What’s in it for me ? marketing in tough times

The effects of recession on consumer spending

Here in the UK the current recession has been declared a record breaker. Through force of circumstance, or simply concern over what the future holds, according to research commissioned by our national tourist agency Visit Britain, over three quarters of the population have reined in their spending and become a lot more careful about what they spend their money on. Even the minority who still have plentiful financial resources (and around 13% of the UK population fall into this category), are taking advantage of the situation, and driving a hard bargain on major purchases.

Inevitably the downturn has moved the goalposts for businesses involved in the visitor economy too.  A BBC Radio 4 report recently announced that the ratio of savings to earnings had risen to it’s highest level for some years, after plummeting towards negativity during boom times. when credit fuelled spending had almost outstripped earnings. Looking into the future, The Banking Times this week reported on consumer research from KDB, which showed over half (56%) of Britons intending to cut their borrowing. and almost half (45%) intending to bolster their savings, (with the young particularly in favour of saving), in the coming months.

Consequences for UK tourism

The consequence of all this is that discretionary spending is likely to shrink further, and as a result, like other sectors competing for consumer spending, businesses involved in hospitality tourism and leisure in the UK are all going to have to continue to fight hard to maintain ‘share of wallet’ not just this winter, but into the New Year as well. It’s a good time to be bargain hunting!

The latest bulletin from Visit Britain, looking at the outlook for UK tourism,  makes fairly gloomy reading for the industry in the short term. Earlier in the year, their research (with Olive Insight) into UK consumer behaviour during the recession,  examined the extent to which people have been cutting back on different types of expenditure over the past year, taking snapshots every few months to monitor the evolving situation, and specifically its effect on trips and travel away from home.

It found that although expenditure on holidays and breaks from daily routine is relatively resiliant as a category of consumer spending, almost half of the UK population are cutting back on the amount they’re  spending, although few are sacrificing holidays and breaks altogether.

What remains clear, is that irrespective of whether the recession affects you personally or not, is that the people who are spending are looking out for a deal, and getting into price comparison in a big way. Haven’t you noticed all the TV ads for price comparison websites recently?

Reasons why people are still spending

Here are some of the reasons why people are spending on  trips and breaks away from home:

• it can be a necessity
• show off to friends
• escape from stress
• a treat to reward yourself for hard work
• celebrate a special occasion
• spend time with family
• enjoy the comfort of the familar
• make the trip of a lifetime

Why busnesses are ‘going the extra mile’

There’s often a lot at stake when people are planning a trip. The interests of many different people may need to be satisfied, so there can be a lot of planning and emotional commitment involved in getting it right before money can change hands.

People often start by researching their options online. Any business serious about marketing in the current economic environment, needs to put some thought into dangling a choice of propositions in front of every customer or prospect. Speaking for myself,  I know it’s a lot more difficult to turn down everything when presented with an attractive choice of  options at various price points, than it is to make a simple yes or no decision on one item. Market traders the world over take full advantage!

Incidentally, leather gloves in a wonderful choice of colours similar to the ones shown in my picture above, can be found at Sermoneta, 51 Burlington Arcade, just off Piccadilly, near the Royal Academy in the West End of London.

Countering objections

It’s perfectly reasonable for people considering spending a significant amount to have genuine doubts about whether a purchase is right for them. Busineses can tackle this by anticipating  and countering objections, and being ready to serve up a simple list of answers to ‘frequently asked questions’ during live encounters or online. It’s not in anyone’s interest, however, for people to feel that they’re being put under pressure.

A picture can speak a thousand words. Photography can help bring an experience alive, and can help bring a business a wider audience when published on photo sharing sites such as Flickr, which can link back to the originating website. I also believe there’s a good case for accommodation providers and visitor attractions to start thinking about other ways of making the most of digital technology. This can be in the form of 360 degree views of guest rooms, videos good enough to become popular on You Tube, audio podcasts, blog publishing, or soliciting user generated reviews.

