How to Reach & Engage Meeting Planners

Sample of Current Travel Clients

About Us

Shirley Smith was the Director of Sales & Marketing for the One

Ocean Resort in Atlantic Beach, a luxury boutique hotel, after being

the Vice President of Sales for Visit Jacksonville where she led the

sales team to a 110% increase in room nights booked. Prior to

joining Visit Jacksonville, Shirley was the Director of Sales and

Marketing for Marriott Hotels & Resorts for 15 years.

Shirley Smith brings a tremendous wealth of experience in travel

and tourism focusing on meetings and conventions.

Shirley Smith has a distinguished

background and a wealth of experience in

Travel Sales and Marketing. With more

than 22 years in the tourism industry, she has held a variety of progressively

responsible sales and marketing

leadership positions in hotels, resorts

and destination marketing organizations.

Mya Surrency is known for developing

engaging brands and driving results. With

more than 10 years of marketing experience

specializing in travel and tourism and digital marketing, Mya’s experience includes

knowing how to leverage digital media and

target digital campaigns for both leisure

and conventions.

Mya Surrency was the Vice President of Marketing and Interim President

& CEO for Visit Jacksonville where she launched the DMO’s first

progressive leisure marketing effort. During her tenure, she oversaw the

transition from purely traditional marketing campaigns to a fully

integrated approach leveraging traditional, digital and direct marketing

efforts utilizing research and new technologies. Prior to joining Visit

Jacksonville, Mya was the Deputy Director for St. Augustine,

Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau.

Mya’s marketing campaigns have won 9 HSMAI Adrian Awards and

numerous Visit Florida Flagler Awards during her career.

SHIRLEY SMITH Principle & Chief Creative Officer

MYA SURRENCY Principle & Chief Marketing Officer

WE CREATE AN INTEGRATED APPROACH AN INTEGRATED APPROACH REQUIRES KNOWING HOW YOUR SALES TEAM SELLS, WHAT THEY SAY TO CLIENTS & HOW THEY POSITION YOUR BRAND WE WORK WITH DMO’S TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE MARKETING TEAM’S VISION FOR THE BRAND AND THE SALES TEAM’S NEED TO REACH PLANNERS QUICKLY, EFFECTIVELY AND OFTEN.

WHAT THE RESEARCH TELLS US…

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO REACH MEETING PLANNERS?

ONE Accessibility (ease of airlift, on-ground travel time, major airport)

TWO Ability to meet the needs of the client (hotel meeting space, technology, professional service, quality infrastructure)

THREE Value / price / within client’s budget Interesting activities

FOUR Reputation / consistent service / dependable property

FIVE Professional people / good CVB / good relationships / people I know

How Meeting Planners Make Decisions?

TODAY’S MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS ARE MORE FOCUSED ON GOALS, MORE VALUE DRIVEN, AND MORE REGULATED. PLANNERS FEEL THEY HAVE LESS CONTROL OVER THE SUCCESS OF THE MEETING, WHICH MAKES THEM EVEN MORE RISK AVERSE THAN IN THE PAST. IF YOU ARE A SMALL TO MID-SIZE DESTINATION, IT IS GOING TO BE HARDER FOR YOU TO CONVINCE PLANNERS TO “TAKE THAT RISK” AND CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION

1) ONLINE ADVERTISING IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE 2) 73% OF MEETING PLANNERS RELY ON ONLINE ADVERTISING 3) 27% RELY ON TRADITIONAL 4) PLANNERS ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO ONLINE ADVERTISING MORE THAN ANY OTHER MEDIUM

HSMAI SURVEY REVEALED A SURPRISING TREND. WHILE MOST RESPONDENTS RECEIVE BETWEEN 20% AND 60% OF THEIR BUSINESS FROM MEETINGS AND EVENTS, ORGANIZATIONS DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGETS OFTEN DON’T REFLECT THIS VALUE. ROUGHLY HALF DEDICATE BETWEEN 20%-30% OF THEIR DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET TO GROUPS AND EVENTS, BUT AN EQUAL NUMBER DEDICATE LESS THAN 10%. WORK WITH YOUR TEAM TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE SUPPORT FROM DIGITAL MARKETING TO THE GROUP CHANNEL.

