Is your brand a One Night Stand or a Serious Relationship? Part II

Staying with the topic of relationships and tourism destinations or businesses (see previous blogpost), tourism marketers would benefit from strategies that segment their visitors between those who are just looking for a "one night stand" and those who want or could develop a "serious relationship" with their destination, attraction or tourism business. This is easier said than done, but not impossible. At the micro-level, small tourism businesses like lake resorts, B&B's, restaurants and some attractions already have "going steady" relationships with many of their customers. For example, my family has an ongoing relationship with the Gravenhurst, Ontario area. We try to go to the same vacation rental property every year. Every year we go to the same ice-cream parlour at the Muskoka Wharf and the same café in Port Carling. We always shop at the stores in that town - I particularly like Muskoka Bear Wear.

I also have a "serious relationship" with the IHG Hotel Group. I am a Priority Club Ambassador member. Informally, I have made a commitment to stay at IHG hotels wherever I go if at all possible. Priority Club is their loyalty program and Ambassador is a higher level of membership, and implies a bigger commitment from IHG to make these loyal guests happy and treat them in a special way. As long as I perceive a real benefit from this membership, I will remain loyal to the brand. The main reason for this loyalty is that I always know what I'm going to get when I travel and stay at the different IHG brand hotels.

In today's "world of the customer," in the new "era of pull", where the "customers are the message", and brand is the sum of customers' Public tweets, comments, complaints, videos, etc., knowing what kind of relationship your business or destination can aspire to and with whom is critical for long term viability. The number of substitutes for all leisure and entertainment products is growing exponentially. The current global economic reality will force consumers to make tough decisions. "Should we go for a weekend to Montreal or New York or should we buy the new Apple MacBook Air?" We are not just competing with other destinations or attractions. We are competing for consumers' share of wallet with a myriad of products and services. Today more than ever we must strive to make our guests and visitors feel special. We should focus on developing "long term relationships."

When applying Social Media strategy to these two kinds of customers what might be the right approach:

• For your "going steady" customers you should strive to develop an ongoing dialog. These customers should be more open to receiving your newsletters and follow you on Twitter. It is very important that you listen and respond to these customers more than any others. They will be the champions of your brand. Applying what I call PERL to these guests would yield the best results. P for promotion, E for engagement, R for responding and L for listening, not in that particular order, of course, but easy to remember. Furthermore, you should consider a loyalty program of some sort. With the explosion of geolocation services that are easy to use, you should think about a FourSquare, Gowalla, Living Social, WagJag and/or other geolocation and group buying strategy.
• For your potential "one night stands" you would apply more traditional marketing tactics, including digital and traditional advertising, supported by social media elements (and attractive price points). Harness the positive content created by past guests and your brand champions and do everything possible to distribute that content for all to see. Tourism British Columbia is an example of a destination that has striven to do this with their blogs. TBC was one of the first destinations in Canada that offered travelers the opportunity to create blog posts on their official website. When TBC started its blog social media had not taken off yet so readers could not share blogposts via Twitter and FB, but today they can and TBC rightly added "share this" buttons to every post.

In conclusion, I suggest you begin to look at the marketplace with fresh eyes. Take time to figure out how marketing fits with this idea of your "steady" guestfriends vs. your "short term affair" guests and how you can use digital marketing to engage them both. Remember that divorce is a very real threat and that there are many other destinations that could take your "steady" guestfriends away if you don't treat them right. I leave you with another TIAC Tourism Summit tweet from Pierre Bellrose - I believe - about Doug Fyfe's presentation on the US Market:

Pierrebellerose

"Peut importe ce que le Canada essaie sur le marché touristique américain depuis 10 ans, cela ne donne pas de résultats #Tiacsummit" "No matter what Canada has tried to do with the American tourism market, after 10 years we haven't seen results"

Cheers,

Jaime

Spotlight on Kim Mance - Canada-e-Connect 2010 Travel Bloggers

I met Kim virtually when I joined the Travel Bloggers Exchange community, a worldwide community of travel bloggers, journalists, writers and travel professionals who meet annually and which she founded. Kim is a travel writer, editor, and new media broadcast personality based in Chicago, IL. Kim hosts the lively web travel series Galavanting, is editor-in-chief of the online women's travel magazine, GoGalavanting.com, and writes about travel for outlets like MarieClaire's Travel Diaries, Indie Travel Podcast magazine, and The Huffington Post. She is currently writing the first Insiders' Guide to Chicago for Globe Pequot Press.

