how to sell packages in the low season
TRANSCRIPT
Prepared by
SMAT Marketing Limited
PLOT 209, MAWANDA RD
+256751221765, +256788160575
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World Tourism statistics say the low season in EastAfrica is October to May; defined as a time when touristreceipts are low & business activity is slow.
In the past, as a tour operator, you faced the challengeof generating a year's revenue in a few months. Thanksto fruitful market research, today there are ways to keepthe cash flowing all year 'round even after the so-calledkey season has passed.
Different tourists have different needs all year. Touroperators should stop considering themselves aseasonal business & begin to think creatively, test newideas -- even if they are beyond what you are used to.
Only about 30% of tour operators in Ugandahave CLEAR marketing strategies—many useguess work & the majority simply copy others!
Your business’ marketing strategy is meant tohelp you survive any season. A good strategyalso helps you fight negative press about yourdestination & equips you with campaign ideasthat give you meaningful growth no matter theseason.
2015
FRESH mindset,
NEW methods!No one cares about your flyers anymore…
The rise of the Internet has created new rules intourism marketing.
Tourists today simply share opinions, reviews &thoughts constantly via the Internet on nichecommunities, review sites, chats, blogs, wikis &emails. It’s these interactions that determinewhere they go & which company they choose.
Tourists find you-FASTER: If you’re not ranked onGoogle, most tourists searching for East African tourswon’t know OR CARE that you exist!
Easy, faster communication. Location is not an issueanymore, neither is time. Web-based software makes itpossible to have all your customer data in one place, soyou have a better idea of who you’re talking to and whatto say to them.
It’s the LEAST EXPENSIVE marketing & Advertising tool. Itrequires less than half the cost of traditional methodse.g. $5 a day (UGX-15,000) on facebook exposes you toOVER 10,000 people. How many sales guys with flyers &branded t-shirts can you facilitate with UGX-15,000?
YOUR WEBSITE:Today, your website is more important to your businessthan a flyer. A website travels the world without yourhelp, sings your name 24/7 & is your modern officewithout monthly rent.
The RIGHT website:
Simple & InteractiveMobile-friendlyOptimized for social mediaWell-written high quality contentTestimonialsClear calls to action.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Beyond Facebook & Twitter there are OVER 485active social media sites—yes! A whole world ofother sites you’ve never heard about.
The good news is you need to be SUPER ACTIVEon ONLY 3 to get results. A sample goodcombination is Facebook, Twitter & YouTUBE
The first sign of a professional is the emailservice they use. GMAIL, YAHOO, HOTMAIL,MSN are all free i.e. every TOM, DICK &HARRY uses them.
A personalized email is more serious &professional e.g. [email protected] is moreserious than [email protected] becauseit’s branded & traceable.
The tools above must play in unison e.g. ifyour strategy for August to October is to sell2 itineraries to western Uganda, 70% of yourblog posts in this period must talk aboutwestern Uganda. 70% of your tweets,facebook updates &recommendations on yelpmust be on western Uganda & your emailmarketing campaign MUST focus on westernUganda.
How to use these tools to
keep your business alive in the low season
Gather & publicize stories, testimonials &recommendations about your business. Thiswill build your profile; put you on top oftravelers’ minds & push steady traffic to yourwebsite.
Ask customers to post pictures & videos fromtheir experience with your business. The moreraw and interesting content you can get fromyour customers, the better your marketingcampaigns will be.
What if your customers aren’t willing?
OR
you don’t have clients yet?
Do you ever wonder why there are so manywritten reviews, articles & ratings about someplaces & companies?
Well, it’s a service called “reputationmanagement.” Of course some dirty businessesabuse it & use exaggerated fake reviews butpurge software eventually identifies & punishesthese brands.
Online reputation management is a systematic P.Rpractice that helps amplify a brand’s good qualities &minimize negativity by actively tracking & engagingenthusiasts & resolving complaints.
77% of all reviews & ratings on TripAdvisor are writtenby professional agencies.
Destinations like Dubai, Paris, New York, Sao Paolo,Mombasa, Johannesburg e.t.c. use this service—somelocal businesses in Uganda use the service too but forpurposes of confidentiality, NO NAMES!
…that’s how they keep pulling tourists!!!
Use your blog to illustrate your passion &excitement about what you do. Use it to inspirepeople to want to “give it a go.” A blog doesn’t onlymean long text articles, include photos, videos,polls e.t.c. Just make sure it is ALL BRANDEDCONTENT
How often should you blog?
If you have a dedicated blogger, 5 posts a week isenough. However, the frequency depends on yourmarketing objectives based on your strategy.
Identify & sell “season-less” offers for example;build loyalty with the domestic market duringoff season. Remember they’re there all yearround and can give you tons of repeat businessand word of mouth.
Some more ideas:Off season discounts
Honeymoons
Birthday month specials
Family discounts
Make it a habit to run campaigns rather thanblindly posting generic updates on social mediato no effect. Remember! Your time & resourcesare limited so don’t waste them on activities thatdon’t put money in your pocket.
Campaigns can range from 3 weeks to 1 month,3 months even a year depending on what yourstrategy seeks to achieve
Campaigns aren’t just adverts, they are engagingsocial media activities that boost yourcommunity, awareness & sometimes even sales.
The ROTARY CANCER RUN happens every year inAugust. As a tour operator, you partner with theRotary Clubs of Uganda & agree to make a donationof 1 dollar for every participant to a local boat cruiseor cross-country road-trip designed by you.
To maximize profit, you set minimums for example100 participants will trigger the donation.
STATISTICS If each participant pays $50 then 100 people means
$5000 dollars in gross revenue for you & $100donation to charity which leaves $4900 in yourpocket in just 1 month
1. Rotary needs the donation so it will help youpromote the campaign; remember there arethousands of rotary members—that meansthousands of word-of-mouth promoters foryou
2. You contribute to charity. It’s good for yoursoul & your brand image
3. If you execute well, you will be top of mindevery year in August!
The rotary cancer run this year is on 30th August.Feel free to implement this campaign but rememberto thoroughly analyse the details e.g.
what name will you give it to inspire participation?
What choice of activity will actually move people?
How will you promote it to maximize sales in theshortest time possible?
CLEAN UP YOUR IMAGE:
website, social media, email
GET PEOPLE TALKING:
reviews, ratings, email campaigns, aggressive social media interaction
SELL NON-SEASONAL OFFERS:
domestic tours, specialized discounts
Success principles always remain the same;you decide what you want & believe that youcan have it then take the NECESSARY risksand actions to make it happen. All the tactics& ideas presented here will guarantee yoursuccess if you set-up & execute themcorrectly.
We are communication allies who usetechnology & creative excellence to helpbusinesses develop & implement cost-effective ideas to shape their identity,improve customer relations, boost awareness& drive sales.
Our philosophy is POTENT PRESENCE i.e. allour strategies & actions are designed to bringgrowth & development for us and our clients.
New Product/Brand Development
Marketing Strategy
Web design & Hosting
Graphics Design
Online Advertising: Planning & Buying
Social Media Management
Online Reputation Management
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+256751221765, +256788160575
www.smatmarketing.net
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