titlepage/contents pg 1-16 - British Parking Association

The Role of Marketing and Communications 173return visit if their initialexperience is a bad one.Further, the source of the originalinformation will lose credibility,which can be particularlydamaging to future marketingefforts.The InternetThe Internet offers new facilitiesand opportunities and can beused:● As a reference source to findcar parks at a destination;● To identify the availability ofparking spaces; and● To book a space in advance.This can mean that when a userleaves home they already havereserved space available. If theuser knows where they are goingthis reduces search time anduncertainty. The technology isavailable to link also to an in-carroute guidance system. From anoperator’s viewpoint providingthis facility can attract extrabusiness, and monitoring theinformation collected on-line canhelp to target offers to maximiseuse of the facility.A website can also provideinformation on the status of carparking so that a parker canknow in advance if theirpreferred car park will beavailable or unavailable on agiven day. Car parkinginformation can also be linked toevents so that, for example, acinemagoer can be linked toinformation giving the price,location and availability of carparks near the cinema.RadioNo matter how good fixedsigning is, and no matter how upto date websites are,Information on parking.