Ordinarily a business might find it a simple  matter to persuade people to book and pay full price, by providing information about location, facilities, prices, and how to book. However when times are tough, many people are looking out for ‘deals’.  So what types of deal are most effective in securing incremental business? Visit Britain’s research has identified four types of proposition offering maximum appeal, and I have to admit that they work with me!

The top 4 propositions

1. Enhancing offer. Covers added value propositions of all description, such as treating a guests to a room upgrade, or offering an annual pass for the price of a full price day ticket to a visitor attraction.
2. Enabling offer. This puts something attractive within reach,  allowing people to purchase something at a value for money price, that they feel couldn’t otherwise afford.  Examples include 2 for 1, 3 for 2, and similar offers of all description. Often combined with psycholological price points (£9.99; £99; £999 etc.)
3. Stimulating offer. This is usually wrapped up around special events, and may offer privileged access, VIP treatment etc. These types of offer are not usually possible for people to organise themselves, so price comparison is made impossible.
4. Self Justifying offer. Appeals to people celebrating special occasions, or living life in the fast lane, who seek pampering,  or a reward for hard work when they take time off or time out. Propositions of this type usually involve indulgence and luxury, and can vary from private dining to spa days, retreats, or unique activities offering an adrenaline rush.

Promoting offers

Businesses  dictate  where their offers are promoted. Most are sensibly ring fenced  with an expiry date, and fair and reasonable terms and conditions, such as validity dates, to prevent abuse or over redemption.

Online media can provide an inexpensive choice of distribution channel, and many businesses choose to publicise their best offers only on their own website. If you’re someone on the  look out  for offers, individual business websites are a good place to look; but in addition many destination websites feature an ‘offers’ section for consumers. If  a wide choice of propositions and a range of price points are what you’re looking for, destination websites can be a convenient place to find your way to offer originators, so it makes sense for businesses to use this as an additional promotional channel. Local district tourism officers can usually provide information to businesses about the marketing options available on websites they’re involved with.

Many destination sites are highly ranked by search engines, with those offering intuitive navigation and search functions, allied to clickable links through to business websites where people can check things out in more detail, usually have the highest traffic volumes. Many also showcase selected businesses with the aid of paid for ‘enhanced listings’ and image galleries, which further encourage click throughs to individual websites.  Inspected and graded businesses that publish availability and offer booking online can also  find their offers picked up and publicised regionally, and even nationally on  premier sites like Enjoy England and Visit Britain.

You may have heard about the EU Package Travel Directive, which helps provide security for consumers. It defines the responsibilities of operators in relation to pre-arranged ‘packages’ offered at an inclusive price, involving a combination of two or more of the following elements: transport, accommodation, or other services, that account for a significant proportion of the package. This shouldn’t put businesses off from submitting offers. There’s a summary of the regulations on the website of the Association of British Travel Agents, and the website of the European Tour Operators Association also carries information. However if in any doubt about regulatory matters, businesses should always seek professional legal advice. Business Link is a useful source of free advice and support for  businesses in the UK

I’m looking forward to the marketing challenges that the New Year is going to bring!

Until next time..

Mind your language! Attracting the overseas visitor to Britain.

The overseas tourist trail

I started thinking about how Britain is marketed as a destination to international visitors this week, after watching the second programme in the entertaining  BBC2 series  ‘On The Tourist Trail’.  Each week various groups of overseas visitors to Britain have been accompanied by John Sergeant on their planned trips to tourist hot spots, such as London, The Lake District and Cambridge; before individuals have been selected for an unscheduled trip  somewhere unexpected.

The former BBC political correspondent, and controversial Strictly Come Dancing contender has received rave reviews. It’s made great television, with John Seargeant coming across as an enthusiastic, but unaffected amateur tourist guide.

So far he’s taken German bikers on a tour of his former family home; and different groups of Americans have been taken to look at allotments, attended Ladies Day at Ascot, or paraded through the streets of Edinburgh under the banner of the clan of their Scottish ancestors.

