a practical guide to help you win more overseas business · 2012-05-11 · same as domestic...
TRANSCRIPT
A practical guide to help you win more overseas business
SALES CONNECT TOOLKIT
CONTENTS
• Why is the focus on four markets?
• How to get the most out of the toolkit
• The Dos and Don’ts of Targeting Overseas Markets
• Before you get started – key questions to ask yourself
• Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland – Who Does What?
• Selling Through the Traditional Travel Trade and Travel Intermediaries
• Travel Trade Specifi cs in the 4 Key Markets
• Selling Through Online Channels
• How are Irish Product Providers Distributing their Product?
• What Distribution Channels should I use?
• Working with Partners and Packaging your Product
• Advertising
• Co-operative Campaigns with Tourism Ireland
• Getting Publicity and Good PR Practices
• Online Marketing
• Trade and Consumer Promotions
• Preparing an Overseas Sales Action Plan and Setting Targets
• Contacts in Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland
• Supports
Introduction
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6
8
9
10
STEP 1: Researching and Knowing Your Overseas Markets
STEP 2: Understanding the Travel Distribution Channels
STEP 3: Building Relationships and Promoting Your Business Overseas
The Next Steps
101
110
114
119
121
126
139
141
151
163
189
218
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227
GB Market Profi le
US Market Profi le
German Market Profi le
French Market Profi le
14
36
54
74
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From 2012 an updated version of this sales toolkit will be available on our website.
Intr
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Sales Toolkit 3
In 2010, visitor numbers fell back to 1998 levels making it the toughest season the Irish tourism industry experienced in over a decade. Looking at prospects for the coming years, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have emphasised that Ireland’s future performance will hinge on achieving success in the overseas markets.
With a static home market set to continue, developing more business in overseas markets should be a key growth strategy for Irish tourism businesses that are suited to overseas visitors.
Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have collaborated to bring you this practical toolkit that provides all the information you need to position your business for securing business from the overseas markets. Success is all about understanding your target customers, knowing how those customers can buy from you, and having a sales action plan to promote your product or service overseas. This toolkit will help you to achieve all of these things.
It is aimed at all tourism businesses who want to grow their overseas business. If you previously attracted some overseas visitors, but they seem to have fallen away, or if you now have good access directly into your region, this guide is for you !
Introduction
Sales Toolkit44
The guide aims to help you better understand:
Why is the focus on just four overseas markets?
• The profi le of your potential customers
in the four key source markets of
Great Britain (GB), the United States
(US), Germany and France. In addition
to presenting information on the
‘numbers’ associated with these
overseas visitors, the customer profi le
for each market will give you a better
fl avour for why they might choose
your tourism product or service.
• How you can most effectively match
your tourism product to the needs
and demands of the four source
markets. The guide also provides
insights about what you need to do
to better service their needs.
• The importance of working with
complementary tourism products in
your area and developing packages
together to make your joint offering
more attractive to customers. Also, the
importance of presenting the product
in a way that makes it ‘easy to buy’.
• Ways to get your product into the
hands of the potential overseas
customer using a range of distribution
channels. This includes tips on
selling to overseas consumers
who want to buy directly from you
(typically via the internet) and
tips on working with the travel
trade (typically a tour operator or
travel agent).
• Promotional activities that you
should undertake so that customers
who are ‘thinking’ of holidaying in
Ireland can fi nd you. These include tips
on advertising, co-operative marketing
activities in association with Tourism
Ireland, online marketing, overseas PR,
participating in trade and consumer
shows and making the most of
overseas sales calls to trade partners.
Between them, GB, the US, Germany
and France account for over 70% of all
holiday visits to the island of Ireland.
Whilst the rate of economic recovery in
each market will be directly related to
demand, it is believed that the potential
for growth exists.
• Great Britain will be central to future
tourism performance as it represents
half of our overseas visitors. The size
of the potential market in Britain,
coupled with a common language and
close proximity to Ireland, dictates the
need to regain market share. There are
growth opportunities in GB, particularly
around London and the Southeast,
where prospects are stronger.
• The US market is also regarded as
offering potential for recovery and
growth based on the current demand
patterns of an upturn in travel
to Europe. Ireland can gain share as
the US economy strengthens and
the high spending American tourist
is critical for many businesses
in Ireland.
