There are incredible resources available through the IU library. MarketLine Business Information provides profiles including SWOT analysis and competitor comparissons. DataMonitor can also provide 5-forces analysis. MarketResearch.com provides very specific market/industry reports that digs more deeply into drivers and segmentation.
Since Tablets and eReaders are relatively new products it is important to quantify the total market that might be available. The Mintel system provides research for consumer products that includes market size, forecasts, competitive context, segment performance and information about retail channels. All of this information is important to gather before choosing how to segment and position a new entry into the Tablet/eReader market.
By using the resources available through IU, we should be able to determine the key triggers and consideration factors for potential customers of a tablet and/or ereader. These key points need to be communicated to the client so that they can serve as background when presenting a suggested product. The client needs to understand what customer needs we think the product can meet. This background will also help explain possible promotional and channel strategies.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Dr. Rosling and the Visual Representation of Data
Wow! Isn't it amazing how you can take otherwise "boring" numerical values and transform them into something with such incredible visual impact? I watched this video on Monday and on Tuesday morning immediately showed it to my boss. She had the exact same reaction, completely mesmerized by the moving bubbles.
For a long time, she and I have had discussions about how properly visually displaying information (whether in our annual report, our mobile apps, in a presentation to city council, a leisure ad in Texas etc), makes all of the difference in the world. Dr. Rosling expertly exhibited that point. As he says, the data exists, the real trick and magic is getting it aggregated and displaying it in a way that is meaningful and easy for people to digest. Clearly, once you make that connection the usefulness becomes so much greater.
Without Dr. Rosling's displays, it would be incredibly difficult to really understand the shifting trends in international health without countless hours of mind numbing study. His insights about the differences between various countries in Africa and the shift of previously impoverished nations to a more stable medical future are important for world citizens, nations and health organizations. Often it is incredibly easy to lump groups of people together for sake of mental simplicity. Dr. Rosling highlighted that this act is actually a disservice to humankind and doesn't allow the world to properly address issues that affect health trends.
Similarly in business, if you lump too many groups together you start to lose important segmentation that might make you more successful in the long run. By visual displaying data appropriately, more people can join the discussion on segmentation and the proper way to serve different markets.
For a long time, she and I have had discussions about how properly visually displaying information (whether in our annual report, our mobile apps, in a presentation to city council, a leisure ad in Texas etc), makes all of the difference in the world. Dr. Rosling expertly exhibited that point. As he says, the data exists, the real trick and magic is getting it aggregated and displaying it in a way that is meaningful and easy for people to digest. Clearly, once you make that connection the usefulness becomes so much greater.
Without Dr. Rosling's displays, it would be incredibly difficult to really understand the shifting trends in international health without countless hours of mind numbing study. His insights about the differences between various countries in Africa and the shift of previously impoverished nations to a more stable medical future are important for world citizens, nations and health organizations. Often it is incredibly easy to lump groups of people together for sake of mental simplicity. Dr. Rosling highlighted that this act is actually a disservice to humankind and doesn't allow the world to properly address issues that affect health trends.
Similarly in business, if you lump too many groups together you start to lose important segmentation that might make you more successful in the long run. By visual displaying data appropriately, more people can join the discussion on segmentation and the proper way to serve different markets.
Market Research & the Colorado Springs CVB
The short answer to the question of do we use research is yes. Unfortunately, the Colorado Springs CVB has have very limited budget derived from a 2% bed tax and a 1% auto rental tax (abnormally low for a city of 600,000 people in comparison to other destinations). We are also highly scrutinized by the community at large for how we spend the money we receive. Any project that is seen as frivolous or unnecessary by the masses tends to end up on the front page of the local newspaper.
Regardless, we normally have a $5000 research budget that we use to conduct informal surveys of our meeting planners (post-event) and of leisure travelers who order a visitor guide during the year. Our yearly visitor guide survey helps us to determine an approximation of how many people convert and actually visit Colorado Springs after ordering a guide. We also ask a series of other questions to get at the usefulness of the publication and how it can be improved. Our meeting planner survey is meant to gauge the success of an event on a variety of dimensions including attendance, satisfaction with host lodging property, type of transportation used to get to Colorado Springs, satisfaction with the overall customer service experience of the CVB and other factors. Since the volume on the meeting planner survey is relatively low, we don't have much statistical significance and we use the results on a case by case basis to better meet the needs of our planners.
