9 Ways to Reduce Your Marketing Budget in 2009 (Without Losing Revenue)

Many hotel owners I talk with are looking for ways to reduce expenses in 2009. Lean and mean to survive this economy, right?

While across-the-board budget cuts can hurt revenue, there usually are areas of waste that can be eliminated.  Marketing is no exception.  Here’s some basic ways smart hotel marketers are reducing their promotions budgets – while at the same time getting better results.

1) Track your marketing & advertising

What is measured gets improved.  New technology requires new metrics.  Create new, insightful measures of success.

2) Focus on what works, reduce (or eliminate) the rest

Expenditure must be tied to additional revenue.  Make sure your marketing budget isn’t going down the drain.

3) Invest in a top-quality SEO campaign

Search engine optimization allows you to get website visitors for free, and often starts a snowball effect.  For best results, go beyond a quick tuneup – aim to dominate your local search results.

4) Spend more on pay per click (PPC) ads

Perhaps the ultimate low-budget advertising method, PPC ensures you only pay for results.  You can develop a highly targeted campaign that only reaches regions you want.  [Free flowchart for hotel PPC campaigns]

5) Market to your existing best customers

Selling to your best guests is the best way to maximize profits.  Setup systems for recognizing and rewarding these people.

6) Expand your social media involvement

Building your presence in travel social networking sites improves your online visibility.  (Plus, people sort of expect it.)

7) Establish a PR campaign for new media

As more people use social media for trip planning, this can be a very cost effective way to increase your exposure.  Just make sure you pitch the top people correctly.

Take tech leadership for free press coverage

As we’ve seen, hotels that use innovative new technology attract a lot of free publicity.  Plus, it builds a better guest experience.  Often, the best upgrades are relatively inexpensive – and tie into a unique attribute of your hotel.

9) Outsource your marketing tasks

Hiring a marketing firm that specializes in the hospitality industry can be more cost-effective than using in-house staff.  Use insider questions to find the best agencies.

Let me ask you this: What changes do you plan to make in 2009?