I was channel-surfing the other night and stumbled across the Last Night of the Proms. Before I knew it, I was fully involved…tapping my foot to the music, totally caught up in the sea of patriotic outfits, balloons, flag waving, and streamers. It got me thinking, as it always does when I watch an orchestra: what would happen if the conductor just walked off mid-performance?
Now, without doubt the musicians are obviously talented in their own right, but would they be able to hold it together? Maybe for a few minutes, but sooner or later, would the violins be off playing Vivaldi, the brass section lost in Beethoven, and the percussionists banging away to their own rhythm?
Are you lost without a baton?
As far-fetched as that scenario sounds, I’ve seen similar real-world examples unfold when it comes to how businesses manage their digital marketing. Especially in small to medium size businesses, where it’s all hands-on deck and individuals are often juggling everything from guest satisfaction to staff coordination, it’s easy to let marketing efforts run a bit wild.
Sure, initiatives get launched, campaigns go live, and social media posts roll out - but are they all playing from the same sheet of music? Or have bits and pieces been handed off to different people or agencies, with each now playing their own tune without much cohesion?
Maybe your social media is buzzing with activity, but it’s not aligned with your content marketing or wider comms strategy. Decisions to stop or push forward could be based more on gut feelings than actual performance data. If things aren’t coordinated, you could be missing the chance to fully amplify your digital presence.
The cost of discord - when marketing misses the beat
Operating without an interconnected strategy can come at a cost. Disconnected efforts can mean wasted resources and missed opportunities. A potential guest visiting your website, only to find outdated or mis-aligned information because your content marketing isn’t in step with your latest ad offerings. Or they might stumble across your social media, feel intrigued, but get turned off by inconsistent messaging having landed on a page that doesn’t smoothly continue their expected journey.
Without regularly reviewing and assessing your marketing efforts, it’s hard to know what’s working and what’s just noise. You could be throwing money at channels that aren’t delivering and overlooking the ones that could really drive growth. Some of your more expensive marketing activities might be bringing in high-value customers, but if they’re not balanced with lower-cost, volume-driven efforts, your cost per booking could spiral out of control and your funnel dry up. Ultimately, this lack of alignment can result in lower traffic, occupancy rates and revenue drops - exactly what every holiday park wants to avoid.
Orchestrating success and harmonising your digital strategies
So, how do you get all parts of your marketing to play in harmony? It starts with stepping back and taking a bird's-eye view of your digital presence. Here’s how you can tune things up:
- Assess your marketing mix: Look at all your channels - social media, email, SEO, and paid ads. Are there clear strands that align them in working together or are they just doing their own thing? See where spend vs return is strongest. Which areas of spend have strongest correlation to booking activity? What are your key attribution paths?
- Analyse performance metrics: Dive into the data. What’s really driving results, and where are you wasting effort? Build a picture of your customer funnel, from first touch to final booking. Where are the successes and drop offs?
- Develop a unified strategy: Pull everything into one clear plan that ties back to your business goals. Make sure your content, social, and search marketing efforts are working together to tell the same story and drive customers in the same direction.
- Get expert guidance: Sometimes an outside perspective is what you need to spot the gaps and opportunities you might have missed.
At RBC, we help businesses far and wide to bring everything into sync. We offer digital marketing assessments, website reviews, content optimisation, and retention guidance designed to keep your customers coming back for more.
Lead your marketing symphony
Don’t let your marketing fall out of tune. With RBC’s support, you can conduct a cohesive digital presence that hits all the right notes and ensures your business leaves guests applauding.
Ready to harmonise your marketing and grow your holiday park? Contact us today to see how we can help amplify your digital presence.
