HOss Exam
Explain the consolidated approach to tourism marketing and discuss its benefits to businesses in a destination.
• "umbrella" marketing • Business partners include transportation, accommodations, food services, retail outlets, attractions, outdoor recreation facilities, and cultural heritage agencies • Consolidated efforts provide greater strength, unity, and leveraged results when all visitor interests, market segments, and regional interests are effectively combined to leverage an expanded program • Offers multiple opportunities and a far greater chance of achieving optimum efficiency • Provides greater funding resources to reach multiple and mutual objectives • AIDA principle - varies for everyone, but in its broadest sense describes travel buying decisions o Awareness o Interest o Desire o Action
Describe the steps in the sales process, including determining strengths and benefits, overcoming objections, and following up with customers.
• 1 - open the sales call; 2 - qualify the customer; 3 - sell to/meet the customer's objectives; 4 - gain and confirm commitment • Strengths: access, dining, recreation, night life, attractions, convention center, hotel package, history, affordability, • Moving the customer from "no" to "yes" is the skill in selling • Treat objections with respect and care o Acknowledge it and probe for more o Give the customer the exact answer he/she is looking for
Describe the process of branding and theme development.
• A collection of perceptions in the mind of the visitor • Psychological, emotional, and motivational link between the customer and the product • Process: o Define the unique selling points that separate your destination from the competition o Produce a series of crisp and clear motivational messages for consumers that address the positive visitor characteristics of the community o Craft a "positioning statement" that describes the destination and separates it from other competitors from potential customer points of view o Consider creating a new theme line and graphic logo for the destination that supports the recently created positioning statement • Themes are supported by persuasive documentation of significant consumer benefits
Explain the dilemma faced by CVB's marketing the diverse elements of a destination.
• Accountability without authority is the CVB product marketing dilemma • CVBs must depend on the destination to provide the products • They must make marketing promises that someone else has to keep • Because of lack of ownership, they must depend on people and organizations inside the destination to underwrite the development and assessment of the products
Explain the importance of community visioning and describe its benefits to a CVB and its destination.
• An exercise in strategic planning that centers on a product plan for tourism • Brings together representatives from lodging, retail, food and beverage, attractions, city government, civic leadership, the business community, other tourism venues, transportation, and infrastructure • Issues considered o Long and short range implications for the local tourism industry o Cataloging of current tourism products and services o SWOT analysis o Potential tourism products and services o Effect on infrastructure o Effect on environment o Tie-ins to historical and cultural segments o Economic effect o Social effects for the destination's residents o Baselines and methods for measuring success • Benefits o Can raise awareness in the destination about the value of tourism and convert nonparticipants in tourism into allies or partners of the CVB o Can also lay out a logical, step-by-step plan for achieving greater success as a destination o CVB and community may be able to define or affirm the destination brand o Can demonstrate the value of a CVB's knowledge and contributions to the city's economic well-being and identify potential funding sources for future product development
Describe the ways in which CVBs can serve community businesses and industry partners.
• Assist in attracting more business • Keeping attractions, restaurants, and hotels aware of impending heavy weekends o Help anticipate demand • List businesses in their visitors guide, specialty brochures, dining guide, and on their web site • Offering opportunity for professional and staff development and training
Explain how CVB's can create their own products and how this is beneficial to the destination.
• Attractions and tours can sometimes be devised by inventive bureau employees keeping a creative eye on the community and knowing what visitors want • Creative combinations of elements can lead to interesting tour ideas that can be marketed to tour operators and travel agents • Creativity and cooperation can generate a virtually endless array of interesting ways to combine local attractions, festivals, and even nontraditional elements that can be marketed to individual visitors as well as to the travel trade
Explain why it is important for a CVB to have a marketing plan, and discuss the elements and tools included in a typical plan.
• Best business approach for fulfilling the CVB's mission • Should provide strategic direction toward target markets, out-line detailed plans for success, forecast specific results by departments, and deliver a step-by-step series of actions or work tactics • Executive summary • Marketing mission • Bureau visioning process • Goals • Strategic planning: o Act of producing a multi-year directional marketing approach (typically 5 years) o A road map for a successful future • Advertising is paid publicity o Billboards, internet, TV, magazines, radio • Public relations is free publicity o Editorials, travel writer pieces
Explain the difference between branding and advertising.
