Developing a Strategic and Marketing Mindset for Belize Tourism
Angela Wu: All right. Well, good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our second session of the second course in the Belize Tourism Futures webinar series. This course, the second course, is called Merging Technology and Sustainability in Tourism. Today's focus is on strategic thinking and marketing.
My name is Angela from Belizing. com and I will be your host for today's session. As you know, the Belize Tourism Futures series aims to transform the tourism industry by fostering innovation and sustainability.
This initiative was inspired by Lorenzo's dedication to Belize's economic growth and is supported by Emergent Ventures Grant from George Mason University's Mercatus Center in collaboration with Belizing. com and The Lodge at Chaa Creek. Our trainer for today is no other than Lorenzo. And before we begin, before I pass on, um, the mic to him, I would like to cover some housekeeping notes. So, for those that have already been joining us since February, um, there is a chat box available for comments and questions. You guys have been using it so far.
Um, we will address all questions at the end of the presentation during the Q& A session. And if you'd like to use your camera or your mic during the Q& A. You could send a request by hovering over the mic icon at the bottom of your screen on a laptop or you could tap on the mic icon on the top right corner of your mobile device. Without any further delays, I will hand it over to Lorenzo for the presentation.
Lorenzo Gonzalez: Thank you, Angela. Okay, let me share my screen and I will start presenting. Yes, um, can, yeah, can you tell me if you can see my, my screen and my presentation, Angela? Angela Wu: Yes, yes, I could. I'll see.
Lorenzo Gonzalez: Okay, perfect. Angela Wu: Thumbs up. Okay. Lorenzo Gonzalez: Um, yeah, so I can't see anyone right now because I'm on presentation mode.
So just like, uh, unmute yourself and tell me if there's an issue and then I can, um, I can address it. Okay, so hello, everyone. Thanks for being here. Um, Uh, yeah, I just, uh, got back from traveling, uh, in Japan and Taiwan, so, um, I was away for two weeks, and there's a 12 hour, uh, um, time difference, so I have been a bit jet lagged, but I'm getting over it, so please bear that in mind if you, if you see that I forget things or if I'm a bit, uh, disheveled, but overall, uh, we have a really great presentation for you today, and I'm really excited for you to learn more about, uh, You know, developing a more strategic and marketing mindset for you to be able to deliver better tourism products and services. Yeah, so just a little about me.
My name is Lorenzo Gonzalez and I was born and raised in the Twin Towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. And I can truthfully say that I actually have lived in both. sides of the town. So I have lived in Santa Elena and I have lived in San Ignacio. So I am a true person of the, of the Twin Towns. Um, I moved to Canada in 2012 and, um, I settled in Toronto, which is the largest city in Canada.
Um, I'm really passionate about helping, uh, build strong local economies and communities. So, um, as a result, I, I studied, uh, economic development and innovation at the University of Waterloo. Um, where, uh, during my master's, I learned a lot about, uh, global economic development strategies with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems and strategy. So, after graduating, uh, from my master's, I started working at, uh, Digital Main Street. Um, which is a national non profit that, uh, helps, uh, build, uh, vibrant communities across Canada, uh, through small business development. So, basically, we believe that, um, you know, by having a healthy local economy, we have healthy local neighborhoods and communities, and that is what we strive to do.
To help small businesses, uh, be, uh, adopt digital. tools and technologies to better be able to compete and grow. I, as many of you may know, I maintain strong ties to Belize. I do this by regularly visiting Belize.
I promote Belize as a travel, uh, top travel destination on a regular basis, like I have a blog, Belize Adventure, I write there, uh, often. And I also actively, uh, work on improving, uh, Belize's tourism services and products. Um, and one example is this, actually, this series where, um, the goal is to, uh, expose, uh, you know, emerging and, and, and middle, uh, and managers to, uh, New ways of thinking and new ideas that are out there in tourism and hospitality. So yeah, for today the outline is pretty straightforward.
