What’s the point of having somebody come to your restaurant or bar and leave without having a drink?
You would be surprised to know that most of the visitors that leave your website, never come back and the ones that do come back, leave again! It’s very normal.You look around even before you shop. Hotels that manage to keep their clients on their website (their “online lobbies”) has a much higher chance of selling rooms. How you can keep your clients in your lobby?
By getting your website fundamentals properly set. Believe us, the chances of converting them are much higher.
Online world facts
Before we go and reel off fundamental basics let’s examine some figures from Kissmetrics:
96% of website visitors are not ready to buy.
You have less than 8 seconds to capture a visitors attention.
A one second delay on a website speed equals a 7% reduction in conversions!
You need to make sure that you have the basics of your website set up properly before you go into more complex marketing schemes.
The Mega Why?
Why are you creating this website?
Is it because it’s a trendy thing to do? Is it because somebody mentioned that they are getting more bookings online then ever before?
You build a website for many reasons. Amongst the most obvious reasons is the reason to present yourself. Think of your website as a 24/7 living sales man. If your website is your front desk and it’s your first gateway to potential clients, then what’s the point of having a fancy website that can’t deliver the information that the client needs instantly?
What’s your goal?
What’s your goal for this month? Is it to book all the rooms? That’s not a goal, that’s an end. Goals are more like achievable targets, targets that will make you grow in monetary value terms. Goals should be reasonable and they should be attainable. What’s the goal of your website? To convert 10% of the visitors? If you don’t have a goal you won’t be motivated to tweak your website on a regular basis.
Is it simple?
Potential clients that come to your website come to observe, get information and make a decision with what is presented to them. They need to get the correct information instantly and they need to make an informed decision based on that. Don’t waste your client’s time by hiding the most important tools of your hotel; your rooms, availability and price.
Is it user friendly?
Let’s imagine that you figured out that less is more. You have the room photos, rates and everything. How about usability? Remember that in this competitive world most potential visitors are looking for an excuse not to buy at their first entry. You can lead your potential clients with a carrot to the website but you can’t hold them with a non usable, complex, slow, pointless website.
A picture can say a thousand words
Without a doubt I can easily say people make decisions with pictures, followed by references and if they have time, they will read. Do not upload pictures taken by your phone. This is the one place you want to be professional and not be a miser about it. Your photos will say a thousand words. Do you have professional photos that give the wow effect?
Don’t loose your clients, contact us now and let us help you build your website with HotelRunner for high conversions.