The traditional route

As recently as the 1970s, overseas visitors took a fairly well trodden route through Britain on a 7-10 night stay (I know because I used to help organise them). Frightened by our left hand drive cars , they booked themselves on escorted coach tours, or hired a car and driver. Their itinerary took in a 2 or 3 night stay to see the sights in London and visit Windsor, adding on a 7 night tour of the provinces, via Oxford or Bath and the Cotswolds to Stratford Upon Avon, Shrewsbury, then via Snowdonia en route to Chester, The Lake District of Wordsworth or Beatrix Potter, and continue into Scotland and Edinburgh. The journey back to London took in Jedburgh or Fountains Abbey en route to York; and then returned via Lincoln, Stamford or Cambridge.

That was then, this is now

Now, thanks to their greater sense of adventure, and the Internet, overseas visitors travel by public transport, hire cars, or bring their own; and can get off the beaten track to visit anywhere in the country much more easily.

The attractiveness and sheer variety of what’s on offer in Britain for visitors  shines out from current television programmes, websites, guidebooks and brochures.  However it’s also  apparent that overseas visitors continue to be attracted to aspects of Britain that natives either overlook, or take for granted.

Our national tourism agency Visit Britain has lots of useful information available to businesses involved in tourism, concerning the appeal and marketing of Britain to overseas visitors.

Activities with maximum overseas visitor appeal

• cruising Loch Ness in search of the monster
• exploring obscure nooks and crannies in search of ancestors
• dressing up and joining in at living history events, battle re-enactments, parades, musical events and festivals
• ‘playing at being posh’ at events typically pursued by royalty or aristocracy
• participating in ghost tours
• visiting gardens,  historic castles and haunted houses
• watching traditional ceremonies, and seeing the Queen in person (evidently   750,ooo Germans watch the annual ‘Trooping the Colour’ ceremony live on German tv every year)
• visiting places associated with movies, artists, or writers, (Japanese visitors apparently flock to Beatrix Potter’s home in Cumbria because it remains as it was in illustrations from her books, which are used in the teaching of English in Japan)

Sadly, but somewhat inevitably, the John Sergeant programmes limit themselves to interviewing overseas visitors who speak English. To my certain knowledge, an inability to speak the language never puts off a determined tourist.

However, people who don’t speak the language do see things differently. They still manage to eat, and buy things in shops; but they miss out mainly because they can’t usually chat to locals. They also have difficulty with signs (especially if they use a different alphabet); and because translated editions of guide books aren’t always available , they can be totally reliant on information provided to them by tour guides that speak their language.

The business case for translation

In Britain we tend not to be very good at making the effort to communicate with people in their native language. Yet as London 2012 approaches, it’s clearly in our interest to consider doing so. Former German Chancellor Willy Brandt once explained why :

‘If you want to buy from us we speak English; but if you want to sell to us, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen.‘ (then you must speak German)

According to translation agency Cicero Translations, if you’re a business targeting overseas visitors to Britain the most worthwhile languages into which you might consider translating your marketing communications are German, French, Spanish and Dutch/Flemish.

How to help visitors who don’t speak English

• Speak clearly and slowly.
• Write things down. Use visual aids such as figures, diagrams, maps, gestures and sign language to  communicate your meaning.
• Make the most of signage. Follow the example of airports and major rail stations, where millions are spent on signage, to ensure people don’t get lost.
• Keep text on informational signs to a minimum. Use images, colour coding, directional arrrows and internationally recognised symbols to aid understanding and navigation.
• Longer term it pays huge dividends if you can manage to greet people and say a few words in a few popular languages. Tourism South East runs a training programme for tourism businesses that helps front line staff do just this. It’s called ‘Welcome International’.
• Have menus and a summary of information about your business professionally translated. Publish it online.
• Make maximum use of attractive visual displays.
• Attract people with branding and signage featuring locally distinctive images and famous people or names strongly associated with the area.

