Sometimes just noticing trends in the market and realizing they apply to you is the first step to creating a successful (and profitable) marketing campaign.
Bed & breakfast owner Marsha Barrow is a prime example of this. By recognizing a trend in the market and taking action she made an important impact on her bottom line.
It first started with a gut feeling. As a Canadian Marsha felt that she needed to remember Canada is a bilingual country: both French and English. It was probably this feeling that made Marsha pay attention to tourism statistics showing an increase in visitors to Canada from France. In spite of the fact that overall overseas visitors are down, visitors from France are increasing.
Around the same time, a couple from France who were teaching in Toronto came to stay at the Butchart Estate. This caused Marsha to consider ways to purposely encourage French visitors to come to her B & B. She didn’t have far to look. A national B & B association she belongs to offers translation services to members. For only $100 members can easily have their website information translated into French or a number of other languages.
Since having her website translated, Marsha has had a number of guests from France, clearly making the investment worthwhile. Even better, one of these guests enjoyed her stay so much she wrote a review for one of France’s top travel guides. It’s looking like Marsha can expect even more French visitors in the future. Now all she needs to do is brush up on her high school French so she has an easier time conversing with them.
The key is to keep abreast of what’s happening in your industry. Read government statistics, join an industry association and keep aware of what’s happening in the market. When you notice a trend, take a moment to ask yourself how you can take advantage of it. It might truly be as simple as paying $100 to get your website translated.
Andrea J. Stenberg
How do you keep up to date on your industry? Are there things you’ve done to take advantage of trends? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.