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I am delighted that Kim will be one of the panelists at this year's Canada-e-Connect 2010 Travel Bloggers (and Twitterers) session which will take place this coming Friday, bright and early (8am) at the Delta Centre Ville.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

Spotlight on Claude Benard owner of HoteliTour - panelist Hoteliers 2.0 at Canada-e-Connect 2010

Claude Benard is an eTourism and eTravel expert in France who happens to blog in English. Claude started his career in tourism as a technical sales manager for a tour operator in Marseille (France) and worked with the network of travel agencies in the south of France. He spent 6 years as sales executive at the Envergure / Louvre Hotels group, especially for the 3 stars brand “Bleu Marine." After his work with the Louvre Hotels Group, Claude became the sales and marketing manager for a regional hotel booking engine managed by the Marseille Chamber of Commerce.

Since then he has spent many years as an independant consultant for the hotel and tourism industry with a dedicated focus on french DMO’s, independant hotels, emarketing, Travel 2.0 and travel social media. Claude managed the popular blog Les Explorers for 3 years and started his new blog (in English) www.hotelitour.com in march 2008. Claude is a member of the Tourism T-List, the international community of eTourism bloggers, and very active in the major eTourism and technology conferences like PhoCusWright at ITB (where we met a couple of years ago) and all the eTourism conferences in France. Recently, Claude joined Kevin May's TNOOZ, a digital portal and publication that covers tourism and technology issues and news (based in the UK).

I look forward to Claude's contributions and discussion at the Canada-e-Connect Hoteliers 2.0 panel on Friday, January 29 at 2 pm. This panel will deal with the issues, challenges and opportunities that hoteliers face in the new world of Social Media where digital channels are king and the traveler is in control. His fellow panelists will be Ken Lambert, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Delta Hotels and Dimitri Antonopoulos, Vice-Président, Marketing et Développement Hôtels & Restaurants for Old Montreal Hotels, a small group of high-end boutique hotels. The session will be moderated by Bill Brown, Executive Vice-President, Hotel Association of Greater Montreal.

Canada-e-Connect 2010 is almost full. You have a few days left to register if you want to attend this year's edition of the premier eTourism Strategy Conference in Canada. Go to www.canadaeconnect.com and register.

A bientôt,

Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez MBA

Chair Canada-e-Connect 2009

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

Spotlight on Philippe Fabry, eTourism Manager for Atout France, speaking at Canada-e-Connect Montreal 2010

I follow Philippe Fabry on Twitter @filifab. I became a follower of his after I discovered him via my fellow Tourism T-List blogger, Claude Benard. Philippe Fabry has been working in the travel and tourism industry since 2003. He graduated from Limoges University in Knowledge Management and Online Community Management and now works as the e-tourism Manager at ATOUT FRANCE, France Tourism Development Agency. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism, ATOUT France’s mission is to promote France as a destination for business and leisure and developing competitiveness in the tourism sector. It will very interesting to hear Philippe speak about the new digital era and the power of the consumer/traveler and how the new ways of communicating have impacted tourism in France, the number one destination in the world. What are the strategies that he sees growing out of the social media revolution. What is France doing in this space? Can Canada compete? Is Canada competing?

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Philippe blogs at www.tourisme-tic.com.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

CTC launches LocalsKnow.ca and SecretDici.ca to help Canadians promote our country

The Canadian Tourism Commission has launched LocalsKnow.ca and SecretDici.ca asking Canadians to upload pictures of their favourite spots (because locals know where the best spots are, of course), that perhaps are not as well known as iconic Canadian attractions . The sites look very good with Canada Brand colours and layout and the pictures are quite good, for the most part (the CTC approves the photos before they're posted). Being very new, there aren't many spots up yet. As of this writing the English site had a bit less than 80 spots and the French version only 15 (all CTC uploads), but I think once the public gets a hold of it, it should be a hit. But it's not all roses. There are some issues with the site that a little tweaking can fix. You have to register to be able to upload photos, but once you register, there's no "sign in" link on the site. When you go to upload a new spot, then you sign in (or register, if you're new to the site). For every spot you upload, you get an entry to a contest to win one million Aeroplan miles - that's a lot of flying. But again, every time you upload a photo you have to re-enter your name and Aeroplan number. Not a big deal, but it'd be better if you only had to do it once. And finally, you can't seem to go back to your spots if you want to edit something. I was uploading one and before I could finish the description, I don't know what key I must have pressed in haste, but I think the photo was submitted (again, because I don't have an account like setup I can't go over the photos I uploaded - maybe this will be a future iteration of the site - to turn it into a full social media website a la Concierge.com)

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If you live in Canada, go to the site of your choice, LocalsKnow.ca or SecretDici.ca and show us your favourite spot.

