Marketing Guide - Failte Ireland
Marketing GuideA guide to help you complete your marketing plan,with detailed advice on the development andimplementation of an e-marketing strategyMarketing can take many forms and the effectiveness of your marketing effortsdepends on an integrated approach. Remember, your written plan is only as good asthe thought and planning that you put into it. Therefore, you should see thedevelopment of your marketing plan as an opportunity to gain an in-depthunderstanding of your customer so that all future decisions are based on theprofitable provision of what your customer wants. It is important that your marketingplan is customer-driven rather than promotion-led. In order words, you need to get toknow your customers first and then plan how you can best deliver what they need.
Table of ContentsQ).t.Introduction . 3Step 1 - Examine your Business as it StandsMarket Trends Analysis . 7Local Market Review. 9Review your Web Presence . 10 Website Effectiveness . 10 Website Audit . 13Sources of Business Revenue . 15Customer Review . 16Competitor Review . 17SWOT Analysis . 19Strategic Options . 21Step 2 - Develop your Marketing StrategySetting Marketing Objectives . 22Customer Segmentation and Targeting . 23 Developing Personas . 24Positioning Your Offering . 26Pricing . 27Distribution Channels / Routes to Market Working with Partners . 30 Packaging Your Products . 31 Targeting the Overseas Markets. 31 Trade shows . 32 E-marketing and Selling to your Customer . 33 Search Engine Optimisation . 33 Social Media – Facebook and Twitter . 35Communication Channels Developing a PR strategy . 42 Choosing Advertising Media . 44 Organising a Pay-per-Click Campaign . 45 Using Google Adwords . 46Budget . 47Marketing Planning Template by Segment . 48èStep 3 - Implement and Monitor for SuccessWrite the Plan. 49Put Your Plan into Action . 49Action Plan . 51Marketing Health Check . 53Appendix - Some useful templates . 55Fáilte Ireland supports . 76
IntroductionMarketing has never been more crucial to success, nor more challenging to tourism industrymanagers. Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, provides a range of services toassist tourism businesses in optimising the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. This MarketingGuide is designed to provide a template for the development of an integrated Marketing Plan whichincludes significant e-commerce activity.Marketing can take many forms and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts depends on anintegrated approach. Remember, your written plan is only as good as the thought and planningthat you put into it. Therefore, you should see the development of your marketing plan as anopportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of your customer so that all future decisions are basedon the profitable provision of what your customer wants. It is important that your marketing planis customer-driven rather than promotion-led. In order words, you need to get to know yourcustomers first and then plan how you can best deliver what they need.The Guide takes a holistic view of your marketing strategy. It will support you in completing yourplan and offers detailed advice on the development and implementation of an e-marketingstrategy with reference to web development, search engine optimisation and social networkingopportunities.This Guide is also accompanied by a marketing planning template. Such a ‘step by step approach’ willassist you in completing a comprehensive and useful plan for your business.It is important to remember that planning is an inclusive process so it is recommended that you donot ‘go it alone’ and that you consult your team where appropriate. Your plan will be useful for you andalso for key stakeholders including staff, directors and investors in order to achieve a sound businessfooting for the future.The plan is divided into 3 steps which answers 3 key questions.Step 1: Examine your business as it standsWhere are we now?Step 2: Develop your marketing strategyWhere do we want to be?Step 3: Implement and monitor for successHow are we going to get there?
Before you can set out your objectives for the year(s) ahead, you need to find out what’s happening inthe market place and how fit your business is to meet the challenges for the year(s) ahead. This helpsyou to answer the key question: where are we now?To answer that question you need to research the key trends in your sector, find out how youperform relative to your competition in the eyes of the consumer and you need to figure out whatyour key strengths and weaknesses are. This will help you to do a good SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities and Threats) analysis.The business environment in which we operate is also a significant factor in getting an objective viewof where a business stands. Managers and operators of tourism businesses are acutely aware thatthey must compete strongly for every euro of revenue. So what does this all mean for yourparticular business? Can you see opportunities out there that need to be explored?Where do we want to be? Having answered the first question- ‘Where are we Now?’, you are in abetter position to decide where you want your business to be next year and beyond. You are able todecide your strategy based on the facts and you can set objectives to help your business survive orrefocus.How are we going to get there? In this final part of the plan you are ready to implement yourstrategy to achieve your objectives. Your key for survival is your customers so this part of the plan focuseson how you can retain or even attract additional customers.Please see the planning framework overleaf which provides an overview of how this Guide and themarketing planning template are structured.
