Ideas & knowhow
Understanding visitors
How green shoots and positive posts can attract visitors
There's a row of images, or series of short films.
Each one shows something going wrong in the world, or is a shouty message 'this person is terrible', or a photo of something horrible or bad. There's just one that shows the green shoots of daffodil stems, and grass starting to grow again.
Another row of images has a similar bank of negative images. There's one that feels different: a sunrise, full of promise and light.
Which of these images are you most drawn to?
Positive stories and im…
What every visitor wants to know about your location
"Location, location, location" are said to be the three things that most affect property values. Location's also crucial to the success of tourism businesses.
I'm not sure we recognise and use location enough, or in the right way.
Of course, every tourism business gives their address. They might add a map, or include a mention of their 'fantastic location' on the home page of their website. All fine, but you can use your location in many other ways to attract visitors and enhance your search …
Marketing using someone else's budget
When your marketing budget is limited, there's an easy way to add power to your promotions: piggyback. Piggyback marketing essentially means using someone else's marketing budget to benefit your business.
Obviously I don't mean actually using their money, but rather harnessing the power of their activity and piggybacking on the awareness they're able to create. It's a bit like riding in the slipstream of a more powerful vehicle.
Read on for some ideas for current trends you can easily piggyb…
Bob Marley and your marketing
I'm not very musical but every now and then a song gets stuck in my head. For some reason I've got Bob Marley's words singing in my head: let's get together and feel all right.
It really does feel like it's time for us all to work together. Tourism can be affected by so many different factors (Floods, Brexit, Coronavirus) which we can't control. We can however make everything feel better.
Community. Collaboration. Kindness. None of them cost anything, yet they have enormous power. Visitors lo…
Psychology of Colour
l’m a fan of small, almost effortless, low cost marketing tweaks that can make a difference very quickly.
Some may sound odd or flippant but those who try them, often email me to tell me they worked. Today’s suggestion is no exception.
Are you feeling blue, in a black mood? Seeing red or green with envy? Is life a little grey, or maybe it’s not that black and white?
Yes, you’ve guessed, I want to talk about colour.
You may think this is something you’re more likely to hear you…
Why you're not being 'salesy' enough
I had a conversation yesterday with someone who felt that they weren't earning as much from their business as they'd like because people don't know about them and what they do. They get decent traffic to their website and social media but somehow it doesn't result in bookings or extra visitors. I had a quick look: they were posting on social media but not 'selling', with very few posts about their business and what they actually do. Lovely Autumn photos, motivational quotes, a cake recipe - …
Make your customers cry
Actually I’m not exactly suggesting that you should make your customers cry but the fact you’re reading this demonstrates the power of emotions.
Many believe that marketing is expensive or difficult. It really isn’t.
Avoid being bland.
Make an impact by being memorable.
Develop a strong emotional appeal.
Make people feel something.
That’s all you need to do.
There are many ways to do this, no matter what it is that you need to ‘sell’.
Telling a story or giving a little information that c…
Surprise and delight to get more word of mouth publicity
Ask any tourism business what's their most effective, lowest cost marketing method and they'll almost certainly answer 'word of mouth'. It's easy, it's free - and it 'just happens'. Or does it?
Most businesses just hope for word of mouth publicity and recommendations from satisfied customers. They do a good job, and hope word of mouth referrals will follow. Now we have 'word of mouth on steroids', in the form of social media so it's become even more important to impress.
Surprisingly few peopl…
What's your niche?
If you wanted to kill ants*, would you buy 'Ant Killer' or 'Insect Spray'?
If you wanted to enjoy paddle boarding, would you get lessons from 'Peter the Paddle Boarding Expert' or the 'Outdoor Centre'?
If you wanted to stay somewhere cosy in Masham with an open fire would you google 'cottage in Masham with an open fire' or 'places to stay in Yorkshire'?
If you're a normal human being, your answer to each of those questions will have been the first, the most specific description.
Years ago ev…
Small actions to save lives and build loyalty
I really dislike the expression 'food to die for'. For most people it means eating something delicious. For me, it's a reminder that my daughter could eat something that will kill her. No food is worth dying for.
I used to think people with food allergies were just being faddy and attention-seeking. Since then I've woken up to the reality. You really understand how severe food allergies can be when you’ve travelled in an ambulance, sirens screaming, blue lights flashing while someone clo…