ALLOCATE APPROPRIATE BUDGET FOR GROUP ACTIVITY

OFFER WEBSITE LANDING PAGES FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF MEETINGS AND EVENTS.�

Meeting and event planners often seek information for particular client types, such as corporate meetings or weddings. Provide dedicated landing pages on your website to highlight how your destination works for each distinct customer type. Offering targeted content aids the planner in understanding whether the destination will meet their needs and those of their client, typically resulting in increased conversions.

USE DIGITAL TO ESTABLISH REAL-WORL RELATIONSHIPS.�

ONE Digital offers an excellent channel for connecting with meeting planners. TWO Meeting planners still appreciate the responsiveness and personalized service only provided by experienced group/event sales associates. THREE Success = both digital and personal FOUR Hand off qualified leads to appropriate sales resources as quickly and as efficiently as possible

HOW MEETING PLANNERS INTERACT WITH DMO’S 61% EMAIL DMO STAFF 27% VISIT YOUR WEBSITE 9% SEE YOU AT A TRADESHOW/EVENT 2% RELY ON PRINTED MATERIALS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

PREFERENCE FOR RECEIVING INFORMATION

Development Counsellors International October 2012 Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing Survey to 242 Meeting Planners

WHY LINKEDIN IS RELEVANT IN B2B SPACE

1) 238 MILLION MEMBERS WORLDWIDE 84 MILLION MEMBERS IN THE US 2) 40% CHECK THE SITE DAILY 3) SOCIAL MEDIA’S RELEVANCE TO PLANNERS: 83% MAINTAIN AND CREATE NEW CONTACTS ON LINKEDIN

HOW MANY PLANNERS & TOUR OPERATORS ARE ON LINKEDIN SEARCH BY TITLE: 14,000 TOUR OPERATORS | 38,000 MEETING PLANNERS BUT WAIT, SEARCH BY SKILL TYPE:

102,000 MEETING PLANNERS 20,000 TOUR OPERATORS

THINK ABOUT HOW MANY MEETING PLANNERS DON’T HAVE THE OFFICIAL TITLE OF “MEETING PLANNER”

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW – 5/5/13 TOP SALESPEOPLE USE LINKEDIN TO SELL MORE

25% ENTHUSIASTS 55% REACH 15% PROSPECTING MADE UNSOLICITED INITIAL CUSTOMER CONTACT THROUGH LINKEDIN 70% COMMUNICATIONS USED TO KEEP EXISTING LINKEDIN CUSTOMERS INFORMED ABOUT THEIR COMPANY 40% OUTCOME HAVE GENERATED REVENUE FROM LINKEDIN 40% CASUAL USERS 10% RESEARCH 0% PROSPECTING 18% COMMUNICATION 20% OUTCOME

ARE YOU WORKING WITH YOUR GROUP SALES TEAM TO CREATE INTEGRATED SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGIES?

CREATING WINNING STRATEGIES TO REACH & ENGAGE PLANNERS

Meetings & Conventions Marketing

INTEGRATED MEETINGS STRATEGY

CLIENT E-COMMUNICATIONS

MEETINGS DIGITAL MARKETING

MEETINGS SEGMENTED EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

MEETINGS PROMOTIONS

LINKEDIN MARKETING & TRAINING

FOCUS YOUR MEETINGS MARKETING EFFORTS

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION TRYING TO DO IT ALL?

YOSEMITE EXAMPLE: SMALL DESTINATION FOCUSED ON OFF-SEASON MEETINGS BUSINESS MAIN MARKET SEGMENTS: NORTHERN CA CORPORATE SACRAMENTO ASSOCIATION CALIFORNIA NICHE SMERF ONE SALES PERSON | EMAIL MARKETING DIGITAL MARKETING | CVENT FOCUSED MEETINGS SITE

CREATE A WINNING STRATEGY THAT MEETS YOUR DESTINATION’S GOALS 1

2

3

ONE DON’T RUN AN AD IN A TRADE PUBLICATION, IF YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD ONE INSERTION TWO DON’T ATTEND THE MAJOR TRADESHOWS, IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS OR STAND OUT BOOTH THREE DON’T FOCUS ON ALL MARKET SEGMENTS FOUR DON’T DO WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS DO FIVE DON’T USE PICTURES OF MEETING ROOMS!!