If the US market is important
for you, should buy copies of
these popular guide books
to see if you are listed or
featured.
If you are, then keep in touch
with the editor / publisher
if you have news on any
product developments,
new services you offer US
visitors etc. If you’re not
mentioned and you feel you
have an interesting product
that really appeals to US
holidaymakers, then contact
them to provide information
for possible inclusion in the
guide when they are next
updating it or invite the
editor to visit you when
they are next in Ireland
doing research for their
next edition.
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Source Market 2009
(000s)
2010
(000s)
% of total
visitors in
2010
Total overseas visitors 7,636 6,593
Great Britain 3,955 3,378 52%
US 842 766 12%
Canada 95 87
Germany 422 379 6%
France 399 331 5%
Italy 276 213
Netherlands 143 123
Spain 264 231
Nordics 175 158
Australia 132 133
Other Asia 29 38
East Asia 23 26
Middle East 30 31
Provisional visitor numbers to Ireland 2010
Source: Tourism Ireland provisional fi gures for 2010 (as at March 2011)
Intr
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• Germany is also viewed as offering
strong potential for growth as
it drives the faltering European
economic recovery. The industry view
is that Ireland is well positioned in
Germany and can build on the already
established trade links in this market
where the travel trade still plays a
very important role.
• The French have a higher annual leave
entitlement than any other nation
in the world, and, among the main
factors infl uencing destination choice
for French people are beautiful scenery,
heritage and culture. Ireland is a highly
aspirational destination for the French
and it is believed that France offers
potential for a return to growth through
increased market share.
Sales Toolkit
While this guide outlines the process for
growing your overseas business from the
four key source markets, the process is
broadly the same if you wish to target
other overseas markets. It is recognised
that there are business opportunities in
other markets as well i.e. other European
markets and Australia and Developing
Markets. If you feel your tourism product
or service is better suited to another
market, you can still follow most of the
tips and advice that you will read in this
guide. The contact details for all Tourism
Ireland overseas offi ces are listed in the
“Contacts and Resources” section at the
end of this guide where you will also fi nd
links to research and information about
all other source markets.
What if I want to target a different market?
How to get the most out of this toolkit
6
The guide is written in a style that
allows you to “dip in and out” of the
sections that are most relevant to you.
If, for example, you are only interested in
the French market, you should read the
chapters on France, Travel Distribution
Channels and Building Relationships
and Promoting your Business Overseas.
If you want to grow business in both
Germany and France, you should
read both market chapters as well as
the chapters on Travel Distribution
Channels and Building Relationships
and Promoting your Business Overseas.
Targeting the overseas markets is very
different to driving business from the
domestic market and may appear
daunting. However, when you break
the process down you will see that
there are just 3 steps to follow:
Sales Toolkit 7
Step 1: Researching and knowing your overseas market
• Knowing the profi les of the GB, US, German and French travel markets
• Identifying the main target markets for Irish holidays
• Understanding how tourists plan and purchase their holiday
• Identifying air and sea access from the target markets to Ireland
• Knowing who are the main tour operators that programme Ireland
Step 2: Understanding the distribution channels
• Demystifying the jargon of travel distribution
• Getting up to speed on how travel is distributed by other Irish product providers
• Developing a distribution strategy for my business
• Knowing how to sell through a mix of travel intermediaries
• Working with local partners to package my product
• Learning how to promote my product overseas through in-market and
in-Ireland workshops, fam trips, media visits etc
• Making the most of trade and consumer fairs and making effective sales calls
• Getting involved in cooperative activity with Tourism Ireland
Intr
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Step 3: Building Relationships and Promoting Your Business Overseas
Sales Toolkit8
1. Assume overseas customers are the
same as domestic visitors and don’t
underestimate the power of the Irish
welcome for overseas visitors.
2. Attempt to sell in overseas markets
without prior planning or preparation
and don’t contact overseas tour
operators if you are not committed to
servicing them properly.
3. Be afraid to ask Tour Operators for the
business!
4. Invest money in overseas promotional
activities without having a
measurement technique in place.
5. Ignore the importance of Trip Advisor
and other review sites or bury your head
in the sand if you get a negative review.
The Dos and Don’ts of Targeting Overseas Markets
DON’T
DO
1. Do your research – know as much as
possible about the end consumer and
your overseas trade partner.
