 The key to achieve tourism distribution success is not rocket science, but it does take a bit of work. The key is to spread your distribution and risk and not put all your eggs in one basket.
A few years ago I had a client come to me who said he’d lost 45% of his business. The reason: he received 45% of his bookings from one supplier, who decided to go into competition with him. Your online (and offline) visibility is essential so that your potential customers learn about you when they’re planning their holiday. A well thought-through distribution strategy is therefore essential. Successful businesses spread their distribution by selling their products through:
Set specific goals of what you want to achieve and get into the habit of spending a few hours each week – preferably the same day/time - to work ON your business. You will achieve the things you set out to do and build a successful business. If you need help with this, consider getting a coach or join one of our tourism business success programmes. (note: the next Tourism Business Success Programme starts next week on the 29th of August 2019 - register now!)
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I found this interesting piece of research by AC Nielsen (a large global marketing research firm). They surveyed 30,000 millennials (age 21-34) and baby boomers (age 50-64) on their consumption behaviours. If your clients fall in either the millennial or baby boomer category, then the infographic below will be of interest! Click on it to enlarge it, print it off and circle the information that applies to your business. Then decide how you can better serve these customers. Till next week, Marijke  Click to enlarge
I recently heard a story of a Chinese visitor who was reprimanded at Auckland airport for smoking. The sign said ‘SMOKE FREE’. The visitor thought (understandably) that he was free to smoke.
Why not just say ‘NO SMOKING’? That way, there is no doubt. Lost in translation… If you are dealing with overseas visitors whose first language is not English and you provide information to them, whether written or verbal, try to think from their perspective. It’s about giving them a great experience, isn’t it? Being a Dutch native, I had no choice but to learn multiple languages at school as few other nationalities speaking Dutch. I was also lucky to live in France and the US when I was young and learnt French and English at a young age. And I also learnt German and Spanish in school. So, I have always been fascinated by language and fortunate to have the ability to view things from different cultural perspectives. Why is it so important to make it easier for international visitors to understand your messages?
How can you avoid your message being lost in translation? Here are 6 tips to provide better information to your international markets: 1. Put information on your website in the languages of your target markets. It doesn’t have to include EVERYTHING, just the info and products that apply to them. It can be in the form of a pdf. 2. Have a QR code on your brochure with a link to that information. 3. Get the information professionally translated and DO NOT use Google Translate. You can contact your RTO for recommended translation services. 4. Keep in mind that ‘kiwi English’ is difficult to understand for most other nationalities. Speak slow, use simple language (no jargon) and ensure people understand you! 5. Research cultural differences 6. Ask your customers with that nationality for feedback (is the information clear, is the guide easy to understand etc). Have a great weekend! Marijke A number of years ago, many businesses put QR codes on their brochures or used it in other ways. The issue with QR codes back then, is that they were used the wrong way. With this I mean that in the majority of cases, they redirected to a non-mobile friendly homepage of a website. As non-mobile optimised websites are basically unreadable on mobile phones, most people were put off using them.
In other countries such as the US however, QR codes are used for retail coupons (Americans loooooove coupons!) Last week, I attended a workshop by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about research conducted on the Chinese FIT traveller. I learned to my surprise that Chinese are big users of QR codes and this offers some great opportunities to provide them with relevant information. How cool is that! Chinese don’t like to see big signs in their own language while they’re visiting other countries on holiday. They want an authentic experience. I don’t blame them; I am the same. If I go on holiday to a country with a different language (which is most countries as I am Dutch), I do not want to see Dutch signs or brochures! I want to immerse myself in the local culture. Of course there is often a language barrier, but there are subtler ways to provide Chinese with information in Mandarin. Through QR codes! For example, instead of giving them a menu in a restaurant in Chinese, just have a QR code at the bottom indicating that the menu can be seen in Mandarin by scanning the QR code. Oh, and free Wifi is a must too to enable your customers to use QR codes easily. So, the QR code is back! Below are a few links to previous tips I’ve written about QR Codes in the last few years! How to create a QR code: http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/how-to-create-a-qr-code Are QR codes dead? http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/are-qr-codes-dead Have a great rest of your week! Marijke  Did you know that women influence 90% of all travel decisions - and close to 90% of all consumer buying decisions as well? (the guys reading this will probably nod…)
Girls like to shop, that’s no secret. We also think differently than men and make buying decisions in different ways men do. A few things to keep in mind when you work on your website content, social media, put together brochures or any other marketing for your business:
Is your marketing meeting these needs? Does your website provide enough detailed information? Does it encourage your customers to communicate with you? Does it say anything about the people working in the business? If you keep women in mind in marketing your business, more will buy or book your product and your business will grow! NOTE: registrations are now open for the 2016 Marketing for Success Programme. Click here for more info! Limited spaces! Till next week, Marijke  I was just reading Destination Queenstown’s newsletter and see that several tourism businesses are having their annual locals’ day. What a great community and marketing initiative! They offer their tourism activity at a heavily reduced rate, and often the money goes to a charity. Why have a locals' day? Well, it's a great initiative that achieves the following:
