And as that conversation unfolds, you may find yourself in one of those rare situations where trying to breathe life into your old data can lead you astray.
It may be tempting to recycle information by updating contacts from your own database. But it is possible that this data became old for a reason, because those contacts and organizations no longer are suited to your destination or hotel.
But if you invest a bit more by researching newer, specific data, you get to decide exactly the type of business you want to attract and gather brand new, information on a new group of prospects. My own experience is that online list building and competitive research, followed by phone lead generation, can produce fresh, solid leads.
Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter reduce the time it takes to prospect by making it easier than ever before to track down the right contact. Often when you have the wrong contact name, the gatekeeper may become suspicious of your call, making it more difficult to get to the right contact.
Online data gathering also involves compiling a history of the each target organization’s events. Painstaking research means precise results—so if you’re looking for medical associations with 500 to 600 participants looking for a hotel in Florida, that’s the list you get. The result is a more efficient, streamlined call where the contact needn’t spend their valuable time explaining their event history. This can lead to better relationships, more qualified leads, and a stronger possibility of your customers coming back to you.
In the end, the appreciation and new business you earn will more than outweigh the extra cost you incur by buying your data fresh, rather than using the data from your existing database.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net