I’m sure I’m not the only one who has found challenges with this shelter in place (SiP) order and seem to be more easily distracted when the deadlines are fewer and far between. In fact a lot of people are just furloughed altogether so what do you do in these unprecedented times?
Perhaps now is the time to look at ways to sharpen the tools you have. There is an ancient saying that sounds like a blessing but is really a curse that reads, “May you live in interesting times.” While that sounds good, who wants to be bored, it’s really meant more of a curse. And if there were ever a time of being cursed, now might just be it.
This blog is typically about marketing and making the most of your tourism and travel business and that’s the case here, too. However the tourism and travel and special events world have been absolutely turned on their heads with some lodging properties reporting single digit occupancy rates and others just shuttering their operations altogether. While we understand the impact of the COVID-19 Coronavirus on our health I’m sure any small business owner is also immediately aware of the effects of society’s reaction to the bug on their bottom line. While I avoid making predictions, this could be one of the biggest financial disasters we’ve seen as a society.
Remember this blog is about small business and tourism marketing and that’s the focus here. Does your passion extend to your employees? Are the things that drive you to success in business shared by the people who cash your paychecks? How do you make sure of that?
This morning I was shopping at the local grocery store which is a semi-local chain and attempted to use my ApplePay. Lately their terminals haven’t been working right and won’t accept this payment method and it’s frustrating as this has been a principal reason that I choose to shop here. So the alternative is that I have to take out my credit card, sit there with it exposed to everyone else in line while it hangs out of the terminal wasting my time. I know. First world problems. I love to travel and my wife and I do quite a bit in our travel trailer as we write the StressLess Camping RV Blog and record the StressLess Camping RV podcast. But there’s nothing more frustrating than asking someone a question about the area and you can tell they have absolutely no idea what the answer is.
They haven’t been a tourist in their own neighborhood. Facebook advertising doesn’t work. At least that was the claim from someone I was talking to who had spent $12,000 and gotten almost no results. Wow. No wonder they felt that way! But I asked them to see what they had done and I’m not surprised that they didn’t get the results they were hoping for. While advertising with the social media giant may not work for everybody or even be a good idea for all businesses, there are many industries or destinations for whom Facebook might be the best deal out there. Done correctly, Facebook ads can be quite a bargain and highly effective. Is email dying? Are you killing email? Why are people avoiding email nowadays? Perhaps it’s because of how people are using email. Hopefully this guide to using email will help keep that method of communication open and not be as horrible as it is now. There are a lot of people who simply do not use email any longer. In fact a whole generation of people coming up are now either completely without email or just have an account because they have to to register a smart phone or register for school. But, other than that, they just don’t use it. As I build more and more websites for campgrounds and RV parks, and others, I keep hearing and reading the same counter to creating a new digital presence. And the resistance befuddles me. A lot.
One of the most common arguments I hear from campgrounds is that “well we’re pretty full as it is. We don’t need any more business.” I’ve also heard a lot of “we’re happy how we are” and “I don’t want to lose control over my reservation system.” Wow. Facebook’s Groups are a growing way to learn and share information on specific topics and for clubs, trade associations, organizations, and even teams. You can create public and private groups for just about anything you want and, a quick search of the Internet will find that there’s probably a group or two out there already about whatever topic you can imagine. There is a tremendous amount of value in Groups and many topics have some incredible follow-up discussions. The “wisdom of the crowd” can be quite powerful and the best part is, the information is free. What’s your policy on eye contact? Do you have one? You should. I’ve been working with a company recently who contacted me because they were concerned that their customers are frequenting a close competitor more than they had in the past and it’s showing in the bottom line. As such I went into this business and just looked around. |
Tony BarthelTony Barthel is passionate about great marketing for small businesses Get Free Weekly Marketing TipsCategories
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