If you’re a cafe or restaurant, an activity provider or have accommodation services then you’re a key part of our visitor sector. This section outlines some of the key tools and tips for our visitor sector operators, such as where to list for maximum exposure, free resources and more.
Download the Visitor Business Marketing Guide
Your checklist for best practice marketing
1. Have a Marketing Plan
Having a marketing plan is important for any size business. To create a marketing plan, you will need to:
- Identify your unique selling point (USP)
- Build an understanding of your target market
- Research your competition, in the region and nationally
- Set some clear targets on what you want to achieve with your marketing
- Outline how much budget you have available
- Choose your marketing channels
- Outline an achievable action plan
- Put in place simple reporting metrics to measure success, always measure your return on investment (ROI)
CEDAs team of Business Growth Advisors may be able to connect and support you in developing a marketing plan. To find out if you qualify, contact [email protected]
2. Improve your digital marketing knowledge
Digital marketing is now more important than ever. Put your best foot forward in the online space by upskilling yourself on your website, social media presence, and the advertising options available.
Upskill with Digital Boost
Developed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), Digital Boost offers more than 100 training videos in all areas of digital business practice. It’s free to join and through the registration process, Digital Boost is able to tailor a programme to suit your individual needs. Once registered you have access to a large suite of resources.
Digital Boost covers topics such as Google My Business, Websites, Social Media, Digital Tools, Digital Marketing, Accounting, Business Insights, Future technologies, the list goes on. Register here to discover this amazing resource.
3. Tourism New Zealand and ManawatuNZ.co.nz FREE listing
Create a FREE listing on Tourism New Zealand’s website, putting your business in front of over 41 million potential visitors each year. To be eligible to list on newzealand.com businesses must operate within the accommodation, attraction, tours, or transport sector. Your listing on newzealand.com will then be replicated on our regional website ManawatuNZ.co.nz, creating an operator page for your business. For instructions on how to create your listing, visit register.newzealand.com.
4. TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor has over 375 million visits each year and is FREE to create a listing for accommodation, restaurant/cafés, attractions or tours. Listing on tripadvisor.co.nz allows you to actively respond to reviews and update your details. Your business may already be on TripAdvisor without you knowing, due to people reviewing it, so it’s best to create your own listing or claim your listing so you can actively control content and respond proactively to reviews.
Top Tip: Always respond to feedback, whether positive or negative, as this demonstrates attentive customer service skills.
An example response to a positive review:
“Thanks for leaving a review, and mentioning our barista. You’re right, she is always smiling! Next time you’re here, you should try the [insert product here]! We hope to see you again soon.”
An example response to a negative review:
“I’m sorry to hear you didn’t have a great experience. We are normally known for our high standards and we regret that we missed the mark. My name is [first name] and I am the [Owner / Manager]. If you’d like to discuss this further, please contact me at [phone number / email].”
5. Social Media
Through social networking sites, you can keep in touch with your individual followers and build brand trust in your business. Some of the different social media platforms include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok and YouTube. Look into which platforms best suit your company – it is best to pick one or two and do them well rather than be on all platforms and not keeping them updated. Look at what your competitors are doing, or businesses similar to yours in other regions to get an idea of what works for your market.
6. Website
Your website is your digital storefront and is vital to the promotion of your business. A website allows people to find you online, educates people on who you are and what you offer, showcases your products and services and provides an easy way for people to get in touch with you. Keep your website relevant and engaging with good imagery, up to date business information and any news and offers. Don’t forget that Google measures your websites quality by mobile usability only (no longer desktop), ensure you check your website experience on your phone as much as possible and after any changes you make.
A great place to see how your website stacks up is with Google Page Speed Insights. This FREE tool will give your website a ranking out of 100, will tell you how fast your website loads (First Contentful Paint needs to be 1.5 seconds or less), and will highlight any issues that you may want to discuss further with your website developer.
7. Google My Business
Attract new customers with a free Google My Business listing. This is a really important, and FREE tool for your business, and will ensure your business will appear easily when people are searching for your business or businesses like yours on Google Search or Google Maps. 90% of people use Google daily as a search tool to find local businesses making this a key marketing tool. Creating or updating your Google listing is easy and can be done by heading to google.co.nz/intl/en/business and following six easy steps. This is also the most important place for Google Reviews – a much used tool of visitors. Keep an eye on your reviews and take the time to respond where needed.
The GMB resources uncover the secrets of the most successful businesses online. Get free access to the Google My Business Workshop webinar, the Marketing Academy and the Google My Business Checkup. There are also a host of other free resources to help make the best of your Google Business Listing. If you need help verifying your business on Google Maps or Google My Business please get in touch with the CEDA team.
