Alberta Business Marketing

As we turn another page and enter a new decade, I find myself thinking about technology and restaurants. As a customer, how do you see handheld technology being used to enhance your dining experience?
I captured this bit of video while trolling the aisles of the BC Hospitality Expo in Vancouver late last year. The video shows a handheld (iPhone) app that servers can use to be more efficient at handling the orders and billing of their guests.

I am also reflecting on how restaurants can use QR Codes to tell the behind the scenes stories of the meals they deliver to folks in the dining room. One really creative restaurant in New Jersey recently began using QR codes to link to videos showcasing the Ethiopain cultural connection of some of the meals they serve. The diner, clicking on the QR Code links to the video and watches the short Youtube Video. Nice. The restaurant doesn’t even have to create the video content, just has to make the connection for their diner.

How could a brew pub showcase their pride in craftsmanship or educate the customer on how their product is made? How could you give behind the scenes access to your kitchen recipes or showcase where your local food is purchased by filming a short video with a local farmer?

How do you think restaurants could utilize the power of handhelds to enhance the dining experience for their ideal guests? Have you seen anything innovative in this space?

Tags: handheld, iphone, payment, qr code, restaurant, Video
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Here is the mantra every tourism business should deliver on in the age of internet marketing and social and mobile media:

We provide benefits that meet or exceed your needs and provide value for money, you can count on it.

Understanding the pieces:
“Benefits” – can you anchor the services you provide as benefits that your ideal client is seeking?
“Meeting or exceeding needs” – Do you know what matters to your ideal guest. Are you primed on delivering the goods every day.
“Value” – good economy, bad economy, luxury item, commodity…. whatever you sell, your purchaser is going to use price as a determining factor in determining whether or not to purchase from you. Your competitors may have a role to play in providing an option for your ideal client.
“You can count on it” – credibility, it’s measured every day, not by what you say, but by what your clients say about you. Are you listening? Are your clients engaged? If not, it’s almost as bad as having them say negative things about you. The majority of people will look for what others are saying about you. If no one is reviewing your business, your prospect may be concerned that your business has no track record of success.

I think about getting bums in beds a lot.
After all, I’m in the business of satisfying customers just like hoteliers, attractions and restaurants….. at Northern Edge Algonquin, we’re a bit of all of these. When I think about the role of video, social media, facebook and other Internet Marketing avenues I use the mantra above to check that the content we produce is focused on the right outcome.

Then we do everything we can on the ground, to make sure we are delivering on the promise.

What mantra drives your business?

Tags: mantra, public relations, reputation management, tourism marketing
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Celes Davar at Earth Rhythms is an experience provider in Canada’s Riding Mountain National Park. His use of streaming web video helps his ideal client understand how guests using his services can discover the story behind the sights and sounds of the National Park. Celes uses a dedicated wordpress blog to share stories of his customized adventures and learning experiences with words, pictures and videos.

Chipmunk harvests thistle seeds from Celes Davar on Vimeo.

How can you use media to tell stories about your guest experiences in a way that enhances your credibility with your ideal guest?

Tags: multimedia
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It sounds counterintuitive to some, but the advice is sound.

Tell your ideal client about other businesses in your region and make it easy for your ideal guest to reap all the benefits of traveling to your region.  You’ll build credibility by pointing out links to things that matter to travelers.

Three ways to make linking to others work for you and your business:

1. Write a blog post focusing on things to do in your region.

2. Create Web pages that promote the benefits your region offers and use them as a primary benefit you offer.

I really like this webpage from a few years back that the Peterborough Bed and Breakfast asssociation used to promote the benefits of traveling to the region.  All the content on the page focused on the benefits of traveling to their region.  At the time, the single page Website linked out to founding members of the association, thereby helping the traveler by narrowing the choices of where to stay in Peterborough.

3. TripAdvisor What’s Nearby Widget – a good idea with a problem

What’s Nearby Widget is intended to help travelers by sourcing advice from travelers on where to stay, where to eat and what to do.  The Widget customizes itself for hoteliers by pointing out things to do and places to eat in the region.  For restaurants, the widget maps things to do and places to stay.  I like the idea of using non-competing businesses to promote your offering and focus on your regions benefits.  The problem in TripAdvisor’s implementation is the link to competing businesses, cleverly located at the bottom of the Widget.  Come on TripAdvisor, did you think we wouldn’t see that?

Now if you have a great ranking in TripAdvisor or if you pay for a business listing you could use the widget with confidence.  Unfortunately, most hoteliers don’t pay for the business listing and don’t want to provide a link to the competition in TripAdvisor.  The problem for DMO’s and Chambers of Commerce is the widget doesn’t discriminate between paying members and non-paying.  Everyone in TripAdvisor gets listed.  It might be better for TripAdvisor to make the widget customizable, so that users could refer business that they want to bring awareness to.

The Upshot

It will always be a good idea to focus on the benefits your region has to offer whether in blog posts or static webpages.  Partnering to promote those benefits is something DMO’s and Chambers of Commerce focus on and Cluster web marketing will always earn partners more web visits than they would have without partnering.

Tags: tourism web site basics, Web design, web page basics
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Sometimes we can do a bunch of things right and miss our sales targets.  With the economy in the tank and tourism sales in our region on the decline, sometimes a small pull back (amidst wider business atrophy) is a good performance.

Social Media Measures and CRM

At times like these I find it helpful to focus on smaller targets and measurable outcomes of our marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) activities as part of our Social Media Strategy.  These things can have a positive impact on the bottom line down the road.   Thinking about the sales ladder I focus on the areas that are not on the sales step, but the step below and above.  Because if social media relations are good there, the sales will come.

While sales are focused on the Guest stage of the CRM ladder, paying attention to developing relationships with Prospects and Fans can help grow the Guests step on the ladder.  Prospects are one step from being a customer, Fans have been guests before and if engaged, will come again.  The enthusiasm of you fans will encourage your prospects to take the next step and become your guest.

Social Media efforts pay off by growing your Prospect base and ensuring FAN loyalty

Here are a few social media measures to move beyond disappointment to possibility.

Prospects:

• number of email newsletter sign ups
• number of check availability forms filled out
• number of facebook fans and twitter followers (primarly Facebook fans)

If these are growing, I know business will follow, because these folks are interested in what we offer.

FANS:

• engagement on Facebook – how many comments are we getting on our posts?
• Flickr comments on event photos, Youtube video comments
• new reviews on TripAdvisor and business review sites

The content Fans share becomes important elements that encourage Prospects to take the next step and become guests.

Remember, if you measure  Social Media / CRM results, you will improve these numbers, which down the road will lead to more guests and therefore more sales.

What aspects of your Social Media / CRM process do you measure?  Do they help the bottom line?

Tags: social media
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