Hi myself, Arjun Manjarekar from Mumbai. I’m the Marketing Head of a medium-scale hotel brand managing properties in multiple locations of Mumbai’s key business districts such as, Andheri, Bandra, and Lower Parel. We were doing well in business and we were happy but like any other organizations we also were trying to grow fast and in the highly competitive business ecosystem of Mumbai. We invested heavily on online ads and OTA (online travelling advertising) listing, for a better outcome, but we experienced that all these things were not working properly. But we were looking for an ad agency that can help us to flourish our business rapidly. Things started to change when we connected with Riyo Advertising.

In this story I will share how Riyo Advertising helped us to turn our scattered random local promotions into a proper system that started bringing real leads and improved our occupancy rates.

Situation:

A few months back we were experiencing that we were lacking behind from the others in business. As a marketing head I was thinking how I can pull things back, and set our business on the right track again. It is true that it is never easy to stay ahead of the competitors, especially in a city like Mumbai. I understood that strategic and impactful planning is the key to success to stay ahead of the competitors but later I understood these things were lacking.

I thought investing in advertising would bring out solid outcomes so we started to invest heavily in online advertising, and OTA(online travel agency) listings. Let me explain what an OTA listing is and why it is important. In simple words OTA listing is.

It is very simple, OTA listing means listing a property or service on an Online Travel Agency Website or App. It's when hotels, guest houses, resorts or homestays put their details on platforms where people book stays online as an example OYO. I thought that it was enough and results will start coming soon and I became a bit relaxed when I saw our hotels were visible in searches. But a few days later I understood that something was really missing and as a result occupancy in these high-traffic areas like Andheri, Bandra, and Lower Parel remained almost the same at about 60%! I was thinking about how it would be possible! I also noticed that, even with very strong online visibility, weekends stayed slow and corporate bookings didn't move much. I saw that the offices and nearby residential areas weren't turning into walk-ins or were not confirming bookings. In this kind of scenario, I became sure that local awareness was the real gap! My boss held a few meetings but the scenario didn't change. I was thinking to myself that if this situation continues then I will have to lose my job. I was thinking about how that missing link of less increasing local awareness can be raised but I did everything but nothing worked and I was in search of a permanent solution. One evening I met my friend Rohit, at his residence, he was a very good student of business management. When I described to him about the situation he thought for a while then he told me that we needed a more direct and hyper local push to start filling rooms. I said that “I had tried many things and we are very much visible online and we are living in the digital age so what else can I do?” Rohit said in reply “these days the entire world is becoming too much dependent on Digital platforms (online platforms) and that's why you are struggling.” He also added “AI also has no answer to this problem, I can put a bet on it, but if I was there in place of you then I would have tried something different, something orthodox.”

I became stunned after listening to these words and I just asked him “I can't understand what you're trying to say!” He answered “this is your reply, these words are carrying the solution” Things were becoming paradoxical so I asked him again “How?” He spontaneously replied “ because your last words were not AI generated, and those were not listed ‘online’, simple offline conversation, understood?” It was another big shock for me, I thought I never tried to reach the local customers offline, I thought online presence and OTA LISTINGS were enough! But I was entirely wrong.

Problem:

• It was very clear that our digital campaigns were getting views. Our digital campaigns were drawing public attention, but nothing more than that. People were just watching us and knowing our presence online, but those were not turning into real walk-ins. It was obvious I thought because our business is based in Mumbai, and people were watching us from different cities and states of the country or from outside India. But our target was the local customers, and the local customers were not only visiting us online but they were visiting several same category businesses in Mumbai, maybe at a cheaper rate than us! It was the real reason I thought for which we were not getting real local footfalls. I realized that it was the reason for which the local footfall wasn’t increasing. We were getting only a few urgent last minute bookings which were not our target.
• My friend Rohit clearly told me that we were lacking as we didn't have a well organized and targeted Best BTL advertising strategies for small businesses . We were visible online but were not present in the minds of the local customers. We were not present in the local corporate parks, local markets or in the transit hubs, these were the reasons for which we were unable to catch the nearby workers and potential customers from the surrounding area.
• I had a small team to work with, so I had to be realistic. Ideas like pop-up events or society tie-ups were looking good on paper, but the reality was that we didn't have enough manpower and time to execute them accurately. I was under tremendous pressure, as at the same time, our organization head was asking tougher questions. He was clearly asking for a better CPL (cost per lead) and stronger ROAS (return on ad spend) from the offline efforts. It was no longer just about visibility or branding—every activity had to show that it was actually bringing real inquiries and bookings.

Solution:

I was thinking that I will have to search for a new job, as these things seemed impossible for me. I had tried my best, for my organization. Now I was standing in front of the firing line. I called Rohit and told everything, he took five minutes and sent me a number and had written “only they can help you and your organization, it's the number of Riyo Advertising, call them now”. I had nothing to lose, so I gave a call on that number, and the next day I received a call from Advertising.

I asked him “where is your office, I am in serious trouble, please help me” he just gave me their address via whatsapp and I visited their office the next day. Things started to change very fast as Riyo Advertising came into the picture. They were highly professional and skilled guys, and just listened to the entire matter very carefully. Then they started handling the matter in their simple but unique style. Riyo Advertising didn't use the same plan everywhere, instead Riyo Advertising created a customized BTL advertising for brand promotions funnel for each and every hotel, focusing only on the 3–5 km radius around the property—where real guests actually live and work. I was amazed to see these simple but immensely impactful activities. I kicked myself, and thought “I never thought in such a strategic manner”. But then I thought “Rohit has sent me to the correct place”.

How to drive sales through BTL promotions

• As soon as Riyo Advertising rolled out our local promotions, we saw results quickly. Walk-ins and bookings from the BTL campaigns went up, giving us about a 25% lift in hotel occupancy. The cost to get a lead (CPL – Cost Per Lead) went down by almost 40% compared to just running digital ads, and the return on ad spend (ROAS – Return On Ad Spend) reached four times.
• The guests told us that the on-ground events and posters helped them to notice us. They also told us that those QR codes helped them to book our hotels instantly and effortlessly. Riyo Advertising and their on-the-ground events really helped people to remember our hotels within their area. Our business was flourishing, and we were getting more and more positive calls. Our owner was really very happy; he gave me thanks, but I told him, “Sir, I did nothing; things changed for Riyo Advertising and for their immensely innovative ideas and strategies. So we must say ‘Thanks’ to Riyo Advertising. Now we have a simple, repeatable plan for promoting our new property. Now, each and every promotion can bring in reliable bookings as BTL advertising for increasing brand awareness. It is true that we had tried our best, but things didn't change. The truth is, Riyo Advertising has transformed our marketing into real, value-driven revenue.

Conclusion:

Riyo Advertising made things simple for us to reach people and get real clients. Riyo Advertising did a miracle through their local campaigns and smart on-ground approach, as a result our rooms started filling up fast. Riyo's unique approach has given us the confidence to expand our business in Mumbai and other parts of India, we have the confidence now because we know that Riyo Advertising can do miracles, and their plans really work. If you are reading my story and if you are suffering like me to boost up your business, may it be any sector, don't waste your valuable time and effort, give it to Riyo Advertising, and see the miracle.