• Branding is listed in the answer above • Advertising gets awareness of a destination to its potential customers
Describe the ways in which CVBs can serve leisure visitors.
• CVBs can give visitors options of activities according to their preferences and interests • They know everything about the destination which can help guests with questions • Customer service is key. Guests want someone who is friendly and knowledgeable • Can suggest restaurants, hotels, activities, etc. • Can give directions around town
Describe the tactics a CVB should use when dealing with media interviews. (
• Choose your organization's spokesperson(s) o The president, CEO, or director of marketing/ sales of the CVB will be the most likely choice for a spokesperson - especially in crisis situations o Informal or formal training should be provided for all individuals placed in the role of the spokesperson • Develop key message points o Points to be mentioned in any interview o May add to or subtract from the points or add personal anecdotes to help illustrate them based on the time he or she has available o Should be supplied with a list of key points and other background information o Spokesperson needs to know what has previously been shared with the media before they meet journalists face-to-face so they are well-prepared • Prepared spokesperson for interviews o Know the message o Determine what should be said to reporters and relayed to the public before they appear in an interview • General tips o Prepare in advance o Understand the audience o Determine what the interviewer is ultimately looking to report o Plan for the worst o Find out where the interview will be held, either at the studio or on location o Set a specific amount of time for the interview o Find out if other guests will be on hand o Confirm whether to look at the camera, reporter, or another location during the interview o Determine appropriate dress o Tell the spokesperson to speak in clear, simple, conversational English o Keep answers to no more than 15 seconds; 10-12 is even better
Explain how the Internet can be used to integrate sales and marketing.
• Contests with exciting destination giveaways • Word of mouth virtual marketing • Targeted placements online and develop a plan to reach all people who are searching for travel information and deals to or in the destination. • Other advertising options: o Sponsorship of editorial and "advertorial" programs o Banner ads o Integrated text links on travel sites o Targeted e-mail sponsorships
Identify performance measures and productivity metrics for the areas of convention sales, travel trade sales, and marketing and communications.
• Convention sales o Generate visitors, visitor spending, and economic impact for the destination by booking events at the destination's hotels and convention facilities • Must construct the operational definitions and measures needed o Approach measurement from various perspectives • Personnel productivity metrics • Number of leads per sales manager • Number of bookings per sales manager • Number of booked room nights per sales manager • Repeat business ratios • Measure repeat business in terms of bookings • Measure repeat business as a component of total book room nights • Cost productivity ratios • Address the cost efficiency o Leads, bookings, and booked room nights • Lead conversion ratios • Measure the effectiveness of the CVB's lead-qualifying process and the likelihood that generated leads will book for the destination • One examines the booking rate and one examines the rate of lost opportunities • Travel trade sales o Function is "to increase leisure visitor volume, visitor spending and economic impact for the destination through the promotion and distribution of the destination's travel products to the travel trade" o Productivity metrics measure productivity from various perspectives • Number of leads per sales manager • Number of bookings per sales manager • Number of booked room nights per sales manager o Cost metrics address the issue of cost efficiency • Leads, bookings, booked room nights • Marketing and communications o Function is "to increase visitor volume, visitor spending, and economic impact for the destination by developing awareness and preference" o A conversion study determines the percentage of individuals responding to a specific CVB marketing effort who eventually visit the destination
Describe features of effective CVB and DMO Web sites, including design, navigation, customer relationship management, search engine compliance, technical considerations, e-commerce, and performance tracking.