We also use part of the $5000 budget on other forms of secondary research. As you know, this really doesn't go very far and we often spend most of the budget on buying a "Pikes Peak Region" subset of a larger study that the Colorado Tourism Office commissions Longwoods International to put together. The information includes trending segments within the state (i.e. heritage travel or ecotourism) as well as the popularity of our top attractions and the number of overnight visitors that visit the region every year broken down by business vs. leisure travelers. The Pikes Peak Region subsection also provides demographic information about our visitors that we wouldn't be able to afford researching on our own. This is important information because it helps us stay ahead of trends in the tourism market.
We also use larger composite research studies done at the state level. The Colorado Tourism Office funds numerous other studies that help highlight the importance of various aspects of tourism. One report conducted by Dean Runyan Associates digs deeply into the economic impact of tourism across the entire state, predefined regions, counties and down to the city level. This report is essential because it helps us to estimate the overall economic impact of tourism to the local economy. Economic impact is extremely important for political reasons. Colorado Springs always tends to be notoriously antitax, even if those paying the taxes are not actually residents.
Dean Runyan Report
Longwood Reports
Regardless, we normally have a $5000 research budget that we use to conduct informal surveys of our meeting planners (post-event) and of leisure travelers who order a visitor guide during the year. Our yearly visitor guide survey helps us to determine an approximation of how many people convert and actually visit Colorado Springs after ordering a guide. We also ask a series of other questions to get at the usefulness of the publication and how it can be improved. Our meeting planner survey is meant to gauge the success of an event on a variety of dimensions including attendance, satisfaction with host lodging property, type of transportation used to get to Colorado Springs, satisfaction with the overall customer service experience of the CVB and other factors. Since the volume on the meeting planner survey is relatively low, we don't have much statistical significance and we use the results on a case by case basis to better meet the needs of our planners.
We also use part of the $5000 budget on other forms of secondary research. As you know, this really doesn't go very far and we often spend most of the budget on buying a "Pikes Peak Region" subset of a larger study that the Colorado Tourism Office commissions Longwoods International to put together. The information includes trending segments within the state (i.e. heritage travel or ecotourism) as well as the popularity of our top attractions and the number of overnight visitors that visit the region every year broken down by business vs. leisure travelers. The Pikes Peak Region subsection also provides demographic information about our visitors that we wouldn't be able to afford researching on our own. This is important information because it helps us stay ahead of trends in the tourism market.
We also use larger composite research studies done at the state level. The Colorado Tourism Office funds numerous other studies that help highlight the importance of various aspects of tourism. One report conducted by Dean Runyan Associates digs deeply into the economic impact of tourism across the entire state, predefined regions, counties and down to the city level. This report is essential because it helps us to estimate the overall economic impact of tourism to the local economy. Economic impact is extremely important for political reasons. Colorado Springs always tends to be notoriously antitax, even if those paying the taxes are not actually residents.
Dean Runyan Report
Longwood Reports
Monday, December 12, 2011
Week 3 Goals
For this week, with the focus on segmentation and its relationship to data, I intend to focus on the provided readings in the book as well as the introductory lecture and suggested TED talks. Often when working in business, the everyday requirements of keeping regular things on track prevents people from taking a step back and critically looking at data. If more time were set aside to really dig into data and how to translate it into segments and eventually products and promotional strategies that better meet consumer needs, I would venture to say that most companies would find themselves more profitable in the long term. By reengaging the process consumer research and the synthesis of actionable takeaways, hopefully I will be able to bring some of this week's material to more of an important focus in my organization.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Needs vs. Products
CVBs, in general, pose a unique marketing challenge. We market a product (i.e. family vacation, outdoor adventure, business meeting location) but we do not actually handle any transactions and we aren't responsible for delivering the final product. It is difficult because the promises we make are only as good as our regional lodging, dining and attraction partners. If they don't deliver, we don't deliver.
I would say that in general, the Colorado Springs CVB does focus on benefits rather than a product, not by choice but because there is really no alternative. When it comes to leisure marketing, we focus on a priceless family memory or a thrilling active vacation. For meetings we market ourselves to meeting planners as a one stop shop to get a meeting off the ground. Our meeting sales team sends out Request for Proposals to lodging properties and helps to recommend other vendors to meet the needs of our meeting planners. We try to make it as easy as possible to bring their group to our city.
