Are New Marketing Applications A Liability For Short Term And Holiday Rental Businesses?
I am seriously losing track of which apps (short for applications) I've installed and what technology I am trialing from the start up sphere. Some of you will be scratching your heads wondering what the heck is this article is about. Others will sympathise and probably have a Ripl, Screencastify, IStock (essential I think - to compliment an amazing holiday rental accommodation image gallery) Shopify, SumoMe, Mail Chimp, WeVideo, Netflix, Canva (...) application running either on their desktop or mobile device.
All these new start up's promising the world. New innovations to simplify processes, trendier, hip ways of doing cool stuff for your business. Commerce is so fast paced now with digital technologies. It's really tricky to keep up - or even keep ahead to be competitive.
Remember that all the time you spend downloading and trialing new solutions are a cost to you as a business manager. Some of that investment will pay off. Other times you may find that placing too much focus on new technologies may in fact be a liability to your operation.
You might be a start up yourself. "A startup company (startup or start-up) is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing a viable business model around an innovative product, service, process or a platform." (Wikipedia - however reliable that is!).
Technically (pardon pun), I am a start up. I'm not a tech start up but a start up nonetheless. Actually Welcome In has been in start up mode for roughly seven years now. I know this because I was pregnant with my second son, Marshall, who is now six. OMG - time, flying!
So getting back on the subject I sometimes stop and realise that I am in fact getting sucked into the vortex within the start up sphere. This is when I actually lose control of exactly what I have signed up for, downloaded, subscribed (sometimes a paid subscription - can you believe how expensive Linked In Premium is these days but OMG I have to have it....).
I often download the app, which is conveniently available for mobile devices, then my space runs out (because I really need to download another app or I've taken too many photos) and so I delete it thinking I will download it again in the future. Before you know it six months have passed and then a monthly subscription fee shows up on my statement - ARGGHHHH! - the shocking part about this is that I have actually paid for a subscription but haven't used it for months and months. Hmm. Naughty! I guess I can at least claim them as businesses expenses for research!
Yes I know some are quite evidently amazing. Like Netflix - how can anyone watch free to air TV now! Yes I know this is an entertainment app. There are others like WeVideo that are fantastic too but oh dear they now charge to receive what you did for free 12 months ago. Be wary of this. The art is to test in the free trial and then be realistic and know that it is very likely that this start up will recognise their worth (because they will be using metrics like adopter growth) and switch into monetisation phase - this essentially means they will start charging you to use their application. At some time they have to make money to be viable. Just like you need to invest in marketing to grow your holiday rental business by attracting more visitors to your site who make more bookings!
I guess the point of this article is to have fun, give new technology a go. I personally really value Canva for marketing communications graphics. My advice is to give it all a go but keep a close eye on what you sign up for particularly if there is a subscription fee involved and you missed the small print that says your subscription will be auto-renewed every month until you opt out!
I feel like I'm getting to that stage in my career where I know a bit about the short term and holiday rental accommodation industry in Australia and so if you'd like to read more articles to help you grow and sustain your operation/ business you might like to subscribe (free) to receive my blog articles in your lovely inbox.
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Have a superb day!
Cheers
Natalie :)