NB: This is a guest post by Mark Mattson, a former university professor who writes agile software solutions for the travel industry through TravelTools, a service for destination marketers.
"What marketing" is the time-tested technique of informing visitors of opportunities prior to their visits.
Traditionally, "what marketing" employs print publications and websites. More contemporary and rapidly evolving "what else marketing" employs newer technologies such as smartphones, social media, and QR codes.
"What else marketing" strategies increase commerce at the Point of Purchase (POP) - the geographic location of the visitor, within the destination marketplace, at any point in time.
While "what marketing" will remain essential to the marketing mix, "what else marketing" is a virtual mix that grows the pie by multiplying revenues and broadening interaction. It does this because it links physical world objects and commerce with live visitors at the street level in real time.
"What else marketing" doesn’t see a visitor’s location as a single destination point. It sees it from the visitor’s perspective - an evolving starting point for further interaction and commerce.
I suppose that "what else marketing" could be called "destination orienteering". It’s like that because "what else marketing" propels visitors beyond what is in front of them to things that are undiscovered or hidden from view.
For example, a QR installation site can be seen as an orienteering base camp for explorations within a neighborhood or a section of a city.
In this example, a visitor exiting a museum might be hungry. "What else marketing" is the mechanism that shows that visitor where to get lunch within a ten minute walking radius.
"What else marketing" is the pure, point of purchase promotional strategy that every business needs. Moreover, it is what travelers and consumers need since it illuminates the world in real time surrounding real locations.
The keys to developing a successful What Else Marketplace strategy can be summarized simply:
1. See each point of interest as a launching pad for other points of interest.
Don’t see them as destinations in and of themselves. Remember “what else marketing” gets into your visitor’s heads.
When they wander out of the “what” anticipate the “what else” they may want to experience. Know that your visitors are on the constant lookout for new things and that their visits change every second of every day while they are with you.
It is your job to facilitate the dynamics of their journey through smart technology solutions that match their expectations and evolving demands.
2. Provide your visitors with the tools for discovery and interaction.
Give them reasons to do and spend more. Understand that building an itinerary at home from your website isn’t all your visitors need.
That is just providing the "what" of a journey. Provide the all-essential "what else" by introducing newer tools that guide your visitors in real time.
Know that providing these new technologies is the key to economic growth in a poor global economy that threatens to cap normal increases in the actual number of visitors to your destination.
3. Change your mindset.
Say to yourself: "We may not be able to increase the number visitors to our destination, but we can increase the number of economic and social interactions once they get here."
Remember, that whether you increase traffic or increase interactions, you reach the same goal - a significantly larger pie.
4) Never forget.
There are infinitely more opportunities that fall into the "what else" category than you can ever find in the "what" category.
This is simple and irrefutable. As soon as your visitor walks out of the "what" your entire destination turns into a magical land of what else.
It’s your job, as a destination marketer to show your visitor how big the world is.
NB: This is a guest post by Mark Mattson, a former university professor who writes agile software solutions for the travel industry through TravelTools, a service for destination marketers.