positive disruption by: Tom Martin | New Orleans based Social Media | B2B Digital Prospecting | Digital Strategy Agency

Using Social Media to Improve Occupancy In a Down Economy

 

So this Free Idea Day winner really got me excited because I can actually use their services. Meyer Real Estate is (in their words):

We are a vacation rental and real estate company along the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast. Our challenge is to participate in social media with a product that is not an everyday use or pocket-change type of product - we rent houses and condos to people for their vacations, whether two nights, two weeks or two months (or longer).

None of us is a social media expert; we are doing the best we can to learn and to keep the sites active. But we do believe that part of the issue is the type of business we are in – once someone arranges or completes their vacation, they don’t want to hear from us until time to plan the next one. How do we overcome the cyclical nature of our type of business and build up a year-round loyal subscriber base on our social sites?

photo credit:  Meyerre.com

So much opportunity here and far more than I can really cover in a single Free Idea Day post. But in an effort to fulfill and point you in a direction that should bear fruit, I've broken my thoughts down into a sales system you can apply.

Given the high repeat business and strong seasonality trends you face, you may want to consider approaching your marketing from an Acquire>>Engage>>Activate model. I'll break each stage down and provide a few thoughts on efforts you can apply at each.

Acquire
With 70% or more of your business coming from repeat guests, you have both a blessing and a curse. You're blessed in that you have a solid base of business that you can pretty much count on year in and year out. But it is also a curse in that humans are creatures of habit. So if my habit is to take the family on an annual beach trip in June, then you only get me to come with my family in June. You may be able to stimulate me to change my month or consider coming a second time or maybe even come with just the wife, but by and large, I'm just going to do what I've always done. Thus, it is imperative that you focus a percentage of your marketing efforts on expanding your base of first time renters. A couple of thoughts for doing this.

Sales Materials

• Include a simple business card with your Facebook, Twitter, Website and Blog addresses. Why a business card? Because everyone has a wallet and if you make it it simple to just put that card in their wallet, they likely will. To increase your odds, print a few key phone numbers (emergency service line, popular restaurant's reservations line, or something else) so the guest has a reason to want to have that card handy.
• Refrigerator magnets: make sure these are in each unit you rent. Make sure they invite guests to follow you on Facebook and Twitter. Given that most, if not all, of your units will have high-speed internet, you have an opportunity to capture new friends/fans.
• Post Cards: Give the guest a chance to tell their friends about what a great time they are having. At the bottom of each card, include your Facebook/Twitter handles so the recipient can fan/follow you themselves to get great deals, etc. 
• You've already got the newsletter, which has a robust list, but it would probably be a good idea to scrub the list or apply some behavioral techniques to see how many of those folks are active readers vs lapsed and possibly purge the lapsed users. There are also some really cool segmenting things you can do with email lists, which would likely bear fruit and generate solid ROI's.

Your Owners

• Every property you manage has an owner with a vested interest in you renting out every available date that owner gives you to manage. Many of those owners (and likely growing) are active on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Make sure those owners have and promote your Twitter/Facebook handles. You'll need to give folks a reason to want to follow/friend you, but we'll cover that in the Activate section. At a minimum, make sure each owner is a Fan and Follows you on Twitter so you can begin to stimulate the viral loops that are the true power of Social Media.

Twitter

• Use Search.Twitter.com to find folks that are actively looking to book condos on the beach, plan or take a beach vacation, wedding trip (bachelor/bachelorette) or other types of trips that you indicated folks regularly take when booking your condos. If questions are being asked about where to stay, what to do, etc., then answer them -- don't sell, help. More on this during the Engage section.

Engage
You noted in our emails that social media is still new to your team... not to fret, it's still new to everyone. So while we probably can't cover everything you may need to know, let's hit a few high points that should help your efforts.

