SENIOR’S SOLUTIONS NUMBER 27
How to communicate effectively Showbiz or real biz?
Dramatic advertising campaigns might grab people’s attention, but there’s no substitute for a clear, logical strategy when it comes to long-term results, argues Grahame Senior
H
aving spent a lifetime in the business of market- ing communications, I’ve come to realise that when it comes to the creative
approach to communicating, there are two tribes. The showbiz persuasion loves dramatic, startling, even some- times shocking headlines or images designed to grab attention and get your involvement. I myself veer more towards the real biz approach, which is fundamentally functional.
The principles of effective commu- nication down this route involve four stages: contact; connection; content/ communication; and function/fulfil- ment. It’s a hardworking and functional route to effective communication that locks into the potential customer and delivers what they need to know. It may not be the most exciting, fun- filled, award-winning approach but it does deliver results.
SHOCK AND AWE OR COMMON SENSE? If you favour the show- biz approach, you may well find this boring. After 40 years in the strategic advertising business, I have plenty of experience of those who get their kicks from ground-breaking slogans and campaigns. You
could call them the FCUK tribe. The key to their approach is a shocking headline or image which grabs atten- tion. Very often it works really well and gets talked about a lot to start with. It doesn’t, however, always deliver the long-term brand value or the cost- effective communications required. For some it may be sad, but it’s a simple fact that logical, consistent work often pays better dividends than sky rockets of excitement and style.
How to communicate with common sense
The first thing is to decide exactly what your key unique selling proposition is going to be and also precisely the market you’re aiming for. You then go through a four-stage process. 1 Make contact. Put your message in the right place for the right market, whether it’s on the web, through advertising or through media coverage. 2 Make a connection. Make it plain in your communication who you are talking to and that this message applies to them. 3 Deliver the right contents. Put across the message – whether it’s
pricing, added value, special menus, exclusive room features, targeted activities – give the information that will make them sit up and take notice. 4 Finish with a clear action point to complete communication. Whether written response, a telephone call, a promotional action, a web registration – stimulate the right market to give the right reaction. If you follow this four-stage process, your message will be clear. Being con- sistent and putting across the same point via all communications routes will help you get the point across.
If you’re in the inde- pendent part of the hospitality business, you might do well to take note of the recent statement made by Andy Harrison, the chief executive of Whitbread. Whitbread no longer makes beer but has become a fantastic business by satisfying
the nation’s need for quality cof- fee and fulfilling a mission to provide the traveller with economical quality accommodation without fuss. Costa Coffee and Premier Inns are the two leading practitioners in their fields. Harrison stated in his annual report that Whitbread intends to increase its share of UK bed nights massively. Their communication is very simple, but they do connect with their markets both by their omnipresent units and also by clear, simple advertising messages. The consumer is left in little doubt that if you want quality accommodation at a sensible cost you’d be a fool to look further than Premier Inns. Fighting back against that means independent hotels need some very clear strategies to achieve a distinctive edge.
A CLEAR STRATEGY Who do you want to talk to, what do they want to hear, what will make you special to them? If you want to stand out then you have to define your market and research what they’re looking for. Clearly the most important market for you is the market you already have. Analysing and defining the character of your market by geographic or socioec- onomic criteria is an easy thing to do
78 Read Leisure Management online
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