Both groups that we service are really looking for information. That is essentially what we do. We provide information via a variety of mediums to help plan a vacation, meeting or event. The challenge is getting Colorado Springs in the consideration set for a vacation planner or meeting planner. We use our advertising programs to reach out and make an emotional connection. For a 40 year old mom, that message is family focused. For a meeting planner, it is being heroic through excellent attendance and a beautiful setting. The root of both strategies is focusing on an emotional need for validation via either a family or professional setting. The product we market, Colorado Springs, is just the vehicle for a mom or a meeting planner to feel successful.
I would say that in general, the Colorado Springs CVB does focus on benefits rather than a product, not by choice but because there is really no alternative. When it comes to leisure marketing, we focus on a priceless family memory or a thrilling active vacation. For meetings we market ourselves to meeting planners as a one stop shop to get a meeting off the ground. Our meeting sales team sends out Request for Proposals to lodging properties and helps to recommend other vendors to meet the needs of our meeting planners. We try to make it as easy as possible to bring their group to our city.
Both groups that we service are really looking for information. That is essentially what we do. We provide information via a variety of mediums to help plan a vacation, meeting or event. The challenge is getting Colorado Springs in the consideration set for a vacation planner or meeting planner. We use our advertising programs to reach out and make an emotional connection. For a 40 year old mom, that message is family focused. For a meeting planner, it is being heroic through excellent attendance and a beautiful setting. The root of both strategies is focusing on an emotional need for validation via either a family or professional setting. The product we market, Colorado Springs, is just the vehicle for a mom or a meeting planner to feel successful.
Changes in External Environment - Travel Industry
One change in the external environment that could turn the whole travel and tourism business on its side is further technological advancements in remote meeting software and solutions. Currently, the ability of people to meet remotely via many of the technologies we currently use in Kelley Direct has really dampened the amount of face-to-face meetings for many corporations and organizations. Despite this fact, lots of organizations see real benefit in physical meetings rather than electronic meetings. They find that teams that are built in person over several days at an off-site location tend to develop more quickly and have stronger results. If some remote meeting technology, not yet invented, is able to bridge this face-to-face meeting gap, the entire meetings travel business could be totally eliminated. With many hotels, airlines and ancillary businesses strongly tied to the ebb and flow of business travel, this could be the death knell for many if they aren't able to stay nimble and easily adapt. Many businesses would be forced to rely more heavily on leisure travel which is often not as profitable. If a technology advancement revolutionized the industry, I would forecast many businesses and companies being unable to survive.
As mentioned in one of my previous posts, the political landscape of the US and global economy moving forward is a huge wildcard in the success of travel and tourism. As politicians begin to make tough decisions on how to balance budgets and eliminate deficits, often tourism promotion on a national, state or local level is one of the easiest things to cut. No one wants to cut the military or police or social security or unemployment benefits, but it is an easier political decision to cut promotional funding for tourism. When one nation, state or locale cuts, others fill in the gap and gain market share. The state of Colorado experienced this exact scenario in the early 90s and has now become the poster child for the importance of tourism promotion. Even though funding has since been reinstated, the state has yet to recover the market share that was lost.
Here are a couple of case studies on the Colorado aftermath.
http://www.longwoods-intl.com/case-studies/what-happens-when-you-stop-marketing/
Public Tourism Promotion ROI
It seems as though Washington has made the same choice.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/tough-economy-forces-states-rethink-tourism-funding
No matter how or when the economic state of the country and world turn around, managing the political landscape will always be an important external factor for travel and tourism.
As mentioned in one of my previous posts, the political landscape of the US and global economy moving forward is a huge wildcard in the success of travel and tourism. As politicians begin to make tough decisions on how to balance budgets and eliminate deficits, often tourism promotion on a national, state or local level is one of the easiest things to cut. No one wants to cut the military or police or social security or unemployment benefits, but it is an easier political decision to cut promotional funding for tourism. When one nation, state or locale cuts, others fill in the gap and gain market share. The state of Colorado experienced this exact scenario in the early 90s and has now become the poster child for the importance of tourism promotion. Even though funding has since been reinstated, the state has yet to recover the market share that was lost.
Here are a couple of case studies on the Colorado aftermath.
http://www.longwoods-intl.com/case-studies/what-happens-when-you-stop-marketing/
Public Tourism Promotion ROI
It seems as though Washington has made the same choice.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/tough-economy-forces-states-rethink-tourism-funding
No matter how or when the economic state of the country and world turn around, managing the political landscape will always be an important external factor for travel and tourism.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Missions and Marketing
It is clearly important for an organization's mission to be consumer focused. As highlighted by the Marketing Myopia article, if you focus on the product the company can fail to see changes in the needs and wants of consumers. For instance, the US Postal Service's mission is "The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities." The Postal Service is focused on the act of carrying mail instead of providing communication. This might be part of the reason (along with legal restrictions) why the Postal Service finds themselves in the situation they are in now.
