What a surprise. I was reading up on a resort named the Viceroy in the Caribbean, in Anguilla. Anguilla is one of my favorite island and has the nicest beaches I have EVER seen. I am not familiar with this hotel. I have been hearing a lot about it lately, so I was researching it. I came across the TripAdvisors reviews online and I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
On page 1 of the reviews, there were 10 listed reviews. Management at the Viceroy, the Director of Sales, had commented/responded to 7 of those 10 reviews. This is a company who “gets” it, in today’s world and today’s business environment.
Marketing today, thanks to the internet and social media, is a two-way street. Marketing is a conversation. It’s an exchange. It is no longer a one-way communication, where a company decides what/where/when they want to communicate to their customers.
I have heard businesses in the restaurant industry say they have never heard of Yelp and have no idea if there are any reviews of their business on this site. In my opinion, that is an extraordinary lack of “getting it”.
As a marketer, all I can say– it is vitally important that businesses understand marketing today. Adjusting from the old marketing tools of years past to the new marketing tools of today, and learning how to appropriately blend the two, will allow you and your business to be one step ahead or on equal footing with your competitors.
It’s just the way it is…learn and understand what it takes today for the successful marketing of your business.
Check out TripAdvisors and the communication from the resort management at the Viceroy. It’s good business.
