Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • January 30, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com Coping strategies evolve as tourism advocates seek to restore funding By Patricia Daddona pdaddona@HartfordBusiness.com A move is afoot to restore regional tourism district funding, but in Connecticut's uncertain fiscal climate, attraction owners and tourism officials aren't relying on the state for support and have devised other ways to draw visitors. In mid-January, freshman state Rep. Brian Ohler (R-North Canaan) introduced a bill that would restore $1.1 million to the three districts — Eastern, Western and Central — that the state defunded last July. Enabled by state statute more than 30 years ago, the districts promote attractions and locales by connecting smaller venues to national and local media, provid- ing a printed brochure of attractions and events, and keep- ing regional tourism websites and blogs fresh and inviting. Ohler says Litchfield County relies heavily on tour- ism as an economic driver, helping the northwest region of the state generate $1 billion in annual economic activ- ity. Statewide, tourism is a $14 billion industry. Ohler's bill, however, will likely have a tough time get- ting through the legislature as lawmakers tackle billion- dollar deficits for each of the next two fiscal years. Since July, the state Office of Tourism and tourism attractions have had to make do without that funding, forcing the districts to operate with volunteer staff and tap funding reserves as they try to continue providing expertise to their constituents. Meantime, state government's marketing budget, which received a boost when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy first took office, has also been cut from a high of $15 million to $6.4 million. Working within these limitations, state officials are avidly pursuing digital and social-media marketing and reaching out to chambers of commerce and councils of governments (COGs) to help. And attractions are depending more on themselves to gain attention, said Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Cindy Scoville. State Tourism Director Randy Fiveash says digital marketing is proving a success in the absence of more funding, particularly with the relaunch of the www. ctvisit.com website in April. From January to November 2016, the site had 4.1 million vis- itors compared with 2.8 million in 2015 — a 49 percent increase. The state also has doubled the number of free partner listings from 2,000 to 4,300. And partners featured in promoted website articles have been seen by 1.8 million visitors, he said. All that is without having any TV advertising in the latter half of 2016 to compete with New England neigh- bors, he added. Fiveash also is connecting with arts organizations, chambers and other groups to publicize smaller towns and attractions, relying on Rosemary Bove, regional marketing coordinator, to oversee those efforts. "A lot of [those groups] haven't been involved before but want to be, so we're talking to them," he said. "Everybody has something they can promote from a tourism standpoint." Still, chamber leaders are leery of trying to function with- out more funding, if not regionally then definitely statewide. EXPERTS CORNER Why companies can't get marketing right By John Graham M arketing rarely fails because of a lack of inter- est, ideas or even adequate resources. However, it always fails when it doesn't turn prospective buyers into believers. Marketing derails when it's little more than a series of loosely strung together and unco- ordinated "tactics" — email campaigns, promotions, presen- tations, blogs, social- media engagements, charitable support, newsletters, collat- eral pieces, webinars, events and all the other stuff intended to "get the message out." While this is a high-activity pic- ture, it's also a fruitless one. It helps explain why marketing budgets are cut and market managers last a year or two and move on. Then, the story is repeated, once again. There's another way to look at marketing: helping custom- ers enhance their lives and fulfill their aspirations. When someone makes a purchase, large or small, it's as if they're saying, "I believe." Far more than spending money, they are putting their trust in a business or a brand. So, what will make marketing work? What should a company do to get its marketing on the right track and keep it there? The answer is in asking the right questions. 1. What's your message? Or, do you have one that every- one in the company can verbalize if asked? Most importantly, could your customers express it? Like so many other companies, you may be letting others define your message. If so, it's time to take charge. That begins with asking questions and gathering informa- tion. Here are a few starters: • Why should anyone want to do business with you? • What sets your company apart from the competition, if anything? • What are your customers' complaints? What do they like about you? How do you know what your customers think about you? Ask them. Get on the phone, use sur- veys, or, better yet, go see some of them. That's right, in person. By now, you may have figured it out. Marketing has nothing to do with your company or what it sells. Marketing is 100 percent about what customers want and what's in it for them. To put it bluntly: If you talk about your company, visitors will run. Why? They care about themselves. We can learn from companies with a customer-focused message: • Walmart. Save money. Live better. • Toyota. Let's go places. • Burger King. Made to order. • Coca-Cola. Taste the feeling. • Capital One. What's in your wallet? Now, take it a step further. Focus on what's important to your customers, such as responsive- ness, transparency, ease of access, keep- ing promises, help- fulness, and caring. Next, come up with four or five cus- tomer-focused messages. Then, survey your customers and pros- pects, asking them to select the message that best represents your company. Along with obtaining valuable information, you are let- ting them know you care. 2. What's your strategy? Then, with a compelling mar- keting message, the next task is deciding how to deliver it to cus- tomers and prospects. In other words, how do you go about pull- ing them closer, so they want to do business with you? Here are possible compo- nents of a marketing plan. Each one should have its own strategy and customer-focused content: • Social marketing. Choose and nurture the social platforms that work best for your busi- ness. Don't dilute your efforts by trying to be everywhere. Explore Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Yelp. • eNewsletters. Capture inter- est by sharing your knowledge and experience, as well as customer testimonials, along with periodic helpful alerts. • Events, webinars and pod- casts. Make sure the content is always customer focused. • Group presentations. Iden- tify and contact relevant groups, along with asking customers for suggestions. • Charitable support. Partner with a charity where you can leverage your compa- ny's capabilities and make it your corporate mission. • Advertising. Both online and print ads do well if your choic- es are well researched. Con- sider Facebook advertising. • Website. Think of your web- site as a resource for attract- ing customers. Focus the content on what interests them, what they want to learn not what you want to sell. John Graham Continued Continued Rep. Brian Ohler (R-North Canaan) Randy Fiveash, State Tourism Director FOCUS ADVERTISING, MEDIA, & MARKETING Middletown adventure center EMPOWER offers a package deal with the Middletown Inn to draw visitors to its zip line and other outdoor activities. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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