Marketing 101: Differentiation and Niche Marketing

All Innkeepers are concerned with improving the bottom line. No matter how much control over expenses you apply, how can you best increase room sales? Most Innkeepers know that the Internet has a bias in favor of destination locations. These are the historical travel sites in each state that are must sees for travelers. So how do Innkeepers grow their businesses if they are not in one of those “destination” locations that are being Googled more often than other searches? Or, even if the Inn is located in a destination, how can you make your Inn stand out from the pack?

The challenge is called “differentiation.” How can you make your Inn appear different (read that “better”) than the rest? The answer is the same, whether or not you are in a destination location. Niche marketing (called “Segmentation”) is all about making your Inn standout from the rest. The foundation of niche marketing is the development of packages which combine the experience of staying at your Inn and eating your great meals (whether bed and breakfast or full service) with one or more special experiences in your area. Here we are segmenting the market into small niches. We are trying to attract all forms of interests. The packages are easy to put together and can be unlimited in scope. Whatever adventure-type activities you have in your area like whale watching, kayaking, hiking, biking, antiquing, golfing, fishing, or whatever can be combined into a great package along with a stay at the Inn and one or more meals. The key is developing unusual packages that differentiate your Inn and convince your prospective guests that you are special.

This Niche Marketing concept was first developed by Disney to increase sales at their theme parks. It has been adopted by the Cruise lines which now make more money per traveler on experiences off ship than they do on the cruises. Finally, the big resorts have taken this up under the concept of “Cruise Ships on Land.” If you want to really improve the bottom line consider this one of the best ways to stand out from the rest of the Inns in your area.

Article written by Howard Levitan, Oates & Bredfeldt, LLC