Legal Checklist
Sales promotions can be a minefield of regulation. There is a long list of things that you can and can’t do. If you are using an agency then this is not too much of a problem since they should check that you are legal. If you do it yourself, consider that there are more than likely to be rules covering any promotion that involves the following:
Brochures
The subject of brochures is fascinating. I have seen hotels with no brochure, hotels with brochures that they are reluctant to give away because of the cost, and hotels with brochures that give the completely wrong impression of the product and its service.
The most important factor is not to start your sales planning with the brochure: it is only a tool and you cannot select the tool until you have decided what job needs doing. There is nothing more frustrating than producing 5,000 brochures and then wondering what to do with them.
This is why I wouldn’t go so far as to say that every hotel definitely needs a brochure to be successful. Sometimes hotels produce expensive brochures and think that they will be successful just by doing a mailing or leaving a pile in reception. Nevertheless, an appropriate brochure that leaves the correct impression with the recipient, combined with a well-thought out distribution strategy, can be very useful.
Generally, specialisation is the key. Catch-all brochures that are aimed at weekend visitors, meeting planners and corporate guests generally miss the target. Prospective guests looking for a romantic weekend might well be put off if they see that you specialise in corporate meetings. Look at your facilities and think through what sort of leaflet or brochure you need for the promotion of each segment:
- weekend/leisure guests
- corporate stayers
- wedding guests
- conference (meetings/team building etc)
- leisure membership
- spa.
Certainly, if you have conference facilities or cater specifically for weddings then you do need some comprehensive printed literature. Whatever you do, make sure this literature isn’t a straightjacket for the prospect. Everybody wants to be thought of as an individual, so the sales letter is the important piece, with the literature as a back up.
I would never, ever recommend leaving conference or wedding packs at reception so that weekend staff can give them to prospects. Every brochure fulfilment must be tailor made, and do make sure that staff are trained to collect enough information for effective follow up on the Monday.
Style And Format
The subject of style is almost the same as cost. You will never be
sure who gets hold of your brochures and you must work on the theory that the more that you give away the better. Taking this into account, how much do you want to spend? It is very nice having a stylish brochure in an unusual shape with each page separated by tissue paper; but if each copy costs around
£ 5 how many copies will you be happy to give away?
First check the competition and see what they do. Then do something different! A well-produced DL leaflet O/3 A4) can work really well and because of its low cost (around six pence each) you can give away heaps.
Wedding and meeting information is slightly different, since you know who is getting the material. You won’t send this information as a direct mail piece before you know exactly what your prospects’ needs are. Thus cost is less important since the cost of, say,
£ 4 per copy is not so great compared with the wedding or meeting that could be worth up to
£ 5,000. Developing comprehensive and useful material takes time, but remember that a client will be evaluating a number of offers together so you need to stand out from the crowd.
This does not mean you have to spend more on the literature or produce a weightier volume. You will stand out if you:
- are less conventional in your thinking;
- think about everything from the customers’ point of view;
- concentrate on benefits not features;
- customise the information for each market segment.