Business Tourism - Good for Business?
The government is at last talking business tourism and there are signs that 2012 could be a turning point for the industry which has been flat-lining for the last three years. The Tourism Alliance, Business Events Partnership and others have made a breakthrough with the endorsement of the events industry as good for British business by several government ministers including David Cameron, the prime minister, Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary and John Penrose, minister for tourism. Clearly recognition that the MICE sector is a business generator and indications that there is a new impetus to promote the events industry to domestic and overseas markets. Time will tell...
Happy New Year - Resolution for a Revolution?
The global financial turmoil of 2011 is behind us but what lies ahead for the hotel, venue and tourism world? Will 2012 be better, worse, the same or have we now moved into a new paradigm that changes how we do business?
The festive break and the start of a new calendar is always a good time for considering the future and re-setting the values we hold about family, work and life in general. New Year resolutions, getting fitter, planning ahead and putting family before work come to mind but how long does this good intent last?
The New Year for hotels and venues will certainly be challenging and the start of 2012 might just be the time to think about the values we hold in business, to revolutionise it, to make that paradigm shift and change it for the better. Five thoughts to focus upon below:
1. Analyse each profit centre in the business. Calculate how much time, effort and money is spent on each area; which is the most profitable; what will make it more profitable; how can it be modified?; if an area is not profitable what needs to happen to make it so or should it be stopped altogether?
2. What are the REAL costs of each department? How can these costs be reduced? If a focus is put on something to determine the real cost it is amazing how costs can be reduced.
3. Undertake a sales and marketing health check. The famous comment 'half of my advertising works, I wish I knew which half' no longer applies. There are more methods than ever available to measure the outcomes of sales and marketing activity. Google Analytics is just the start. Tracking systems for all areas of business can be employed including website and call tracking, conversion attribution, tactical targeted campaigns and so on...
4. Is training for sales and cost control included in the business plan? So many opportunities are lost because employees are not trained to have a positive sales attitude and 'sales prevention' prevails. Similarly, the costs of a business slide upwards because there is a lack of awareness of the cost of equipment, breakages, poor staff planning and so on....
5. Question why each activity is producing the outcomes. Is it luck, judgement or planning and setting goals in advance that make it work? More likely the latter.
Make the paradigm shift today - "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got!"
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