YOUR PLANNING FRAMEWORKStep 1: Examine your Business as it Stands Where are we now?Market TrendsAnalysis Customer &Sources ofBusiness Revenue Competitor ReviewWeb PresenceReviewLocal MarketReview www SWOTDEFEND MARKET SHAREYOURSTRATEGICOPTIONSMARKET PENETRATION/NEW MARKETSGROWTHPRODUCT / SERVICE INNOVATIONMOVE INTO DIFFERENT MARKET SECTORStep 2: Develop your Marketing Strategy - Where do we want to G &POSITIONINGSELECT / REFINEPRODUCTS, PRICING,COMMUNICATIONAND DISTRIBUTION CUSTOMERRETENTION &ATTRACTIONStep 3: Implement & Monitor for Success- How are we going to get EASURING
STEPSStep 1YOUR MARKETING PLANExamine your businessas it standsWhere are we now?Step 2Step 3ACTIONS REQUIREDAnalyse Market TrendsReview Local MarketReview Web PresenceConduct a Website AuditAnalyse Sources of RevenueUndertake a Customer Reviewand Competitor Review Undertake a SWOT Analysis Where do we want to be? Set Marketing Objectives Segment, Target and Positionyour Offering Sell to your Customers and UseE-Marketing Tools Manage Communications andthe Media Choose a Pricing and Routes toMarket StrategyImplement and monitorfor success Putting Your Plan into Action Action Plan Marketing Health CheckDevelop yourmarketingstrategyHow are we goingto get there?
Step 1: Examine Your Business As It Stands.Where are we now?Market Trends AnalysisMarket TrendsAnalysisLocal MarketReview Customer &Sources ofBusiness Revenue Competitor ReviewWeb PresenceReview www SWOTThis section will present an overview of the current situation for the business and the market inwhich the business operates.Write up a brief description of how the market is performing now and how it is forecast toperform over the coming year. Refer to a range of sources including tourism andaccommodation statistics and forecasts from Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, CroweHorwath, Central Statistics Office (CSO), Mintel, Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC),industry websites etc. Comment on how these trends will affect your business.Question to ask yourself. For example, if this year indicates a fall of10-15% in a particular segment (e.g. leisure customers), how realistic is itfor you to propose an increase for this segment next year? These are thetypes of questions to start asking yourself
Step 1Step 1As highlighted in the recent ITIC report ‘ A Changed World for Irish Tourism – Facing up to theChallenges of Recovery’ recovery will depend on restoring growth from the top 4 overseas sourcemarkets i.e. Britain, USA, Germany and France, with these markets typically producing three out ofevery four holiday visitors to Ireland. The British market is considered to offer the best opportunityfor growth and is regarded as very important to Ireland’s tourism recovery. The size of thepotential market in Britain, coupled with a common language and close proximity to Ireland,dictates the need to regain market share. Germany is also viewed as offering a lot of potential the industry view is that Ireland is well positioned in Germany and has in place well establishedtrade links in a market where the travel trade is still dominant. The US market is also regarded asoffering potential for recovery and growth based on the current demand patterns of an upturn intravel to Europe. The high spending American tourist is critical for many businesses in Ireland.However, the single largest perceived risk to renewed growth would be the lack of adequate airaccess with competitive fares. Incentive travel and conferences for the US market are expected toprovide further potential for Ireland. France is viewed as offering further potential and likeGermany is especially important to tourism businesses and is reckoned to offer some goodpotential to exploit niche opportunities.The priority markets for promotable business travel (MICE) are identified as Britain, USA andGermany. This sector is regarded as worthy of particular attention due to its high value, yearround potential, while the opening of the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) offers an opportunity tocapture an increased market share. Other markets such as Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and theNordics, coupled with Australia and the emerging long-haul markets will continue to offeropportunities for Ireland.What to do for your business.Collect information about what is happening in your sector, what new products or services arebeing developed. Find out about new products / services in the market by reviewingcompetitor websites (especially overseas), speak to suppliers, or search for a relevantconference or trade show you can attend. Consider all the changes in your sector over the last fiveyears and imagine what can happen in the next five as the pace of business change accelerates.Question to ask yourself. Are there markets such as Germany,France, UK or the USA that could be further explored as potentialmarkets for your business? What markets should you be targeting? Doyour products match the markets?
