There’s an exciting trend in Zimbabwe’s travel sector, entrepreneurs are investing into the development of tourism resorts and facilities. This is good for the industry, as more options are being created for travels enthusiasts, there’s increasing variety, and the local tourist has more to choose from. Oftentimes, local tourists are surprised when we show them certain places which are here within Zimbabwe, they confirm that they never knew that such exists which points at the need for these resorts and facilities to up their marketing game. In this feature, we discuss on a couple of things which entrepreneurs in the tourism space can consider in their marketing efforts. 

Define your Unique Selling Point. 

Your unique selling point (USP) is what makes your facility different from all the others. Your USP is what makes a traveler choose your resort in a market with many others. In simpler terms, your USP is what makes you get the USD. 

Your USP could be low rates, it could be elegant furnishings, it could be the history around your location, it could be the unmatched, breathtaking views, natural landscape, great customer service, or it could be accessibility to surrounding places which offer other exciting activities. 

You have to define your USP, and after that communicate it, so that customers know why they will be choosing you over the plenty of alternatives presented to them. A strong USP makes it easier for customers to make a choice, especially if it matches what they are looking for. 

After defining your USP, the next step is to define your target market. 

Defining your Target Market. 

The phrase “target market” is not new to many people in Zimbabwe, it is said when someone thinks something is expensive for them; “I’m not the target market..” is how they move away from an offering. It’s important to identify your target market. Easily defined, target market is the  is the type of person who you think likely to come to patronize your place. You can make use of your USP to determine who the target market could be; who will be attracted to your USP? 

An example of your target market could be the hyper active youth who want to enjoy heart pumping activities and have fun dining. It could be the conservative executive who wants a place they can break away from regular office life, unwind and reenergize themselves. It could be romantic couples who want to spice up their love in a different setting.

Many operators think that they are open to everyone, which is not feasible. People have different characteristics, traits, attributes and interests, you won’t be able to please them all. You need to select your target market, and focus on serving it very well, it’s a good recipe for success. 

You can use income, age group, lifestyle, interests and many more attributes to define your target market. 

This information is available to you, look at your past visitors, look at your offering, and look at the trends in the sector, it can help you to define your target market. 

Having a target market helps you to package your messaging, and marketing in a way that appeals to your target market. There’s better return on marketing investment when you have successfully set your target market. 

After defining your target market, next thing is to create a brand for your facility. 

Build a brand for your facility. 

Branding is the process of creating an identity which differentiates your facility from the rest in the market. Branding is basically the heart of marketing, a successful brand is one of the most valuable possessions you can own. For instance, when you are buying drinks for your place, there’s a drink that you pick from a fridge with over 10 alternatives, branding is one of the reasons why you choose that type of drink over others. If you choose Coca Cola, you probably can easily tell from the shape of its bottle, the lettering, the taste, and other associated messaging like “open happiness.”

Branding includes coming up with a unique logo, design, slogan, language, style and feel. A brand is also your reputation, what people say about you. It takes time to build a brand, and it also takes effort and commitment, it’s not a process which will happen on its own, you’ll have to make it happen yourself. When you have successfully built a brand, you’ve created perceptions and associations which come to mind whenever your brand is mentioned.

Branding is important, apart from helping your place stand out, it also helps you set pricing. One common statement is that people don’t buy things, they buy brands. Have you seen how people are willing to pay anything to get the latest iPhone, not because other phones don’t call, message and do the basic functions of a phone, but because someone has become loyal to Apple and iPhone, they can pay anything.

People don’t buy things, they buy brands

A lot of things are involved in building a brand. First and most important is defining the purpose of your business, coming up with a brand style, a language, creating visuals, consistently telling your story, and promoting the brand. 

The good thing about the digital era is that it gives you more platforms to tell your brand’s story, and to promote it online. 

Establish a Digital Presence.

One popular statement is that people no longer live in their homes, they now live online. This shows how people now spend much of their time online, enjoying the various features of social media like, tweeting, scrolling through facebook timelines, uploading pictures on Instagram, or chatting on WhatsApp. People are now hooked to their phones and gadgets, making it easier for you to reach them online. 

“People no longer live in their homes, they now live online.”

Your facility must have a digital presence, this includes active and responsive social media handles and up to date websites. This makes it easier for potential customers to interact with your place, find information on prices and booking processes. Social media is also a platform which enables you to engage in two way conversation with potential clients, listen to conversations which potential clients are having and get reviews, all of which are useful for your continuous improvement. 

A website also allows you to reach more people through optimizing your site for search engines. This makes it easy for you to be found when a potential client makes a search query on the web. A website also plays a part in creating a visual impression of your brand.

Before people get to meet your facility in person, they meet it online, make sure you impress on every interaction you make. 

Influencer Marketing 

A growing trend in marketing is influencer marketing. This is a strategy whereby you identify influential people who can help create better perceptions of your brand, and encourage adoption of your service.

For example, a celebrity can post images of them at your facility, which will lead to more awareness, and even bookings as people also want to get an experience which the influencer had. A couple of resorts have been making use of this strategy and has been a great way of driving traffic towards them.

Always make sure that you pick the right fit for an influencer, you need to have an influencer whose values and reputation will not affect your image. Influencers when well selected can do achieve incredible results, because they already have a following and an effective voice which if perfectly knitted with your marketing communication, success will be the likely outcome.

Offline Promotions

You can also promote your resort by creative efforts offline. This may include exhibitions at travel themed conferences, networking and billboard adverts, featuring in travel magazines and in newspapers among other methods.

These are done to create awareness to that segment of the market which is rarely online or believe in offline campaigns. A combination of having both online and offline methods is helpful to the brand as it solidifies a message and increase its reach.

Some think they don’t need marketing, but it’s not true, marketing is necessary. It will take you from the level you are to the next level. Marketing is a process, it’s the steps you take daily which will compound into lasting results. Don’t expect instant results, be patient with the process. 

For more tips and assistance with marketing your facility email on tinashe@travelzimbabwe.co.zw