Marketing Attractions in a World of Tech.

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "Marketing Attractions in a World of Tech."

Transcription

1 Marketing Attractions in a World of Tech

2 The world of visitor attraction marketing has changed We re going on a day out Here I am Look at this Let s review it!

3 Today s Marketing Manager The digital world has almost made it easier and harder to satisfy the customer. It has opened up lots of different opportunities We can reach new markets online that we couldn t afford to target before. We can sell tickets online making efficiencies and also understanding demand better and add promotions when needed. We can offer far superior customer service with an almost instant broadcast. We can have a two-way relationship The downside: Not everyone is tuned in. Potential visitors are communicating on multiple channels and expectation is for almost instantaneous response Although we have more touchpoints with the visitor along their decision making and experience journey sometimes they are almost more distant as they choose to communicate through third party channels Do we have the right skill base and budget.

4 Today s Customer

5 Today s Customer Overload of marketing messages so much noise Challenge to break through and get our messages heard How do we choose which piece of marketing activity is going to raise profile keep us top of mind at the right time which is going to convert awareness into a physical booking or visit. Potential visitor decision-making process is more complex with more touchpoints pre-visit Pick up a leaflet, hear radio ad and then revert to website for detailed information so it s a complete mix of offline and online some not directly controlled by us. Visitors use the weather app too as a tool for visitor decisions! Changes customer behaviour as they want conditions to be right for their day out this impacts negatively when the weather gets it wrong We consume media in a completely different manner Apparently 87% of us STILL watch live TV - But you can bet some of us will be attached to some form of mobile or ipad whilst we are doing so! We have to keep up to date with what potential visitor behaviour is and the impact on our communication plan.

6 Experience

7 Customer Service CUSTOMER SERVICE On social means - 24 hour messaging on multiple channels How do we catch all incoming queries and convert, How do we manage tone of voice, We have to manage expectations about when we will reply. Visitors respond for us which is great if it s correct It s hard to control user generated content. Complaining about their visit on Twitter! Why don t they talk to us in person?

8 We love to share

9 Review sites Review sites are - mainstream search More activity on google than tripadvisor, Facebook has changed from star rating to recommendations. Platforms and visitor behaviour changes we have to continually see where our customer is engaging. Visitors respect transparency and the fact you try! Staff like it too because it feels like the organisation cares so there is real benefit in responding and caring for all reviewers. Most customers are savvy and take a balanced view Where do we feed this info back to if lots of people are commenting negatively on catering or toilets who takes this forward - what happens if the organisation doesn t want to change the standards? It s not easy to keep replying to the same complaints.

10 Product Fail in your promise to the visitor they will tell others loudly Take care with the marketing fairydust! Marketing has to be HONEST Review Sites clear indicators that EVERY VISITOR COUNTS!

11 Marketing Planning Marketing planning Mass of choice and opinion on what All around us everyone wants our marketing spend! We have probably all been lured by the promises of digital experts who are going to transform our visitor numbers with PPC, SEO, Banner ads and ditched TV as who watches that anymore! We ve had pressure on budgets to reduce down expensive print and distribution as everyone s online aren t they? The starting point for all marketing planning goes back to knowing you are talking to and what you want them to do?

12 Technology and Visitors Can technology actually deliver? Visitors may have access to latest smartphones but can they use them? Is your target market even online? Overseas visitors data allowances and access issues

13 Are we listening to our visitor? Data-overload! So much information available with google analytics, ticketing info, post-code analysis, facebook insights, customer surveys - Use carefully - do we make it fit what we want it to! Be honest about who your market is Don t just rely on desk research your customer is outside your door go and talk to them Consider carefully how you segment Be careful about age segmentation and assumptions you make? You are NOT your audience. What you understand, use, love and are motivated by may not be the same as your target audience. Who decides on visitor attraction new exhibitions and events is the VISITOR front of mind? Do you realistically have the services that your audience demanding.

14 Website What drives target audiences to visit or go to the website to find out more? What benefits are they seeking from the website You own your website - It should be your hub for your customers, the media, key influencers and completely up to date with content. Revisit the website and review it s core purpose and if it is delivering for each key audiences. Is it REALLY mobile compatible? Voice search Think Customer first! How are they going to ask Alexa for what they are looking for. Be clear about where you want to be found online where are your target audience looking where do you rate against your competition.

