Ideas & knowhow

Understanding visitors

Should you promote your business even when the economy is rubbish?

recession marketing

The economic news is rubbish. Winter is coming. Morale is sinking.

Many are wondering: Is there any point in promoting my tourism business just now?

As this article about the businesses that will survive shows, you do need to believe in a better future and to keep marketing your business. Here are a few other things to think about right now.

My long experience in tourism marketing has shown me that in every recession there are opportunities. People notice the businesses that keep going, those…

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How to deal with uncertainty in your business

Uncertainty

There seems to be one dominant theme running through our world at the moment: uncertainty.

In fact, things feel so uncertain, some of the time it’s not even clear what we feel most uncertain about… Rising living costs, the environment, changes in the ways we do business and live, changes in the market place…

I have a bit of a mother hen approach to the businesses I work with. I’d love to gather everyone up under a broad wing, and cluck to tell you everything will be OK. Since even my bingo win…

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Who will survive?

Survive

How are you feeling about the months ahead?

Normally the beginning of September fills me with enthusiasm and hope. It's a month of fresh starts, new pens, learning, and looking forward. This year feels different. I’m still full of plans and ideas, but there’s a lot of caution in the air.

Is it all doom and gloom? In this article I take a quick look at which businesses are most likely to survive the tricky times ahead

Tourism is a fluid industry: full of arrivals and departures of both visitor…

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Before you discount

Before you discount

When visitors aren't as plentiful as you'd like or all the economic forecasts are gloomy, it can be tempting to start discounting prices.

Stop! You might not need to. Here are a few things to think about before you discount any prices. 

First of all, are you jumping to conclusions? If you’re panicking because you think things are going to be difficult, it might be worth looking at previous booking patterns to see if you often have glitches, and their causes.

Then, make sure you've done all th…

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Learning from Sicilians about pride and passion

Sicily

Last week I went on a ‘Learning Journey’ trip to Sicily. Together with around 25 representatives of other tourism and food businesses from the UK, we were given an incredible opportunity to get an insight into food heritage and tourism on this surprisingly lush island.

We visited food producers, restaurants, hotels and had some really interesting discussions among ourselves. The idea of these Erasmus+ funded trips is that tourism professionals have an opportunity to gain new ideas and consider …

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Improve reviews, get more recommendations and save time

Improve reviews save time

If you're ever been on one of my marketing workshops, you've probably heard me talking about certain topics again and again. Some might even say I nag...

Here are some points I keep making - they probably sound familiar? I go on about them because they're key to the success of your business. 

Visitors need to be inspired, given information about your surroundings, other local businesses and multiple reasons to visit. They love to get 'insiders' tips' and if you do this right, they'll share…

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Let your visitors do your marketing for you

Visitors do your marketing for you

Have you tried letting your visitors do your marketing for you? 

The 'normal' ways to do this is through word of mouth recommendations. I'm suggesting going a step further with four different ways to encourage your visitors to help promote your business - without being pushy.

First of all, you can encourage word of mouth recommendations through social media, simply by suggesting people follow you or asking happy customers to post photos of their visit. 

The second way is to think about offeri…

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Dog friendly or pet free

Dog friendly

You've probably noticed one of the biggest trends that developed during lockdown and is likely to stay: a massive increased in dog ownership. Whether you love dogs or don't want them anywhere near you, this could be an opportunity for your business. 

Visitors are going crazy for dog friendly pubs, accommodation, and even places to take their dogs for entertainment. Don't stop reading if you really don't want to cater for dog-lovers. There's an opportunity for people who can offer pet-free servi…

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Right marketing, wrong time?

Right marketing wrong time

Good marketing is often said to be 'promoting the right product to the right people in the right place at the right price'. It is but there's another essential element most never think about.

Timing is everything

Try selling flip-flops in Winter. Or serving hot stew on a hot Summer's day. It just feels wrong. 

But... we don't always use that knowledge. 

We post on social media first thing in the morning because it suits us to make it part of our morning routine. Porridge and a quick facebook…

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How to find out if you're wasting your time on the wrong social media

Wasting time on wrong social media

Are you wasting time on the wrong social media?

There’s a marketing saying, ‘fish where the fish are’. There’s no point promoting into a vacuum.

It used to be hard to know what marketing activities were actually working. Now it’s easier, particularly if you’re trying to work out how to get people to your website. There are essentially four ways people will come to your website:

1. By searching on Google & other search engines

2. By typing in your domain name

3. By foll…

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