I will start by addressing, just talking about what is strategy, why it is important. Strategic thinking and putting that together with marketing, um, and then I will provide a Belize case study example, uh, then some key takeaways, and then finally we will end with a Q& A session to wrap things up. Uh, so yeah, let's start by, uh, defining what is strategy. So overall, um, strategy is an integrated set of choices that positions you on a playing field of your choice in a way that you win. And so you have to think about, uh, big picture, about the big picture.
You have to think long term and identify ways how you can win. And winning might not be the same for everyone. For some people, winning might be, uh, making more money than others. But for some other people, it might mean being more confident, being more likable, or making your community proud.
So strategy is about the choices you make, and I will cover five choices you should consider when developing a strategy. So yeah, so according to this book, uh, Playing to Win by A. G. Lafley and Roger Martin, uh, strategy, it can be boiled down into five different choices. And, um, just for some context and reference, uh, A. G.
Lafley is the former CEO of Procter Gamble. So that's the company that, that the multi, yeah, the company that owns Pam, uh, Pampers, Gillette, and Tide. And, um, Roger Martin is a former dean of the MBA program at the University of Toronto, uh, which is the top university in Canada. So, yeah, um, let's start with the five choices. So the five choices are, you know, one, what is your winning aspiration? And this is like a big overarching goal that inspires and guides everything you do. Then the second choice is where to play.
So this one includes choosing specific markets and customers you want to serve. Because as you may know, you can't be everything to everyone. And then choice number three is how to win. And by this we mean like, how will you compete? What will make you different? And then you have to identify core capabilities, um, you know, that you need enable to be able to deliver on your strategy. So these are unique skills and resources that you need to be able to succeed. And finally, number five.
Is, um, setting up, uh, management systems, um, so that you can deliver on your strategy and, and these are things that need to be in place to ensure you operate efficiently and can measure your success. Because strategy is not static and so you have to monitor and evaluate as things go by and then you change as you see it fit. Okay, so uh, as an example I will be looking at um, a resort in Mexico called Naviva. It is a adults only all inclusive tented resort by Four Seasons that is spread across uh, 48 remote lush acres in Punta Mita, Mexico which is the Pacific coast of Mexico. So, yeah, uh, the first choice, uh, as part of their strategy, when I looked at their website, when I looked at all their, their, their, their work that they've done, um, I, I, I decided, okay, so what is their winning aspiration? So, what is their overarching goal? So, for Naviva, I was able to glean that they want to be a super exclusive luxury resort that is immersed in nature and provides upscale personalized services.
And then, and how will they plan to accomplish this goal? Let's see in, in the next slide. So, um, so yeah, the choice number two is where to play. You have to choose where to play and as a luxury resort, Their target audience must be wealthy, but additionally, they must be travelers that are seeking unique nature based and cultural experiences.
And specifically, they decided to cater to adults only. Couples that are looking for intimate experiences in nature. The photo here is an example of someone doing, uh, something called a cold plunge. And in case you don't know, um, cold plunges are actually really Popular right now with like this, this, like the super wealthy, smart, intelligent people from like, uh, you know, tech founders to CEOs. Um, so by simply having this photo on their website, they are narrowing down who they want their audience to be. Moving on to step number three, how to win.
Um, so how does Naviva compete? Uh, this, this is like, Defining what makes them different. So how they're different is that they provide luxurious glamping accommodations in a natural setting. So even though the rooms are tented, it's a tent and it's glamping, right? It is very upscale. It's, it has like.
Private plunge pools. It has outdoor showers. You can see on the photo here that it has a nice patio, a porch, and the beds are incredibly comfortable and even has a living room in the middle of the jungle, right? So, and, and besides like the upscale, um, amenities and, and the accommodations, they also have, uh, provide personalized wellness programs that integrate nature and culture. into their, into their, um, their services.
