HMG 6446 Learning Activity 4

Learning Activity 4

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each e-commerce strategies?

• Search Engines Marketing – Disadvantage- There are thousands of new pages created every week. Simply creating a website and expecting it to be a return on investment is unrealistic. Web pages need to be updated constantly and the business owner needs to find ways to utilize search engine optimization techniques. Advantage – if you are using key words and meta tags and relevant links on your website, the greater your chances will be that your website is found.

• Web 2.0 or User Generated Content (UGC) – Advantage – the use of social media sites like Facebook ad Twitter do not cost the business owner any money. So why not use them? Uploading photos and videos of your food could be quite the advantage as we eat with our eyes first. These are also outlets where business owners can interact with their customer complaints. That being said, this could be a – Disadvantage – too as you never know what an irate customer could write on your page and who it can reach before you have the opportunity to delete it.
• E-mail marketing – Disadvantage – Not everyone wants to receive their information via email. I can tell you from personal experience that I currently have 378 emails in my junk mail box. Anytime you go shopping somewhere they ask for your email. I give it as I know that I can easily delete whatever they send me. For me, this type of strategy is not effective. However, the millennial generation love this type of marketing and advertising. Advantage- It is quick, delivered right to their email on their smartphones, and they do not have to go searching for the information you are sending. Based on recent research my employer has conducted, this is the most effective way to reach our customers.
• Mobile marketing – again, utilizing a person’s smartphone is the way to go. Advantage – By sending SMS the information can go directly to the customer without them having to go search for the information somewhere else. Sending text messages about an upcoming stay is a great idea. This gives the customer a chance to ask questions and make plans during their stay in a one-on-one interaction. Although it may not be very personal, the average business traveler wants to get the information quickly and continue with their busy day. Disadvantage – people may just delete the information as they do not know the number it is coming from. Also, not everyone uses SMS or they don’t like the lack of personal interaction.

If you were the Sales and Marketing Manager of a hotel, which e-marketing strategy would you use to promote your hotel? Please explain the reasons for selecting your strategy.

• Websites – Advantage – Websites are less expensive than traditional media like television, radio etc. Websites are more environmentally friendly, again, something that the Millennial generation is concerned with. The internet is global which means your website can reach people way beyond what a radio or local newspaper could. Disadvantages – like I mentioned before, websites need to be updated regularly. This is something that needs to be planned out, you cannot just create a website and not maintain it. If your website crashes or is unavailable, it is useless to you and your customers. What if that irate customer blasts your name and website on TripAdvisor because of their poor experience with your business? This could damage your reputation. But this is not a reason to not have a website. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages by a long shot.

I would choose a website to market my hotel. Let’s say this is a privately-owned mom-and-pop hotel because we know we don’t have the creative freedom as if we were a corporately owned hotel. Like I mentioned before, we can reach more people via website as the internet is global. It is more cost effective to have a website than it is to run newspaper ads or radio spots. I don’t even think to call a reservations center anymore to book a hotel room. I would expect to search online and book my room so having a website eliminates extra work in the reservation process for the customer. I would also use email before the guests stay to inform them of their arrival and departure information, amenities at the hotel and things to do during their stay. I would also utilize a survey to see where we can improve and recognize my employees for outstanding service.