Marketing

I very rarely recommend paying for advertising. It's worth getting every other aspect of your marketing right before you start paying for ad space, particularly as it's so hard to judge how effective it is. But sometimes you need results quickly.

Google Adwords is different to traditional advertising. It's a really useful and cost-effective tool, whether you want to raise your profile or attract some last-minute bookings. 

Most advertising costs a lot, and you won't have a clue whether some on…

Are you feeling happy to see your destination full of visitors, and businesses with full calendars? After months of empty rooms and attractions, it feels good to see the tourism industry starting to get back on its feet.    

The one consistent element of these difficult times has been that we’ve had to learn and adapt as we go. The need to try different approaches is ongoing, even now most businesses have re-opened.

Should we congratulate ourselves on a destination marketing job well-done? Or …

While the lockdowns made many of us feel like it was constantly Ground Hog Day and that time was suspended, they also accelerated some trends. 

Visitors change over time. The visitors themselves change, as they go through different life-stages. The type of visitors each area attracts change too. Places with a niche appeal become more mainstream. Hidden gems become known. Well-loved destinations can fall out of fashion. 

The reasons why we travel, make decisions to visit an attraction or try an…

There are a lot of dandelions in my garden. Some still in bloom, most now carrying the 'clocks' we used to blow as children to tell the time. Do children still do that or are digital devices just too enticing? 

Some people would see my dandelions and think I'm a very lazy gardener. Others might spot the bees in the nearby field and realise I'm thinking more about them than the state of my lawn...

Whatever your view, I think we can agree that in the UK most people see dandelions as plentiful wi…

Most tourism and hospitality businesses have to fill last minute gaps created by cancellations or dips in demand. This year it looks like there may be more cancellations than usual as visitors switch-book or have to change plans to fit their changing circumstances.

The way you try to fill those last minute gaps can really affect how your business is perceived by potential visitors.

When faced with a space to fill, the knee-jerk reaction is often to post a panicky message on social media, typic…

Many years ago we stayed at a hotel in Canada. It was off-peak and the large hotel wasn't full. Every evening for five nights the owner served us dinner. Every evening he introduced himself, asked where we were from (no other Brits in the hotel at the time), and explained the short menu and the buffet starter arrangements. Every evening. Not a flicker of recognition. Still the same spiel, despite us making it increasingly obvious that we'd heard it before. I don't remember much about that trip, …

Humans can be very cynical. Or if not really cynical, certainly cautious.

Offer something that people really want and too often the response is ‘that sounds too good to be true’.

You’re spent ages choosing the perfect photo, agonised over your pricing, refreshed your website, pondered the right social media messages and considered every word you use. You’ve done everything right and offer an amazing service.

And then the frustrating response to all this is ‘that sounds too good to be true’.

New! Fast service! Bigger than ever before! 

We've all seen these advertising claims. Look around and you'll see plenty of examples of businesses that shout 'New!' or service that's been speeded up. Buildings and businesses that are bigger than ever before.

If you run a small business that's been around for a while, it's easy to feel a bit panicked by all the shiny claims for attention.

Over the last year life felt much slower and more thoughtful. Now it's suddenly speeded up. It feels like …

I might have fibbed a bit when I wrote 'Hollywood is calling'. But you're reading this blog now so it sort of proves a point. 

We're fascinated by the glamour of the film industry, by 'red carpet' events and might even secretly enjoy being a little star-struck from time to time. How would it feel to be part of it? 

I'm not actually offering you a starring role in the latest blockbuster, but I am inviting you to consider how it might feel to walk on that red carpet? 

You're probably wondering …