• Twitter: as noted above, this is a great place to acquire new followers that can eventually become fans and guests. When you run your Twitter search, respond where it makes sense. If someone is asking for help, recommendations or rooms, engage them. In some cases these folks might already be on the coast and renting from a competitor, but be helpful anyways. They'll remember you the next time but more importantly, they'll likely engage you back. Once they do, then follow them. There is some debate about when it is ok to follow a consumer talking about your category -- in your case condo rentals in the Gulf Coast. Again that is a post all its own, but safe to say -- you probably have some low hanging fruit in your account right now given that you're only following back about 10% of the folks that are following you. If you're not following a person on Twitter you can't see what they are tweeting. If you can't see their tweets, it's hard to engage with them. So I'd start there and then you'll need to think through when it is appropriate to engage folks on Twitter that are not following you but certainly could be candidates for your services.

• Contests: These seem to be the game everyone is playing on the social media front. I love your photo submission contest but feel you could leverage it more. Get those up on Flickr and place them under a Creative Commons license. Then apply tags and description copy that will help them get found. You might even want to dictate in the comments section the photo attribution line you prefer folks use when they use the photo. Where would folks use that photo? Travel bloggers for one. They're always looking for great shots for their posts. Make sure if a blogger is looking for a killer beach shot that they find yours. Other than that -- I'd suggest you be careful with contests. They are low engagement and create an illusion of engagement where one truly doesn't exist. Instead, talk to folks. Be a member of the social community. Be a person. Share funny stories, answer questions that have nothing to do with condos in Alabama and in general be likable.

• Surveys: Instead of fielding a traditional consumer insight survey, take the opportunity to ask lots of questions spread out over time. Ask folks about their vacation patterns, economic situations, vacation likes and dislikes, etc. Offer folks a discount on a future rental or better yet, a free weekend stay that can be used outright or as a discount against a weeklong rental. Surveys are great engagement tools and if you've built up a good reputation as a trusted (good person) you can ask for the occasional Retweet (RT) of the survey -- which takes us back up to the Acquire portion of the cycle.

Activate

• You're sitting on a lot of unrented inventory every day. Inventory that can't be put on a shelf to be sold tomorrow. Once the room night is gone, it's gone. So put that unused inventory to work for you. Given that most of your traffic is close in drive traffic, steal a page out of Southwest's playbook and create a "Ding" like product that pushes unused inventory. This is a great way to entice folks to follow you on Twitter and Friend you on Facebook -- as long as you make those the only channels you push this deal out through. eMail is also great for this and if you wanted to start getting into mobile, you could use Text messaging to do it... though the text messages would likely have to push folks online to see all the offers for that week.

• Blogger rooms - let it be known that you are blogger friendly. If a blogger happens to be planning a trip to your neck of the woods and you have some inventory that isn't being used (and the owner is willing to play along) let the blogger have it for the variable cost only. That way your turn-over costs are covered, and if you're lucky (which likely you will be) the blogger will blog about you, the room and the location. All of this can then become fodder for your own Facebook/Twitter postings and will likely help you in the SEO world too. Again, you're not out anything and you get a bit of low cost marketing help. The big thing here is this: you can't mandate they cover you. Well actually you could but then it really would call into question what they write and the best ones won't take you up on it. Instead, you just have to trust that the blogger will find a way to repay your hospitality -- and I think you'll find most will. Certainly you should vet the bloggers to make sure they're legit. But after you've qualified that they have an audience that is of value to you, and you'd willingly trade a few room nights for the possibility of some kind of coverage, then you just have to trust them and watch. It would also be good to offer some kind of blogger rate that folks have to contact you via Twitter or Facebook to qualify for... I've watched the Roger Smith Hotel use this quite effectively -- hell I'm staying there in January because of it!

• As you build relationships with Fans and Followers -- use your dialogue to help them see other times they can use you. For instance, I came to the coast once with my family over Easter. Honestly, I had never thought of taking them to the beach in April. But, honestly, it was great. To be able to sit on the beach and read a book while not baking -- heaven. Use the power of social media tools to get those kind of stories out of your guests and then share them. Those are the kinds of stories that get folks to consider changing their traditions and patterns.