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Jaime

Focus on Canada-e-Connect the Shift to DigiMarketing

TIAC's and my own focus as Chair of the Advisory Committee now turns to Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference, the Shift to DigiMarketing. This conference designed for decision makers in the industry will cover the vast number of topics surrounding Digital Marketing. We are calling it Digital Marketing a oppose to Online Marketing because it is the digital aspect of communications technology that tourism marketers should understand best. Whether it is the Web, Mobile, Digital Signage (indoor and outdoor), digital TV, or Gaming, all of it is based on digital technology which means content can travel. It means a digital poster can communicate with a mobile device. Dr. Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing has been confirmed as our opening Keynote Speaker. Consumers, i.e. travelers can interact with tourism providers via many devices. What are the implications for marketing and tourism product distribution in this constantly evolving environment? Canada-e-Connect 2009 will answer many of the questions from a strategic point of view. Whether you own a small B&B or manage a chain of hotels, you should not miss Canada-e-Connect January 21 to 23 at the InterContinental Hotel in Downtown Toronto. Registration is now open.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Canada-e-Connect Advisory Committee

Social Network www.Canadamigos.com reaches 1,200 members and dons a new logo.

Canadá en Español's Canadamigos Social Network reached 1,200 members this week after four and a half months online. There are members from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Canada and the US. The Canadá en Español® Network (Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.), established in Toronto since 1999, is a virtual company whose focus is to promote Canada to Spanish speakers around the world. Canadamigos is an extension of this vision wherein members of the Hispanic traveling public who are interested in Canada can create and participate in conversations about the country. Members can upload videos, photos, write a blog, leave comments on each other's pages, send private messages and even share their content on Facebook.

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This week Canadamigos donned a new logo designed by one of its members, Giselle Della Mea, a graphic designer from Argentina. How she came to be the designer is a Web 2.0 story itself. Giselle and I also belong to the Turismo 2.0 social network for Hispanic tourism professionals. Turismo 2.0 launched a contest among its members to come up with a new logo for the site. I liked Giselle's submissions so much that I contacted her to design the Canadamigos logo. She was able to translate what I wanted the logo to be into a simple and elegant representation. Before we arrived at the final logo, she provided me with 6 or 7 different options. What does the logo represent for me? The maple leaf obviously represents Canada, but it also represents its multiculturalism (as it does in Canada's code of arms). The figures that represent people seem to be dancing (a common Latin activity, but also Canadian as well, e.g. Western Line Dancing, Eastern Scottish aand Irish dancing, First Nations dancing). Furthermore, the figures seem to be looking at each other making a connection, which is one of the purposes of Canadamigos. Finally, the dynamic movement of the figures within and around the maple leaf implies arriving, travel to Canada.

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Cheers,

Jaime

www.canadaenespanol.ca

www.canadamigos.com

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The Canadamigos Social Network hits 1,000 members and counting. Canadá en Español goes 2.0.

Canadamigos.com is a new social network launched late December 2007 by the Canadá en Español Network. The site is intended to foster travel to and within Canada through friendship among Canadians, Hispanic-Canadians and Hispanics around the world. This past weekend, Canadamigos reached and surpassed 1,000 members from many countries including Canada, the USA, Mexico, Spain, Argentina and others. Members communicate in Spanish, English and French. Membership is free for individuals but all memberships need to be approved first.
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The idea for a social network like Canadamigos had been brewing in my head for several months before its launch. Throughout 2007 I had been reading about Web 2.0 and Social Media in tourism. Social Media and Social Networking became the new buzz words for the tourism industry. Marketing experts began to pay attention to consumers' conversations online - reviews, blog posts, discussions, forums (e.g. Tripadvisor, WAYN, VirtualTourist, Facebook). Many hoteliers and destinations began to realize the power of these conversations (positive and negative). Tourism businesses were encouraged to "Participate in the Conversation" as a means to protect or enhance their reputations and the phrase Social Media Marketing was (and still is) constantly referred to as the must do for online marketers.

