’s a Wrap
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Connect With Us!
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leonardo.com1.877.593.6634@VFMLeonardo blog.leonardo.com
Scott Yankton Pam [email protected] Bay Inn
Questions & Discussion
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