Articles

The more you know about CRM, the faster we can help you increase occupancy, revenue and profit.

To that end we have assembled a few of our favorite articles, some we have written and some that have been published by other experts in the field of CRM and integrated 1to1 marketing.

We are adding articles all the time, so bookmark this page and check back in every so often to see what's new. If you know of an article you think should be in our library and would like to share it with others, let us know.

In the meantime, enjoy. We look forward to answering any questions you may have.

• Insights into Customer Relationship Management - Resort Management article proving loyalty leads to profit. Why you need a balance between customer retention programs and customer acquisition programs.
• 2007 Top Ten CRM Resolutions - Practical advice for hotels interested in building or revitalizing direct relationships with targeted prospects and past guests. Loyal customers help you grow occupancy and profits faster than your competitors.
• Luxury Hoteliers 2006 Top Ten CRM Resolutions (PDF) - for owners and senior executives of luxury properties interested in launching or re-energizing their CRM programs in 2006. Here are ten resolutions designed to get you there as quickly and efficiently as possible so you too can reap the financial benefits of CRM.
• Loyalty is about Relationships, Not Transactions - as information-empowered customers jump from business to business in search of the "best deal," some companies like Starbucks and Amex are maintaining profitibility through marketing strategies that retain loyal customers. HotelMarketing Newsweekly article.
• The Loyalty Connection - Loyalty Leaders grow more than twice as fast as the industry average. Although business say they are devoted to loyalty, their management systems and budgets don't back that up. What gives?
• Successful CRM: Turning Customer Loyalty into Profitability - You'll have to register (it's Free), but this is one of the best white papers you'll ever read on CRM. Have a read and then give us a call to get going on your own program.
• Database Mining for Gold - (PDF) Experian, one of the world's largest database service companies interviews Madigan Pratt for insights on state-of-the-art customer relationship management issues and maximizing profitable relationships.
• The Trouble With Segmentation - What does Database Segmentation mean to you? -targeted selling? Then you're in trouble! All the data in the world won't help you unless you know what to do with it. And that's exactly where MP&A fits in. We help you with the strategy to make that data pay off.
• "World's Best Resort" Shares Secret of Success - The Reefs in Bermuda was named "The Best Resort in all the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda" by Travel + Leisure Magazine. Here the resort shares its secrets of success.
• Five Traits of Successful Marketers (PDF) - Many marketers were ill prepared to react to the events of September 11th. Two that were share how they managed to overcome adversity.
• Hotel Marketing Case Study - Atlas Award Winner Hotel Marketing Case Study -ATLAS Gold Award Winner -(PDF) for Integrated Marketing. Presented by the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, the Atlas Awards are designed to honor the "Best of the Best" in the field of travel marketing.
• From Harvard to Las Vegas - Harrah's has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on database technology to identify and market to their best customers. And revenue has been spectacular! Today you can do many of the same things for peanuts. We can show you how.
• You Don't Have to Discount You Don't Have to Discount - Amazingly, two Resorts hold the line on prices and prosper in the process.
• Positioning - Integrated Marketing's Essential Ingredient - The word "positioning" has become so overused (and abused) that for many in the travel industry today it has lost its true meaning and application. And that's indeed unfortunate� since having a clear and effective positioning is critical for long term IM success.
• Driving Brand Value - A must read book! Tom Duncan and Sandra Moriarty show companies how to strategically use new relationship-building tools, database management systems and communication technologies to succeed. It's more than buzzwords - it a whole new way of thinking and executing.
• Permission Marketing - the seminal work by Seth Godin that launched an electronic revolution. Read the reviews then read the book if you haven't already.
• Best Practices of Permission E-Mail - Not easy, but it pays off. Not all of these eight best practices will necessarliy apply to your situation. Can you identify which ones should?
• Three Rules of Permission - Nick Usborne, whose book Net Words - Creating High-Impact Online Copy is one of our favorites, maintains that the simple checkbox is just the beginning of permission marketing. You need to help people find what they want; you need to establish trust; and you need to obsess over service (talk to us about the importance of "before and after marketing").