Top 10 translation tips

1. Provide the translator with a customer profile (eg age, demographics)
2. Brief the translator about expected tone and style
3. Consider your key selling points for each nationality
4. Look at existing multilingual marketing matertials  for design ideas
5. Allow up to 10% word count expension for European language text, but contraction in the length of Chinese and Japanese
6. Avoid jokes, puns and metaphors which don’t translate
7. Agree submission deadlines with the translator
8. Avoid making amendments to the text to be translated, which adds to cost
9. Avoid combining newly translated text with older text from another source, or allow the translator to manage the integration
10. Have the translator approve final text in context

Capitalise on increased media interest in Britain

Now that there’s less than 1,000 days until the opening ceremony for London 2012, it strikes me that the provinces have got to get moving soon, in order to make the most of the increased interest from overseas visitors in Britain as a destination. During the interim period there’s  going to be lots of media interest in Britain from overseas. It all equates to a multitude of PR opportunities, for businesses involved in tourism throughout the country, that are prepared to put in a bit of time and effort.

Tourism South East are already running ‘Hosting the World’ training courses for businesses, two of which are dedicated to marketing, and working with the media respectively.

Until next time…

PS For your information, I’m going to publish my posts at the beginning of the week from now on.

At the cutting edge: Bournemouth Surf Reef

What’s new in Bournemouth

This week I’ve been in Bournemouth. I decided to take a trip to see for myself how this well known coastal town has been developing new world class facilities, and re-positioning itself to increase its appeal to today’s more demanding,  well travelled customers. These include not only international visitors to Britain; but also UK residents, who are starting to think twice before they travel, may feel guilty about their carbon emissions, and are considering spending more of their precious leisure time  in the UK, avoiding the hassles of airport queues and security checks, if only they can find places where they feel happy to hang out.

I took a look at how the Bournemouth area is trying to grab market share, and  found evidence all over town. One of the first things I heard was news of the opening of a hot new concept ‘at home’ John Lewis store in Branksome, already proving popular with locals and those in the know. 

My first stop was the newly opened Bournemouth Surf Reef which has now been sucessfully anchored offshore immediately east of Boscombe pier. Arriving at around 9.30am, I parked in the deserted Sea Road car park and strolled down the steps, past the pier and the Neptune Harvester restaurant, and onto the promenade in front of the Overstrand building. This is a 1950s building, which has benefited from an £11M revamp. From what I saw it’s starting to look like this investment,  and the surf reef itself, will pay off and put the formerly run down Boscombe area of town firmly back on the map, although, in the recession, probably not quite as fast as the developers hoped.

Why all the fuss about a reef?

Already here is the Urban Reef Cafe Bar and deli, the Surf Reef store, where you can buy all the gear, including body boards for first timers, a lifeguard post and the celebrated ‘Surf Pods’, retro styled beach huts for surfers. They’ve been created by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway – creators of the Red or Dead fashion brand. Although some have already been sold, many of the pods are still available for  sale – at £64,995 for a single pod and £89,995 for a double, (through Savills or Goadsby). 17 are being made available for rental, at £1,958 for the whole summer or £600 per 2 week period. More information.

A personal view

Looking out to sea east of the 1950s concrete pier at Boscombe, all that’s immediately visible of the underwater reef,  the size of a football pitch, is a series of marker buoys bobbing in the water just over 200 metres from the shore. There were no surfers on the beach at that hour, on the grey day I visited; but the lifeguard vehicle was already pulled up on the promenade, the shops were starting to open, and the Urban Reef cafe already had a handful of well wrapped up customers sipping cappucinos to keep warm on the terrace, overlooking a wide sandy beach that looked lovingly manicured. My view is that everything is now in place for it to get really popular, perhaps by next summer. Learn more about construction of the reef.

Shops at the pier have already cottoned on to the interests of the new type of clientele the area is starting to attract. I spotted a nice line in retro postcards from J Salmon on sale at one of the pier shops (retailers please note : I think these could prove popular). I bought one myself, entitled ‘Mad Hutters’, on the theme of beach huts.