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE A SMALL DESTINATION

DIGITAL MARKETING TECHNIQUES

DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND PLANNERS ONLINE?

Digital Marketing to Reach Meeting Planners

1)  DISPLAY & MOBILE ADVERTISING

2)  PAID SEARCH

3)  SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

4)  EMAIL PURCHASE & DISTRIBUTION

Digital Campaign Media UTILIZE TARGETING TOOLS TO REACH MEETING PLANNERS

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

KEEP ADJUSTING & REFINING CAMPAIGN

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT & CONVERSION TRACKING

Digital Campaign Media UTILIZE TODAY’S TOOLS TO FOCUS YOUR DIGITAL ON MEEETING PLANNERS

GEOGRAPHIC BEHAVIORAL KEYWORD MOBILE MOBILE APPS VIDEO

Creating Meetings Promotions

DEVELOPMENT OF PROMOTION

LIST PURCHASE ASSISTANCE/TARGETING

DISTRIBUTION OF PROMOTION

CREATION OF PROMOTIONAL MESSAGING

Promotions Example

VISIT TAMPA EXAMPLE

ARE YOU LEVERAGING YOUR SALES TEAM’S ACTIVITY FOR MARKETING?

INTEGRATED SALES & MARKETING

The Client e-Communications Program

TRADESHOWS

CLIENT EVENTS

FAM TOURS

SITE VISITS

Client e-Communications Program

BRANDING/THEME DEVELOPED

REMINDER

SAVE THE DATE TEXT MESSAGE

INVITATION POST EVENT THANK YOU

CLIENT EVENTS PROCESS

Client e-Communications Program

SAN FRANCISCO TRAVEL

Client e-Communications Program VISIT ST. PETE CLEARWATER

Client e-Communications Program

TRADESHOW SERVICES

PRE-SHOW EMAIL POST EVENT THANK YOU

BOOTH DISPLAY NEEDS

Client e-Communications Program

PARK CITY EXAMPLE

Client e-Communications Program

SAN FRANCISO TRADESHOW EXAMPLES

IS YOUR TEAM UTILIZING LINKEDIN FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT?

LINKEDIN STATEGIES

is pigeonholed as simply the place to go to look for your next job. Certainly it is used extensively by recruitment consultants the world over to fi nd and approach candidates. But, to simply look at it this way is to do the network a signifi cant disservice.

It is the world’s largest database of professionals – this is important to think of it as a database above being a social media site.

LinkedIn

are increasingly using LinkedIn as a primary source of new leads and tangible revenue. In fact, for business to business, LinkedIn is a critical tool that can make your prospecting faster, smoother and, ultimately, more profi table.

SAVVYSALESPEOPLE

LINKEDIN IS A DATABASE FIRST AND FOREMOST

NEVER SHARE YOUR PERSONAL STORIES ON LINKEDIN = KEEP IT BUSINESS

AVERAGE USER IS OVER 40 YEARS OLD AND EARNS MORE THAN $100K A YEAR

LinkedIn Training & Marketing

Our Training Program 1.  Profile Development 2.  Business Development 3.  Individual Q&A Sessions

Showcase Page Development 1.  Branding 2.  Strategy 3.  Messaging 4.  Advertising

1) FOCUS ON PROMOTING YOUR PAGE POSTS 2) FOCUS ON PROMOTING YOUR SHOWCASE PAGE 3) SHARE YOUR TEAM’S ACTIVITIES 4) DON’T WASTE EFFORT ON CONTEXTUAL ADS YET 5) FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE!

How to Advertise on LinkedIn

myas@smithandsurrency.com  904.982.4915  @MyaMMC