MARKETING TIPS

Travelers Go Shopping 

In Wisconsin, shopping leads all categories of travel spending (32%), ahead of food (25%), recreation (24%), lodging (12%) and transportation (7%). Tourism consultant Dr. Peter Tarlow points out that shopping is more than merely exchanging money for goods; it also provides a "window into the soul of a community."

Tarlow says that many visitors use shopping as one of the ways they judge a community or attraction. The decision to return to an area is often based less on the quality of its lodging or events than on its shopping experience. Shopping also acts as a marketing tool for a community or attraction. When someone says that he or she bought an item in a particular place, that person is subtly, yet often effectively, advertising not only the item but also the place of purchase. Tarlow suggests keeping the following points in mind:

• Tourism shopping is most successful when the items offered are unique. Many tourism "shopping centers" have become so standardized that visitors may wonder why they ever left home. Develop a list of places that sell local or unique products. Can these places be connected by a local theme or motto? Encourage shop owners to stress the local angle not only with the products they sell but also with the appearance of their store or locale.

• Compete on quality or service or another "point of difference," not on price. Often merchants complain they cannot compete against the buying power of large chain or discount stores. One basic rule is: "Do not fight a war you cannot win." Rather than compete on price, local stores should emphasize customer service, a willingness to find and stock local products, or outstanding service. For example, the telephone should never take priority over a customer. Make sure every customer is greeted with a smile and even if the customer buys nothing, develop a relationship, which may bring that person back to your store another time.

• Keep regular and convenient business hours. Often store owners, especially in smaller communities, drift away from the goal of serving the public when they want to be served, and not vice versa. Hours should be kept according to the posted sign. Highly successful businesses are those that are open when people want to shop. For example, in the United States the two busiest shopping days are Saturdays and Sundays. These days are followed by, the "shoulder days" of Mondays and Fridays in importance. Yet, in many communities, stores are closed on Sundays and Mondays while being open on the off days of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

• City workers, law enforcement and others in contact with the public are an important part of the shopping experience. It is important for city and community workers to encourage people to go downtown to shop, to help make parking easy and penalty-free, and to know what stores and products are available in their community. Every city employee should see him or herself as a community ambassador. The more that public officials support and promote local shopping, the healthier the local economy will tend to be.

• People shop where merchants know their niche markets. Often those in business have no idea who is shopping in their community. Good service also means meeting specific needs of your customers. For example, if your patrons fall into a specific age or linguistic group, offer products to fit that demographic, provide service in their language or in other ways give the type of attention that will make people want to buy. The tourism industry can be of tremendous aid to local merchants by sharing visitor profiles with them.

• Vacation shopping experiences often over promise and under deliver. Communities don't want work hard to get travelers to visit only to discover it cannot deliver the experience that was promised. The best advertising in the world will not compensate for a poor experience. A community assessment of strengths and weaknesses can lead to determining a distinctive point of difference and then advertising only what you can realistically deliver.

• Explore alternate ways to market local shopping. Consider shifting some of your advertising budget into personnel development and creating a better level of customer service. Most tourism officials already know that the best advertising is word-of-mouth and that advertising is only one part of a total marketing strategy.

• Train, train, train. Often shopkeepers believe they are offering good customer service, only to discover that employees are not translating the owner's vision into actions. The higher the quality of training, the better your success, so obtain the best and most frequent training you can afford. Seek ways to get the entire community onboard and, if possible, train everyone from security personnel to front line people. Ask workers about the kind of training they would like to have and then provide it.

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