Why Relationship Marketing?

At the core of relationship marketing is exchange, that is profitable to parties involved in
the exchange. The concept of exchanges as it applies to relationship marketing can be viewed at from either a transaction cost analysis approach or a social media exchange approach.

Start with identifying the Social Media Exchange approach.

Relationship Marketing encourages Hotels to develop relationships with guests, peers, suppliers and partners, to maintain their loyalty to the business. To accomplish this goal, Hotels must maintain a high level of communication with these parties in order to understand what they want and need from the Relationship.

Not only does this mean that the Hotel can fulfill those wants and needs, but it also makes it obvious to every one involved that the Hotel cares about their relationship, thereby encouraging trust.

Relationship Marketing starts with building a quality network, and make sure you Serve Your Guests first.

It is important to develop strategic Listening Outposts. This well let identify your customers wants and needs at a early stage in the booking process.

Now be aware that the customer has not booked your Hotel at this point. So it is crucial to add a proper Response Strategy to follow up with any live feedback.

One of the most important elements of Social Media that help you develop a quality relationship with your customers is to implement some key Reputation Management strategies. You can correct misinformation, adress false information and follow up with concerns. And also celebrate the excitement of success stories.

Relationship Marketing Touch Point Services

The intentions of Touch Points Services and the resulting consequences for the Hotel brand management must be specifically analyzed and assessed. The contact points, which are relevant for the Hotels success, depend considerably on their products and services, and how well this is aligned with the Hotels targeted market segment.

Touch Point Services can be seen as a multi disciplinary strategic approach, which focuses on the optimization of the products and services performance (ROI) in a Social Network Setting.

This process goes through 5 different stages;

a) Develop / Change / Retire Strategy
b) Test Strategy
c) Optimize Touch Points Campaigns
d) Analyze Touch Points Metrics
e) Measure Touch Points Campaigns

Your Key Performance Indicators (KPI) will show if your Hotel is making successful progress from your Touch Point Campaigns.


Relationship Marketing creates Champion Advocates

Relationship Marketing fosters Champion Advocates from the new type of Social Media Marketing. Primarily this can be done through Networking and Collaborations. This opens for a new shift in Points Of Sale. And this again will require that Hotels put in place a Reputation Management System that focus on Conflict Management strategies like avoidance, accommodation, confrontations, conflicts, concerns, compromise and collaborations.

Here Hotels can utilize already know Social CRM systems to organize Champion Advocates in databases.

This new shift will require that Hotel develop leaders with strong emotional leadership skills.

Social Networking is traditionally know as P2P (People to People) networking. And people will do business with whom they know, like and trust. Trust is the foundation for Relationship Marketing.

Build a strong base of Champion Advocates, and start experience the wave of return customers.

Relationship Marketing Shifts

If your Hotel implement Social Media Relationship Marketing Strategies the right way you will turn your Fans (“Likes”), Friends, Followers and Network into paying guests.

Don’t get dragged into the hypes and believe every frog will turn into a prince when you kiss it. Then you are setting yourself up for trouble.

It is important to adress all concerns with everyone within your Hotel. Practice being inclusive rather then excluding.

Relationship Marketing Implementations

Building a world-class Hotel Brand, you need to ensure that all your online and offline activity is consistent and congruent.

Relationship Marketing starts with heart of the Hotel. Concerns like reputation, integrity, security and privacy is all topics where you want involvement for your employees.

Bring employees onboard to help your Hotel develop proper Social Media Guidelines and Strategies. Are you allowing your employees to represent your Hotel Brand in a Strategic way?

This is all about bringing out the strength of Touch Point Services. Follow here the same dynamic process as lined out in Relationship Marketing Touch Point Services.

Engage with your community right now and get them involved.

Next Chapter

The next chapter for the Hotel Family is to develop a strategic Relationship Marketing Team. Serve Your Guests first, then do business. You need know what is behind the ‘Friend’, ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’. How do you convert all the Social Network numbers into bookings? The answer is in building proper Relationship Marketing Strategies.

Drop Me a note if you want to learn more.