2. Put yourself in your customer’s
shoes and know how your product
matches their needs and how you
can give them a unique Irish holiday
experience.
3. Inform yourself about access by air,
sea, road and rail. Know what new
fl ights are scheduled for your nearest
airports and remember to inform
your customers of journey times.
4. Create packages with complementary
tourism businesses in your local area
to add value and make it easy for
your customer to buy. Be innovative,
creative and different. Identify your
Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
and design your packages around the
unique experiences you can offer.
5. Create a mix of distribution channels.
Develop relationships with Irish
Incoming Tour Operators, overseas
Tour Operators and Travel Agents,
Online Travel Agents (OTAs) etc.
6. Make sure your website and social
media activities are tailored to your
overseas target markets to drive
direct sales.
7. Tell your customers everything that
they need to know in their own
language.
8. Engage fully with Fáilte Ireland and
Tourism Ireland to make the most of
advertising, co-operative marketing,
publicity and PR opportunities.
9. Treat your relationships with your
trade partners professionally and
always think of the life-time value
of those relationships.
10. Give your overseas customers a
unique Irish holiday experience.
They will tell their friends who may
come back to you next year!
Sales Toolkit 9
Before you get started – key questions to ask yourself:
1
2
3
4
5
6
If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’, then it’s a good time for you to reassess your overseas market potential!
Intr
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Have I become too reliant on the domestic leisure market?
Has my share of business from GB, the US, Germany or France fallen by more than the market performance generally?
Do I fi nd myself saying “I used to get a lot of overseas business, and they really liked my product, but that business has fallen away”
Do you think to yourself “although I have never sold into the overseas markets, I want to position myself for the upturn and better manage my mix of domestic and overseas business”?
Has access to your tourism business improved in recent years through a combination of new routes into your nearest airports, road improvements and additional or enhanced rail services?
If you joined forces with a number of other tourism providers in your area do you feel that, together, you can offer overseas tourists a truly unique and memorable Irish holiday experience?
Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland
work together in strategic partnership
for the development and promotion
of the Irish tourism industry. Each
agency has a distinct role and remit,
and each complements the work of
the other to expand Ireland’s valuable
tourism market.
Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism
Development Authority was established
to guide and promote tourism as a
leading indigenous component of the
Irish economy. The organisation provides
strategic and practical support to develop
and sustain Ireland as a high quality and
competitive tourist destination. Fáilte
Ireland works in strategic partnership with
tourism interests to support the industry
in its efforts to be more competitive and
more profi table and to help individual
enterprises to enhance their performance.
Tourism Ireland is the agency responsible
for marketing the island of Ireland as a
holiday destination overseas. They devise
and implement world-class marketing
programmes and provide industry
partners with opportunities to market
their own products and services working
closely with the Tourism Ireland teams
in over 20 markets overseas. In addition,
they are a source of information
on overseas market trends and
consumer needs, which they make
available to Fáilte Ireland, the NITB
and to other industry partners.
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is the
strategic leader for tourism in Northern
Ireland and works in partnership with
stakeholders to market Northern Ireland
within the island of Ireland and improve
the visitor experience.
Practical SupportsThroughout the guide, you will fi nd
templates and checklists to help you
devise your overseas sales strategy in a
focused and measurable way. In addition,
the guide features several links to sources
of additional information if you feel you
want to know even more about your
target markets.
You will also see successful case studies
of Irish tourism providers who have
already cracked the overseas markets
dotted throughout the guide.
Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland - Who Does What?
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Most of the information presented in
the guide has been sourced from the
research departments of Fáilte Ireland
and Tourism Ireland. The corporate
websites, www.failteireland.ie and
www.tourismireland.com, feature
additional information on the four
main markets as well as research on all
other markets for Ireland.
Information was also sourced from
the Irish Tourist Industry
Confederation (ITIC) and a special
word of thanks is extended to them,
in particular for use of information
from their reports A Changed World
for Irish Tourism, published in July
2010 and Tourism and Travel
Distribution in a Changed World,
published in September 2010.
Every effort has been made to ensure
the details contained in this guide are
accurate and up-to-date as at time
of print (March 2011). However, given
the nature of tourism, many details
are subject to change. It is therefore
recommended that you validate all
facts and fi gures before fi nalising any
business decisions.
Sources of information
Sales Toolkit 11
Intr
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