Till next week! Marijke  I love Seth Godin’s quote: “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers!”. Have a think about this quote for a minute… “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers!”. To me this means identifying specific types of customer groups (niches) and developing a product or service for their needs. This is called niche marketing and is extremely effective. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, focus on the specific needs of a particular type of customer and the specific products or services you can offer them. This can create more customers as people tend to search for very specific information that suits their needs rather than search for general information. If you provide this information, they will find you! Going through the process below to identify your niche(s) can be very beneficial to attract targeted customers. 1. So, have a think who some of your best customers are – I mean, the ones that LOVE your product, are happy to pay the price you ask and tell lots of other people. Can you group them? Write this down. 2. Once you’ve identified these customer groups (or niches), have a think how you can target more of them. What do these people have in common? Do they use similar search words online to find your type of product? Do they read similar blogs or publications? Write this next to each customer group. 3. Why does each of these customer groups chose to come to you? What sets you apart from your competitors? Once you know this, you can use this to appeal to them and to attract more customers. 4. For each group, write down ways to get more of them. Also write down the information they need to make the decision to buy your product or service, including the keywords they would use to find you online. The more specific, the better. 5. Put together a plan to market to your niche(s)! Voila, you’re away with niche marketing! Till next week, Marijke   The other day I walked past a clothes shop. Now I do like a good sale so I went in as they had rack after rack of clothes on sale. They had grouped everything by colour, not by size. It looked very nice on the racks, all the blues together, all the pinks all the yellows etc. But do you think it was easy to find anything in my size? In order to find the correct size, I had to go through all the clothes to find my size. As I didn’t have a lot of time, and frankly, I couldn’t be bothered looking at every tag, I gave up and walked out without having bought anything. If they would have grouped the clothes by size, I could quickly have seen if there was anything to my liking and I quite likely would have bought something. So, what ‘s the lesson here? If you offer a range of options to your clients, group them by type of client. Say one of your customer groups are families, group all the products you offer that are suitable for families in one brochure and on one page on your website. This way, you make it easy for them to find everything in one place and they’re more likely to book! So, don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers and have a think about how this could apply to your business. (I did end up buying something else in another shop where it was all grouped by size :) Only took me 5 minutes! Till next week, Marijke   Are you not sure how to market effectively to your customers? Are you reactive in your marketing rather than proactive in reaching your customers effectively? Do you tend to take the easy way out and advertise in random publications? Then read this short article and become more focused!
Step 1: Develop customer profiles for each of your Customer Groups. In order to target your customers the most effective way, it’s important to first develop a profile of each of your type of customers. For most businesses, we’re talking about 3-5 Customer Profiles. Have a look at your customer list and find commonalities such as age, type of products/services they buy from you, where they live, social media they use, other marketing channels they use, interests, how they heard about you. If you don’t know some of these commonalities, survey your customers with relevant questions. Step 2: Prioritise the most profitable Customer Groups. Which ones are the biggest groups and the most profitable ones? Step 3: Decide on Marketing Channels for each group. For each Customer Profile, decide how you will target them specifically through the marketing channels that appeal to them and tailor your message to their needs. Tip: This is a fun and useful exercise to do with your staff! Have a Happy Easter! Marijke  Did you know that women influence 90% of all travel decisions - and close to 90% of all consumer buying decisions as well… (the guys reading this will probably nod…)
Girls like to shop, that’s no secret. We also think differently than men and make buying decisions in different ways men do. A few things to remember: Human connections are the key to attracting women to your product or service. They communicate to forge relationships based on mutual values and interests. Avoid over-automation (i.e. forms etc), focus on one-on-one experiences and facilitate story telling. Women like detailed information to absorb & digest. Women use smart shopping skills and do a lot of research before buying. The pre-purchase process is much more important to women than it is to men. Create a culture committed to helping customers determine the best choice, not the quickest sale. Women also comparison shop. They gather data through reading and research, and compare your product against competitors. Women set priorities according to the needs of those most dear to them, so identify ways they can support family members with purchases. Ask yourself: Is your marketing meeting those needs? Does your website provide enough detailed information? Does it encourage your customers to communicate with you? Does it say anything about the people working in the business? If not, do something about it! Have a great week, Marijke  There are many reasons potential customers may not be buying your product or service right now.
That doesn't mean they don't like it, they may just be looking around and may not be ready to buy. They may not have the money right now or the time. Even if they don’t buy from you now… you'd like them to buy from you eventually, right? Assuming you're targeting the right audience for what you're selling, a percentage of them will buy or book eventually, IF they don't forget about you! So, what can you do to keep in touch with them? Some businesses do it well. For example Dell computers. Every month, I find a leaflet in my PO Box with their latest computer deals. I usually throw it away, but every couple of years I do need a new laptop. So, then the leaflet arrives in my PO Box that month, I look at it! When (or if) you eventually buy a PC from them, you get regular emails newsletters and specials from them, making it very easy for you to buy the products! Dell has done this consistently for many years, resulting in becoming one of the largest personal computer companies in the world (listed number 51 on the Fortune 500 list). They only market directly to their customers, through their websites, email marketing, direct mail and social media. So, don’t give up on people who enquire but don’t buy or book right now. Encourage them to sign up for your mailing list or encourage them to like you on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media you use. Then, keep in touch with them by providing them information that is relevant to THEM! (specials, news, funny stories, videos, photos, anything that might be of interest to them!) They say it takes 5 or 6 'contacts' before a potential customer takes action and buys something from you. So, what do you do to keep in touch with your potential & existing customers? Make a plan and stick to it! The result may surprise you! Till next week, Marijke |
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