With so many aspects of life changed due to the pandemic, it’s no surprise that your customers’ needs might have changed. Your customers might be struggling with new worries, voicing different objections, and experiencing fresh pain points.
That’s exactly what happened to one of my hospitality clients. This husband-and-wife team who own The Addison, a bed-and-breakfast inn just two miles from the beach in Amelia Island, FL. The owners, Lisa and Ron West, bought the inn back in December 2017. They spent the next few years upgrading and renovating the property.
The old pain points
My clients wanted to relaunch the blog that had remained dormant since the inn’s previous owners. So, I worked with them to create a content strategy. The goal? To provide helpful content, engage readers, and build trust with their audience, enhancing the customer’s journey along the way. The blog had to address typical guest pain points such as choosing the right destination, comparing amenities, and finding a good value in ways that could improve their travel experience.
I explained how content marketing (such as a blog) often takes months (sometimes a year or more) to gain traction and achieve the desired results. I created an editorial calendar to map out the content for the next six months. Then I got to work writing the twice-a-month blogs.
For the first four months, this strategy worked well. The blog regularly highlighted the inn, special events, and the beautiful coastal community of Fernandina Beach.
And then the pandemic hit
As you can imagine, my clients’ hospitality business has been greatly impacted by the pandemic. With travel restrictions in place, new safety protocols to implement, and consumer confidence shaken regarding the safety of travel, the inn dealt with a lot of challenges. But the owners made a lot of smart marketing decisions.
Like other businesses, The Addison faced the dilemma of whether they should be marketing during the pandemic. My clients quickly realized that continued marketing was a smart move, but they had to adjust their strategy and messaging. We scrapped the original content line-up and refocused the strategy. Then I crafted blogs to help them communicate through this global health crisis.
The new pain points
The adjusted messaging and empathic tone needed to address customers’ new pain points—the very real fears of traveling and staying in accommodations during the pandemic. Since many of the inn’s guests live within driving distance, the road trip provided a safe mode of transportation to get to the destination. But what about the safety and cleanliness of the inn? How could Lisa and Ron reassure guests that they were taking extraordinary measures to follow CDC guidelines and state and local health and safety protocols?
As I began to write one of the blogs, they outlined their extensive cleaning and sanitizing process for me. I realized I could repackage it into a “12-Point Safety Checklist” to better communicate the detail involved in their efforts. The post, titled 12 Ways The Addison Puts Safety First, became the cornerstone of crisis communication efforts. My clients referenced it in their social media posts, in emails, and in their newsletter. It turned out to be a huge hit!
“We have had so many guests tell us they felt safe staying with us after reading our blog’s 12-point safety checklist,” says Lisa. “Thanks so much for the perfect format to help us bring guests back!” She noted that it was the most-read blog and generated many inquiries and, ultimately, reservations at The Addison. “Guests would comment that the information reassured them about staying at our inn. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with Lisa and owe a lot of our reopening success to her blogs.”
Moving in the right direction
I love hearing words like this from my clients! But more importantly, my clients remained open to my suggestions, stayed flexible, and adapted as needed to this crisis. The travel situation remains fluid, with changing guidelines and restrictions. But Lisa and Ron have seen an uptick in reservations—including many returning guests. In fact, when their bookings neared almost 100% occupancy on Memorial Day weekend, they turned guests away to ensure social distancing. “We were pleasantly surprised to see that our percentage of repeat guests nearly doubled compared to 2019!” says Lisa.
The takeaway? By addressing customers’ existing and new pain points, your business can continue to stay competitive in these challenging times.
Need help readjusting your content marketing efforts? Let’s talk!
