Paul Bunce Conference Aston Aston University Birmingham
Marketing Academic Venues
Two year round venues 30 Meeting Rooms 163 Hotel bedrooms 3-4 star standard
Summer Campus Conferences 50 + Meeting Rooms 800 bedrooms
Business Breakdown Who are our customers?
Internal University Business 3% External Corporate Business 97%
Key Industry SectorsGovernment NationalEducationHealth and PharmaceuticalGovernment LocalConstruction
OwnershipPublic Sector 40%Private Sector 52%Associations 8%
Repeat Business 25% Agency Business 30% New Direct Business 45%
Conference Aston revenue streamsWhat do our target markets use us for?
Other Revenue Streams Weddings and Functions Bar, Restaurant and Hospitality Services
Conferences and Meetings49%
Hotel Services
17%
Summer Schools
23%
Other11%
Marketing Initiatives Marketing Budget 1.3- 1.5% of Turnover Marketing budget focused on meetings and events, and summer schools
Marketing Initiatives… top three
Memberships and Affiliations
1:60 ROIWebsite and
online 1:39-1:25 ROI
Exhibitions and Forum Events
1:30 ROI
Memberships, you get out, what you put in…
Additional marketing opportunities available
Access to databases Make your budget go further Access a national and
international market Lift restrictions of being an
independent venue Combine with other
marketing activities to increase effectiveness
Cross-Industry options
Online marketing, not just the websites…
Google reigns as leading search engine Third party partnerships – Generate traffic Google adwords – Great for specifics, costly for generic! Increase in tablet and smart phone devices
Google analytics growth January 2012 How do people view your website? A website isn’t just for buyers
Exhibitions and Forums
Exhibitions over all major markets
Set specific targets! Show objective ROI Enquiry levels per day/show Follow up and conversion targets
Consistently highest ROI for single activity Team ‘Buy-in’ is essential People buy People
Additional Marketing InitiativesA few to consider…
Conference Booking Agencies
Hotel Marketing – No ‘Direct’ spend Third Party Commission Based Websites Laterooms, Booking.com, Expedia Let them do the hard work
Social Media Low to no cost Brand impact – Who are you? Extension of CRM Use it properly, no hard sell!
Make sure it’s targetedWhere are our customers coming from?
Residential Conferences National London/Manchester/Bristol
Day Meetings and Weddings Local – City Local – Region
Hotel Business National International
Internally Academic and Support Departments
Who books what and when?When are our customers making decisions?
Lead time analysis By event type By event size
Day Meetings: 2 days -12 weeks Residential Meetings: 6 months+ Campus and Summer: 12 months+
Weddings and Functions
Key exhibitions – Timing March/September/October
Hotels book every day Very competitive
Key messages and finding the USPsWhy are our customers choosing us?
Constant research into our customers’ decision making process Direct bookers vs Agencies… location vs price Customers use different venues for different reasons
Budget and Value for
Money
Size and Quality of Meeting Facilities
Location and Accessibility
Generation
Conversion
Delivery
Customer needs
It’s all about customer needs and they never stop changing, use your team to keep on top…
Thank you!