Now moving on to, um, strategy number four. Um, what are their core capabilities? So these are things, you know, skills and resources that are necessary for them to be able to, you know, actually do their strategy. And what these skills and resources are is that they use local people and local materials to provide high level of personalized wellness experiences And of course these experiences are integrated with nature and culture. And the perfect example for this is the, the Temazcal um, ceremony, um, spa. And this is meant to replicate a Mayan sauna and, um. And it includes like a shaman experience where they have incense and they do different rituals.
As you may know, um, like even if, like, if you've been to like Cahal Pech in San Ignacio, you will know that the, like, at one of the, the, the temples, there's actually a sauna there, like a Mayan sauna. So, um, that's what they're trying to, uh, replicate. And Their spa has been awarded one of the best spas in the world by several, um, world famous magazines. And yeah, so finally, like, choice number five is Management Systems. Um, let's look at how they ensure that they are able to, like, you know, have the, the, the different, uh, processes, uh, I mean, the different standards and the different structures in place to be able to, like, actually do their, their, their strategy. Um, so since they heavily rely on the environment, they have several sustainability practices in place to minimize their environmental impact.
So for example, they use solar energy. They have a water bottling, bottling plant on site. They have waste reduction initiatives and they use eco certified, um, cleaning products. And they actually have a local biologist on their advisory board and to manage cultural aspects. They act, they hire local people and they have a local shaman on their advisory board telling them, yes, this is culturally sensitive. Yes, this is something that we can provide.
This is, and and, and yes, these are experiences that are okay with us to be able to like, you know, share our culture, the Mayan culture with, uh, people, uh, guests that want to experience something new and unique. Okay. So that's like the five choices, um, that, that. I'm providing an example of how you can use the five choices.
So let's move on to now, um, strategic marketing. So, yeah, so strategic marketing is basically, um, you know, um, is focusing on aligning your marketing efforts with your goals. So this involves like three things, which is like conducting market analysis, Uh, then doing customer segmentation and then doing your brand positioning. So to start, let's look at market analysis and, and market analysis is simply a detailed assessment of your business's target market and competitors. The reason why you do this is to market your products and services more effectively. For example, um, I don't know if any of you have, um, flied, uh, Southwest Airlines, um, before, um, but when they originally started, it's different than how they are now.
Now they're doing much, like, further flights. I know they have one even to Belize, but when they initially started, um, When they, uh, when they launched, they did market research to understand what there was, if there was a gap in the market, and they realized the gap in the market was That, that people wanted no frills, short distance flights that were cheap and affordable. So, um, just like, be able to go from like, like, a one hour distance maybe, um, and, and just be able to fly there quickly instead of having to take the bus or drive. So, that's where they decided to play, and that's where it is like, okay, we're going to go after that target market, we're going to promote ourselves, as a low cost airline and their target audience is price sensitive customers and by understanding these customers well, they have been able to grow and grow and grow and grow and be able to like be one of the top airlines in the world now. So moving on to customer segmentation, so um, I don't know, I think this is one of the most popular resorts in the world, Sandals, Um, but yeah, no, the whole, they are one of the resorts that are really good at customer segmentation.
So, so what is customer segmentation? Um, it's a, it's a process of dividing the broader market into distinct groups of potential customers based on shared characteristics. And the reason why this is done is because if you group customers, it makes it easier for you to understand what they need, and it makes it more easier for you to be able to market. To them. So yeah, the example here of Sandals is, is a, is a really wonderful example because they are, they segment their market into couples and honeymooners that are interested in a romantic getaway.
And most of the time they, they, their target market is also people that are interested in going to the Caribbean. Um, yeah. But by segmenting their market and, you know, identifying the ideal customer that they wanna deal with, um. This allows them to create specialized packages that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and they are able to, you know, besides market it market to them really well, they're able to be able to, like, really deliver an excellent service because they know, um, understand their customer well and, and know everything that they want to do and what are the top things that, uh, you know, a honeymooner or someone on a romantic getaway wants to do. Yeah, and this is really important when you, because you don't want, it's really important when you segment your customers and you understand your customers because you don't want to end up, you know, With the wrong customers. And I have like a perfect example of what happens when you get like wrong customers or how getting wrong customers is detrimental to your brand.
