Early February is a challenging time in Upstate New York. Wintery gray days, and no sign of spring in sight. For me, this has always been the slow season, no matter where I have worked. Some of my readers work at ski resorts and in areas of the country where the tourists are flocking. But we all share the same opportunity- a quieter time at some point in the year when we can regroup and take a break. There are some key things that tourist attractions should do in the slow season to prepare for the next busy season. Tackle these and you will be ahead of the competition and well prepared for success.
Hand write thank you notes to your top customers
No one ever takes the time to write letters anymore, which is why yours will stand out. Who has brought you increased business in the past year? Did your DMO ( Destination Marketing Organization) bring you a travel writer that wrote a great story about your business? Did you meet someone who was able to connect you with a new client? All of these are great examples of people to thank. Pick 5 individuals to send notes to and include your business card. This can be done in an hour or so and will pay big dividends.
Put together a SOP binder for the admission staff ( with their input of course!)
A SOP ( Standard Operating Procedure) binder may have gotten its start in the military, but tourism venues are a great place to use them as well. Your front line staff should have a SOP binder to refer to as they are trained and to have access to when on the job. A SOP binder takes a while to develop, but once it is in place it just needs to be updated periodically. Ask your staff to list the top 10 elements of their job. That will be the ten sections you need to develop for their SOP binder. Two tips- remember most people are visual learners so images and screenshots are an important tool. Secondly, most people won’t read long blocks of text so number or bullet point the steps necessary for success. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to complete a SOP binder!
Read at least one book (mine might be a good place to start)
“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
Slow season for attractions means you might find the time to read a book. I’m a big believer in reading, and I also know that most people don’t read even one book a year. So if you take the time to read a great one, you are far ahead of the game. I enjoy fiction and belong to a book club, but I always have a motivational business type book on my desk as well. Some of my favorites are The One Thing, (which I reviewed last fall), The Slight Edge and The Pumpkin Plan. All of them discuss simple business ideas that if followed, will make you a success at home and work. Of course, I can always recommend my book on Growing your Group Tour business as well!
Visit some local hotels and B&B’s
The slow season is a perfect time to reacquaint yourself with your local lodging properties. If you work with group tours, you know they will often ask for nearby overnight accommodations. Since you want to be seen as an expert and have them book with you, your knowledge of the rooms, public spaces, and distance from your attraction is important. B&B’s make great partners if you have a hotel voucher program (see information about that in this post.) Make sure they are clean, up to date and well managed by taking the time to visit. If you partner with a poorly run property, it will reflect on your attraction as well. Make sure you speak about upcoming promotions and programs for your attraction and bring brochures so they can stock their brochure racks!Host a meeting to develop some group tour itineraries for the following year
One way to get included in a group tour itinerary is to develop the itinerary and share it with your tour company contacts. A great way to accomplish this is to host a meeting with other attractions, lodging, restaurants, and your DMO. Decide on some themes in advance and have everyone bring some ideas. If your area has a special event, build a tour around that. Most of the tour operators I speak with are looking for 3 day/2 night or 2 day/1 night tours for their customers. Try to keep to that time frame and remember that most tour operators are looking for ideas for the following year. Great partnerships can develop and business can be built if you work together.
Take your staff on a benchmarking trip and have fun
Benchmarking means traveling to other attractions to observe how they welcome guests, use technology, and why they are successful. This is a great way to do fact-finding and to have fun with your staff and increase their knowledge. They often have insight and notice things you might not see. Ask each staff person to write up a report with ideas that you can implement based on what you saw. Make sure to invite your hosts to your attraction- it is great to be a host too!
Have lunch with your DMO staff to make sure you are taking advantage of all their opportunities
As someone that worked at a DMO for five years, I know that most of our partners had no idea how much we did for them. Make yourself known to your DMO/CVB by dropping by with some goodies, or host them for lunch at your facility. Give them updates on what you have going on, and ask about upcoming programs you might not be aware of. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the involved attraction gets the calls.
Learn a new skill
When I started working at the Corning Museum of Glass, I realized quickly that I would need to figure out the Chinese market. I was a nervous wreck the first few times I went to Chinatown offices in NYC. I wasn’t sure where I was going, and I was intimidated by everyone speaking Mandarin. Although everyone was polite and friendly, I never felt like I was making much progress.
But after many visits, I started to look forward to seeing my contacts, and they started to become friends. Once we had built relationships, that’s when I started hearing about ways to get more groups and what their customers wanted to see. For the Chinese tourism market- it’s all about relationships. Maybe you can’t get to key offices every month, or wait years to build a relationship. If only there was a magic tool to help make the process go faster!
I have the magic solution! WeChat, the social media app, can help build relationships faster, and help tour operators see that you are serious about working with them. I developed a WeChat ready course, based on my years of teaching it at tourism summits. It is an easy to follow online course which has videos, workbooks, and bonuses like ebooks to share with your staff and partners. If you are attending any tradeshows this year where you will meet with Chinese tour operators – either U.S. based or from China- you need to learn WeChat. Take some time during this slower season and invest in your future. I can help transform you into a tourism professional that feels comfortable and confident working in this market. And who doesn’t want that?
