New Year, new you or a new goal for marketing…

It’s probably fair to describe 2016 as bonkers; I’m not sure many of us could have predicted a vote for Brexit, Theresa May for Prime Minister, Donald Trump for President and the deaths of copious legends and icons, at least not in one monumental year. Yet as 2017 starts to take hold, it is probably a fair assessment that whilst 2016 was the year it all happened, 2017 is when we’ll start to feel the effects of these changes.

We’re past the season to be jolly and into the season to spout random clichés, when we’re all supposedly inspired to reinvent, renew, or recommit to our goals and to take up something new. While it might be a cliché, the reason a cliché becomes a cliché in the first place of course, is because it is all too frequently right.

Psychologically, January often represents ‘new beginnings’ – despite being in the depths of winter – simply because of the way the calendar falls. It’s the start of the calendar year and follows what is for many a big break from work (except when you’re in hospitality of course), making it easier for people to create new goals in the hope they will stick to them. So, in the spirit of all things new year, now is the time that hospitality businesses should be planning ahead for the coming 18 to 24 months, if you haven’t done so already.

January presents two opportunities for your hotel or B&B. First, it is the opportunity to review your communications strategy and start as you mean to go on, and second, it provides the opportunity to capitalise on your customers’ positive, exuberant feelings and help create a loyalty habit with effects that will last all year.

Start with a blank diary or a calendar and fill in two things; periods when you weren’t fully booked last year, and periods where you aren’t fully booked this year. If possible, going back five years is helpful, but if that data isn’t readily available, 2016 and 2017 will be fine. This will tell you two things; first, where to apply your general resource to drive bookings through 2017; and second, where to apply intensive marketing focus to avoid repeat quiet periods this year. From there, add major ‘events’ to the calendar including public holidays, local festivals, events and initiatives, major national coverage of your region and anything else you can think of. If you need a prompt, use your local newspaper and revisit some of the major events they covered; are they running again in 2017 and if so when?

This will create a pattern of bookings, and if you have a good booking system, you may be able to pull this off in a simple timeline report, saving you time and energy. From there, you need to identify what you are going to promote, when and how, and really importantly how you are going to resource it. Every year I work with a few new clients and in most cases they started the year with hugely ambitious communication plans which lasted a matter of weeks or a couple of months before falling by the wayside. Keeping realistic goals and ambitions is paramount to driving consistent bookings and growth, rather than stopping and starting your communications plan.

Channels you should be thinking about include ‘traditional’ marketing, such as direct mail and PR; digital platforms including email, SMS and social media; and behavioural initiatives including loyalty drivers. All of these platforms will be effective to some degree, but it is also important to understand your current and target demographics; for example Instagram is a highly-visual platform that can be great for bookings and exposure, but only if you’re after the 18-35 audience. Direct mail can be great for any demographic, but is most effective to existing databases, meanwhile websites are important for potential and returning visitors.

Once you have decided on the channel, it’s all about the messaging. Look at what you can do to remind existing customers just how good you are and reward their loyalty, as well as looking at how you can attract new customers. Promotions can be great, but only if they don’t constantly devalue your brand. Competitions, reader offers and special packages can all drive sales too. Don’t forget to capitalise on the current flush of positivity, reminding potential guests how you can contribute to a great 2017.

Also worth a note is that 2017 is VisitEngland’s Literary Heroes year, so get ahead of the curve and think about who is famous in your area and create a suitable package. It is also worth considering a platform that can help you automate or semi-automate your marketing. While there are risks to automation (you have to have an extremely clean, reliable database), there are plenty of platforms that can help you nail it and reduce the resources required to get the results.