• And lastly, provide a helpful service. If you're not getting this, find a way to get anniversary and wife's birthday dates. Overall, guys suck at planning ahead to buy gifts for those important dates. Heck, lots of guys suck at even remembering them! So help the hubby out AND give them a gift any wife would love -- a few days at the beach (with or without said hubby) ;-) at a reasonable price. This can be done with email or even Twitter (but use the DM vs @ channel).

Well that's about it for now. As I said, I think there is a ton you can do in this space -- far more than I can cover here -- but this should get you started and hopefully stimulate a few more ideas from other readers via the comments section.

So what say you folks? Anyone got something I missed? I'm guessing you do... why not pay it forward and help these fine folks out.

Free Ideas Day

Ok, so the last time I did this, it went over well... and California Tea & Coffee Brewery received a free marketing idea that according to them, was pretty good. So in the spirit of Christmas and giving, I thought we'd do this again today. I'm going to have some off the grid time this week so the timing is perfect.

The rules are simple, just watch this video and send in those marketing challenges!

If you are reading this in an RSS reader and can't see the video above click here.

What Keeps You Up At Night?

Ok, so thanks to this great post over at ProBlogger yesterday, I decided that today it's all about you.

You come here, you read, and sometimes you comment. But what I really hope you do is learn and help me learn. That's the real reason I like blogging. So, today, I want you to help me help you.

Tell me what is keeping you up at night. What issues, or problems or deep, hairy marketing problems are you dealing with? What is it that problem that thus far, you just haven't been able to solve. You can keep it secret it you like by emailing me (link up there below my pic) or you can post it here. You don't have to reveal your company or anything, just describe the problem in general. Then I'll find the themes and use them to write future posts where hopefully I'll share a bit of smart thinking (mine and others) that you will find helpful. 

So go ahead. It won't hurt. Add a comment. Let's talk and maybe even succeed in solving your problem.

Marketing Strategy for California Tea & Coffee Brewery

 
For those playing along with the Free Idea Day home game, here is a brief backgrounder that I used to formulate my thoughts. The information comes from @CA_Tea.

Yes, we are different.  In the following ways:

1. We have patent pending technology for brewing any loose leaf tea or herbal/tisane in one minute which gives as good or better a result than traditional steeping. (We were just written up including photo of machine in May 2009 Fresh Cup industry magazine/editorial & page 20 onward)
2. This allows us to put loose leaf tea into almost any venue, including drive-throughs, feasibly.
3. We are a tea AND coffee brewery, about 50/50 in sales, which puts our tea sales way above the % Starbucks or Coffee Bean, etc., do in tea.  Why?  Because of #1 above!
4. We brew everything by the cup..we never batch coffee or tea (no airpots, no 'iced tea' sitting getting nasty and bitter in the refrig until you order).  That also gives us 0, yes 0 waste of either.  It's to you in 1 minute.
5. If you Google coffee and tea Temecula, or tea and coffee Temecula, you will find that we dominate the category pages and you can find reviews, etc. there.  We are putting up an etsy website this week, because we don't want a permanent site up until our branding is where we want the world to see it. 
   

 
I am also a contributor for T Ching (7th ranked tea blog on the Web/had a story on it yesterday www.tching.com <http://www.tching.com>  on Teapod) and our Twitter is CA_tea.  You can find my profile under Contributor's section.
 
The word(s) for our brand (like Branson's 'fun' for Virgin) is 'positive energy'.  There is no box as far as we're concerned.
 
We have already received a licensing/partnership proposal from a large tea/coffee wholesaler on our patent pending process but our attorney/LLC partner believes we need to keep it proprietary to us until we build the brand and retail concept. 

Why tea vs coffee?  I think there are multiple answers to that one but probably the biggest is the healthy image of tea with all the studies coming out in the last 5 or so years on its' health benefits.  However, I also see young kids who love tea, iced, chai latte, etc.  Then the 20-somethings who are striking out (hopefully) on their own and looking at options that are new and fresh (after all, tea is only thousands of years old as a beverage)..they've done coffee to 'death' and are interested in tea but also yerba mate, Rooibos, matcha (pulverized tea leaves, so you consume the entire leaf).

