Text messaging is one of the most popular methods for marketing. Text messages are easy to read, fast, and convenient. With SMS campaigns, you can reach your customers no matter where they are in the world.
SMS, if used right, could prove a very powerful marketing tool for you and your hotel. Hotel marketing is important to promote your business as well as make positive impressions on customers and potential customers alike. The goal is to make your hotel as appealing as possible, if not irresistible.
What Is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is an umbrella term to describe strategies carried out via text message to promote and market an organization or business, in this case a hotel.
With conversational SMS marketing, you can send promotional campaign messages as well as transactional messages with some feedback from the customers. What to take note of here is that the customers have to have opted in to the program before you start sending them promotional content.
Types of SMS Marketing You Can Try Out
You are certainly not short of options when it comes to hospitality SMS. Before starting an SMS marketing campaign, consider which of these categories to go for:
Discount Offers
There are many discounts that you can offer and who doesn’t love a good discount? You can use this feature to promote said discounts while you have guests staying with you. You can send out the message to everyone or limited subscribers only so they feel a tad more special.
Opt-in Text
This perhaps should’ve been first on the list but no matter. This first message is what you send to your customers to basically ask for consent to send more promotional messages in the future.
Oh, and by the way, this is required by law to protect consumer privacy. That said, there is absolutely no way round this step. Before adding any customer to your SMS market list, you have to first ask for their consent.
Concierge Helper
Concierges get bombarded with more or less the same questions every day. You could come up with an automated response kind of shebang for these common questions. You can do this by creating a system capable of identifying keywords and responding using templates as necessary.
This way, your concierge gets a break from the annoyingly trivial questions and you give your customers some kind of self-service vibe.
Welcome New Customer
Welcoming new customers puts the h in hospitality SMS. Every time a guest books a room, send them a welcome text as more than common courtesy. Add a little more information like local sights and upcoming reservations.
Why You Need Hotel Sms Marketing
Tried and Tested Performance
It is no secret that a well-laid out SMS marketing campaign has fantastic results. SMS marketing never fails because of the sheer efficiency offered by text messages.
95% of text messages are opened and replied to within 3 minutes of reception. That’s how efficient text messages are! With numbers like this, you are 99.9% sure your customers will see and perhaps appreciate the text message.
Guest Engagement
Whenever anyone books a stay with you, they certainly will be engaged, especially with conversational SMS marketing. It doesn’t even have to be conversational.
A simple welcome message can go a long way in creating great rapport between you and your customers. Focus on finding that oh so sweet spot that lies between keeping your customers engaged and being a nuisance with constant communication.
Affordable
The largest selling point of hospitality SMS is just how cheap the service is. How cheap you ask? Well, pricing can start as low as less than a cent. You can see just how affordable that makes the service. You can even integrate it into your email platform.
Increased Revenue
Hotel SMS marketing is essentially a direct line to your customers, which in the long run can help you drive up your revenue. For instance, a late check out alert can be a great way to increase your revenue.