FROM START-UP TO STANDOUT: HOW OLIVE CUT THROUGH THE NOISE
CHALLENGE
olive was a start-up in a crowded market category – hotel booking engines. They needed to figure out how to clearly explain their differentiated value and catch the attention of an industry saturated with legacy solutions.
SOLUTION
All good marketing starts with clear positioning. Here are the steps that the olive team and I took to get there and the success we built in six months of partnership.
Positioning
When I first met olive, they were describing themselves as an “ecommerce engine.” With 7.5 years in the hospitality technology vertical, I knew this term was unfamiliar in the industry and would present an initial hurdle for them in terms of market awareness and search. So, we started with a positioning exercise.
I use a one-page document for positioning. It has no marketing fluff and covers:
Market Category
Ideal Customer Profile
Competition
Distinct Features
Unique Value Delivered
We began with a Q&A of the founders, and I then researched how other similar solutions were describing themselves and their value. What I found was that the booking engine space was just as crowded as I initially thought, but that nearly every solution was saying the same exact thing – they promised to increase direct bookings. And, interestingly enough, the real leaders in the space rarely talked about their booking engines at all. It felt as if these companies created booking engines as an afterthought to their central reservation systems.
I asked olive’s founders to each outline what they believed their distinct features were and how they delivered unique value. Unsurprisingly, the first list had many of the same features as the competition. This is where having an outside perspective, someone who isn’t as close to the solution, can help ask questions that help you realize what truly makes you different.
Messaging
While I may have pushed the founders on positioning, they pushed me out of my comfort zone on the messaging – and I’m better for it.
I’ve never felt that snappy headlines, taglines, or ad copy were my strengths in writing. It was with their encouragement that I figured out how to say less when it comes to messaging, capturing an idea in a phrase versus a sentence, and bringing a unique personality to the content. This was the most collaborative messaging exercise I had ever participated in. It was enjoyable to read ideas from the founders about how to say something, and words from each founder made it into the final document.
What olive had before I partnered with them was good, but brief and lacked detail. We were able to expand their message to be clearer and give more substance to what makes their solution so effective.
Website
The first priority was to bring the new messaging to life on the website. I partnered closely with olive co-founder, Yaminah Mayta, who is a talented designer and developer. She defined a website template and style, and we worked iteratively to make the copy and design reflect the direction they were seeking, one that put the guest at the forefront and reflected a premium visual design.
Marketing Strategy
Early on in our engagement, I created a Content Strategy for the team. Two of the three co-founders are former hoteliers with strong convictions about solving a pain that they themselves experienced. I actively took notes on any call with the founders, as they constantly shared valuable insights and rattled off data points I knew could be used in content creation.
It was apparent that LinkedIn was a good place to focus on thought leadership. We identified content pillars for the brand as well as areas of focus for each leader. I audited and provided recommendations for their profiles, shared best practices from my own research and experience, made suggestions on industry influencers to connect with, and wrote posts for the brand page as well as suggested ideas for their personal pages.
I also researched relevant SEO keywords and wrote several blog posts to build their website's credibility.
RESULTS
59% Increase in leads
104% Increase in website visits
The announcement of the website launch and new messaging via LinkedIn, which included a beautiful video created by Yaminah, received wide reach. It directly led to 8 demo requests and 3 investor requests. It also led to recognition from the head of hospitality strategy at Infor, who just three months later announced olive as their preferred booking engine partner.
“Jacki was transformative for olive at a critical stage in our growth, bringing clarity to our positioning and messaging that resonated immediately with hoteliers. She’s a joy to work with, with incredible industry knowledge, great attention to detail, and an attitude that makes the process both collaborative and enjoyable. Anyone would be lucky to work with her, she delivers lasting results and is truly a partner in every sense.”