The mission of the Colorado Springs CVB was revised just a couple of months ago. It now reads "We bring more visitors to Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak." Personally, I don't think it is customer focused at all. There is nothing that is inspirational and motivates the employees to aspire to fulfill the mission and to drive toward excellence. Because we market a product but aren't responsible for fulfillment of our marketing promises, it is hard to really measure how well we as an organization do against the mission.
In general, the employees of the CVB do try to do their best for the customer, but only to the extent that doing our best is within our company norms. We definitely don't take risks to push the envelope of what is possible and we definitely don't invent on behalf of the customer. With a recent leadership change, I am hopeful this will change in the future.
The mission of the Colorado Springs CVB was revised just a couple of months ago. It now reads "We bring more visitors to Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak." Personally, I don't think it is customer focused at all. There is nothing that is inspirational and motivates the employees to aspire to fulfill the mission and to drive toward excellence. Because we market a product but aren't responsible for fulfillment of our marketing promises, it is hard to really measure how well we as an organization do against the mission.
In general, the employees of the CVB do try to do their best for the customer, but only to the extent that doing our best is within our company norms. We definitely don't take risks to push the envelope of what is possible and we definitely don't invent on behalf of the customer. With a recent leadership change, I am hopeful this will change in the future.
Analyzing the External Environment - Travel Industry
Just a bit of brief background information. I am in charge of online marketing and publications for the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). CVBs are an interesting marketing challenge because although we market a very distinct product (i.e. a vacation, business meeting or event in our locale) we have very little to no control over the customer experience or the final product. CVBs are also referred to as Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and are often funded mostly through lodging and auto rental taxes. Almost all of our functions are dedicated to marketing the region.
As I reflect on our business model, we break our business into two distinct groups of people, family vacationers and group/professional meetings or events. These two groups have tremendously different needs and wants.
Demographic Trends - Here in Colorado Springs we focus on marketing to females, 30-55 years old during the spring and summer months. During this time period often moms find themselves planning for their family's summer vacation. We also tend to focus on our drive markets (Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico) with our extremely limited budget. With increases in fuel costs we have to be even more sensitive when communicating to these often budget conscious consumers. Meeting planners are a different crowd. They are normally professional people who often do not even attend the actual meeting but are concerned with the experience and value to their firm and meeting attendees. Most are also women and tend to be older, but recently there has been an influx of younger meeting planners.
Economic Trends - Two big things come to mind based on the current recession. First, gas prices are a big thing. This affects not only our families that drive north from Texas but also fuel costs for airlift into Colorado Springs and Denver. With the increase in the cost of flights, Colorado Springs as a destination for a meeting has become more expensive in comparison to other cities that we often compete against. At times, our small airport is just not as competitive. The second big trend is what the travel industry calls the AIG Effect. This has created an increased emphasis on the cost of corporate and government meetings. With the 5 star Broadmoor Hotel in town which counts on 70% of its business coming from meetings rather than leisure travel this really hit Colorado Springs and the rest of the nation hard. Thankfully, the meetings market is starting to see a resurgence. Further political issues are key to the industry's future.
Ecological Trends -As people become more focused on becoming green, they are often shifting to getting more information online and becoming more paperless. This could affect the number of Visitor Guides we produce every year. Also, as meetings become more green, planners are requesting recyclable products for promotion that are often more expensive. I think this is a trend that isn't going to go away.
Technological Trends - Clearly the prevalence of mobile devices and the development of the online marketing space has completely changed how people get travel information. If you aren't on social media, have an app and mobile site and offer extensive information online then you are left out of the race. This also affects the quantity of our print runs for the publications we now produce. We have recently reduced the number of Meeting Planner Guides from 10,000 to 2,000 over just a couple of years. More people prefer that information in an electronic format.
Political-Legal Trends - Since most DMOs are funded through public dollars as city and state budgets become tight they are at risk of losing funding. We had a funding reduction a couple of years ago and I know that the state of Washington has completely shuttered its office for the forseeable future. It is often easier for elected officials to cut travel promotion rather than streetlights or firefighters. As a DMO it is important for our staff to get the story out that travel promotion is actual a tax revenue generator that can fund other programs. In our case, every $1 we spend results in over $3 in tax revenue for our city and county. This issue will continue to be important moving forward.