Often people think, Oh, I'm just, it doesn't matter. You just want to get people to come and pay to stay at your place and that's fine. Or pay you to do something that in the long term is not being strategic because it can end up impacting you, negatively impacting you.
Um, In the long run. So the example I have is actually from my time at Chaa Creek. And, um, I recall, um, that, um, I don't know if you've heard of the service called Luxury Link, and they basically auction off, um, luxury experiences and they connect with, they contact luxury resorts all over the world or like premium resorts all over the world and ask them to provide their, um, excess rooms to, to, so that they can auction it off to like, uh, people looking for deals. So, you know, initially when LuxuryLink came to us, um, and this was, this was like, of course, considered by the whole marketing department and in particular our CFO at the time, it seemed like a good idea, like, you know, oh, wow, we have a bunch of spare rooms. that We can now auction off, uh, we can now, like, sell instead of just leaving it there and not getting any money from it, right? However, what we quickly found out and, and, and, and we were able to, you know, good thing we identified this quickly and were able to stop it was that they were sending us the wrong customers.
So the customers that were buying these that were on their website and, you know, ordering, you know, bidding and auctioning, getting, trying to get these, these packages, these hotels room for people looking for a deal. And often they didn't care where they ended up. They just wanted a good deal. They want, they're looking for a vacation and, um, don't even care about the specific destination or. If they're into ecotourism or if they're into, I don't know, luxury tourism, they just want to get a, get a fantastic price, right? So we'd end up getting these people at the resort that were bargain hunters and then they would realize that things were expensive at the hotel. And then they would complain to us and then they would complain online.
And that was the wrong thing to do. thing for us because they, we, it wasn't worth the cost, you know. So this, that's just a simple example of how, um, you sometimes need to be able to know your audience really well. I mean, you need to know your audience really well to be able to like, um, deliver on, on, on your products and services to the best of your ability. Okay, and so once you've done your market analysis and customer segmentation, you can move on to brand positioning.
And brand positioning is about establishing a unique brand identity. What represents you, what do you want to be known for? Yeah. So overall, um, you know, right here it says like you emphasize the key benefits that set you apart. This is where you communicate What makes you different and better than the competition? And, uh, the perfect example here is, uh, of the image that I have on the right, which is of Paris.
And Paris as a city positions itself as a city of elegance, cultural richness, and authentic Old world European experiences. And this is reinforced in every photo, every ad, every social media campaign that they do. And as an experiment, I would like us to like test this out.
So if you close your eyes and think about Paris, what do you see? So when I close my eyes and I think about Paris, the first thing I think about, even though I haven't been there, and this is, I think about museums, you know, I think about the Mona Lisa. I think about all these expensive paintings. I think about the cafe culture. I think, about good food, good French food, maybe steak treats, you know, steak and fries. Um, I think about, you know, amazing, uh, croissants, you know, all these like amazing bakeries, like, you know, amazing, important, like amazing experiences, like, you know, like having a romantic picnic, uh, by, uh, in the park, uh, overlooking You know, the Eiffel Tower.
That's what I see. So that should be your goal when you are creating a brand position. So you should close your eyes and think about what you want to be known for. Right? Once you've done your market analysis and your customer segmentation, now you need to, and you understand your customers.
Now you'd be like, okay, so now what do I want to be known for? What do I want when my customer closes their eyes? What do I want them to look, to see and think and feel? And if you are able to achieve this You are definitely on the road to winning. Okay, so moving on to, uh, the Belize case study portion of this presentation, um, I will be using a practical example of, uh, Belize birding tour guide or a tour operator and, and I'll showcase how they can apply, uh, strategy and strategic marketing. To improve their products or just to better market it. Yeah. So, um, what we'll do is like, we'll start, um, by looking at the five choices of strategy that is covered in the book that I, that I shared earlier calling called Playing to Win by, uh, A G. Lafley and Roger Martin.
