The DriveSales™ | Proven and highly recommended sales strategies for Hospitality companies!
The Hospitality Industry is the largest service industry compared to most others in India. This industry offers numerous categories of fields within the services industry. Some of them include accommodation, food & drinks, transportation, etc. It mainly consists of hotels, bars, and restaurants.
Some top hospitality companies in India are Hyatt Hotels, Marriott, OYO rooms, etc. OYO has become the largest hotel chain in India in extraordinarily little time by the number of properties.
India ranked at 34th position in the Travel and Tourism Competitive Index (TTCI) of World Economic Forum in 2019. According to a report by Invest India, Tourism & Hospitality sector is expected to earn $50.9 billion as visitor exports by 2028 and to be among the top 5 business travel market by 2030.
The Hospitality industry is undergoing a massive transition due to this global Covid-19 pandemic. People are frustrated sitting at home 24/7 for months. They desperately need a change of environment. The pandemic is nearing its end and therefore, huge opportunities are knocking at the door of this industry.
When it comes to forming sales strategies, the situation demands a change in the vision. Whether you are planning a start-up or increase the sales of your existing company, the tips below will prove to be helpful for both.
1) Make safety your ultimate priority — This nasty virus has implanted a sense of fear in everyone’s minds. No matter how good your services are, if people do not believe it is safe, they are not going to make a booking. Make sure your place is sanitized at regular intervals, the staff maintains personal hygiene, and social distancing is maintained properly.
2) Eye-catching website — Your website is the first point of contact with your prospects. Make your website attractive and eye-catchy. Provide all the necessary details in a clear and easy to access format. Upload a lot of pictures to lure your prospects. The way you upload pictures says a lot about your services. Therefore, do not compromise in the quality of pictures.
3) Be different to stand out — In this cut-throat competition, it is essential to be unique and offer something different from your customers to stand out and attract your prospects. Ask yourself a question, would you buy your services if you were in the place of your prospect? If your answer is no, you know you need to improve.
4) Use online travel agencies for promotion — We, by no means, promote relying solely on travel agencies for marketing. But we cannot deny the fact that it would prove useful in generating additional sales in the long term. A simple listing would help a lot in gaining the confidence of your prospects.
5) Keep a check on Reviews and Recommendations — Good reviews may help you gain one customer, but bad reviews would make you lose many. Take recommendations and feedbacks from customers seriously and use them to improve your services. Make sure your guests enjoy their stay and encourage them to leave a positive review online.
6) Connect to a GDS provider — Global Distribution System (GDS) is a network that helps to automate transactions between travel agencies and travel service providers such as hotels, airlines, etc. If you connect to a GDS provider, people can book your hotel via a wide number of travel agencies all over the world.
7) Use Social Media Marketing — You should be where your customers and prospects are — Social Media. Share the visuals taken by your customers at your place. Use good content to promote your hotel and services. Provide your prospects with a visual tour. The more they see, the more they get attracted. Post on social media whenever there is an off-season offer.
8) Invest in technology — Develop personal applications for bookings, orders, and other services. You can use communication devices like smartwatches for your staff to ensure better coordination and services. Your customers would love it if you stay one step ahead of your competitors.
9) Boost your SEO strength — Your website would not yield much benefit if it is difficult to find. Use keywords and implement best SEO practices to optimize your website. For those who do not know what SEO is, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of attracting traffic to your website using organic search engine results.
10) Ensure the best stay of customers — Lastly, your customers must have a great experience staying at your place. People talk, and they would recommend your services to their friends, relatives, and colleagues if they feel satisfied. You can also plan different events for your customers like celebrating local festivals, sports, etc.
Now, as an effective SALESPERSON! We can do three things from here.
1) Ignoring the opportunity and blaming the situation for revenue loss.
2) Taking important notes and going back to revisit your sales strategy with the growth mindset.
3) Reaching out to us if you need any specialized help for sales.
To conclude, what you choose to think also provides some idea of your growth mindset. It is something like Brain Tracy quote, “Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.”
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