Welcome
2012!
Well let’s hope for better than 2011 but being prepared for
worse is likely to pay dividends.
We had grown used to being confident that circumstances
beyond our control aside to expecting our hard work and diligence will be
rewarded during the oncoming year. The past couple of years have probably put
paid to that level of optimism however there is though nothing sadder than to
witness people working their fingers to the bone but failing to recognise they
are mining the wrong seam especially those locked into doing things a certain
way because it bought them past success. Becoming a busy fool can happen to
almost anyone and perhaps we are most at risk during periods such as the
uncertain times we currently navigate.
Tourism & Leisure finds it self in a unique place in
that the “end product” is enhanced by advances in IT through increasing assessability
as the possibilities of social media, the integration of electronic platforms,
PMS and software developments enhance management performance, improve customer
feedback and heighten expectations of customers whilst at the same time the fundamentals
remain the same i.e. good service, cleanliness etc. Ultimately our customers
are looking for and expecting quality employee contact to complete their
leisure / tourism experience.
There are many ways in which the advantages of social media
and electronic distribution can be managed in order individual businesses can
retain control over reputation, customer history and reduce costs whilst
enhancing loyalty and repeat business. The starting point is to set targets for
distribution channels, commission ratio and repeat business. It may also
require some painful decisions to be taken regarding whether you are chasing profit
or revenue? All too often we’ve seen revenue being sought in order to maintain a
historic cost base; managers kept in post who have long since been effective,
food service and styles in keeping with previous customer needs as apposed to
contemporary expectations, these “fixed” costs robbing the business of
financial resources and driving decisions to open availability to who ever can
provide customers. It is sad to see those within tourism and leisure who have
lost sight of their distribution channels thus becoming dangerously dependant
on internet retailing, losing direct contact with customers and increasing cost
per booking and driving down yield in the process.
Engaging external expertise is one way of helping you to see
the wood for the trees. I am not suggesting we have the answer to every
situation but we can help to create a viable plan to enthuse all involved with
the business to commit to delivering the basics of service matched to
qualitative research. As with most medicine there is no quick fix and as
previously mentioned sometimes the solution has been known for a while but too painfully
personal to implement.
Some key questions to help you decide if your current
strategy will bring you success in 2012;
v
How many customers book direct via your website
v
Who “manages” your top 25 performing customers
v
Have you mapped your distribution network and
costed commission fees
v
What is your sleeper diner ratio / conversion to
enquiry ratio
v
What percentage drop in revenue would wipe out
any profit
v
How many good ideas from your team have you
endorsed in the past six months
v
Are you exceeding your customer satisfaction benchmark
rating
v
Has any of your suppliers offered better prices,
increased quality and guaranteed deliveries
If you have difficulty answering any if these don’t despair…
but do take action as 2012 will be tough but with the right strategy and
effective, decisive implementation you could well be feeling very proud of you
and your teams performance this time next year.