• D esign analysis o Bright, tourism-related colors, and well-chosen branding images o Good, strong content on the portal site o Navigation bar in a consistent place and easy to identify o The information presented in a pleasing format and relatively easy to read o Database-driven content with robust search capabilities • Navigation o Home page should deliver a compelling reason to visit o Navigation bar must be user-friendly and provide clear direction to the principal contents of the web site o Consumers should be able to find valuable information rather than fluff o Include buttons or text links that can be clicked to go directly to all pages of the site o Contain basic categories of information of interest to the travel planner o Should offer online booking • Customer relationship management o Should facilitate the expected dialogue between the visitor and the web site; the software should respond correctly and appropriately to the visitor's queries and searches o Display a web site's terms of use and privacy policy at the bottom of every page o Personalization of the web site • Technical compatibility o Site must be programmed so the visitor can easily interact with it to obtain trip-planning information and easily book travel online o Site must be multi-browser friendly o A "contact us" link should be found at the bottom of each page o A search conducted in top search engines using popular phrases such as "Attractions" and "Events" should produce relevant results on the DMO's Web site relative to the searches performed o Proper page programming o Always check for broken links, missing or skewed images, or typos in the Web site • Search engine compliance o The web site should not utilize frames, redirects, or Flash because they hinder the search process for the search engines o The number and quality of links to the web site improve indexing of the site in the search engines • E-commerce and web-site advertising o Offer the consumer dynamic destination booking that enables web site visitors to browse, compare, and purchase online, while at the same time supporting the multiple booking channels o Ads should be deliverable to key pages on a destination web site with linking, tracking, and reporting of impressions • Performance tracking and measurement o Manager will want to track, in the organization's online database, registered users and their preferences, requests for the visitor's guide, and requests for the e-newsletter o Should be measured month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter, and year-to-year
Describe the purpose of qualifying prospects and explain the role of asking questions in developing a sales plan based on customer needs.
• Determining whether the prospect has an interest that you can and want to handle • Goal is to discover and prioritizes all of a prospect's needs and problems before you attempt to help solve them • Gives you the order in which to sell your particular strengths • Also helps if you have to negotiate later
Identify the threats to destination marketing organizations from online competitors and outline ways in which DMOs can position themselves to reach a greater share of online consumers.
• Disintermediation is "removing the middleman" o Describes many internet-based businesses that use the web to sell products to customers rather than going through traditional retail channels • Take a leadership role in the technology development and online marketing of the destination through strategic planning and execution • Strengths o Travel planning on the web is already popular with consumers, thus alleviating any challenges or delays from consumer adoption of a new technology o Research shows that many online travel planner visit destination web sites when planning • Weaknesses o CVB's lack brand awareness among online consumers o Private sector competitors have better marketing budgets that CVBs • Opportunities o DMOs are positioned in a leadership role to provide travel information and maintain the position of the official travel portal for the destination - as the comprehensive, designated, local resource o DMO can further leverage existing travel partner relationships to raise co-op marketing funds, generate revenue from online bookings and advertising, and provide a platform for travel partners to enhance their own online presence, programs, bookings, and revenues • Threats o Not acting aggressively enough to meet competitive goals o Reacting to unnecessary "gee-whiz", clever technology items one would like to have, resulting in untrackable budget dollars o Not capturing the web site visitor
Explain how CVBs use research to guide their strategic and operational decisions.
• Gain insight and actionable information on their destination's visitor market • Results of research guide the decision making process of the CVB and the tourism industry of the destination • Research contributes to: o Creating and implementing long-term marketing and operational plans o Setting organizational goals and policies o Developing and/or expanding a CVB's funding resources o Formulating a destination's tourism master plan
Compare and contrast the elements and planning procedures of individual and group press trips.
• Group trips o Allows the CVB to expose multiple journalists to key messages at the same time and efficiently use resources o Present an opportunity to develop a strong relationship with the journalists o Basic questions to answer before starting the planning process • Purpose: is the trip to support a specific initiative or message or is it for overall branding? • Date: Is it more advantageous for the trip to occur in high season when participants can experience the destination in full force, or when it is less crowded? Should it be planned around a key special event or meeting? • Duration: how long can they stay? • Theme: when selecting a theme, consider the marketing campaigns the CVB is conducting • Target: Make sure to only invite media outlets that fit the theme of the trip and can accept group trips • Itinerary: make sure it supports the overall theme of the trip down to the choice of accommodations and selection of dining options • Materials: ask the journalists if they would like to receive media materials ahead of the trip and offer to ship items they collected during the trip • Extras: be flexible! • Follow-up: Send thank you notes to all the journalists and the venues that hosted them • Individual trips: o Work well for broadcast outlets, photographers, and top-tier publications o Determine parameters • Airfare, transportation, meals and activities, can they bring guests, what portion of costs will CVB cover o Same parameters can be used when journalists initiate the request to visit a destination - as long as they are qualified o Steps for qualifying journalists • CVB's media database for past interaction • Have them fill out a trip request form with pertinent information such as expected publication date, trip dates, assistance needed, whether they will be filming, etc • Looking in publication or publication's Web site to confirm that the requestor is listed as an editor, writer, or photographer • Checking directories of organizations • Calling the CVB nearest the writer's or photographer's home to see if it is familiar with the journalist in question
Describe the ways in which CVBs can serve motor coach planners, and identify how their needs differ from those of meeting planners.
