InterContinental Hotels Group continues to embrace technology in new ways in order to get closer to its customers.

Published: 04 Feb 2011

InterContinental Hotels Group continues to embrace technology in new ways in order to get closer to its customers.

In a recent interview with mobilecommercedaily.com, Del Ross, VP, U.S. Sales & Marketing at InterContinental Hotels Group, made it clear how comfortable the group is with experimentation.

Referring to the some of the recent partnerships, including the one with PlacePunch to deliver timely messages to guests via Twitter when they check-in at IHG properties such as InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, Ross said, “Since we do not know what is going to be the next big thing, we like to try everything to see if it works.”

“Location-based marketing and check-in services have come on the scene in a hurry, and we’re excited about it, even if we’re not sure how it will fit in long-term—we’re not sure if it’s a trend or a fad,” he said. “We love the idea that our customers and prospects can literally put our brands in their pockets and be integrated in their lives.

“We do not want to be playing catch up—we want to be at the forefront as these new technologies develop,” Ross said. “The jury is still out on what is the best way to use this—we’ve used it to promote offers, brands and rate-based promotions. He added, “It is hard to say that any one of those tactics is dominant over any other, as it is still a little early,” he said. “We’ve been testing, and when we do find something that works, we’ll keep doing it forever until it stops it working.”

(For more about the tie-up with PlacePunch, click here).

Location enables marketers to target customers according to real preferences at the right time. For its part, PlacePunch connects brands to customers through location check-ins. It enables marketers to:

• Build check-in loyalty programs
• Send timely, relevant messages
• Build email list
• Learn about customers

PlacePunch has listed five tips for starting with location-based marketing:

1. Claim venues and offer specials to nearby customers

2. Deliver timely, relevant messages to customers.

3. Automate personalised marketing

Based on check-ins, create personalized messages for:

• Frequent customers
• New customers
• Lapsed customers

4. Identify your potential customers: Market to potential customers that visit competitors’ locations

5. Measure. Rinse. Repeat.