12 Ways to Use Mobile Marketing for Hotels

Mobile marketing is one of the fastest-growing technologies, and with good reason! This unique form of lead generation and brand development lends itself to a wide range of business categories, including the hospitality industry. Let’s take a look at 12 ways hotel owners and managers can utilize mobile marketing to increase customer numbers, maintain customer loyalty, run a more efficient business, and much more:

SMS Texting

SMS texting can be utilized in a number of ways to improve hotel business, including:
 
1. Send texts with hotel discounts, promotions, coupons and other special offers to draw loyal customers back for return visits as well as first-time travelers.
2. Deepen relationships with customers by sending them exclusive hotel-related information, fun things to do during their stay, and more.
3. SMS text message marketing allows hotel management to engage all customers who opt-in to the service at once.
 

Voice Broadcasts

Voice broadcast is another unique tool ideal for the hospitality industry, and a great way to communicate with staff easily and efficiently. It works by simply uploading employee phone numbers, typing a message or using text-to-speech, then scheduling or starting a broadcast. This provides employees with the vital information they need in a matter of minutes, thus saving management time for other important tasks. Try communicating with employees to:
 
1. Effectively relay policies, schedule changes, emergency notification, and other alerts.
2. Distribute motivational messages and similar information about employee contests and perks.
3. Communicate consistently for optimal employer-employee interaction.
 

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Interactive Voice Response, or IVR, saves employee time and removes customer confusion, as customers can easily find automated answers to their most pertinent questions or be routed to the right department. IVR creates an easy-to-navigate phone menu for inbound and outbound use, and allows customers to receive answers to frequently-asked questions via an automated attendant. This convenient phone tree saves staff time and increases customer satisfaction. Other benefits include:
 
1. Allowing customers to make reservations or sign up for other services using a keypress menu.
2. Creating a virtual receptionist and phone tree for improving overall workplace efficiency.
3. Send ing out polls and surveys to assess customer satisfaction and optimize hotel services.
 

Call Tracking

Call tracking provides hotel owners and management with an easy way of tracking marketing success and ROI. With call tracking and a variety of toll-free or local phone numbers, hotels can track, forward and record each call coming from a different ad location. A phone number tracking service makes it easy to find out which advertising campaigns and other marketing strategies are the most effective:
 
1. Purchase countless virtual numbers, post each in a distinct ad location, and forward to a central line.
2. Monitor which ad channels produce the greatest amount of calls and which inbound telephone calls drive revenue.
3. Review statistics and make ad spending adjustments as needed.
 
  Why keep your hotel in the “dark ages” when you can use one if not all of these tools to run the best, most efficient business possible? As almost the entire adult population of the world now owns and operates a mobile phone, mobile marketing strategies are becoming increasingly important in the establishment and growth of hospitality companies. How have you used mobile marketing to augment your hotel’s customer base?