Step 1Local Market ReviewMarket TrendsAnalysisLocal MarketReview Customer &Sources ofBusiness Revenue Competitor ReviewWeb PresenceReview www SWOTOpportunities and Threats in your Catchment AreaOutline the significant changes in your local market, such as competitor developments. List anybusinesses opening, expanding or closing in your area that could have an impact on your business.Note any other business, social or planning developments.Key Dates for the YearList by date, upcoming opportunities, such as festivals, sporting events, cultural events and anyother activities that could lead to significant increases in sales. You will use this information furtheron in your plan to focus your marketing activities around the key opportunities during the year ahead.Question to ask yourself. What really challenges you? Is it ratecutting, too many similar products, declining customer numbers?
Step 1Review Your Web PresenceMarket TrendsAnalysisLocal MarketReview Customer &Sources ofBusiness Revenue Competitor ReviewWeb PresenceReview www SWOTHow good is your website? Does it do its job? Is it effective? These are all good questions that everybusiness owner and marketing manager needs to ask.Most people responsible for their company’s websites have stats packages and counters to tell themhow many hits, how many unique visitors, where they are coming from, what their IP addresses are,what browser they are using. So what! Who cares? The real question is:‘Do we have an effective website?’A website is the public face of your business. Big businesses can look like ‘Mom and Pop’ operations and‘Mom and Pop’ operations can look like General Motors. The design of your website should not be takenlightly, its budget should not be an afterthought, and the designer you hire should be someone whounder- stands more than code. How many orders are you losing because of bad layout, awkward design,confusing navigation, and poor copy? How many potential clients have you chased away because youhave not put a phone number on your site and a reachable real-person that can answer questions?If you have a transactional website, commonly referred to as an e-commerce site, you know thenumber of sales you are generating from your site, which is important, but do you really know howeffective your site is? Your Web-designer should be a multimedia-marketing advisor, someone who cancounsel you how best to deliver your marketing message, and someone who can go beyond technicalissues. If you don’t think you need a new website, you aren’t going to spend the money to have onebuilt. So the best way to tell if you need one is to analyze the one you already have.Here is a set of questions you can ask yourself. If you answer them honestly, you’ll know whether youneed a new site or not. After you’ve gone through the process, ask some colleagues to do the same. Seeif your answers compare. (Source: http://articleaddict.com)Website Effectiveness1. Do you know your audience?Why do the people who you value most visit your site? Are you meeting their needs in a nanosecond?Know your audience, speak to them, meet their needs, and you will build deeper trust. Talk to your users. Find out, in plain terms, what they need from you. (This can be achieved by askinga few searching questions & getting feedback from existing customers – why do theywish to visit you? What do they want to do whilst they are with you? How they found you online?) Do some unofficial usability testing on your site, asking visitors to accomplish a task. You’ll be amazedand humbled by the results. Run a simple site survey to find out why people are visiting your site, what they like and what theyhate.
Step 12. Does your website deliver on core goals of your business or campaign?Digital channels are likely to be the primary way people engage with your business today. As your businesschanges, does your site reflect your greatest successes, issues of highest importance or new products andservices that are the most successful? Are you tracking metrics that matter?3. Does your website have clear calls to action?All too often there are too many things to do on a site, so nothing important gets done. Your websiteneeds to focus its attention on highlighting the two or three key actions you need people to take, thencreating a hassle free experience for them to accomplish those tasks. Identify one to three key actions or sections to highlight on your website. Highlighting actions such as BookNow, Upgrade, Go to etc. Link the actions to your organisation or campaign’s core goals. Make it obvious and easy for client’s to take these actions.HIGHERENGAGEMENTLOWERENGAGEMENT4. How will your audience come back?Many businesses get stuck just trying to get supporters totake action and don’t think about building a plan for longterm engagement. You should be thinking about the differentdegrees of participation your client’s want to have and ensuretools and opportunities are developed that allow them toengage where they are most comfortable. This is called buildinga ‘ladder ofengagement’, and it can be automated usingCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) technology. Bycapturing information about your customers – a detailed profileor persona can be built up and you can match your services totheir requirements.5. Are you listening to what your audience is saying?Monitoring social networks and listening to the conversations taking place within them is anexcellent way to find out what people think about your organisation. Learning what your clients aretalking about and finding out how they want to engage with you can directly inform what ‘rungs’you build into your ladder of engagement. The stronger your ladder, the more successful yourorganisation or campaign will become. Find out where your supporters hang out online and what social networks they have joined. Set up a business page on Facebook, and Twitter. Use Google Alerts to find out who’s talking about you. Visit these often and become part of the conversation. Integrate what you learn to change what your organisation thinks/says/does.
