Author: Galyna Cheredniuk, former director of the PR department of Ribas Hotels Group

The article was published on MC.today.

As an expert in business promotion, I would like to share my thoughts and practical experience on the role of B2B marketing and PR tools in company development. Choosing the right promotion strategy is key to success.

"Looking at the case of Ribas Hotels Group, one can see how strategically important the use of PR was" / Terrace of the WOL Hotel.121

Companies that sell goods or services directly to the end user should use B2C marketing tools. They are distinguished by the fact that they work primarily with the emotions of a wide range of consumers, such as hotel guests.

If your business is aimed at cooperating with other businesses, B2B marketing, for example, works with partners. The main task of this area is to convince the client of the benefits of a service or product. PR can be an integral part of B2B marketing. However, it is important to understand whether it is necessary in your case and how to use it effectively.

Why it is important to combine B2B marketing and PR: the experience of Ribas Hotels Group

From 2017 to 2023, my focus was on strengthening the brand of the Ribas Hotels Group hotel operator (creating an investment-attractive image of the company) and lead generation in cooperation with the development department.

Hotel Ribas Karpaty

Looking at the case of Ribas Hotels Group, we can see how strategically important the use of PR was. The main goal of the company was to take a stable position as an expert in the hotel real estate market in Ukraine and to shape this market, as well as to enter the international level.

The main groups of the target audience (TA) were identified:

Galyna Cherednyuk's speech at the international Fiabci conference

The PR task was to increase awareness among target audience C. Instead, the goal of B2B marketing was to help target audience A and target audience B get the service they needed from the company quickly and efficiently. PR is working to create a "fashion" for using the service and help to understand it better, and B2B marketing is working to receive an application in time and transfer it to the sales department.

Why a hotel operator needs a YouTube channel, Telegram community, and a book

To achieve these goals, the company has focused on a strategy that includes both working with the end user - hotel guests in the B2C format - and attracting new partners and investors in the B2B format. And the development of the personal brand of Artur Lupashko, the company's founder, entrepreneur and hotelier, has helped to increase the level of trust of the target audience in the company's products and services.

The following tools and methods were used to establish the company and its founder in the information field as an "expert in the hotel market" and a "company that can be trusted to invest":

The book "More than a service" by Artur Lupashko

In recent years, the hotel operator has achieved the following results. It has 28 hotels in the hotel chain under various forms of management. There are 26 properties under design and construction, 12 of which are development investment products (apart-hotels and cottages). Four brands have also been created: Ribas Hotels (4-star hotels), Ribas Rooms Hotels (3-star hotels), WOL home + hotel (apart-hotels), and Mandra glamping sites. In addition, the company expanded its geography in Ukraine and entered the international market. Today, the company's specialists work in offices in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Bukovel, Bali and Poland.

The answer to the question of the appropriateness of the chosen strategy is reflected in the results of the development department's work in unstable times. For example, in recent years, especially during the war, the company's expenses and revenues have been actively changing. In the first year of the war, marketing and PR expenses decreased by 12%, and in 2023 they increased by 243% compared to 2021. At the same time, revenue in 2023 increased by 252% compared to 2021, although in the first year of the war it decreased by 3%. Interestingly, the number of leads in the B2B segment in 2022 decreased by 5 times compared to 2021, but in 2023 increased by 2.45 times compared to 2022.

Mandra Hills

As for the activity of the target audience, it decreased at the beginning of the war, but thanks to the increase in the cost of services and an integrated approach to product sales, we were able to keep our revenue at the pre-war level. And in 2023, despite an increase in marketing costs, revenue increased 2.5 times. This was primarily due to the increase in the value of the company's brand.

Presentation of the corporate magazine Ribas Vol.1

Compared to 2021, the cost of a quality lead, i.e. a request for any of the services offered on the website, increased 4.4 times in 2022 and 4.15 times in 2023. The cost of a transaction increased by 3.3 and 3.2 times in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The increase in the cost of reach and the cost of leads was also influenced by the company's entry into the international market. As for the sales conversion rate, it is in the range of 5.42% and 6.86%, which indicates the stability of the work and shows that there is a growth potential of up to 10%.

ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment) is a relative indicator, but it still shows the effectiveness of the company's promotion and sales strategy, being at a high level of 1000%.

Filming an interview with Yulia Kosenko for the Arthur Lupashko | Ribas channel

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the right choice of promotion tools and the courage to combine PR with B2B and B2C marketing, are the keys to success in today's dynamic business environment. For example, the experience of Ribas Hotels Group clearly demonstrates how flexibility in choosing a strategy allows a company to adapt to market conditions.

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