Volume I | Issue no. 4
Key Steps To Defining A Unique Position For Your DestinationOur experience shows us that there are four steps integral to uncovering truths and determining which contribute to a believable, differentiating, relevant, memorable and deliverable promise of value for any destination:
Peeling back the onionTake a good hard look at your place in the world, from an outsider’s perspective. Where did it originate? What does it offer of value? How has it been represented in the past? What is its current positioning in the mind of the consumer, and what is its current market position? How about the people behind it? What are they thinking and saying? How do they act? What do they really believe? What do they really think of the travelers that find their way here? Tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Analyzing the competitive idea spaceTake a look at all of your competitors. Reverse-engineer their advertising and marketing communications to see where they are focusing, how they are positioning their destinations. What are they saying? How is it different, and how is it the same? Is it the truth? After you’ve completed this, you should have a good idea where there is saturation and where there is opportunity in the world of ideas. Identifying the true relationship driversIdentify all of the attributes in the category and do a gap analysis to determine which of these are the relationship drivers for the category, and for your destination. Are the drivers tangible or intangible? Which attributes do you need to do well just to be considered? Which offer the highest return on investment and which aren’t worth spending time or money on? Don’t be afraid to invest in consumer research (qualitative or quantitative) at this stage. Good fieldwork and analysis will deliver decision support tools for a decade or more. Getting intimate with the consumerAmong travellers who seek out destinations in your competitive space, what are their current perceptions of the category as a whole, your brand and those you compete with? What keeps them up at night? What interests them, makes them happy, and can improve their quality of life. Focusing on the relationship-building drivers, ladder up the list of attributes to get to the place that resonates with consumers emotionally. What are they willing to believe about your place that is somehow different and more desirable than the competition? The bottom lineIt may not be so plainly evident, but uncovering the truth is the key to finding a position that will be meaningful, different, and ownable over the long term. | ||
what you are talking about can be said in one word authenticity -we all are looking for what is real about where we go - what is part of the culture - what the locals do - why they live here - not the same starbucks on every corner - what is real about where we are - we do not leave home to find home - not real travelers!! Tourists leave home to find home and want whats familiar - real travelers seek authenticity -we want to experience something very different from our usual day to day.
Authenticity is indeed what many travelers are looking for, but authenticity is a difficult concept to market and monetize. In marketing, "authenticity" has become a cliché -- much like the word "unique". If every destination is about "authenticity", authenticity becomes a commodity. And while your point about this difference between "real" travelers and tourists is interesting, most destinations need to appeal to both to have sustainable tourism business.
Some good advice there. Working with operators and regional tourism offices in New Zealand, it's frustratingly obvious that some are the need to design a clear image, more then ignore their strategic marketing plans and many lack allegiance to their own brand image. When we deliver PR and e-marketing for out tourism clients it's essential to keep inline with greater brand objectives.
Tourist may want familiar, and travelers may want authentic, but as a "lodging provider" we want them both. How then to market to both effectively is the question? Can we do both? Yes - if your destination and experience provide both. If it doesn't, then one must choose to market to the segment they can satisfy. It's just as important to know what you aren't as what you are. So if you are in a suburban 'hood near Disney that's cheap and big - that's ok, just as if it's ok if you are in a funky downtown loft in NYC...
I enjoyed this article and the comments; yes I agree with "authenticity". But what about emphasizing the "cultural" aspect of the destination? For instance, I live on Maui, HI and I am working on incorporating information about the Hawaiian culture on my travel site; same thing with the other destinations in the South Pacific; people are interested in learning about different cultures and how they can experience them, teach their kids and have travel stories to take home to share with friends.
first time to visit wanderlust but i am impressed by the content.
let me understand it further
info@worldhoteldirectory.us
Cultural aspects of a destination are important in defining a positioning. However, its important to remember that a destination's culture is merely a feature and that many destinations have culture to offer. Consumers ultimately want to know what the experience will be like (how will it be different than any other location) and how will it make me feel (meaningful high order benefit). When you can define and articulate these, you have the building blocks of a unique positioning.
Social Influence is of greater importance than most items you mentioned. Branding is shrinking as influence is growing. Influence the Influencers. It's not just friends now -- it's friendsters.
Simon and Okia, thanks for the comments.
Todd, I think you are confusing the idea of branding with the practice of mass media advertising. They are not interchangeable. Advertising is one tactic used in branding, sociaI influence is another. I agree with you that social influence is growing in importance and that influencing the influencers is becoming more important every day — due to the growth in online social networking. But to say that positive social influencers aren't practicing brand advocacy would be inaccurate. They may not view themselves as participants in the branding process, but they are nevertheless. Since a brand has always been what consumers think it is and not always what a company wants it to be, social influence is the purest form of branding.
Talking about positionning is from the very past of marketing. It talks to the "reason side" of the consumer and help him to make its own conclusion. But conclusion won' t make him act. "While reason drives you to conclusions, emotions drive you to act". The way to market any product is to think on relations with consumer. And make that relation based on love. Tourism is the best, the most complicated and the most exciting category to manage. Almost every place can introduce a love relationship.
Vincent,it is true that in the past (and unfortunately the present) marketers have tried to position brands to appeal to the "reason side." If you take another read of this newsletter and poke around our site, you'll find that we are proponents of positioning to appeal to the emotional side of the consumer. Appealing to reason is not, nor has ever been a sustainable as a point of differentiation.
Some solid info...needs time to take it all in...am trying hard! tony
Quote: "Once that truth has been uncovered and clearly articulated, every decision that has to be made gets a lot easier moving forward".
That's just where the problems come in for tourist destinations which still have to be discovered. In our experience here in South Africa it seems that the majority of (inbound) tour operators are not very much into exploration of new destinations. They choose the safe 'mainstream' destinations ......
Despite economic recession and the impact of this on the tourism industry we offer since a few years together with a few partners package deals; mainly via direct marketing towards our target markets. Result: 50% increase in bookings in comparison with last year. Majority via direct (online) bookings. The travel industry in South Africa did not see the potential of our idea when we started it. Now we are branding the Klaas Voogds area in the Western Cape as the only 'self sufficient' destination between Cape Town and Garden Route; the best (hand crafted) wine from the Robertson Wine Valley are "original Klaas Voogds", there is a game drive with only indigenous game (no zoo Big 5), two of the best restaurants plus private dining, a nature reserve, 4x4 track, angling spots, massages, the world's largest hedge maze, unique succulent gardens, olive tasting, taxidermist demonstrations, wire art, woodwork, candle making, etc. etc.
And guests are spreading the word at home never to book an organised trip to South Africa but to go on a self discovery tour instead of being guided from one tourist trap into another ....
Branding is useful but it can work against you when tourists find out that they are fooled .....
We choose very concious for long term branding with integrity! This pays off at the end.
P.S. I also noticed that you're Google ranking for all of the page titles used in this article is pretty close to perfect. Nice job.