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HSMAI Global’s new Certified Hotel Sales Leader (CHSL) certification is designed to recognize the expertise of hotel sales leaders, emphasizing the most up-to-date sales and commercial principles, practices, and strategies.
Here we share excerpts from Chapter 8 of the CHSL study guide The Hotel Sales Playbook: Winning Strategies for Success.
Chapter 8: Driving Hotel Sales Through Diverse Marketing Strategies
Contributed by Katy Gettinger and Lori Strasberg
The Intersection of Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing are closely intertwined in the hotel industry, as both functions work together (along with revenue management and distribution) to maximize revenue and build long-term customer relationships. A few of the many important ways in which sales and marketing intersect are:
Strategy development: Sales and marketing teams collaborate to develop and implement strategies that will deliver against the hotel’s overall business objectives, considering its target markets, brand positioning, and financial goals.
Customer segmentation: Marketing teams help identify and segment target customers based on demographics, psychographics, needs, and behaviors. Sales teams use this information to create customized approaches for each segment
Event and group marketing: Marketing helps generate awareness and interest in the hotel’s general offerings for groups, including event spaces and meeting facilities, distinctive catering offerings, and other hotel differentiators, while the sales team works directly with event planners and group coordinators to manage the sales process and convert leads from initial discussions through conversion.
Customer relationship management (CRM): Marketing and sales teams use CRM tools to manage guest and customer data, preferences, and feedback. This information can be used to personalize marketing communications, improve the guest experience, and identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
Performance analysis: Sales and marketing teams collaborate to analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of their strategies and make data-driven decisions.
These are clear areas where results are optimized when sales is able to leverage the skills and knowledge of a marketing partner.
But what if you are a sales leader who is also responsible for marketing? Despite a lack of formal marketing training, sales leaders are often called upon to oversee marketing strategies and initiatives and ensure they deliver revenue.
What can you do to build your marketing muscles? Start by seeking educational opportunities. From your local college or university to online courses from edX, Coursera, the American Marketing Association, HSMAI, and others, a little bit of formal education and training can go a long way.
If you do not have in-house marketing experts to tap into, consider bringing on a marketing agency or consultant. With the dramatic shift to digital channels, marketing has become more and more technology-based and specialized, and more and more challenging to fully execute yourself. Discipline expertise can help ensure you are on the right path.
Having a broad understanding of the fundamentals of marketing, including branding, digital marketing, affiliations and partnerships, loyalty programs, and public relations (as covered in this study guide), and bringing in outside experts as needed, will help make sure your marketing strategy will accomplish your most important goals.