Here’s my first follow-up post to the heavily debated post from earlier this week. Keep the discussion going! I’ll start with building a destination brand.
Our main point of view is that the stories people tell each other are more impactful and outnumber the impressions most DMO’s can achieve through advertising.
This is one of my favourite slides from our strategy workshop (it was created by Paul by the way). 
A lot of things haven’t changed. One of them is the purchase cycle. In order for somebody to visit a destination they need to be aware (the destination exists), consider visiting (on the shortlist), intent to visit (planning a trip) and purchase (book).
- At the top of the funnel, people don’t seek information (how can they if they don’t know). It needs to come from others. This can include the news, school, TV shows, movies, advertising and stories from friends. Every story about a destination impacts the perception of the destination and the desire to visit.
- Once somebody is lower down the funnel and are thinking about a visit, they will actively seek information. Here is where DMO’s have a big opportunity. Because consumers look for the information DMO’s produce. DMO’s can have a big influence here to build brand and trigger a travel decision, although it’s typically booked elsewhere.
- During the trip, each experience will impact the travellers perception of the destination brand. These experiences ultimately decide if a person will repeat or not. And more importantly, the stories s/he will tell others. In person, over the phone, on Tripadvisor, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, etc. These stories in return shape the perceptions of others.
The experience builds the brand
Imagine
Get people talking
- The most impact is a great tourism experience because it will be told over and over again. And what stories do people share, especially in social media? Remarkable experiences.
- Remarkable content gets shared as well. This amazing interactive panorama on VisitNorway.com for example. Hans Petter Aalmo from Visit Norway told me that Stumbleupon alone drove about 400,000 visitors to this page.
- Remarkable campaigns can increase the top of the funnel as well. Our Superbowl campaign with Tourism Dallas for example got two cities talking about Dallas for two days.
The goal
The goal for each DMO should be that every visit leads to >1 visit as a result of the stories the traveler tells others. Simple.
Measuring
I like Nett Promotor Score (NPS). NPS measures customer satisfaction by asking one question on a scale from 0 to 10. “How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”
- People who rate 9-10 are promotors; they are likely to recommend.
- People who rate 7-8 are passives – they neither recommend or detract.
- People who rate 0-6 are detractors; they are likely to detract.
Your Nett Promotor Score is the percentage of promotors minus detractors. NPS is a strong indicator of future growth for a company or product. In effect, it’s a qualitative measure of the consumer’s brand perception after a trip experience. DMO’s should consider using NPS as the collective measure of success for their destination. It’s easy to implement and easy to understand. With an easy follow-up question (why?), you can understand what you can build on and what needs to improve. This can involve tourism product and customer service but also things typically not considered such as the airport experience, or taxi rides, crime, etc. Conclusion Building a destination brand is