So, so number one, so yeah. Uh, what is your winning aspiration? So as a birding guide, uh, what the big goal, what a big, a big goal. Uh, that can inspire and guide everything you do can simply be what I put here. So be the most innovative birding guide in Belize. Offering unique and immersive bird watching experiences that promote conservation and education. And then as to where to play, So this is where you decide which customers you want to target.
So we know that ecotourists and birding enthusiasts, particularly from the U. S., love, like birding, are interested in birding. So that's the case. Those are those, that's where you want to play. So you want to play with these customers and then you want to decide on what you want to target.
Start and focus on when it comes to like a specific skill or niche that you want to do. And always, it's always good to start small and then grow big. So if you can grow big or if you want to grow big.
But it's better to be good at one thing than to be mediocre at many things. So in this case, I would say you focus on specific birds or ecosystems, such as like maybe birds from the rainforest or the wetlands or the coastal areas, and then become known for that. So that's where you want to play. So how will you win? So this is like, what, what will make, how you will be able to compete and be different than your competitors, so, um, one way you can win is simply by making sure that you offer exclusive and personalized tours that other tour guides can't offer. And you might ask like, okay, like, What would those examples be? Well, that would be the, if you were thinking strategic, you could come up with a list of things that are places that tour guides and birding tour guides aren't going and are incredibly amazing.
And that can be like where you see you, you take your, your, your guess. So another thing that you can consider about how to win would be like having themed experiences, such as having retreats that focus on specific bird families, Like, for example, like hummingbirds or raptors or, or any, or some other type of, uh, bird family, um, that you get really good at, at, at, and you become an expert on that and you, and that, and you become the go to person for, for, for that bird. And then, and then number four is like, okay. What is your choice for like what skills are necessary for you to be able to like implement your strategy? So first of all you need to be an expert birder so you need to make sure you gain extensive birding knowledge and then you need to like get all these certifications that are necessary. So, you'll have to go to all these conferences, get, do these courses, become certified, build relationships with conservation groups because often these conservation groups might be your in to like that exclusive habitat, bird habitat that other people aren't going because they don't have those relationships, they don't have, they have a network with these people that actually give them the The, the, the lowdown of like, actually like this place, I've seen an increase of this type of bird here.
And that's why you should come and be the first to provide towards the, in, in that area. Or they, because they're your friends or you've networked with them and they're able to develop partnerships. They have the resources that they can give you at a discounted price, or they can even, you know, you can even buy resources together. Things like that are what you can develop when you actually think about it and you're, you're being more strategic about, um, what relationships you want to maintain. And then you also invest in quality equipment and make sure you integrate technology into your tours. So, um, we, we know that like birding enthusiasts are into birding photography, for example.
So if that's, that's your target market, which means that should be one of your core capabilities that you're able to take really good photos. And you're able to help other people take really good photos. And as for like integrating technology, like there are all these apps, you can track your, your, the birds that you're seeing, that, that you're able to see. You need to like, you'd be on there or you can develop your own birding app to be able to like, you know, use it as a marketing tool or just as a, as a, as a, as a resource for you to understand the type of birds that you're seeing and the type of tours that you can offer. So finally, we looked at the. Systems that need to be in place for you to be able to like implement this strategy and, and, and, and simply put, this is like, like, again, like having a good customer feedback system, track key metrics.
You know, maintain high service standards, you know, and continuously offer new and unique, uh, um, experiences. And you should have like a, you know, like you should actually have like a bird sighting rate on your website saying this is the likelihood that someone will see you. This bird, etc. That's how you actually gain trust from customers because then you tell them, Oh, how often will I likely see something? And you manage expectations and be like, okay, there's like, uh, nine out of 10 times you will be able to see a toucan, you know, or, uh, five out of 10 times you're able or one out of 10 times you're able to see a harpy eagle in the wild, you know, things like this is a way how you build trust. And you're able to actually implement your strategy.