• Groups tend to be smaller than convention and sports groups, generally get together for sight seeing • Registration personnel, welcome banners, and many of the services offered to meeting planners are often not crucial • Need assistance with developing itineraries for their tours • Identify hotels that offer the perfect set of services and pricing for the customer • Love goody bags and welcome gifts
Identify possible new staff positions that could assist a CVB or DMO with managing Internet technologies and programs.
• I team director o Responsible for aligning bureau goals to the Internet program goals and setting goals and objectives of the information technology department o May require a bachelor's degree and at least 3 years experience in the field o Monitor and maintain the internet work product, internal bureau technical issues, and the internet marketing programs and budgets for the bureau o Must have a high-level knowledge of the internet and internet marketing as it pertains to destination marketing and bureau functionality o Must be able to work in conjunction with high-level paid consultants and outside technology providers to strategically plan and implement the bureau's internet program and must be able to review and report on internet program performance o Requires the highest degree of planning, decision-making, and creative thinking • I-marketing manager o Responsible for all online marketing, advertising, direct response, and public relations programs o Require a bachelor's degree and at least 3 years of relevant experience o Sets goals and projections and tracks performance of each program for effectiveness; works with outside consulting or development groups to strategically plan and implement online marketing programs and align online efforts with overall bureau marketing initiatives and target audiences; reviews and reports an online program performance o Job requires the highest level of online knowledge in the i-marketing team and the ability to creatively strategize and plan programs for maximum effect
Describe the ways in which CVB's can physically take their message to the media.
• Individual meetings o Meeting journalists one-on-one, the CVB media representative has their undivided attention and can really determine their needs and interests • Media events o Host an event to bring media representatives to one location o Enables more media outlets to be reached at one time and provides more publicity opportunities for members • Satellite media tours and video news releases o CVB can implement a broadcast strategy as part of its overall publicity plan o Strike a blend between getting an organization's message across and making the program noncommercial
Describe what happens at each stage of the product life cycle.
• Introduction o Awareness of a new product is developed as it is distributed in a limited market • Growth o The product is promoted to a wider audience and brand recognition is established • Maturity o Market competitors emerge; firms strive the differentiate their product from others • Decline o The firm must decide whether to keep promoting the product or consider rebirth
Describe lead generation and its costs and benefits.
• Lead services are often offered to members or partners for an additional fee • Identifying potential clients for meetings, motor coach tours and sports events • Extensive staff time required • Leads that take some coordination and multiple hotels are usually handled by CVB • Higher level of service than others in community
Explain the difference between market research and marketing research.
• Market research - seeks to quantify and value the economic impacts of tourism to a community in terms of visitor impact; tax revenue produced and jobs generated or sustained by visitor spending • Marketing research - assesses consumers, identifying them based on demographics (age, income, educational level) and psychographic (interest, desire, attitudes) profiles • Determines interest in the destination and assesses challenges and complications, including perceptual issues that can negatively affect business decisions
Identify three key market segments for CVB sales and explain the role of the CVB satellite office in building customer relationships with these market segments.
• Market segments o Associations (national, state, regional) o Corporations o Tour operators • The CVB needs to be where the people are • Satellite offices allow them to get closer to their customers • They exist to continually bring the CVB city's message to the customer on that customer's home territory
Describe communication methods CVBs can use with members, employees, and stakeholders.
• Member communications o Keeping the members informed about the organization's programs and providing updates on the destination are benefits of belonging to or supporting the CVB o Create audit to identify ongoing and special communications o Create a calendar that includes type of communication, date distributed, and topics in a succinct format for use within the organization o Determine which aspects will be delivered via traditional mail and which via email • Internal communications o Employees should be first to know the details of the programs o Goal should be that CVB employees are never surprised by a story in the media, asked a question from a client that they have not been advised how to handle, or made to feel that they are the last to know o 2 aspects of internal communications • Regards programs being rolled out in the marketplace or issues in the community • Involves CVB policies • Often the 2 are intertwined • Stakeholder communications o Political leaders who determine funding, key businesses that support the CVB, or leaders of sister organizations such as chambers of commerce, economic development commissions, and hotel/motel associations o Educating stakeholders about the value of the tourism industry and the work the CVB does is a never-ending task o Proactively cultivating important relationships • Develop a list of the CVB's stakeholders • Invite them to CVB events
Describe the elements of a typical communications plan.