The one minute thing is huge (people will watch it and ask 'what is it'..sorry, patent pending/secret..) as they are always in a hurry, and the taste just knocks them out from brewing with this process.  However, we also have a beautiful store where people 'feel' peaceful, happy.  We have the sound of water, a coffeehouse familiar feeling but lighter/happier, nice side patio space with flowers, vine, pots, etc.

Ok, background over. And now… drum roll please, here is our first Free Idea Day winner.

Diane,

So here is where I’d start.

First, the differentiation point of 1-minute brewing. I agree with your lawyer (did I just say that out loud??) that you need to hold on tightly to that differentiator. It gives you a basis for a brand and it’s not something easily replicable.

Second, I’d consider different brand words. 'Positive Energy' is very SoCal, surfer, hippie and while it may play well today you need it to play well tomorrow when you’re selling in places like West Texas where they aren’t so accepting of that kind of thought. It has also been done to death I think and doesn’t really give me, the consumer, a simple benefit that I want or need even if I haven’t voiced it.

Instead – I think your brand words need to focus around thoughts like respite, break, center or centered. I’ll get to why in a minute.

Third, use your product to solve a problem I have. I’m too damn busy. I’m sitting at 30,000 feet writing a blog post when I should be reading or maybe chatting up the nice man to my right. But I’m blogging because I’m behind. It feels like I’m always behind. I live in a behind world. And guess what, I’m not alone.

So, fourth, combine your brand with your benefit – one-minute brewing.

One minute isn’t a lot of time. It’s really not enough time to tweet, or read an email, or send a text – even though folks try. But it is the perfect amount of time to do nothing and not feel guilty for doing nothing. Heck, I just sat back for one minute, stirred a little cream into my coffee (sorry but it is a very early flight) and allowed myself to gaze out of the window. And guess what? It felt nice. I gave myself a minute. In fact, I think it felt so good (given the crazy morning I had) that I think I’m going to do it again as soon as I finish this post – a little reward to myself.

So what I’m saying here is that I think your brand is about giving people a minute. Specifically the one-minute it takes to brew your tea.

Everything you do in retail, in advertising, in social media, in experience and ambiance should be about maximizing the power of that one minute. Make it the best damn minute of my day. A reward to myself. Think about what I’m looking at, listening to, smelling, even where I’m standing or sitting. Is there anything there that would catch my attention or invite me to read it or pick it up? If so, get rid of it. Make that one minute about me. About introspection. About NOT having to actively process anything. Give me permission or just ‘force’ me to stand still for one minute.  Have a no cell phone rule at the counter. Have a sign that asks customers to either turn the phone off or place it on vibrate so that others can enjoy their one minute – hell create a tradition of turning off your cell when you enter the store. How cool would that be… you create a transitory moment for me where I actively unplug for a minute from the rest of the world. That would be cool to see. To watch every customer that enters your store actually turn their phone off or to vibrate as they walk through the door… very tribal.

Then, as you expand out of retail, make your product about giving me a chance to have a second, or third or hell, as many one minute moments as I want. Because there is something special about watching a tea bag steep in a hot cup of water. There is a subliminal change as I watch the water turn to tea… heck the last guy that could do something that incredible got a pretty large following…of course he did change water to wine which has a larger following maybe than tea but I digress.

Become the one-minute brand. The brand that reminds all of us to sit back and take just a minute to reinvest in ourselves. Even if that reinvestment doesn’t include your tea, even if it is just a minute spent breathing and starring into space or listening to a tune or just paying complete and total attention to my child or another person who is special in my life.

That minute can be magical and we all ought to want that minute. Let your brand carry that message and make me want that moment. Do it right and hopefully your customers will thank you with their patronage and for giving them a one-minute experience worthy of trying to replicate.

Ok folks, so that is the best I can do on limited information, an early morning flight and a single cup of coffee. So now it is your turn. You’re smarter than me anyways so let’s have it. What have I missed? What did I get wrong? What did I get right and how would you carry that beyond my meager thoughts?

Oh yes, and tell a friend about this and invite them to come spend one minute with this marketing challenge and to give us their two cents. It’s that Tweet It link just down below.

Photo credit: Manu Pombrol