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Tourism Best Practices – Week of June 13

  • 2 min read

Tourism professionals at Convention and Visitors Bureaus – CVBs (or Destination Marketing Organizations – DMOs) are implementing some innovative programs to increase visitation in their destinations. We call them Tourism Best Practices. While some debate whether DMOs should be engaged in event management, some communities show that the tourism office managing festivals can be effective: PolkaFest Looks To A New Generation To Keep Traditions Alive Organized by St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the event draws thousands to Cambria City each year. Orange Barrel Art Project Extended The project, created by the Stevens Point Area Convention… 

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Are You Experienced?

  • 4 min read

(Originally written in May, 2012, while at the Norman, Okla., CVB.) My Achilles Heel is ice cream. And when I HAVE to drive by a Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Story to get to our office, that’s a problem. Every once in a while I cave and drive through. The young gal the other day handed me my peanut butter cup mix and said, “Wow! That looks good!” I retorted, “What? You’ve never had one?” She responded, “No.” And I drove off thinking ‘how in the world can she adequately sell their products if she’s never eaten them!?’ Then I… 

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Tourism Best Practices – Week of May 30

  • 2 min read

Tourism professionals at Convention and Visitors Bureaus – CVBs (or Destination Marketing Organizations – DMOs) are implementing some innovative programs to increase visitation in their destinations. We call them Tourism Best Practices: Smith Center Plans Fundraiser for ‘Home on the Range’ Documentary The CVB/Economic Development office brings a movie star with ties to Kansas to community to help raise money for a documentary on the “Home on the Range” cabin. Greater Palm Springs Convention Visitors Bureau’s “Find Your Own Oasis” Summer Campaign ‘Visitor’s Playbook’ to Provide Free Online Listing for Battle at Bristol Activities Visitor’s Bureau Installs Kiosk in Downtown… 

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Customer Service – Best Reads Week of May 30

  • 3 min read

Customer service is at an all-time low and customer satisfaction in dealing with a product or service issue is just as low, about 40 percent. Two of three consumers are likely to experience rage during an interaction with a customer service rep. In addition, 63 percent of consumers are likely to experience no satisfaction whatsoever in dealing with a product or service complaint. For retailers the outcome is not good as it is putting about $202 billion in revenue at stake and can slash consumer repeat business and loyalty to shreds. Multiple good reads on improving customer service. We start with brand… 

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Social Media – Trends, Attracting Followers and Instagram Changes

  • 2 min read

You’ve started your social media accounts. You’re posting. You’re tweeting. You’re pinning. But you’re not attracting new followers. This week among the 6 social media reads, ways to attract followers. Plus trends, changes to Instagram and learning from other’s mistakes: 13 Ways Your Business Can Attract More Social Media Followers Social media and marketing pros share their advice for how small businesses can get more followers and likes on Facebook, Twitter and their LinkedIn company pages. Social Media Trends to Watch In order to stay on top of your marketing game, you need to know what’s going on in this… 

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The Marketing Power of an Online Review

  • 3 min read

Did you like our service? Comment on Angie’s List. Enjoy your meal? Share on Urbanspoon. Have fun on your vacation? Let everyone know on TripAdvisor. The opportunity to share the good – and of course the bad – is bountiful online. TestFreaks, Choice and Trustpilot join the better known, Yelp, Angie’s List and TripAdvisor, in attracting the opinions of consumers – and of course, the advertising dollars of brands. Norman, Oklahoma, based ReviewSpot.us has joined the fray offering a unique business model designed to ensure that reviews posted on businesses have the integrity and reliability that we count on. Under… 

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Email Marketing – Learn From Mistakes and Grow Lists Thru Social

  • 3 min read

Email marketing is consistently ranked as the best channel in terms of return on investment. 68% of companies rate the channel as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. (1) For every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38 in ROI. (2) Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. (3) How do you maximize this marketing strategy? Here’s 8 articles / 36 tips to help with your email marketing: 5 Costly Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs mistakes can cost the company or person sending them some serious credibility points. To prevent this from happening to you,… 

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Tourism Best Practices – Week of May 23

  • 2 min read

Tourism professionals at Convention and Visitors Bureaus – CVBs (or Destination Marketing Organizations – DMOs) are implementing some innovative programs to increase visitation in their destinations. We call them Tourism Best Practices: Way Finding Signs Up in Downtown Norman A pilot project bringing way finding signs to Norman has finally come to fruition. The way finding signs are designed to help visitors to Norman get to different tourism centers and important areas in the city. Corsicana’s Wayfinding Project to Attract Tourists Residents will be seeing some new signs around town in the next couple of weeks as the Corsicana Convention and… 

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Customer Service – What Ever Happened To It?

  • 2 min read

Customer service is at an all-time low and customer satisfaction in dealing with a product or service issue is just as low, about 40 percent. Two of three consumers are likely to experience rage during an interaction with a customer service rep. In addition, 63 percent of consumers are likely to experience no satisfaction whatsoever in dealing with a product or service complaint. For retailers the outcome is not good as it is putting about $202 billion in revenue at stake and can slash consumer repeat business and loyalty to shreds. So to start this week’s collection of customer service reads, Ellen Gillette… 

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