How can one re-launch the image of a sector which consists of thousands of small- to medium sized enterprises with a very wide geographical spread throughout Europe - a sector which can never hope to harness the financial resources of major global brand concerns?
Part of the answer might be discovered in short, concise answers to the following three questions:
Who are we?
What exactly do we offer?
Who can benefit from what we offer?
What value are we creating, what set of experiences sets us apart and what makes us distinct vis-à-vis our competition? In other words, our sales pitch.
Answers to these questions should not, however, involve vacuous advertising slogans. They should be succinct and never fragmented, as fragmentation leads to a watering-down of core messages. Like a good whiskey producer, we should distil our answers to statements capable of being presented verbally in 15 seconds or less – supplying attention-grabbing brand messages which are consistent on all occasions and in all media.
And the image distribution strategy should also form part of any equation from the very beginning..
One of our core industry messages to-date has been that coach holidays are excellent value for money, environment- and climate friendly, sociable, enjoyable and informative. But is that enough?
How does our industry – like a “Mona Lisa” - frame itself for the holidaymaking public at large?
What associative imagery shows the HOW and answers the WHY?
It lies in our power to create, to select and to choose our framing images. As in the fashion business, we have to tailor our messages for specific customer segments and motivate them to purchase. In order to do that, we have to know our current, potential and future customer personae and what types of messages will be appropriate and suitable for each market segment.
What are / will be their demographics and what are / will be their values?
Where, when and how do we engage with them and more particularly with their influencers?
Image messages will have to be defined according to these factors and have something productive and snappy to say. How we approach and accomplish this will determine how we are perceived and how effective and successful at image-making we as an industry eventually will be.
Obsolescence is a major theme in the fashion industry which, par excellence, is concerned with the creation, marketing, diffusion and sales of images and styles. No sooner has a particular look or trend come into vogue than changes and new ideas are constantly being discussed before collections have even hit the High Street.
An example from our sector could be the trend towards customized products and passenger experience design. The importance of keeping in touch, adapting to new trends and developments and getting the particular market messages and images right will inevitably require the coach & group travel sector to become faster, more competitive as an industry and more contact intensive on a broader level than ever before.
In terms of our imagery and brand we will be forced to re-create and project an image which is considered socially desirable to a greater number and range of people – and at times maybe even “cool”; one that may even engender “brand loyalty” in the medium- to longer-terms.
Coach travel wholesalers and incoming agencies have an important responsibility and strategic role to play in this whole process. In order to maintain an industry which is capable of investing in image creation and dissemination along with innovative and successful trip delivery we will require coach holiday companies that are highly attractive and genuinely profitable in the longer-term.
In a recent post, blogger Mark Hunter argues the case for why selling on price (a major structural attribute of the coach & group travel sector and one which invariably affects image) simply DOES NOT work.
Hunter lists six reasons why selling on price does not work:
1. Somebody will come along and offer what you’re offering for a slightly lower price than your price.
2. The people you sell to at a lower price will be customers who can’t afford to pay you full price.
3. The customers you attract will see value in what you’re selling at the lower price, but will not see value at the full price.
4. Customers who haggle with you wanting a lower price are the same ones that will haggle with you over everything.
5. The lower profit margin you’re making selling at the lower price is not going to give you or your company the level of profit you need to operate.
Sustainability in the long run is, therefore, under threat.
If our industry is not making sufficient profits, there’s no way one can stay in business for very long let alone create and promote new images. Not only does our industry need to make a profit on what it is selling today, but it also needs to make enough profit to allow it to invest in building business and growing coach holiday travel images for tomorrow.
6. You’re worth full price! Do you view yourself as a cheap person? Of course not!
“Perspective does matter and if you think you can make a sale only by lowering your price, then this will become your go-to method. It will become your “normal.” If you want to see yourself successful and capable of being at the top of your industry, then you simply can’t sell on price alone. And you certainly can’t make a habit out of discounting.”
These are immediate and existential questions for the coach & group travel industry supply and distribution chains: for incoming agencies, DMCs, wholesalers, coach operators, visitor attractions, hotels, the RDA Group Travel Expo and other service suppliers. These are questions which should not only precipitate discussions on image and brand re-launch but also form part of all future solutions.
Only when we provide answers to these questions will we be able to frame our future image in an adept and sustainable manner. We will then be able to offer potent and persuasive answers to the three core questions we posed at the beginning of this article:
Who are we?
What exactly do we offer?
Who can benefit from what we offer?
© Dr. Patrick Patridge 2017
Further information: https://www.patrick-patridge.com
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