• Mission or purpose o The overarching reason that the organization came into existence; a visionary statement that can guide the organization's planning for many years • Goal o Usually, a more specific expression of a mission or purpose. Often related to one aspect of the mission or purpose, it is commonly described as the desired outcome of a plan of action • Situation o A review of strengths and weaknesses and a competitive analysis • Objectives o Specific milestones that measure progress toward achievement of a goal. Objectives must address the desired result in terms of opinion change and/or behavioral outcome, not in terms of communication output; designate the public or publics among whom the behavioral outcome is to occur; specify the expected level of accomplishment; and identify the time frame in which those accomplishments are to occur. • Strategy o A general, well-considered plan. Strategies do not indicate specific actions to achieve objectives. There can be multiple strategies for each objective. • Target audiences o A definition of whom the program is meant to influence, including media outlets, the political community, and consumers • Message o A clearly defined communication of the program concept • Tactics o The specific activities conducted to implement strategies of a public relations program. Public relations help an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other. Communications is an element of this adaptive process, featuring tactics and tools that involve the use of selected personnel, time, cost, and other organizational resources. Tactics achieve the objectives and, in turn, support the goals that have been set to carry out the CVB's mission or purpose. • Measurement o Defined method of measuring results against objectives • Budget and timeline o Specific amount of human resources, outsourcing, and other expenses to implement tactics with a detailed outline of when tactics will occur and who is responsible for each tactic
Explain why it is important for a CVB to have a crisis communications plan, and describe the steps to implement such a plan.
• Must determine if it is better to push for coverage or resolve the issue without any play in the media • Decision regarding media coverage may be based on the involved players, the severity of the issue and whether the CVB is private or public. • Every organization should have a plan that covers operations , communications, and back-up systems, no matter how simple or complex • Once plan is developed, have it reviewed by an expert or an outside entity to make sure that it is complete and accurate • Training and meetings are needed to ensure that the CVB is ready to implement the plan
Describe the pros and cons of working with in-house staff or outsourcing Web design and management tasks to outside agencies.
• Outsourcing o Benefit: process can be pain-free and enjoyable, reduce bureau staff time, and produce a site with measureable returns on the investment o Risks: hiring the wrong company • In-house o Benefit: bureau staff possibly knows the destination product better than an outside agency o Risks: time taken from other projects and a deadline to complete • Experience with only this destination could build in bias and skew the approach for potential visitors • Staff may be incapable of applying best-practice standards from multiple destination projects
Explain why CVBs should engage in regular performance reporting and describe the various performance measures and productivity metrics that are used to gauge a CVB's performance.
• Performance reporting focuses on three basic measures o Activity measures • A physical action taken by the CVB functional area that ultimately supports its mission, such as attending a tradeshow, conducting a familiarization tour, or writing and distributing a press release. Activity measures tract these activities o Performance measures • A measure that helps to define and quantify the results of the CVB activity. Implementation of this system of measures will yield actionable tools that the CVB staff can use for short- and long-term enhancement of its efforts. o Productivity metrics • A metric that illustrates the relationship between the CVB performance and its resources. Typically expressed as a ratio (cost per lead, number of bookings per sales manager), productivity metrics assist the CVB in managing its resources in the most cost-efficient and cost-effective manner possible.
Discuss the four P's of marketing and explain the ways in which they do and do not apply to CVB's.
• Place, price, product and promotion • CVBs have no real control over place, price or product, and only partial control of promotion - no one reports to the CVB and the CVB reports to almost everyone • The 4 p's of CVBs are persistence, professionalism, persuasion and promotion
Describe the ways in which CVBs can serve convention and meeting planners.
