› Help provide many specific restau- rant discounts and coordinate the col- lection of private dining information.
› I love when CVBs offer smart- phone apps. I always Facebook- friend and follow the tweets from the CVBs where we are holding our future conventions
— having their social-media updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages is a fantastic marketing opportunity. The more my future attendees see that’s positive about the meeting destination, the more inclined they are to attend and, more specifically, stay longer and enjoy the city on their own.
› Take lessons learned from other groups that meet in your city and share their best practices as it relates to suc- cessfully driving attendance to your city. You are the ones that see it first- hand and are best suited to educate clients on what does and does not work well for your city.
› Providing information on what to do in your city when not at the meeting. Seattle did a great job for us with a list of things to do and places to see: “If you have two hours, here’s what you can do in our city; and if you have a half day, try this out.”
What is it that makes the really great CVBs/DMOs stand out?
› A CVB really stands out when they are willing to be the hub of information- gathering and are willing to spend the time needed on conversations with the venues (primarily convention center and hotels) in order to provide a pack- age that is appealing and meets the group’s needs while presenting it in the
30 PCMA CONVENE JANUARY 2013 requested format.
› Do your homework to know your customer. And know your products — offer a list of services before the planner has to ask, be ready with well-organized information, don’t just send them to your website to poke around. Tell them what they can find there. Contact previous cities to gather history and character- istics of the group, and review the RFP carefully. Nothing speaks more highly of a CVB (and builds confidence from the planner) than when your rep has done their homework. Create a Client Advisory Board for your bureau to stay current with planner concerns/trends.
› Great communications, follow-up, and a real interest in our program — not just the
dollars and cents.
And while we’re on the subject, what is it that the less-than- great bureaus never seem to quite get?
› Getting the sale, then letting go of the relationship in terms of advocacy and cultivation. Not positioning themselves as a true partner for the client.
› That all meetings are not the same. That each group is important to the city, no matter what the size.
› Allowing individual hotels to send information directly to the planner before the city has been selected.
› Even if you’re a hot place to meet, I still need a top-notch photo selection. Neighborhoods and people
and diversity, not just skylines. With
Imagine it’s the year 2022 and you’re still planning large meetings. What’s different?
› Eighty percent of my members are in attendance at our annual confer- ence, either in person or virtually. The CVB has provided the technological assistance to broadcast the entire con- ference by arranging for local sponsor- ships. Our keynote speakers give their presentation from the new orbiting space station as a 3-D holographic pro- jection. And the major difference is that no one complains about the food!
› All attendees will be able to inter- actively participate in all sessions via wireless devices. Many sessions will have holographic speakers, beamed in from around the world. An equal number of attendees will be virtual and on-site. All attendees will have an opportunity to present their expertise
social media, there are so many more opportunities to use images — a good selection is key! It’s surprising how many cities have crappy photos.
› I don’t actually have to work with you. Online systems are getting more sophisticated. You should make your- selves indispensable to planners. Just processing a lead does not a relation- ship build.
› We had one bureau that could not answer questions because they were not the voice of the hotels when their city was having union issues. One CVB person would ask to meet with me and then was BlackBerry-addicted. Not the best way to impress a client as being important.