Step 16. Where are you losing visitor traffic and conversions?Organisations are complex. This complexity unfortunately often carries over into the structureand design of websites, which often results in a confusing experience and failure to convertvisitors into clients.The message is: keep it simple! Ask yourself: Are people getting lost in your internallanguage/ department structure? Are your action pages failing to get people to take action?Employing simple language your audiences use, simplifying online forms, making catchy graphicsfor key actions and following best practices for design and usability will go a long way to drivingmore value from your digital presence. Set up and analyse “goal pages” in your analytics software (e.g. what pages you areattempting to lead your customers towards so that they will perform an action such asbooking). Test your site to see if visitors understand what you want them to do. Remove any barriers that prevent those actions from being taken. Use images that clearly reflect actions you want people to take.Pulling it all togetherYour business can benefit from looking deeply at these key question areas to tighten up how your websiteperforms as a key tool within your digital strategy. Examine these important points for yourself.(Source: Houle, D; Key Questions for a Website Audit)
Step 1Website AuditWhen it comes to your company website, it can be easy to forget sometimes that YOU ARE NOT THEAUDIENCE. And, because of this, we sometimes miss the boat in evaluating whether the website is“getting the job done.”Most tourism business owners and managers appreciate how important a website is to the marketingmix. What can be missing is the objective view as to whether your website is being all that itcan.and should.be.EVERY website should undergo a comprehensive website audit. Whether you hire a third party toconduct the audit or you do it yourself internally, focus on the following areas to make sureyou’re conducting your website audit from the eyes of your visitor:WEBSITE CHECKLISTACTION REQUIREDCATEGORYDESCRIPTIONUSER EXPERIENCE /INFORMATIONARCHITECTURE1. Have you made a list of who comesto your site and what they are looking for?2. Is your site organised by content categorieswith navigation that leads users easily to thecontent area?3. Have you tested user navigation on yoursite to see how easy it is to findinformation for each audience category?4. Does your site contain multiple graphicelements mixed with short texts and links?CREDIBILITY1. Does your website have a privacy policythat addresses how your organisationhandles email addresses, site visitorinformation, and gift data?2. Is contact information (phone, address,email address) easily accesssible onyour home page and listed on everypage of your site?3. Is your mission statement and/ororganisation’s focus immediately visible onyour website.4. Do you provide lots of resources?CONTENT1. Have you identified the fundamentalorganisational content for your site?2. Is this content regularly updated on yoursite? Identify who updates your site andhow often.3. Does your site contain publications, successstories, FAQs, and a mix of content sourcesincluding links to other websites for adeeper user experience?4. Is there some content that is onlyaccessible online?5. Is your web site written with shortparagraphs, multiple links and graphicelements to illustrate text content?6. Does the look of your site accuratelyreflect your brand and does it use yourbrand elements (logo, colours, etc.)correctly?RESPONSIBILITY
Step 1WEBSITE CHECKLISTACTION REQUIREDCATEGORYDESCRIPTIONONLINE PAYMENT1. Does your site have an ecommerce button(e.g. can your customers pay directly on linefor your product or services)RESPONSIBILITYa.b.c.Above the foldLimited number of clicksGoes to another page that appearsto be your site(third party booking engine)d.Paying page is secure, includesprivacy information2. Do you demonstrate your organisation’sfiscal responsibility and commitment toresponsible financial stewardship withprivacy, security and financial statements?3. Are you collecting email addresses onyour sitea.CLICKABILITYDouble opt-in to unsubscribe1. What kinds of interactive elements haveyou added to your websitea.Search mechanism on siteb.Graphicsc.Downloadable filesd.Printable pagese.Discussion Boardsf.Mapsg.Quizzesh.Personalisation2. Are they easy to access?TRAFFIC1. Are you listing your web address on allprint materials?2. Have you registered with the major webdirectories (Google, Bing, Yahoo, Altavista,Excite)?3. Have you edited the title, keywords anddescription tags on your site?4. Are you linking to like-mindedorganisations and public sites?5. Are you promoting special events,memberships or time-specific appeals onyour site?6. Are you using email messagingstrategically, segmenting your clients,using e-newsletters and personalisedmessages?7. Are you using paid keywords, portals,banner ads as specialised ways to drivetraffic?8. Are you keeping links up to date onyour site?9. Are you regularly analysing the web trafficon your site with web analytics software?NAVIGATION,FUNCTIONALITY &PERFORMANCE1. Does the navigation clearly and quicklyguide the visitor to the areas they want tosee?2. Does the site display in the mostcommon browsers and with the variousmonitor resolutions?3. Is it easy to navigate around your site?4. How quickly does your site load, are theretechnologies used that slow downperformance or distract the visitor(Flash, splash entry pages, etc.)?Having analysed your web presence you need to analyse your key sources of revenue.