• Pre o An official welcome to kick off their events o Offer assistance in convention housing o Provide referrals to florists, caterers, audiovisual companies, disc jockeys, bands, and professional speakers o Can assist in pre-event communications with prospective attendees o Provide visitors guides and registration brochures • During o Make visitors feel welcome in community (welcome banners, welcome cards) o Transportation services • Post o Follow up communication (did we meet your needs?)
Explain how CVBs use return-on-investment information to quantify their impact on the local community.
• ROI is typically what the CVB returned to the destination (visitor spending, economic impact, tax dollars), clearly and significantly generated through its sales and marketing efforts
Identify how the roles of research manager and research communicator operate within the organizational structure of a CVB.
• Research function o Should be centralized, with an individual clearly responsible for the direction and management of it o Have a corporate culture where research has a clearly defined and active role o CVB's senior management must be committed to the use of research and acknowledge its role and value in creating and supporting an informed decision-making process o Research process determines what the questions are and attempts to find the answers • Research manager: o Works with the CVB staff and other CVB stakeholders and industry partners to identify marketplace questions that the CVB and the tourism industry need answered o Have a clear sense of the current business issues and questions faced by the CVB o Reviews and selects the research programs and vendors best suited to answer the research questions • Research communicator: o The presentation of the results must constantly be linked back to the original question o Actionable conclusions based on the results should be developed and presented to end-users at all levels to further encourage the use of the research
Identify types of research projects typically undertaken by CVBs and describe their relevance for the CVB.
• Research projects o Destination research • Visitor profiles • Image studies • Economic impact studies o Accountability research • Measures the performance of various CVB operations and functions and forms the basis for CVB performance reporting • Visitor profile research o How many visitors come to our destination? Who are they? Are we getting our fair share? • These assist the CVB in making some of its most basic sales and marketing decisions • Market segment research o Knowing which specific visitor market segments come to the destination is essential so the CVB can produce targeted marketing campaigns o The more information a CVB can gather about its visitors, the more likely the bureau and its industry partners will be able to successfully produce tourism products of interest to potential visitors and communicate them about in compelling ways o Also essential when identifying and developing appropriate partnerships and additional funding sources • Economic impact studies o Direct and secondary data o Secondary data illustrates the degree to which the visitor dollar moves along the chain of buying and selling among the tourism industry's businesses and employees until it "leaks" out of the local economy o Direct data encompasses total visitor spending and spending by specific categories (lodging, transportation, eating and drinking, recreation and entertainment, shopping) as well as spending by key market segments o Also involved are payroll, tax revenues generated (local, state/provincial, federal), and total jobs supported and jobs by specific industry sector • Destination brand image o Assist the CVB and its industry partners in gaining insight on how visitors perceive the destination o Should be able to answer the following questions: • Does the marketplace think of our destination as a desirable place for a vacation or a convention? • Is the marketplace aware of our destination's available tourism products, attributes, and offerings? • What are our perceived/real strengths as a visitor destination? • What are our perceived/real weaknesses as a visitor destination? • Is our destination sufficiently different from its competitors in the mind of the marketplace? • Secondary research o Secondary research measure and monitors tourism activity at city, state/provincial, and national levels o Sources for secondary data include government agencies, trade and professional associations, colleges and universities, periodicals, and link-compilation Web sites
Explain the role of the convention service manager in the CVB sales process.
• Responsibilities in site visits, group housing, registration, providing brochures and other promotional materials • "concierge" for group meeting planners • "go to" person and their job is to never say no to a planner's request
Explain why it is important for CVBs to provide excellent service.
• Service can give CVBs a competitive advantage o First impressions are everything o If a CVB has excellent service, then people are more likely to return to a destination o Word of mouth is a big marketing tool for destinations. CVBs want guests to say good things about the destination and encourage their friends to visit o A CVBs services can level the playing field against its larger or more budget-rich competitors o CVBs can direct first-time visitors or event attendees to attractions and facilities that will enhance their experience
Identify sources of sales prospects, and explain why current and past customers should be a primary focus of CVB sales prospecting.
• Sources o Referrals from past and current customers o Business proposals from groups that previously had considered your destination o Friends and family o Trade shows you attend for lead generation o Web sites of organizations that list meetings and events • Current/past customers are already familiar with your destination and you know about them • Careful analysis can yield a profile of the ideal prospect • Learn as much as you can about a new referral prospect
Describe components of a strategic Internet marketing plan, and identify ongoing online marketing, communication, and research tasks necessary to a successful Internet marketing plan.
