Resellers: Coordinate Promotions with Your Suppliers

As we continue our series on how to coordinate with suppliers, let’s discuss promotions. Promotions are well worth the effort, but they require a lot of planning and discussion prior to setting them up. Make the most of your promotions with these tips:

Stay Engaged

The only way to know what’s going on in your area is to stay actively engaged. Attend community mixers, read the local paper, or join a local marketing organization to grow your network. This is a great way to learn which hotels might be in the pre-planning phase of a renovation or what new services another business might be offering soon. If there aren’t any events planned, set up a meet-and-greet to bring everyone together.

Reach Out

Proactively contact suppliers in your area to see if they’d be willing to participate in a promotion. Think about creating a promotion that encompasses different entities. For example, you might know of a bike rental shop that is keen to partner with a lodging supplier on a “Stay and Bike” package. Even better, ask if they are willing to offer a discount to make the package more appealing. Other suppliers can also be a valuable resource for ideas. You won’t know what others are thinking until you start chatting with them.

Keep Up the Communication

Once you’ve decided on the promotion, continue to keep the communication flowing so that the supplier knows when to expect the “new invitation” within Inntopia RMS. A supplier who isn’t familiar with invitations could inadvertently ignore it because they didn’t know to look for it or because they weren’t expecting to be included. Remember, the invitation simply links the supply; linking the entities involved is equally as important.

Know Your Suppliers

Identify when your suppliers want to offer promotions. This could help you make the connection between entities and offer additional ideas. If it’s leaf-peeper season, see what tours can be added to a lodging promotion without offering any discounts. During other months, a bigger discount can be offered to attract guests. Think about targeting promotions with certain suppliers at different times of the year.

Don’t Bury the Promotion

Now that you’ve done all the work to create the promotion, how will guests find the it? Make sure your suppliers’ sites have direct links or dedicated pages for promotions. If a guest can’t find the promotion, they can’t book it. If it’s your site, pay careful attention to how are you displaying the promotion. Think about offering the supplier premium placement on your site for a better discount.

Building a strong network among your suppliers will give you endless opportunities to offer attractive and creative promotions. Stay tuned: our next blog tackles those little things with a big impact that we know as search filters.