Okay, so moving on to how, you know, after, how you can implement, how you can put strategic thinking and marketing together to be able to come up with a, uh, with a, with a strategy, a marketing strategy. Um, it's like, here, here's the example. So first, you have to go through the strategic marketing process. So you do the market analysis, you do the customer segmentation, and then you do the positioning. And for the same birding guide, this might be, you know, one result might be that you better understand who your customers are and how to market to them. And, and, and here's the example.
So ecotourists and birding enthusiasts are typically both interested in birding tours, but they should be treated separately. And the reason why is that the research has found, through your research, you will, you would have found this, Ecotourists are typically like birding because they're interested in wildlife and conservation while birding enthusiasts, so I can or maybe we can call them birding nerds, um, they're interested They want, they often want to, they're interested in birds, like birding is everything for them. So they want to dive deeper, and they want to, and they want to see new and interesting birds, or they keep a log of all the birds that they've seen, and the ones they want to see again, are the ones that they potentially can, or where they can go to see the, the, those birds, right? So you, they're a separate target market. You need to create personalized tours that will help them potentially spot the birds that they want to see. They are not likely interested in seeing, like, everyday run of the mill birds that, you know. Um, that, that you introduce to a beginner birding, uh, individual.
So yeah, so what do you do with this information? This is how strategic thinking comes into play, where you're like, Okay, this is, I will target ecotourists by creating and promoting birding, like beginner friendly birding tours. that focus on conservation and ecotourism and highlight bird, unique birds, but more importantly the diverse ecosystems that are there. So while they're birding you'll also be able to make sure that you highlight like, oh here's like this other wildlife there and this other wildlife and this is, this is what makes this conservation area special. These are all these different animals that are that, that, that, that, that reside in this location and this is how, um, we are conserving and protecting the area. And then for the birding enthusiasts, uh, for them, like since birding is everything for them, like you need to be able to create and promote tours that are exclusive, that, that to exclusive birding habitats and, and focus on specific birding families and provide opportunities for bird photography.
So now, uh, I'll provide a simple example of how using customer segmentation to promote these specialized packages looks like. So, so here I have the example of of Nature Tech, um, nature Trek Uh, it's a wildlife tour operator, uh, based in England. And I, I was able just to identify that they, uh, they have done a good job at, at segmenting their, their, their, their target audience and, and, and, and making sure that they have separate.
tours and different landing pages to be able to cater to these individuals. So tour number one is a beginner friendly, uh, tour, uh, focusing on showcasing a beautiful conservation area in Spain that is filled with wildlife. And then tour number two, which is for advanced birders, Showcase a specific type of bird family, you know, and, and yeah, this is incredible to be able to just see this in person and be like, okay, this makes sense. Think about it.
Why would, if you, if someone, an ecotourist has never done a birding tour before, how likely it is that they're going to book a tour for 19 days, a 19 day adventure, birding adventure. It's very unlikely, but if you're talking about, like, a birding nerd, a birding enthusiast that has on their bucket list that they want to go see the birds of paradise, you know, that, that is, that is one, one of their ultimate goals in life, you know, they're one of the ultimate vacations that they want to experience, and they, yes, will likely Come on this 19, 19 day adventure and actually wish that it could stay longer. Okay, so these are two, um, examples and now, uh, just let's move on to provide, um, the key takeaways. So yeah, so here are the key takeaways of my overall presentation. Um, strategy is about thinking about the big picture.
It's about things that you need to do, uh, need to do to set yourself up for the long run. You have to aim for a competitive outcome. And what you want to be known for. Two, using strategic thinking for marketing will help you better understand your brand and communicate it with your customers.
