Down
with the discounts!
We
work in a fascinating industry, full of fun, with fantastic
products to promote. Think of
those poor
souls selling nothing
more fascinating than loo rolls. A bum deal if ever there
was one. In the toilet tissue world, the most exciting product
innovation just means a little softer (anyone remember that
crinkly tracing paper-like stuff you got at school, with “now
please wash your hands” next to the perforated line?).
And marketing means either “love your bottom” photos
on billboards or a cute (and now actually very old) puppy.
Tourism.
Beautiful locations, 2000 years of history, surprising venues,
quirky places,
luxurious hotels, EasyHotel cupboards. We’ve
got the lot.
But
where’s
the imagination? We all moan about limited marketing budgets.
And yet a few clever ideas thought up in the pub cost
practically nothing.
When
visitors stop coming, what do we do? Do we consider the reasons
why, analyse
the barriers, think about new emotional appeals and
a compelling call to action? No. We worry about our reduced revenue.
And then we cut prices. We make sure everyone knows things are
bad by telling them we’re so desperate for visitors we’ll
even discount to get them. And revenue doesn’t exactly benefit
does it?
You
have 50 people willing to pay £6 to come to your attraction/easyHotel.
That means you earn £300.
But
suppose you reduce your price and do a discount promotion. If
you’re
lucky you could double your numbers.
So
you have 100 people willing to pay £3 to come to your
attraction/hotel. That means you earn £300.
Ooops. All that extra work, wear and tear and promotional effort
for nothing. Of course the extra people might spend a fortune in
your shop or restaurant. Then again, they might be skinflints and
not be as willing to part with their cash as the original 50.
There’s an additional, more damaging problem. You’ll
have 100 people who start to think the “going rate” for
the attraction or hotel is only £3. Once you start to discount,
that prices become normal.
I’m not saying discounts never work. They’re a great
tactical activity i.e. very short term, very carefully targeted.
That’s not the same as last resort, can’t be bothered
to think of anything else. They work best when everyone knows what’s
going on and understands why they’re getting a deal.
Most
of us don’t go to restaurants on a Monday night. It
feels too self-indulgent and too expensive for the start of the
week. But when we see a great deal on a Monday night we can be
tempted out of our own kitchen. And we know it’s because
restaurants need Monday night business.
We
buy clothes at half price at the end of the season. Silly prices
because
you’ll only get to wear that summer frock once more
this year. And it probably doesn’t fit you either but at
least it was cheap.
These
are two way deals that we understand. But what happens when you
try to
tell people that what you are offering is wonderful,
fantastic, vibrant etc and worth making a trip for. And it’s
also half price. Most of us are cynical and suspicious of that
mixed message.
If
if I’m nervous about bringing a
4 year old into London, will having a half price ticket help? “Never
mind if there’s a bomb scare, at least you didn’t pay
full price for the ticket”. It doesn’t work for me.
We
need to think about some other options. Here are just a few that
we’ll
consider in more detail later.
1.
Sit tight, don’t spend your promotional budget now and
plan for the future, hoping everything will get better – and
it usually does.
2.
Reassure potential visitors and guests about the things that
they worry
about, such as safety. Media images of the stronger
police presence remind everyone about what’s happened but
you can also argue that people feel safer with so many police around.
3. Think about concerns and help to overcome them. Stressing your
proximity to a major train station might not be your best bet right
now. Offering ideas for walking routes and travel by boat could
be better.
4. Think again about your target markets. Domestic families might
be harder to reach but other overseas sectors are still coming.
5. Demonstrate the real benefits of what you have to offer. Remember
most of us react according to emotional marketing. Make people
feel proud, make them feel involved, make them happy, make them
feel this is an opportunity not to be missed.
6.
If you still feel tempted to discount, do it differently. Don’t
devalue – add value. Maintain your usual price but offer
some added value. A free guide book usually worth £x with
every two paying visitors, bottle of wine with dinner, special
guided tour, peek behind the scenes etc.
Rant over! What do YOU think? susan@tourismnetwork.org
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