• Strategic marketing plan o Web target market audiences by segment, geography, interests, and preferences o Goals, objectives, and agreed-upon metrics for performance measurement o Annual search-engine marketing plan o Annual online public relations and communications plan for target audiences o Affinity-linking strategies and tactics (for how the marketer will get links to CVB or DMO web pages from other web sites that share similar content) o Annual online media schedule (to create awareness of the Web site and direct response) o Annual online e-mail campaigns (for outbound e-newsletters) o Online branding and public relations campaigns o Developing and distributing online press releases o Incentive and loyalty programs (that encourage and reward web site visitors or travelers to the destination) • Ongoing online marketing o Should include continuously reviewing the CVB's search-engine position and ranking relative to those of other search results of popular search terms used by consumers o Strategic listing and linking strategies and placements for the web site o Direct e-mail promotions to drive year-round business o An incentive program o Regular delivery of the CVB's news releases to journalists and web masters via online channels such as e-mail
Explain how to determine the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.
• The bureau should deliver economic development benefits in fulfilling its core marketing mission • The results, which are based on the incremental attraction of visitors through numerous market segments are quantifiable results projected as a series of goals and reportable to bureau leadership, stakeholders, and other community constituents • Assessment surveys
Describe how the Internet has changed the way that travelers obtain travel destination information and services.
• The percentage of travel booked on the internet continues to rise • Travel now accounts for more commerce online than any other industry, including computers, books, and music
Describe the ways in which CVBs can serve sports event planners, and identify how their needs are similar to and different from those of meeting planners.
• The way the CVB attracts, pitches, and lands sports events is different, yet the service side is the same • Run interference with local governments, park districts, universities, and sports facilities on use policies, rules and regulations, permits and the like • Event housing services (arrange) o Difficult because of the diversity of the hotels utilized • Coupons for area merchants • Coupons for restaurants and other necessities can be a positive image builder for the community
Describe the ways in which electronic communications with media outlets are different from more traditional forms of communication.
• They are read quickly so the writing style must be suitably modified but still follow traditional grammar rules • Messages should be short and to the point, and all electronic communications should include a contact name, telephone number, and address. • Many media outlets and freelancers will not accept attachments, so it is best to paste the information into the screen or provide the link to the information that can be housed on the CVB's Web site.
Describe the unique challenges CVB's face when marketing conventions and hotels.
• This is a winner take all proposition o If one loses the sale, one can't sell another, possibly smaller or cheaper product because there is only one meeting and it is going somewhere • CVB's must be careful to be impartial about promoting individual hotels
Explain the difference between tourism research and performance reporting, and explain how these efforts support and reinforce each other.
• Tourism research is done by the customers and visitors to a destination • Performance reporting is done by local stakeholders
Explain the factors to be considered when building a successful destination Web site.
• Understand the potential diverse target market segments - leisure travelers, business travelers, meeting planners, convention attendees, tour operators • Implement a plan to rebuild its Web site with content, navigation, and site functionality that fit the differing needs of each audience segment • Clearly define the mission and critical items • Timing is key to capitalizing on seasonality and impact is crucial to overall goals • Basic navigation o Home page o Visitor information (accommodations, things to see and do, events, specials, sports, arts and culture) o Resources o Book accommodations/packages o Search o Meeting planners o Groups o Press and media
Describe the features of a good news release, and explain the steps involved in writing one.
• What's new, special events, marketing programs, research results, and destination attributes • Release should be used as a follow-up to a pitch or a means to keep the media informed • Standard method for writing a news release is the "inverted pyramid," which prioritizes information in the story • First paragraph or two of a news release is called the lead • 5 w's: who, what, when, where, and why • News release o Format: type only on one side of the paper. Double space, use upper and lower case letters, and frame the copy with margins. Indent each paragraph o Upper right: under contacts, list the CVB press contact's name, e-mail address, telephone number, fax number, and the CVB's Web site o Release instructions: always type "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" unless the story not be used until a specific time or day o Content: as short as possible; most run one to two pages long • Press kit o Destination overview o Information on accommodations, attractions, history, culture, and activities o Should include phone numbers
