SECTION TWO: 2020 Marketing Challenge - Review & Refresh

​In the last section of this challenge I asked you to review the last year. We’re now going to move on to look at your current marketing, and in the next and final section I’ll suggest some next steps and action points.​ The first two tasks below are relatively quick and easy. Don't forget to do them before you download the template for Task 3 to help you with your marketing planning. 

Task 1 - what you do

You should already have a really strong description of what you offer, which appeals to your key target markets. This will ideally be 30 – 100 words long, and include some of the key words that people use when searching for businesses like yours in the search engines.
 
If you don’t have such a description – you need one! Assuming you already have one, it’s worth looking back at your answers to the previous tasks to see which words you could incorporate to strengthen your business description.

Task 2 - what you want to achieve

Now we're starting to look towards the future, it's essential that you're clear on exactly what you're trying to achieve. Write down the answers to these questions. Think about what you want to achieve, being as precise as possible. 
  1. Do you want more visitors like the ones you already have? 
  2. Do you want those visitors to spend more, come more often, bring others with them? 
  3. Do you want those visitors to come at different times?
  4. Do you want to attract completely different visitors? 
  5. If so, how are they different to your current visitors? 
  6. When do you want your visitors to come to you? 

Task 3 - how you can achieve your objectives

Now we're really getting into the 'nitty gritty'! This section is all about the marketing tools you use, such as your website, social media, newsletters etc. You need to look through each marketing activity to consider how you need to use or improve each one. If you don’t already use some of the tools mentioned in the table, you’ll need to think about how you might do so in the future.
 
I've created a simple marketing review & plan template, which you can download here. ​

Remember...

If you get stuck, have any questions or don't understand any of the task, or simply want to tell me something you've discovered or how a task has made you think differently, please email susan@tourismnetwork.co.uk. I can't offer individual advice without charging but your questions and comments do help me write advisory articles and create other ways to help everyone in future. 

Quick tips for success

Write your notes by hand, not by typing on your laptop or phone. There's something about scribbling & doodling that makes you more open-minded and creative so your ideas will be better. Don't sit at your desk or normal work place to do the tasks. It really helps if you can sit in a different chair with a different view.

When you've completed all these tasks, move on to the final ones here.