So going through the process of, you know, doing market research, market analysis, customer segmentation, and branding will make you, you know, understand all these aspects really well. Your customers, your brand, your products, what you're selling, and then you'll be able to easily, you know, communicate Tell your customers what you are offering and, and what makes you different than your competi, than your competitors. And finally, number three, overall, um, strategy is a journey and it shouldn't be static.
You should embrace unknowns and review and tweak it as you go and adapt and change to, and change it to the circumstances, and you are winning aspiration. You know, you can always change that up if you realize that there's something along the five choices that doesn't make sense. Maybe you can't compete in a certain market because you don't have the resources.
Which means that you can change your, your, your winning aspiration and then you can, uh, try to achieve, um, your, your overall strategy. So that's it for now. Um, we can move on to the Q& A session and, um, and, and, and we can also ask the audience if you have any questions. Angela Wu: All right. so much for the presentation, Lorenzo.
Um, we're going into the Q& A session, so if anyone has any questions about the presentation or for Lorenzo to answer, feel free to put that in the chat. Um, I just have a couple questions, um, after like, or at least going through the presentation. Um, do you think that there are any specific businesses or persons in the Belize tourism industry that you think lack strategic thinking and is affecting them a lot? Lorenzo Gonzalez: So, Um, overall, I think everyone can benefit from being more strategic, uh, is something extremely important. Um, uh, but one thing that really usually, well, usually grinds my gears, and I tell this to, to anyone that wants to listen, is that I noticed that in Belize, often, like artists and painters, um, don't think strategic when they're creating their, their products.
So, for example, they often are Thinking that I'm going to create the biggest painting so that I can get a big amount of money, you know, from when I sell it to a tourist, right? By thinking like that, you don't realize that, okay, who's your customer? It's like, and what are they interested in? So let's consider that their customer is someone from New York city. That person lives in a really small apartment, so they don't want this big, massive painting, you know, which you'd call like a statement piece, like, or even if they wanted, they can't fit it in their apartment, or they have, if they're art lovers, they would have something else other than, like, a painting that they went from, like, Belize on vacation. So, strategically, The painter, what they should think about is, okay, so what are these things that, that, what, what is the perfect size? What is a good size for me to create? And one thing would be, okay, let's not think about like making it too big because it's like they live in a small space or also they don't want it. It's not going to be a statement piece.
Two often the tourists are going to fly back to the U. S. with this painting. Where is it going to, how are they going to take it back? You know, if it's able to roll up and fit easy in their luggage, then they're going to be happy about that and even think about buying it.
And also the price point, often people don't mind paying. For a painting as a souvenir, if it's not overly expensive, when you create a big, big painting, usually the canvas and, you know, framing is really expensive alone. So of course, you'll have to charge more. So overall, instead of an artist or a painter having to, like, you know, have all these leftover paintings in their house or studio, They can make it the right size and then consider their target audience, and then they will be able to sell more paintings, get better at their craft, because they sell more, they practice more, and then the more popular they become, the more they can charge. So they'll be able to charge more in the future.
Perhaps if they become famous enough, then they can also, you know, create those small, small paintings, but they're a statement piece and the one that the, the, the audience and the people in the U. S., the tourists in the U. S.
don't mind displaying in their living room. Angela Wu: All right. Uh, we have a question from Um, Mr. Becker, he asks, where can we get legitimate travel bloggers to invite to our property? Um, I guess this goes back to, I guess, knowing what your product and your service is, because you want to, if you're going to invite a travel blogger to your property, that blogger should have an audience that you want to cater to, correct? Because you have a blog yourself and so maybe you could provide some insights about that.
Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yeah, so um, just let me quickly see the question again. Angela Wu: From, it says, where can we get legitimate travel bloggers to invite to our property? Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yeah, so I would say, um, the easiest place is like, yeah, once you understand your target audience, you need to get travel bloggers or influencers that cater to your target audience. So, One of the best places would be on Instagram, right? So you make sure you follow certain people on Instagram, look for people on Instagram that are traveling, you know, are from your target market, like are, like, let's say most of the people that visit your resort are from California or Texas or Florida, then you'd want to make sure that your influencer or your travel blogger is from there, right? And it's also easy for them to get to your hotel because it's just a short flight. So you just DM them on social media or, you know, often on the Instagram, they have their email for collaboration and then determine what you're willing to do to provide them and what they must provide you in return, which includes like maybe photos, videos and, you know, a social media shout out while they're at your, at your destination.
