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 Six Factors Which Dictate Success in
Performing Destination Marketing

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By John Hendrie, September 2004

Successful Brand Marketing is effective Story telling!  Each of us has a Story to promote about our Business.  Our Visitors book their rooms, purchase their tickets, and make their reservations, based upon the anticipated Experience you have framed for them through the Internet and print.  They are ready to be delighted, surprised and wowed!  Have we, as Hospitality Professionals, managed and optimized this expectation well?

September is a good transitional month to consider your success.  Summer is over, the �leaf peepers� have yet to embark, and the Southern migration is at least two months away.  As a Destination, either stand-alone or a member of the greater Hospitality community, you need, unemotionally, to review six factors, which dictate how well you have performed.

1.  Product/service.  What did you present to your Visitor?  Beyond pricing, level of amenity, special packages, did you effectively provide an experience which emphasized cleanliness, safety, comfort, reasonable service level, and acceptable facility condition?  These are the fundamentals of Hospitality.

2.  Delivery on Customer Service and Sales. A Visitor expects to be cared for in a courteous fashion, have all questions/concerns answered, be treated professionally, even spoiled.  They are special and are your lifeblood.  Your staff also has the opportunity to create business for your own operation as well as your community �partners�.  Appropriate referral and up-selling benefits all.

3.  Reward and Recognition.  Anyone in a customer contact position, who performs and excels, requires some form of acknowledgement.  Their success is yours.

4.  Communication.  Knowledge is power.  Your staff must be informed about your own operation/events/activities, as well as those in the greater Community, in order to respond positively to Visitor inquiry.

5.  Marketing, promotion and advertising.  The vehicle(s) you have selected to tell your story needs to be fully evaluated.  Budgeted monies need to relate to revenue produced.  Review your results, your mix, and, perhaps, your message.

6.  Visitor Satisfaction.  This is your report card.  What your guest has told you is critical to your ongoing success.  How you gather this information, accept the responses, and adapt will insure continued profitability, or not. 

Each of the above, naturally, is a full theme unto itself.  But, they are the core considerations for anyone in the Hospitality Business.  Your Story flows through each; your passion for excellence is reflected in each.  The six factors support and are interwoven; you fall short in one arena, and the end result is diminished.  Take a moment in September and reflect.  Is your Story a worthy tale, a successful Brand, a valued experience?

Contact:
By John R. Hendrie, CEO
Hospitality Performance, Inc.
www.hospitalityperformance.com
978-346-4387

 
Also See: Influencing the Consumer to Book Business through Your Commitment to Quality / Aug 2004
Major Hotel Operators Have Rediscovered Hospitality Fundamentals by Revisiting the Guest Room / John R. Hendrie / July 2004
Destination Marketing 101: Take Care of Mom / John R. Hendrie / June 2004
Service Unions Combine, Presenting Huge Challenge to Hospitality Industry / John R. Hendrie / March 2004
What Value Quality? Most Hospitality Operators Use the Term �Quality� In their Advertising. What Exactly Does that Mean? / John R. Hendrie / April 2004


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