The total market for tourism products is huge. You can’t hope to satisfy everyone all the time. Nor should you try to target all of them at once. The ‘something for everyone’ approach is expensive and rarely successful.
It is more productive and cost-effective to identify several smaller groups of people or market segments. Segmentation means breaking markets down into a more manageable size, and gaining a precise understanding of different groups of people.
When choosing market segments you will need to ensure that they are:
easily identifiable and distinct from the mass market;
large enough to make targeting them worthwhile, and whether they are also growth markets;
easy to reach - either because they are geographically close to you or there are obvious and established channels of distributions and media through which you can target them;
Here are some ways of looking at different segments:
age - people choose different products according to their age and activities, but don’t make this your only criteria
economic status - for example budget accommodation providers will target people who are travelling on a restricted income
purpose of travel - reason for travel and any special needs. For example, a business traveller will look for efficiency and prompt service whereas a family are more likely to look for fun activities
nationality - once you have chosen specific nationalities or countries to target you will still need to define segments within that group; – these all have an impact on what people do.
lifestyle, consumer attitudes and behaviour - these all have an impact on what people do. Looking at mindsets and motivations is very useful.
Segmentation usually involves combining the above methods so you can develop a complete profile for different market segments. The more detail you can add about different segments the better. The total market for any product is likely to be quite wide, but by describing the differences between segments, it becomes possible to create focused and cost-effective strategies for each one.
Although there is plenty of research already available, it’s always good to know more about your customers.
If your budget is limited, you might want to develop your own customer survey. Use it to assess satisfaction levels, decide whether you need new services and to find out whether your marketing is working.
Telephone and postal surveys are useful research methods but response rates will never be as high as for face-to-face surveys or those you conduct on site.
Face-to-face questionnaires are easy to conduct. You just need to develop an easy to use questionnaire. Multiple choice questions are easy to answer and analyse. This also gives staff an excuse to talk to visitors and perhaps to note down other comments as they are made.
You could supplement face-to-face surveys with self-completion questionnaires handed out on arrival or left in rooms etc. Response rates are unlikely to be high and it is harder to select respondents so they fit into specific sample groups. You usually find that the people who choose to fill out self-completion questionnaires are either very happy or very unhappy with your service. Those who fit in between rarely bother.
Focus groups are a good way to explore different issues and ideas. It’s good to use a skilled facilitator but you can learn this skill. Just gather together a small group of people (around 8 is ideal). Have a definite topic in mind and pose a minimal number of questions so the group can talk quite naturally, using each other’s remarks to feed the discussion. Make notes of what is said, and firmly move on to the next topic or question if you feel anyone is monopolising the discussion or you’ve heard enough.
Whatever research method you use, jot down a “brief” for yourself. This might include:
It is important to determine the precise purpose of the research in order to choose the research method and sample. For some purposes a representative sample of just 10 people might be sufficient.
For example, if you wanted to know 8 year-old’s reactions to a new concept for an attraction, you could ask 4 “friendship pairs” of 8-year olds (who would be encouraged to talk more through the presence of their friend) and perhaps 4 parents of 8-year olds.
If you needed to find out how effective a marketing campaign has been, it would be necessary to interview a far larger and broader sample of people, using a questionnaire.
Good questionnaire design is crucial. The way you ask a question can bias the response so questions must be neutral and easy to understand. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:
Make sure your questions are not loaded or emotive, leading respondents to reply in a particular manner. Questions mustn’t be ambiguous
Don’t use jargon or phrases the general public might not understand (e.g. ensuite rooms)
Beware of asking two questions in one
Don’t give the public memory tests. For example, if you ask about visits to other attractions, make sure they are recent ones, otherwise you may just receive educated guesses
Beware of making the questionnaire too long – people don’t want to spend longer than 5 – 10 minutes answering
Remember to explain the purpose of the questionnaire at the beginning and thank the respondent at the end.
If you use a multiple choice format, it is useful to have a card for each question, printed with the relevant responses to show the respondent. If you ask questions about advertisements or brochures etc you should have examples to show the respondent so the interview does not rely on memory.
Before printing hundreds of copies of questionnaires and interrogating the public, it is worth testing it on several colleagues and friends to make sure the questions are easy to understand and answer, and unlikely to “skew” the results.
1. Ensure you and your staff acknowledge the importance of good research. Allocate a budget and staff time to undertake it.
2. Don’t skimp on research by asking too few questions of too few people - the sample must be large enough for the purpose
3. Ensure your questionnaire/interviews are carefully designed and tested before undertaking the research.
4. Ensure the interviewers understand the purpose of the research, are friendly and approach people within a representative sample (however you choose to define this)
5. Be willing to abandon your preconceived ideas if the research does not coincide with your views!
6. Be prepared to repeat the surveys at regular intervals
7. Use the research. Implementation is the real key to its success.