Why is brand strength important?
Consumer perception of your brand is incredibly important. Guests have the power to choose whether they purchase from, engage with or recommend your business based on little more than their thoughts and feelings towards your brand. Regardless of how little time a guest has spent interacting with and getting to know your brand, they’ve already formed an opinion.
First impressions are key. Branding is therefore an essential part of creating a positive consumer perception, and brand consistency will only strengthen this. But it’s more than just logos and brand colours. Branding encompasses every aspect of your business, including the voice and message reflected in your digital presence.
So how do you ensure your online presence aligns with the true identity of your property?
Embrace the digital world
In the online space, brand consistency is a crucial part of building trust with guests, as well as ensuring you’re getting the most out of your digital marketing strategies. Consistency in your online presence translates into reliability and authenticity and can lead to an average revenue increase of around 33%.
Your guests need to feel comfortable with your holistic online presence to feel comfortable making a booking through your website. If a guest on your website clicks the BOOK NOW button and suddenly they’re transported to a page with a strange URL and looks completely different to your website, they probably won’t feel very comfortable to hand over their credit card details and complete the booking.
Confusion and suspicion during the booking process can lead to guests abandoning your website in favour of prominent online travel agents where they may feel more familiar and confident making a transaction. A seamless, integrated booking engine that maintains the same look and feel of your website is a huge step towards securing guest trust, contributing to the overall authenticity of your brand.
Own the guest experience
You provide a wonderful, personalised and thoughtful experience to your guests while they’re staying with you. But the way guests feel about your brand begins well before they step up to the check-in desk. A holistic persona for your brand originates from the initial touchpoints guests have with your business.
Even guests booking via phone or online travel agencies are likely to visit your website at some point during their experience. This is why it’s so important your brand image is consistently reflected through every aspect of your business- both digital and physical.
As well as the consistency of your website and booking process, actively managing your reviews on third-party sites can help to strengthen your brand image and establish an authentic persona guests trust. Regardless of the types of reviews you receive, it’s important to respond considerately, promptly and with empathy to show potential guests that you care. Read more on this in our Top Tips to Manage Your Reviews.
Manage your SEO integrity
Google uses complex algorithms to create virtual paths leading visitors to your website based on a multitude of factors like the keywords they use when searching. SEO or search engine optimisation is an effective way to increase the visibility of your website when people search for criteria matching your property.
Maintaining and updating your website content and ensuring your page links are active and working contributes to your SEO success, as well as the overall authenticity of your online branding. Reviewing and refreshing your website content will also ensure they’re not disappointed by information, features and specials no longer available at your property.
Key takeaways:
- Every aspect of your online presence contributes towards guests’ impressions
- Brand consistency translates to trust
- Ensure your website provides a seamless booking process, both in terms of functionality and style
- Regularly updating content can help your guests find you on Google
