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Digital Marketing Webinar Series
Leveraging the Digital Tool Box to Reach More Meeting & Event Planners
March 12, 2013
Overview of Format and Topic
Fran BrasseuxExecutive Vice President, HSMAI
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About Digital AlchemyFull Service CRM Solutions for Hoteliers
Email, Mobile Web Sites and eSurvey Services
Multi-Lingual, platform-independent
Offices in:
Texas, Palm Springs, London
Clients:
• 650 hotels
• 53 countries
• 6 Languages
We are grateful to Digital Alchemy, our sponsor and partner in presenting this
digital marketing webinar series!
POLL QUESTION #1How many people are participating
in this webinar at your location today?
� 1� 2� 3� 4� 5� 6� 7� 8 or more
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Tim PeterManaging Director
Tim Peter & Associates
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Today’s Presenters: Panel Moderator: Tim Peter, Managing Director
Tim Peter & Associates
Panelists:
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Monty WhiteMarketing ManagerIrving Texas CVB
Sue FryPresident & CEOSynergy Meetings & Events
Gordon LiametzPartnerQuantum Leap Advertising
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Sue FryPresident & CEO
Synergy Meetings & Events
Primary Channels: Submitting the RFP
• Convention and Visitors Bureaus
– Via their website or directly to a rep we have a
relationship with
• National Sales Managers
• Industry Organization Websites
– MPI, HSMAI or ISES
• Cvent (on occasion)
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Secondary Channel: Submitting the RFP
If our RFP hasn’t responded in two days, we bypass the
convention and visitors bureaus and national sales and
begin contacting the properties and venues directly
Our Priorities
• Timeliness
• Finding the right fit for our client
• Budget
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What Not to Do
• NEVER require a meeting planner to transpose their meeting specs onto your electronic RFP form– This wastes a lot of our time and the forms rarely include the items
our specific meeting needs - we receive a lot of irrelevant bids
• Convention and Visitors Bureaus (and national sales) should not send the RFP everyone of their properties – Always carefully match our RFP with a property that meets our
requirements outlined in the RFP
What Not to Do (cont.)
• Don’t change your CVB’s name
– Orlando CVB should be Orlando CVB and San Francisco CVB should be
San Francisco CVB. “Visit Chicago” or “Sunny Tulsa” are too difficult
to find if you don’t know their latest name and 411 directory info
definitely can’t find them.
• Scuttle your national sales team
– A major brand recently did this and many of my colleagues have
stopped planning their meetings with that brand
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Opportunities
• Cut the digital clutter
– The RFP process has become too automated and our RFPs often are
funneled to properties who don’t match the client’s requirements and
the properties that we do need to hear from don’t respond because
they’re also inundated with RFPs - many of which may not be a good
fit
– Cvent sent my RFP only to venues that paid Cvent for an upgraded
account so all of the responses we received were a poor fit
– There is still a need for a person to review and assess each RFP and
match it to the right property or venue
Opportunities (cont.)
• Allow us to Negotiate
– Sometimes our dates are flexible and we need to have the opportunity to communicate that
• Make Information Available and Accessible
– Property/Area/Capacitates/Features/Distance to Airports etc. It is still very difficult to find this information for areas you’re not already familiar with
– Associations have an opportunity to help with this by listing area information, important contacts etc.
• Understand our needs first
– If you can meet all of our requirements, then
submit a bid, otherwise there’s no need to bid
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Monty WhiteMarketing ManagerIrving Texas CVB
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A Changing Landscape
The number of RFPs submitted directly through your website (property, venue, CVB, brand or vanity) are beginning to eclipse
those submitted through other channels.
For group sales leads, many of us have started to witness a shift from third party sources to our own websites as the primary RFP
channel for our organization.
This shift is making the role of the digital marketer much more important every year.
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Make It Easy To Do Business With You
• You should have a link or widget to submit an RFP in a prominent location on your home page
• There should also be an option to upload an RFP without utilizing a form
• It should be easy for the planner to how to submit their RFP though the website
Provide Complete Property/Venue Information
• Capacities, Floor Plans, Pre-function Space, & Room Counts
• Relevant Amenities & Key Selling Points
• Area Information, Distance to Airport, City Center, Dining
• Packages, Discounts or Offers that might be of interest
• Information about why you’re a good fit for your top markets and should be considered
Include as much information as you can think of. Meeting Planners use your website gather information to see if you should be considered
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Additional Channels
• Third party websites and applications (Cvent, EmpowerMint, OTAs)
• Your brand’s main website and national sales team if you have
one.
• Email Marketing
ServiceRemember that while digital channels are growing at a rapid pace and
are often our first point of contact, the meetings and events industry remains primarily a relationship business.
Your RFP process will need to continue to include sales and convention services professionals to make good judgments and continue developing lasting relationships with planners and their clients.
A fully automated process cannot replace these elements.
