Know Thyself: How Understanding Can Lead to More Visitors
Have you ever thought about what people expect when they come to visit your destination or use your services? As consumers, before we ever set foot in a place we’ve already formed pictures and associations of that experience in our minds based on what we’ve heard from others. We call this a community’s brand image, or brand reputation.
Every destination has a reputation in the minds of its visitors and prospective visitors, which ultimately impacts expectations. And if the reality of the experience does not match visitor expectations the negative impact of this disappointment cannot be overestimated. Not only will the chance of repeat visitation plummet, the negative word-of-mouth will keep others from ever visiting. The importance of this relationship presents a series of critical challenges for destination marketers:
- How can you find out what’s being said about your destination?
- How are consumers translating that reputation into expectations about your destination?
- How are those expectations impacting visitation and return visitation?
- How does your destination’s reputation match up with its reality?
Having worked with more than 140 communities in 36 states, North Star Destination Strategies is one of the nation’s leading research and branding companies for destinations. We’re dedicated to helping destinations uncover, understand and evoke the distinct fundamental truths that will help them connect with and influence their visitors. In other words, we are diligent researchers committed to unearthing everything there is to know about visitors and destinations . . . including reputation and how it is impacting visitation.
North Star research has more than a decade of experience offering DMOs custom research solutions that help them evaluate their image, measure campaign effectiveness, identify consumer hot buttons and leverage knowledge to build more powerful products and campaigns. What makes North Star completely unique? The combination of our cutting-edge research expertise and our extensive destination branding knowledge. Our goal is to dig deeper into the data, to uncover the real motivators that drive consumer choice and public opinion. Research and data take the guesswork out of marketing and strategic decision-making allowing for targeted, effective management and promotional strategies. In addition, data clarifies priorities and helps delineate those tactics which will most successfully further your goals. Finally, data lays an objective and measureable foundation, which is much more compelling to community partners than opinions and agendas.
The link below is a North Star tool that can help destinations identify any gaps between the reality of their community’s visitor experience and the image/expectations of their visitors. Once this gap has been identified it can be eliminated to create a seamless visitor experience. The resulting analysis will yield actionable strategies and tactics that can be used to grow business and garner rave reviews from visitors . . . thus furthering a positive reputation.
To learn more how North Star can leverage your reputation to increase visitation, come see us at www.northstarideas.com or contact Director of Research Shannon Gray at shannon@northstarideas.com.
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