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THIS TOURISM WEEK Number 69 - Wednesday 13 June, 2007 Brought to you By ChakariNet Improving Your Net Worth
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What Are Your Guests Saying About You? |
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Want the BarefootBenefit? There’s more at the end of this message. And, just so’s you know - This Tourism Week is PROUDLY BAREFOOT AND FULLY SOUTH AFRICAN
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| Two things happened this morning that once again underscored for me how useful the amazing technology of the net can be. And how it’s changing our lives.
I began my day, as most of us do, by downloading my e-mails. And the first thing that came through was a Google Alert about one of my clients. Now I don’t know if you know Google Alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts), but you should. I’ve subscribed various keywords - obvious ones like “This Tourism Week,” my client’s business’ names and (but not because I’m conceited, you understand) “Martin Hatchuel” - and every time the engine finds a new listing for any of them, it sends me a mail with a link to the article concerned. It’s very useful. This morning’s communication told me that a blogger had written about one of my clients and I was able to go and read what he’d said and act on it straight away: while he hadn’t been negative about the client’s offering, it was clear that there was stuff he didn’t know. A quick e-mail to him and the lines of communication have been opened. This would never have happened in the bad old days. Or if it had, it would have cost a fortune (buy lost and lots of newspapers and magazines, find the article - by chance - find the writer, write to the writer, wait for a response … and lose interest or fall into your grave, whichever comes first). The second mail I opened came from a news server and lead me to an article in the Washington Post entitled “This is Your Elite Flier Speaking,” by Del Quentin Weber. American carriers - and, according to Mr. Weber, especially Continental Airlines - are spending zillions on monitoring the web, They’re using it learn what their customers are saying about them and (will local carriers reading this please note) to see how they can improve their service. It seems that frequent fliers, like most other interest groups, spend a lot of time in the chat rooms talking about their experiences. Listen to what they’re saying and you’ll get invaluable information which few focus groups or formal market research programmes would normally reveal. Things that might seem small and unimportant to management loom large in the minds of customers. Continental has appointed a Mr. Scott O’Leary to monitor the chat rooms - and to make recommendations and act upon what he learns there. Sometimes all it takes to turn someone who could potentially be lost to you into a loyal customer is to simply listen to what he or she has to say - and, in the global village, the net provides us the opportunity to listen to a much, much wider audience at a much smaller cost than ever before. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict where this is going to go. The business gurus are right: the days of dictating to your customers are dead - because they’re talking about you. It’s going to be interesting to see where this leads us to in tourism. |
| And Talking About Innovation…
I’m off to Cape Town on Saturday, where I’ll be staying at the Extreme Hotel. Apparently it’s a whole new concept in accommodation. Watch this space for a review next week… |
| ChakariNet - for your E-brochures, Internet Requirement and CD Burning
So you agree - the internet’s the way to go. And you want to deal with specialists who know how to produce the media you need to maximise your electronic marketing. That’s why you should choose ChakariNet. They’re committed to delivering the best possible service at reasonable prices for customers across the spectrum - from large organisations like KZN Wildlife to small, one-man businesses. Two of their most popular services include creating e-brochures and printing and burning of CDs. A well-made e-brochure allows you to introduce your business to potential clients or visitors in seconds. It’s a carefully-planned overview which is designed to grab their interest - and keep it. E-brochures can be e-mailed to prospects or downloaded from your web site - and (and this is important) they can include active web links which allow you to take the reader exactly where you want him or her to go. On line, of course. And, to back up their various other services (like creating web sites and web strategies), ChakariNet also has a division for cost-effective burning and printing of CDs in bulk. More information from Chris Hamilton - +27(0)11 478 3735; e-mail chris@chakari.net or visit http://www.chakari.net/ |
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Want To Advertise to More than 8,300 Names In The Tourism Industry? Want to tap into the power of internet marketing? Want to speak to my audience? Mail me - and let’s see This Tourism Week can help you …Have a Great Tourism Week! BarefootWriter |
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Brilliantly designed by S2 Web Solutions, http://www.thistourismweek.co.za/ offers back issues, useful links and a media room with downloadable releases and high res images. And remember to go to the Products and Services page to download my paper ‘Managing Perceptions - The Care And Feeding Of The Media.’ You’ll see I have a lot to say about managing the media during a crisis. … AND AN INVITATION I’m always looking for subjects for feature articles in This Tourism Week. Please mail mailto:martin@barefootclients.co.za?subject=Invitation:%20TTW if you have information of broad general interest to more than 8,300 readers in South Africa’s Tourism Industry. Want the BarefootBenefit? |
| The BarefootBenefit
BarefootClients provides communications services (copy writing, advertising, printing and that kind of stuff) as well as strategy planning and creative thought for select clients who share our Barefoot On The Beach approach to business. It’s simple. We believe that successful marketing creates relationships - friendships - between businesses and their customers. Our job is to help you develop friendships with your clients: to make them so comfortable with you that they’ll happily walk Barefoot On The Beach with you … Because business works best between friends. That’s the BarefootBenefit. Want it? Visit http://www.barefootclients.co.za/ |
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ABOUT THIS TOURISM WEEK This Tourism Week is a personal e-letter and informed commentary on issues affecting South Africa’s tourism industry. If you don’t want to read it, please e-mail mailto:martin@barefootclients.co.za?subject=TTW%20UNSUBSCRIBE - but if you think it’s worth sharing, please forward this message to your friends and ask them to subscribe. Please note that the articles in This Tourism Week may only be reproduced with permission. Want it? Mail me - mailto:martin@thistourismweek.co.za?subject=Permission%20to%20Reproduce:%20TTW.
Back issues: http://www.thistourismweek.co.za/
This Tourism Week, 63 Wilson Street, Hunter’s Home, PO Box 2690, Knysna 6570 Telephone +27(0)44 384 1810 | Cell +27(0)84 951 0574 | mailto:martin@barefootclients.co.za?subject=Enquiry:%20TTW
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