Read comment from the Bournemouth Evening Echo and local surfers on the opening day of the Surf Reef 3 November 2009.
Further information: equipment hire and surfing lessons.
current surf conditions

Some places to stay

The regeneration of Boscombe is already having a ripple effect. Up Sea Road from Boscombe pier, and 3rd on the left you’ll find Argyll Road, home of the Urban Beach Hotel, which I noted from an advertising sign on the promenade, is ‘the coolest place I ever stayed’ according to Frank Skinner. A dull November day was however, probably not the best day on which to make a judgement from the outside alone! I think parking could be a problem in the immediate area by next summer; but did notice that there’s a bus stop by the pier, advertising a Park and Ride service from Boscombe bus station.

Bournemouth is certainly at the cutting edge when it comes to enterprising hoteliers. It’s also home to what’s claimed to be the world’s only chocolate themed boutique hotel. Find it hidden away on Durley Road over on the West Cliff side of town. Please note that I haven’t actually tried out the accommodation at either of these places, so I take no responsibility if you decide to try them out; but if you do, I’d be interested to hear your opinion. There’s a massive choice of hotels in the area to suit all budgets. and you can always check Trip Adviser for reviews.

However, one hotel in the area that I have stayed at, and can therefore recommend personally, (although it’s actually in nearby Christchurch), is The Captains Club. It’s a stylish contemporary riverside hotel, with a spa and an excellent fine dining restaurant.

Alternatively, if your budget’s not a problem, I can also recommend the Chewton Glen Hotel, a member of Relais and Chateaux, which is also fairly close by in New Milton.

Eating out in the Bournemouth area

This visit I took the opportunity to visit the old art deco former Bournemouth Evening Echo office on Richmond Hill in the centre of town, which has been turned into The Ink Bar and  Print Room restaurant. It’s brilliant. Great atmosphere. After hitting the shops around Bournemouth Square, their 2 course business lunch really hit the spot (£40 for two including drinks). Our waiter told us that they’re running a  2 for 1 offer on afternoon tea until the end of November. Do go if you get the chance. They also have special opera and flamenco evenings coming up before the end of the year. My sister, who’s a journalist and knows these things, told me that Bill Bryson once worked here, when it was still the Bournemouth Evening Echo office.

Another favourite restaurant of mine, with a lovely view of the sea, albeit even further out of town, is Pebble Beach, Barton On Sea Alternatively if you’re looking for something more rustic with cosy seclusion in the nearby New Forest National Park, try High Corner at Linwood, which can be somewhat challenging to find! Both places also offer accommodation. Restaurants with rooms offer an increasingly popular option.

So, as you can see, things are definitely changing down at the great British seaside. Bournemouth is by no means alone, as an increasing number of coastal towns and cities are seeking to widen their appeal and tap into new markets. Portsmouth is a place which I’ll have to talk about on another occasion…

Here are a few more photos. As you can see the weather was not too good on the day I visited!

Until next time…

Time to re-evaluate Charles Dickens ?

This week I was in Regent Street on the very evening that there was a co-ordinated switch on of London’s Christmas lights, across the West End and City, by the stars of Walt Disney Pictures ‘A Christmas Carol’, adapted from the Christmas story written by Charles Dickens in 1843.

There was no missing the giant silver illuminated stars which hung across the road, right down its length. The Regent Street lights were  switched on by Colin Firth, while Jim Carrey presided over similar celebrations in nearby Oxford Street.  It all coincided with the world premiere of this latest Hollywood adaptation of a work by Dickens, in Leicester Square, which was transformed into a winter wonderland especially for the event.

What makes Dickens relevant today?

The plots and characters of Dickens’s novels continue to resonate with today’s audiences, in spite of well over a century passing since the great author’s untimely death from a stroke in June 1870, at the age of 58. Many contemporary authors can only dream of emulating such long term international success.   Allow me to explain why I believe that in 2012, the bicentenary of his birth on Friday 7th February 1812, you can expect to hear almost as much about Dickens, as about London 2012. Here’s why.