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Knowing Hispanics around the world are very interested in Canada and witnessing the growth of inbound Hispanic tourism markets to Canada as well as continued traffic growth from the Canada en Español websites I did not worry that maybe I would not find a sufficient number of members, but rather whether the investment and effort involved in launching, managing, monitoring and contributing to the network would be worth it. After reading more about this issue in the blogosphere (e.g. Sponsorships on Social Networks -Niche Social Networks Will Continue To Be Hot In 2008 - Social Media is the Future of the Travel Industry) and feeling the pressure from my own marketing juices, I decided to go ahead.

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Two of my fellow Tips From the T-List bloggers, Vicky Brock and Stephen Budd define Web 2.0/Travel 2.0 as "Community, interactivity, reciprocity, two-way marketing conversation, the long tail, create, modify, self-publish, user generated content, rich media, collaboration," and "Technically: blogs, RSS, flash media (no flash = no YouTube). Economically: (almost) zero cost to entry. Socially: critical mass of chatterers." (Tracking Tourism: The Tourism Research Blog: Travel 2.0: what does it mean and do you need to care? )

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All the elements mentioned by Vicky and Stephen are present in one way or another in Canadamigos. People are interacting, asking questions, participating in groups (e.g. Travel Within Canada Group, Toronto Group, Adventure Tourism Group, Canadian Culture Group, etc). However, we're just in the early stages. The next stage is to achieve the support of the supply and DMO side of the Canadian Tourism Industry. The vision is to create a platform where consumer generated content interacts and complements professional content, where consumers can find great options for travel to Canada and within Canada and tourism businesses can "participate in the conversation" and attract new customers and repeat customers (long tail).

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In future posts I will describe how Canadamigos is doing and provide examples of the Web 2.0/Travel 2.0 elements mentioned above.

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Saludos,

Jaime Horwitz

EMAIL

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Tourism Bloggers Summit in Berlin continued

The first day of the PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit was very interesting for my first time participating. I did not know what to expect by attending, so initially I just focussed on paying attention and listening. The sessions were thought provoking and I think I came away with some interesting bits of knowledge that may be worth exploring for possible applications for my eTourism business.
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However, one of the key issues that has stuck with me is the confusion that exists between Tourism INDUSTRY Bloggers and Tourism Travel Bloggers, i.e. those who write for the general public as oppose to the former who write for the industry. When non-technology or industry insiders hear the term Bloggers in the context of the travel industry they probably think of Travel Bloggers. I think we must make the distinction more clear.

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Well, I'm running a bit late for the second day which consists of attending the PhoCusWright Conference at ITB, Success in Travel eBusiness, an interesting event that focuses on eTourism, techonology and tourism strategy. I will be reporting here on those topics that I may find relevant for the Canadian Tourism Industry, with an emphasis on the small and medium enterprise. For more information and to read other bloggers' thoughts on this summit visit the Tips from the T-List ITB 2008 website.

Cheers,

Jaime

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Are Google results a proxy for people's interest en a certain country? Where is your website?

Google wants to catalogue humanity's knowledge (or lack thereof, I would say) and make it available to everyone at anytime and in any place. With so much talk about search engine optimization and search engine marketing, etc., I was curious to see how many natural results does Google.com serve for the term Canada (results will vary depending on the Google domain extension, but .com is the largest - e.g. the term Canada - selecting pages in Spanish - on the Google.com.mx portal serves only 2,930,000 results - Canada en Español.com ranking third) . But this lead me to quickly search for other countries in order to compare. I googled Canada, United States, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico, Japan and China. #1 in the number of results served? Nope, not the US, certainly not Canada. It was France with over one Billion results. Here's the results of the search (15 Nov 07):

1. France - 1,140,000,000
2. Japan - 811,000,000
3. Mexico - 730,000,000
4. China - 690,000,000
5. Canada - 648,000,000
6. United States - 644,000,000
7. Spain - 522,000,000
8. Italy - 513,000,000

Of course, results are constantly changing as Google's bots add or eliminate sites from the results, but clearly there are significant differences in the number of results from one country term to another.

Saludos,
Jaime