Working under the leadership of Kabir Mulchandani, Chairman and Founder, FIVE, and Aloki Batra, CEO, FIVE Hospitality, Mushal Nisthar has helped redefined the playbook of the hospitality brand.
Specifically, Nisthar identified the potential of effective brand marketing in achieving revenue maximisation. By helping to build the strength of the brand this has directly resulted in lower costs and higher profitability margins. This has led to $5million in savings per year, ultimately leading to higher direct brand revenues.
Why is CX so important to the brand?
FIVE has an acutely CX-lead ethos, backed by a keen sense of revenue generation. Our homegrown, unique customer experiences such as Skyline Friday at the Penthouse and Bohemia at Beach by FIVE at FIVE Palm Jumeirah are one-of-a-kind 360 degree extravaganzas that are created, and curated, from a CX-foremost perspective.
Team FIVE’s CX efforts have resulted in a room revenue increase of 10 per cent in 2022 with brand share in total room revenue generation being an average of 54 per cent average for both hotels in Dubai.
Is customer experience gaining more prominence?
Absolutely. A remarkable customer experience is critical to the perpetual growth of any business. An exceptional customer experience fosters loyalty, helps retain customers and stimulates brand advocacy.
According to research by Accenture, 72 per cent of consumers say that external factors, such as inflation, social movements and climate change are impacting their lives more than in the past. As a result, the way they interact with brands is evolving, and so too is the idea of customer experience.
At FIVE, we understand that ‘social proof’ sells – therefore our social media content is user generated in order to showcase an authentic FIVE journey. The process involves pre-purchase social media marketing of the ‘Vibe at FIVE,’ followed by ensuring the purchase process is seamless.
Once on-ground, the goal is to elicit positive emotions from incomparable experiences that align with customers in a more original and dynamic manner.
What are you doing in performance marketing?
Performance marketing is a powerful strategy for reaching and engaging with specific audiences.
FIVE collaborates with relevant influencers who align with our brand and target audience. They create content and promotions that drive performance-based actions, such as clicks, sign-ups or purchases. We encourage our audience to create and share content related to our brand or products.
We identify key moments in a customer’s journey and create targeted ads that address their specific needs or challenges at each stage. This approach helps deliver highly relevant content that drives action. We call this micro-moments advertising.
We use personalised ads that showcase our hotels based on a user’s previous interactions with our website. This tailored approach reminds users of hotels they showed interest in, and increases the chances of conversion. (micro-moments advertising).
Through geo-targeting, FIVE tailors our marketing messages based on the user’s location. We deliver location-specific offers, promotions, or recommendations to increase relevancy and drive conversions.
Interview with Mushal Nisthar, Group Director of Revenue at FIVE Hotels and Resorts
