Assisted vs Direct Revenue: Digital Marketing Channels Worth Investing In

As a hotel marketer, establishing a marketing budget can be a difficult thing to figure out. This is doubly true if you are not aware of the potential revenue each digital marketing channel can generate. Income can be attributed in two ways, either assisted or direct. Before establishing a marketing budget, you must figure out which channels are the most effective in generating the most direct bookings. Generating revenue, whether assisted or direct, is always a good thing. To get the highest return on investment; however, it is beneficial to know which channel resulted in the best quality conversions. Every hotelier should understand that every visitor is different and will use different channels and platforms during the buying process. This is why we have to know which channels led to an assisted revenue or direct.

Which channels lead to assisted revenue?

Assisted revenue is revenue that is generated from multiple sources that led a visitor to book on the website. This is after having searched for various channels like social media, a review site, or/and an online travel agency. Social media is one of the most effective ways to drive assisted revenue to your hotel website. Social media may not always directly lead to a booking, but it will help in increasing the likelihood of a conversion and booking. Generally speaking, people on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites use these channels during the research phase of the buying process. Social media and review sites may be an introduction to your hotel’s brand. Once they’ve done their research on these channels, they are then ready to decide to book with your hotel.

Which channels lead to direct revenue?

Direct revenue is typically generated after a pay-per-click ad, organic search, or other paid search like Google’s Hotel Price Ads. Direct revenue often results from the last interaction of the buying process. Here is an example of direct revenue. Someone starts off searching on Google and clicks on your hotel’s ad listed under the Hotel Price Ads, which then leads them directly to Google Hotel Finder. Once they are on this site, they might do some researching and look at competitor rates. After doing some research, they type out your direct URL in the search bar and goes to your website to book. This is an example of direct revenue.

So which channel should you invest in?

You should be familiar with which channels lead to assisted versus direct revenue. You may be wondering which digital marketing channel to invest in that would potentially yield the highest conversions. The first step in deciding which channel to invest in is by analyzing the data and digging deeper into Google Analytics. Here you can find out where your potential guests are searching from and how they are getting to your site. Understanding the traveler buying process is critical when deciding on which channel to put your marketing budget towards and which to put the most time and effort. Whether the channel led to assisted or direct revenue, you must consider the profitability of each channel before investing it.