15 Data DATA You own your website you need to own your data too. Marketing It s about quality and delivering results? Are working on getting new data Are we giving valuable data away by selling tickets via third parties and not having access to customer ourselves. We need to offer substance - Create marketing campaigns that make your customers feel seen, heard, and valued - they want what s most relevant to them and personalised. If you don t get this right why should they open your s.

16 Social Platform Social channels Two way conversation but it s important to keep a balanced approach it s part of a strategy Be very clear why you are using the platform, why you are advertising and who are you connecting with and what do you want them to do? Don t feel pressurised to jump into the latest new thing.be sure what your market is using /when Limited resources / time - you don t need to be everywhere Have a clean up - online can get ridiculously cluttered Don t forget though.social Platforms are effective communication channels but are OWNED by someone else so if their appeal wanes or fails to excite customers anymore, or trust fails due to data breaches and your target markets may no longer wish to interact here so you need to keep your website as the main home which is why building your e-database is so important.

17 Key Influencers 300, million Likes Identifying who are key influencers is worth revisiting? How much time do we invest in nurturing relationships Do we keep tourism boards up to date with latest news and events. Staying visitors use their hotel website to plan what to do. Airbnb! In Cornwall AirbB from 17 in 2016 to 9000 in August this year! Have we really cracked how to communicate with their visitors. Who else talks to our potential customers retailers/bloggers how can we extend our reach?

18 Media Reach Changing Platforms

19 Media Reach Changing Platforms PR Mainstream media remains a key influencer. Media are multi-platform we need to adapt our approach and think about video as well as images. You might prefer to be featured in the Times (and it s more trusted!) but the Sun and Mailonline have massive audiences with a growth in mobile readership so it s reaching out to younger audiences effectively. Successful PR needs to be measured by more than just Print value in column inches. Value now needs to be monitored through active engagement on social and web referrals. Reach in the first place is tough - Journalists - hundreds of s a day how do you stand out?

20 What s the story.. Need a STRONG content calendar in order to get the hierarchy of distribution right via PR, Social, Web, enews content all working together You can wrap your PR message up in anyway you like and repackage as a instagram story or twitter pitch BUT you still have to get the basics sorted - strong story, with a good image /video to accompany and target right media partner at the right time otherwise it won t be effective. Sweat it! Once you ve achieved coverage push it via your online channels media coverage is still like a kitemark of quality and excitement if you ve been on local tv news or in the national press you must be of interest! it gives your product more authenticity visit here BBC have been filming, as seen in the Daily Mail today.

21 Network Get out the office We are all too busy working online but the value of talking to your peers, actually meeting your key influencers and building relationships does pay dividends. The tourism industry is remarkably open and helpful, you can access benchmarking documents, learn from shared resources that tourist boards produce/ Attraction groups work together and are happy to share what s worked and what hasn t which is invaluable.

22 Clear Goals Be really clear about goals. Headline Visitor Numbers / Revenue targets Set targets for what growth or performance you want to achieve from social / e-marketing etc Ensure that KPI s work for you and don t limit creativity or the opportunity to test new things.

23 Key Messages Ensure that key messages are: Understandable Relevant Up to Date Consistent

24 Challenging Marketing Spend? Where is our marketing money being spent? Are marketing messages consistent across all the mediums we use? Who right now are our potential visitors? Do we know which marketing is generating enquires / web visits / ticket sales? What is it like being a visitor? How easy is it to buy from us? Does marketing activity reflect our attraction and what people want? Are we trying new things or just continuing same old marketing using the same old mediums Has marketing changed - why have we stopped doing things sometimes it s a change of personnel not because it wasn t working! Are we buying marketing / online activity because we think it s a good price, because we feel we ought to or because it is reaching our potential visitors? Are we buying marketing activity at the right price for good return? Is our sales and marketing activity driven by our business goals? What changes to our marketing do we need to make to help us get to where we are going? The key ultimately to marketing success is having the right message reach the right people at the right time, and not just every so often but all of the time.

25 Get the Basics Right Stop the online / offline discussion and consider EVERYTHING Choose what s right for YOUR target audience. We need to be creative and innovative to retain and attract visitors but realistic about what s achievable Deliver the Visitor Promise Do it with a CLEAR PURPOSE