Secrets of Dickens’s lasting popularity

• His works have stood the test of time and have never gone out of print
• He created a plethora of memorable characters
• He succeeds in creating pictures in the reader’s imagination with words
• He associated his key characters with memorable catch phrases
• He published his novels in serialised form to make them more accessible.
• He worked hard to promote his works in person, at public readings.
• He felt strongly and spoke up about social issues still relevant today
• His works have been widely translated and frequently used as set texts by students of English in the non Anglophone world
• The compelling storylines of his novels continue to stimulate  adaptations for television, theatre and cinema audiences

My involvement with Dickens 2012

The Mayor of London, Film London and the Charles Dickens Museum chose  the day of the Disney world premiere to announce Dickens 2012.  Planning for a major international celebration of events and activities to coincide with the bicentenary is already well underway.

This is a project in which I’m already actively involved, having recently been commissioned to research  the many Dickensian connections of Kent and Medway.  I hope to continue my involvement and lend  support to the county’s plans to launch Dickens’s country in time for 2012.

How I became a fan of Dickens

Co-incidentally, like Dickens himself, I was born in Portsmouth; but I actually became a fan largely as a result of being introduced to his works by a marvellously enthusiastic primary school English teacher, who always used passages from his novels whenever she set her class exercises in reading aloud, comprehension or dictation. This soon got me hooked into reading his novels.

Dickens in Kent

Dickens spent his formative childhood years (1817-22) in the Medway towns of Chatham and Rochester, which his friend and biographer John Forster described as ‘the birthplace of his fancy’. It was in Rochester where he first encountered the theatre, which was also to become an important influence in his life.

Contrary to popular perception,  his gimlet eye also concerned itself with observing life in the English countryside, as well as with urban life and social deprivation. Descriptions from his correspondence, work as a journalist and works of fiction, all demonstrate his enduring love of Kentish countryside and coast. Furthermore, he chose to honeymoon at Chalk near Gravesend, spent many summer holidays in Broadstairs; and used Kent as a setting for much of the action in both ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Great Expectations’. Incidentally, it was recently announced that a new movie adaptation of the latter, to be produced by Stephen Wooley and Elizabeth Karlsen,  is scheduled to start production in London in 2010.

Dickens returned to Kent in later life, to live close to where he had grown up, finally succeeding, in 1856, in buying Gad’s Hill Place, a red brick Georgian mansion atop the North Downs above Rochester, long after first admiring it as a child, while accompanying his father on long country walks from the family home in Chatham.

Read ‘A Christmas Carol’ for yourself, and you will find Ebenezer Scrooge being taken by the Ghost of Christmas Past to a ‘little market town’ and then a school, from his boyhood, which from the descriptions sound remarkably like Rochester and Gad’s Hill Place, which remains as a school today. Here’s a wonderful later description by Dickens of Gad’s Hill, taken from ‘The Uncommercial Traveller’ (186o):

‘I have my eye upon a piece of Kentish road, bordered on either side by a wood, and having on one hand, between the road-dust and the trees, a skirting patch of grass. Wild flowers grow in abundance on this spot, and it lies high and airy, with the distant river stealing steadily away to the ocean, like a man’s life. To gain the milestone here, which the moss, primroses, violets, blue-bells, and wild roses, would soon render illegible but for passing travellers pushing them aside with their sticks, you must come up a steep hill, come which way you may.’

Dickens lived through times of great change, experiencing first hand the effects of the industrial revolution;  and how the coming of the railways revolutionised long distance transportation, and had a positive effect on property prices.  Were he alive today, I’m sure he would have been excited by the communications opportunities presented by digital media. Expect to see lots of innovative methods being used to engage new audiences with the life, works and legacy of Charles Dickens, in 2012 and beyond.

Visiting Dickens festivals in Kent

Dickens would still be able to recognise many of the places he knew well in Kent, particularly Rochester, Canterbury and Broadstairs. Those seeking the ultimate Dickensian experience should time a visit during one of the Dickens festivals: Dickensian Christmas is held every December in Rochester, and summer festivals are held annually in both Broadstairs and  Rochester in June.

Until next week…