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Strategy
• Don’t silo your digital efforts and hope for the best
• Develop a digital strategy to promote your top group
markets
– Include relevant digital channels
– Integrate with your offline marketing and sales strategies
Eblasts• Stay in front of them (respectfully)
– You want them to remember you when they have something that you might be a good match for
• Stay Focused – Only utilize your email marketing when you have a substantial and
relevant offer that would be of interest to the planners in your contact list
– Don’t abuse email and become a spammer
• Use all of your database opportunities– Use the attendee lists provided to suppliers during tradeshows and
send a follow up email with an offer specific only to those at the tradeshow
– Use your free meeting planner list provided by HSMAI
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Search Engine Marketing/Paid Search
• Consider utilizing paid search terms for a few of
your top markets
Track Everything• Use analytics to track activity on your website
• Review all RFPs submitted (both won and lost) on a quarterly basis
• You should be able to easily identify the initial point of contact for every RFP and know which channels work best for you
• Use this data to improve your digital strategy, reach more planners, and obtain relevant RFPs that will convert with more frequency
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Join The Conversation• Join their conversation (but don’t crash it)
• Add to it if only if you really have something useful or interesting
to say
• Blog
– Expand your reach (visibility) while becoming a subject matter expert
and a trusted resource
Know What You Are Doing!It sounds like common sense, but there are a lot of components and
variables in the digital world that you will need to understand well in order to successfully achieve your objectives.
• The CHDM (Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer Certification) is currently THE BEST certification available for digital marketing in the hospitality industry.
• The course work and study guide is thorough and specific to the hospitality industry.
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Meeting PlannersSocial Media Usage
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32Source: February 2012 survey of 800 respondents, all readers of MeetingsNet magazines
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 Over 60
LinkedInFacebookTwitterYouTubeBlogs
Social Media Use by Platform
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Create an online existing network of my existing business contacts and meet new contacts
Keep up with industry news and events
Ask for advice or recommendations by posing questions to my groups
Look for job opportunities
Other
For which of the following activities/purposes do you use LinkedIn?
Source: February 2012 survey of 800 respondents, all readers of MeetingsNet magazines
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1 hour
28%
2-5 hours
13%
10+ hours1%
<1 hour56%
5-10 hours2%
Average amount of time each week spent on LinkedIn
Source: February 2012 survey of 800 respondents, all readers of MeetingsNet magazines
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YouTube and Meeting Planners
• 40% of the respondents have professional YouTube accounts
• 54% post video from an event
• 45% promote a special event or incentive trip
• 30% promote a meeting
Examples:
• Virtual Tours
• User Generated Video
35Source: February 2012 survey of 800 respondents, all readers of MeetingsNet magazines
Tailor Your Content• It’s easy to tell your customers what your brand is all about, but
that’s a one-sided conversation
• Review your analytics to provide information about your audience
so you can deliver content that is relevant and engaging to them.
• Understanding what your customers are interested in will enable
you to tailor your content stream and future promotions in ways
that are more relatable.
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Post Company Updates• Did you know that LinkedIn members are 50% more likely to
purchase from a company they interact with on LinkedIn?*
• Drive interaction by posting news, company information,
promotions and more from your Company Page.
• Best practices for posting successful status updates:
• Keep it brief: One or two sentences will do just fine
• Time matters: Morning & lunchtime updates perform best
• Don’t do it alone: Enlist coworkers to post too
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Questions?Panel Moderator: Tim Peter, Managing Director
Tim Peter & Associates
Panelists:
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Monty WhiteMarketing ManagerIrving Texas CVB
Sue FryPresident & CEOSynergy Meetings & Events
Gordon LiametzPartnerQuantum Leap Advertising
Upcoming Webinars:
#2 – Digital Marketing Webinar Series:Leveraging the Digital Tool Box to Increase Your Share of Unmanaged Business TravelMay 14, 2013 ♦ 2:00 - 3:00 pm Eastern
#1 – Revenue Management Webinar Series:Mobile: Taming the Wild West of Revenue ManagementMarch 26, 2013 ♦ 2:00-3:30 pm Eastern
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HSMAI’s Newest Certification:
The Certified Hospitality Digital
Marketer (CHDM)
Go to www.hsmaicertifications.org
For more information and
downloadable application!
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As the meeting and event-planning industry’s premier show, HSMAI's MEET Mid-America brings a new vision to the business of connecting planners with the right resources and suppliers to move their meetings and events forward.
The 2013 MEET Mid-America will attract 800 planning professionals from organizations of every size, plus 100 exhibitors, representing hotels, resorts, inns, convention and visitors bureaus, technology suppliers, food and equipment providers, and more.
Go to www.hsmaimeet.com for more information and to sign up!
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Evaluation
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in the LINKS box and complete the evaluation.
� Be sure to click on “Submit” when you have completed
the evaluation to send us your responses.
� Your comments & suggestions are very important to us,
and they help us to provide you with quality programming.
Today’s webinar is copyright 2013 by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International with All Rights Reserved.
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