Section 1: Introduction - Tourism Queensland

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INTRODUCTION | Writing your marketing plan In the case of an accommodation operator managing the pricing mix, one activity in their price strategy might be to offer discounts on three-nightminimum stays for group bookings. Place Distribution plays a huge part in the tourism industry. Getting your product and services to your customers is the primary goal of any business and there are critical decisions to be made about how you will take your product to market. You need to think about how your target customers will find and find out about your business whether it be through direct means such as walk-ins or phone sales, or via the internet, a tour desk, brochure or travel agent. Your target markets may have particular preferences for how they book and/or buy travel and tourism products and you need to know what these are as well. In almost all cases, your distribution partners and agents will take a commission of the sales. Pricing your product includes factoring in the cost of the distribution so everyone in the distribution chain makes a profit, including you. Because of its importance, we’ve covered distribution in a section of its own. But as a snapshot, here are some ideas to consider and questions to ask in relation to how you manage your distribution networks. • What distribution channels are available to you? • Who are the members for those distribution channels and do they reach your target markets? • How to achieve market coverage and include a mix of inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution opportunities. • How best to manage your distribution inventory and variations in your product and service offerings. Promotion The big decisions about promoting your product are when, where, how and how much. There are many different ways to communicate with your target consumers. The challenge is to maximise your advertising and promotional spend by investing in the mediums your consumers are most likely to tap into. Your research should include questions about how your current consumers heard about you and also the media habits of your target markets. This information will be helpful when considering where to commit budget to gain consumer reach and attraction. Your marketing and communication campaign decisions can be broken down to include: • Advertising » brochures » television, radio, outdoor, magazine and transit internet • Digital Marketing » websites » blogs, travel/trip advisor sites and social networking sites such as You Tube, My Space, Facebook and Twitter, » internet marketing – search engines optimisation and advertising. • Public Relations and Publicity » familiarisations » media releases » PR kits • Personal Selling » trade Shows » consumer Shows » sales calls, missions and promotions » staff awareness training • Sales Promotions » sales incentives » competitions • Direct Marketing » telephone sales and marketing » mail outs » email Be aware that you will need to plan your promotional activity well in advance. When considering timing, you’ll need to think about when your consumers are likely to be most receptive to your advertising messages, and motivated to book. Marketing materials, print advertising and radio and television commercials can take quite a bit of time to develop and produce. You need to factor that time into your Action Plan to meet your desired production deadlines. For more information on promoting your product, take a look at the Domestic Marketing section of the guide. THE BIG MARKETING GUIDE 14
INTRODUCTION | Writing your marketing plan Action Plan An Action Plan should state your strategy, activities, timeframes, measures and budget for each goal. The example below shows how you might go about developing your action plan. Product Goal: Enhanced product delivery and service quality through IT development and training Strategy Actions Timeframes Measures Budget Enhance web-based booking operations Identify and install suitable web-based booking and e-ticketing software 01/09/XX Reduction in time spent taking phone bookings Increased efficiency and staff productivity 24/7 booking capability Increased customer satisfaction Immediate online booking confirmation and e-ticketing $20,000 Ongoing staff training in web-based business applications Roster staff for training purposes 20/08/XX All staff trained in bookings and e-ticketing procedures Monitoring and Review It’s common sense to monitor how you are going in the rollout of your plan. You need to know if your strategies and actions are working, if you are gaining the expected results and if not, make the necessary changes. As mentioned earlier, customer feedback can tip you off to areas where you can improve or develop your product. Some of these things can be done quickly, others will take time. Nevertheless, the number one way to know if your plan is working for you is to have strong measures in place. Measuring your results will streamline your decision-making, and save you time and money. Some methods of measuring the performance of your marketing activities might include: • tracking enquiries and bookings received through advertising • asking your internet provider for tracking records of visitation to your website • increased exposure of your product through travel and tourism brochures • the number of travel agents that experience your product via familiarisations. It’s worthwhile knowing that access to and participation in some tourism, business and grant programs is reliant on having solid measuring practices in place. THE BIG MARKETING GUIDE 15
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Section 1: Introduction - Tourism Queensland

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