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Caribbean Consulting

Merchandising w Marketing w Distribution w Profitability

How should you select an Internet Marketing Consultant

HotelMarketing.com published an article on July 17, 2007 with 10 items you should look for when selecting a hotel consultant. We've reprinted them below followed by a brief summery of Caribbean Consulting's experience within the topic plus a link to the area of our website that explains our approach or lists our credentials.

Read this before hiring an
Internet marketing company in hospitality

July 16, 2007

[ Link to the full article appears at the end of this page ]

Here are the Top Ten Challenging Questions to ask your Internet marketing vendor:

1. Hospitality Experience
Hospitality experience is a must. Your potential vendor’s entire practice should be focused in hospitality. Why? The $120 billion US hospitality marketplace is enormous on its own and sufficiently complicated to require unwavering attention and expertise. Staying ahead of the latest trends in hospitality is a job in its own right.
Caribbean Consulting only works with Hotels, Tourism Associations and Tourist Boards. We've worked in the industry not only as consultants, but as hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators and partners with pioneers of internet travel such as American Airlines, SABRE, Rosenbluth Travel, Mobil Travel Guide, Worldview, QuikTix and Flyer's Edge.

2. Internet Marketing Experience
Internet marketing has been around since the commercial Internet launched. There is a track record one must establish to be declared a competent and trustworthy online marketer in hospitality.
Caribbean Consulting helped introduce travel marketing to the internet through our work with IBM/Prodigy and American Airlines to convert SABRE for personal use.  We then introduced usability and marketing concepts that evolved into Travelocity.  
Click here for a summary of our Associate's marketing experience.

3. Audit the Auditor Experience
What separates student from teacher is experience. Check to determine if the vendor audits the work of others and is capable of making recommendations on existing performance. Trust and credibility is important in this business. Receive counsel to make sure that the vendor is really making the right decisions on your behalf.
The first step in all of our contracts is our unique 'Comprehensive Merchandising, Sales & Marketing Audit which looks at the effectiveness and cost/benefit of your existing vendor contracts.
Click here for our Comprehensive Merchandising, Sales & Marketing Audit.

4. Industry Recognitions and Awards
There are many professional organizations and industry trade groups that provide stamps of approval. These awards signify not only quality and recognition, but that the company is plugged into the industry structure and knows what is going on in the online space. Awards of merit, and invitations to speak at conferences and serve on panels recognize the expertise of the individual and the credibility of the firm.
Caribbean Consulting has served as 'Online Marketing Consultant' to the Caribbean Hotel Association and Caribbean Tourism Organization as well as Hotel and Tourism Associations throughout the Caribbean.
Click here for a full list of our speaking engagements.

5. Client Portfolio
Having a big name client like a major hotel brand, or being associated with a big name helps but the diversity of clients is a true mark of a professional hospitality marketing firm. This diversity will enable you to experience and validate strategies from different perspectives. What may work with one hotel may not be as fruitful with another. Conversely, success stories can be applied to an entire customer base.
Caribbean Consulting has a wide range of clients from small boutique hotels and guesthouses to mega-resorts. We also work extensively with Hotel Associations and Tourist Boards plus regional tourism organizations.
Click here for our full client list.

6. Best Practices
The first step is to identify best practices in the online hospitality marketplace, and the second is to educate the client base on these practices. In reality, few marketers ever lead, they mostly follow. Second, they don’t value best practices until after too much time has passed and in many cases learn on their “client’s dime.” A good Internet marketing company has conducted extensive market research and testing capabilities, either in house or through partnerships with other market leaders and major brands. Caribbean Consulting has been a leader in the online travel marketing industry for more then 25 years.  Work is always completed by Richard Holm or Marie van Rooyen unless otherwise specified in advance.

7. Academic Background
Education and training in hospitality and online marketing is obviously helpful. Teaching the principles of Internet marketing in hospitality is even better, if not the gold standard. Evaluate the vendor’s academic background, level of experience and professional training or certification in this field.
Caribbean Consulting combines advanced degrees in business and merchandising with 'hands on' experience in the hospitality and tourism industry.  Click here for our full background and experience credentials.

8. Search Engine Marketing
The vendor needs to know the nuances and intricacies of the search engines, and how to incorporate all crucial aspects of search marketing into one cohesive marketing strategy. Addressing all search marketing aspects and incorporating search marketing itself into a comprehensive and well balanced Internet marketing strategy are signs of best practices. Caribbean Consulting is a specialist in obtaining high search engine placement through 'organic' site content (for free listings) and cost-effective 'pay per click' (PPC) adword campaigns.  Our goal is to obtain 'first page, first position' placement for primary keyword combinations.

9. Website Design and Website Optimization Experience
The practice of taking a holistic approach to the entire website, not just changing the look-and-feel of the design or search engine optimization, but also including a study of the business model, customer segmentation, diversity of products and services, trust and credibility, website and campaign analytical tools, CGM/Web 2.0 features and applications, and most importantly, taking into account search-engine friendliness, user-friendliness, interactive relationship-friendliness, and travel booker friendliness, all define website design, development and optimization as per industry’s best practices. Caribbean Consulting has created award-winning designs from the consumer's perspective for decades. We helped introduce the concepts of usability, bookability and online shopping to websites that emphasize results rather than just the latest 'bells & whistles'.

10. Accountability and Fee Transparency
The need to measure and quantify results from your Internet marketing campaigns is most likely a large part of why you are searching for, or have hired, an Internet marketing vendor. With the web technologies available today, anything and everything can be measured, making marketers more accountable than ever before. A good Internet marketing vendor will only ask you to spend what’s needed to grow your online revenues, build your direct distribution strategy, and stay competitive. Caribbean Consulting has a standard published 'flat fee' plus expenses for our services. We never bill 'by the hour' or inflate expenses.  Caribbean Consulting never takes a 'finders fee' or commission for any vendor we recommend.  All fees, expenses and vendor contracts are clearly stated in advance.

Click here to read the original article from Hotelmarkting.com

This page was last updated on 07/17/2007