Step 1Analyse Sources of RevenueMarket TrendsAnalysisLocal MarketReview Customer &Sources ofCompetitorReviewBusiness RevenueWeb PresenceReview www SWOTReview your key revenue streams over the past two years, e.g. leisure, corporate, events, tours and mapyour results using a simple pie chart. This is an easy way to get an overview of important changes in yourbusiness revenue streams. Where possible, use actual figures from your own financial results rather thanestimates. It may be interesting to see if there are any major differences between last year's and this year'sfigures.Business Mix ThisYear Sample tsEventsForeignLeisureQBusiness Mix LastYear Sample eleruestion to ask yourself. Is my business over reliant on one segment?Compare this to where the trends are going are you fighting an uphill battle and isit time to change?
Step 1Customer ReviewMarket TrendsAnalysisLocal MarketReview Customer &Sources ofBusiness Revenue Competitor ReviewWeb PresenceReview www SWOTHow is your business viewed in the eyes of your customers?The answer to this question is critical to your future revenue streams. You must have a clearobjective understanding of how your customer rates your service offering. If your business is achievingvery high customer satisfaction ratings this should lead to customer loyalty, positive word of mouthand a high level of repeat business. If your scores are low, then your level of repeat business will below and your business may be suffering from negative word of mouth, further damaging your business.Review customer feedback for this year. Consider what remedial action may need to betaken. Look at both quantitative findings, such as overall results from customer feedback forms, aswell as qualitative findings, such as reports on meetings with customers.Sources of data include: Focus groups reports Customer comment cards, requests etc Online reviews (be sure you have a policy to engage with online review sites such as Trip Advisor) Comments on your website Mystery shopper research Feedback from staff interaction with customers Sales figures
Step 1The easiest way to capture information is often at the first sales contact. Aim to record details quickly,so that you don’t make people wait, while still capturing the critical details (such as an email address)you need for your marketing. Aim for your customers to buy from you even if you charge a higher pricethan the closest competitor. To maintain customer loyalty you need to budget some money and timefor a ‘customer loyalty plan’ rather than taking their loyalty for granted. Otherwise you might startlosing loyal customers one by one, without realising the loss until it’s too late.Gaining new customers is far more expensive – apart from getting their attention, you may also haveto get them to switch from their existing supplier. Once they are gone, it can be very difficult to getthem back!REMEMBER! Loyal customers will buy more, spend more and pay more. They areless likely to leave you if you make a mistake or to be lured away bycompetitor promotions.Question to ask yourself. Review customer retention rates across your keycustomer groups. Are you losing or gaining customers? Can you give reasons for anychanges in your customer retention levels? Should you consider new ways ofcommunicating with your customers?Competitor ReviewYour competitors are those companies that your customers also consider when buying any type ofproducts or services. Therefore you need to think about competitors from your customer’sviewpoint, rather than simply thinking of companies offering similar services in your area.To complete a competitor review you need to know what other businesses are considered by yourcustomers and also key criteria customers consider when choosing one business over another. Thesecritical success factors will vary from segment to segment. For this reason, it is recommended that youcarry out separate competitor analyses for your most important revenue streams.Consider using your own staff, managers to help in conducting a competitor review.In your marketing plan template you will find a number of blank competitor analysis tables to complete.You need a detailed, up-to-date competitor analysis document to make sureyou always know what new products or initiatives your competitors areplanning and how you can compete. If new customers switch from competitorsto you, you should know why.
Step 1Sample Competitor Analysis T
Marketing Guide complete your marketing plan, ithw detailed advice on the development and implementation of an e-marketing strategy Marketing can take many forms and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts depends on an integrated approach. Remember, your written plan is only as good as the thought and planning that you put into it.
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