e-Marketing by DMOs

1. e-Marketing by DMOs – Techniques and keys to success Dr Roger Carter Managing Director, TEAM UNCTAD Expert Group Meeting on ICT and Tourism for Development 30 November 2005

2. Speaker background • Twenty five years working for tourism organisations – national, regional and city – within the UK • Since 1997, consultancy in strategy, business planning and operations management for destination management and marketing organisations – strong focus on e-business • Co-authored the WTO Business Council publication, “Marketing Tourism Destinations Online”, 1999, + successor publication “E-Business for Tourism, published in October 2001 • Recent work for European Travel Commission and for tourism organisations in Cape Town/Western Cape, Seychelles, Estonia, Slovenia, Madeira, Ireland and throughout the UK

3. Agenda • The marketing communications life-cycle and its application to leisure and business tourism segments • The drivers of change for DMOs • Nine keys to future success in e-marketing

4. Agenda • The marketing communications life-cycle and its application to leisure and business tourism segments

5. Communications Life Cycle (CLC) - Leisure • …. or ‘the customer journey’ • Let us consider the leisure consumer perspective first • This represents a key conceptual framework for the application of new media by DMOs • DMOs must optimise their opportunities by responding effectively to the requirements of the visitor at each stage in the cycle • Media for communication between DMO and consumers will vary at each stage in the life cycle Dream/ select Plan Book Visit Dream again V

6. The CLC and e-Marketing for Leisure © TEAM (2005)

7. The CLC and e-Marketing for Leisure © TEAM (2005)

8. The CLC and e-Marketing for Leisure © TEAM (2005)

9. The CLC and e-Marketing for Leisure © TEAM (2005)

10. US online travellers – positions within the CLC Around 50% 35-40% < 10% Source: Canadian Tourism Commission (Spring 2002) - Role of the Internet in the vacation travel of North Americans.

11. CLC and e-marketing for Business Tourism • Is the CLC concept relevant for business tourism? Yes! • The business tourism application must be divided into two – communications with the meeting planner and with the ‘delegate’ • Let us start with the CLC for the planner of conventions, congresses, conferences, exhibitions etc: • Again DMOs, through their Convention Bureaux, must optimise their opportunities by responding effectively to the requirements of the meetings planner at each stage in the cycle V Options evaluation Event Planning Venue Booking + Hotel Room Allocation The event Planning the next event

12. CLC for convention and exhibition planners © TEAM (2005)

13. CLC for convention and exhibition planners © TEAM (2005)

14. CLC for convention and exhibition planners © TEAM (2005)

15. CLC for conference and exhibition delegates • Varying levels of Convention Bureau interest in promotion to delegates. Some leave it to the organisers; others wish to get involved. Why do it? • Because the Convention Bureau can work with the meeting planner to maximise attendance at the event and exploit the potential for follow-up visits, whether for business or leisure travel • For those that are interested, the CLC for delegates looks more like that of the leisure consumer • Let’s look again at the communication opportunities at each stage in the life cycle V Decision to attend Plan Book Visit Future trip planning

16. CLC for conference and exhibition delegates © TEAM (2005)

17. CLC for conference and exhibition delegates © TEAM (2005)

18. CLC for conference and exhibition delegates © TEAM (2005)

19. Agenda • The marketing communications life-cycle and its application to leisure and business tourism segments • Three drivers of change for DMOs

20. Three drivers of change in DMO marketing 1. The central role of technology for everyone • Consumers • Intermediaries • Businesses 2. Demanding consumers 3. Commercial players • Operating in your space, where once only you operated • They need income so they are customer focused • They have efficient business processes • They have effective distribution • And they don’t stand still - always refining and improving

21. So, who needs a DMO? • As intermediaries, must add value or die • What can they do better than the private sector? • What are they most truly competent at? • They must become expert in exploiting the opportunities that technology offers • And encourage and enable their tourism businesses, especially the SMEs, to become expert also

22. Agenda • The marketing communications life-cycle and its application to leisure and business tourism segments • Three drivers of change for DMOs • Nine keys to future success in e-marketing

23. Nine keys to future success in destination e-marketing • Reach as many potential customers as possible • Maximise the lifetime value of customers, by maintaining the relationship • Create a compelling website experience • Maintain high quality content • Deliver sales, directly or indirectly • Offer customised packaging • Engage tourism businesses, to deliver the inventory • Demonstrate return on investment – performance evaluation and benchmarking • Ensure effective electronic distribution of information to travellers and visitors, including location based services

24. DMOs – The e-marketing survival kit

25. Resumé • The communications life-cycle (or ‘the customer journey’) as a conceptual framework for e-marketing for both leisure and business tourism • The drivers for change that require the adoption of new tools and techniques to realise future opportunities and to genuinely add value • Keys to success in destination e-marketing – the key issues for DMOs to consider in the development of their new media applications

26. Thank you for your attention! For further information: Dr Roger Carter RogerCarter@team-tourism.com +44 1242 512 279 1 December 2005