Socio-Cultural Trends - Health is a key issue in America today. If the US wakes up and starts to live in a more healthy way, this might affect tourism and travel to Colorado Springs. As the home of the US Olympic Committee and Training Center, fitness and activity is important to our community. This will be a slow change, but it is important to be aware of.
As I reflect on our business model, we break our business into two distinct groups of people, family vacationers and group/professional meetings or events. These two groups have tremendously different needs and wants.
Demographic Trends - Here in Colorado Springs we focus on marketing to females, 30-55 years old during the spring and summer months. During this time period often moms find themselves planning for their family's summer vacation. We also tend to focus on our drive markets (Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico) with our extremely limited budget. With increases in fuel costs we have to be even more sensitive when communicating to these often budget conscious consumers. Meeting planners are a different crowd. They are normally professional people who often do not even attend the actual meeting but are concerned with the experience and value to their firm and meeting attendees. Most are also women and tend to be older, but recently there has been an influx of younger meeting planners.
Economic Trends - Two big things come to mind based on the current recession. First, gas prices are a big thing. This affects not only our families that drive north from Texas but also fuel costs for airlift into Colorado Springs and Denver. With the increase in the cost of flights, Colorado Springs as a destination for a meeting has become more expensive in comparison to other cities that we often compete against. At times, our small airport is just not as competitive. The second big trend is what the travel industry calls the AIG Effect. This has created an increased emphasis on the cost of corporate and government meetings. With the 5 star Broadmoor Hotel in town which counts on 70% of its business coming from meetings rather than leisure travel this really hit Colorado Springs and the rest of the nation hard. Thankfully, the meetings market is starting to see a resurgence. Further political issues are key to the industry's future.
Ecological Trends -As people become more focused on becoming green, they are often shifting to getting more information online and becoming more paperless. This could affect the number of Visitor Guides we produce every year. Also, as meetings become more green, planners are requesting recyclable products for promotion that are often more expensive. I think this is a trend that isn't going to go away.
Technological Trends - Clearly the prevalence of mobile devices and the development of the online marketing space has completely changed how people get travel information. If you aren't on social media, have an app and mobile site and offer extensive information online then you are left out of the race. This also affects the quantity of our print runs for the publications we now produce. We have recently reduced the number of Meeting Planner Guides from 10,000 to 2,000 over just a couple of years. More people prefer that information in an electronic format.
Political-Legal Trends - Since most DMOs are funded through public dollars as city and state budgets become tight they are at risk of losing funding. We had a funding reduction a couple of years ago and I know that the state of Washington has completely shuttered its office for the forseeable future. It is often easier for elected officials to cut travel promotion rather than streetlights or firefighters. As a DMO it is important for our staff to get the story out that travel promotion is actual a tax revenue generator that can fund other programs. In our case, every $1 we spend results in over $3 in tax revenue for our city and county. This issue will continue to be important moving forward.
Socio-Cultural Trends - Health is a key issue in America today. If the US wakes up and starts to live in a more healthy way, this might affect tourism and travel to Colorado Springs. As the home of the US Olympic Committee and Training Center, fitness and activity is important to our community. This will be a slow change, but it is important to be aware of.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Week 2 Goals
For this week, I intend to dig more deeply into the obsess over the consumer topic presented by the video for week 1. I will read the second chapter in the book as well as watch the recorded video.
The obsess over the customer concept is an interesting one as I feel like my company doesn't consistently focus on the customer. Instead we focus on competitors and keeping things the way they have always been. Some of the senior leadership doesn't have the courage to venture into the unknown. This is often a problem as our customers and competitors are progressing while we are remaining stagnant. I tend to believe that with a significantly smaller budget than others, we need to be more creative and resourceful than we are. With an analysis of external factors, hopefully I can shed some light on some of the drivers that are currently affecting us.
The obsess over the customer concept is an interesting one as I feel like my company doesn't consistently focus on the customer. Instead we focus on competitors and keeping things the way they have always been. Some of the senior leadership doesn't have the courage to venture into the unknown. This is often a problem as our customers and competitors are progressing while we are remaining stagnant. I tend to believe that with a significantly smaller budget than others, we need to be more creative and resourceful than we are. With an analysis of external factors, hopefully I can shed some light on some of the drivers that are currently affecting us.
Monday, November 28, 2011
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