Angela Wu: There's also one more question. What is your strategy to find your targeted audience? Well, Lorenzo Gonzalez: well, that one would be like, it depends what you want to, what do you want to sell. Um, so it depends what you're selling. Then you can do the research to find out who are the people that want to consume that, what you're selling. So, and then you choose specifically.
The, the, the ones that you want to, you want to cater to. So if, if you have an example, like, um, like I gave the example of like the birding tour one is, which makes sense. Like just through research, I found that, okay, there's like, there's like, typically there's like, you know, many people that want to go on a birding tour, you know, but it's like ecotourists, you know, and then there's like the birding enthusiasts. And then there's like nature lovers too.
Right. But then ecotourists and nature lovers can be grouped together. But then the bird birding enthusiasts is separate, right? So, and then you can even decide to narrow things down even more and be like, okay, I only wanna deal with the birding nerds because the birding , the, the birding nerds are willing to spend more money on this. Or you might say, I actually want to serve a bigger market and I wanna target, you know, nature lovers and ecotourist, and that's gonna be my market and I'm gonna figure out the way how to serve them the best. And that would be like.
The way to serve them best is by not focusing on the specific birding families and exclusive tours, but on conservation efforts and wildlife spotting and those things that they love. Angela Wu: Okay, maybe just a follow up question then. What would you say is like an easy, um, but underutilized way to understand your customers deeply? Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yeah, so um, I would say one of the easiest ways that people don't take advantage of is by observation, is by doing observation. So simply If you already have a customer, analyze how they are using your product and understand how they, what they like, what they don't like.
Um, see, look for ways that, you know, that you can improve. So for example, I used to go on tours all the time when I worked on Chaa Creek. And I've also done this for, for other companies, um, including, uh, Hamanasi, and I've done this for, um, for Hamanasi and I've done this for, uh, island expeditions. Um, and even, um, I, I've done this for Pelican Reef Villas, but my point is that when I go on a tour, I'd be able to see how the audience, how the tourists are interacting with a tour guide, what do they like, what don't they like, and then you are able to better understand your audience. For example, I was able to, I, I once, um, like I was able to understand, like, you know, let's say you were, let's say you're, uh, uh, you know, a bartender at a resort and your clients are Belizians.
versus your clients are Americans or Canadians, North American tourists. The experience that they want is totally different. So the Americans or Canadians, when they go to a bar, they're interested in talking to their, the people that they are with, you know, they're looking for to talk, have a conversation, chat, you know, enjoy, sit back, have a relaxing atmosphere. But when If you guys are at a resort, think about Belizeans in Playa Del Carmen, or think about Belizeans in Cancun. What are they, what are they interested in? They're interested in partying, drinking, loud music.
That's just a different target market, you know, this, and you can identify something like this by observing, looking at your, your customers. You'd be like, okay, like obviously, Belizeans, not all Belizeans, but I'm just saying like, you know, I'm generalizing. They're interested when they go to a bar, they don't want to chat with their friend, and the music low, they want to party, they want to have fun. So, that means that, you know, just by observation, you're able to identify something like this, uh, um, very easily. Angela Wu: Yes, definitely understand, like, sort of, like you said, paying attention, reading the room and seeing what your guests enjoy and what they don't enjoy, and then based on that, you adjust. Um, we have another question from Lesia.
She mentioned, we recently went all adults. What recommendation would you have for us? to now reach the audience. I'm assuming the accommodations swap to like adults only. Um, and I guess you're asking for recommendations as to how to reach that target audience. Lorenzo Gonzalez: So I first, Angela Wu: sorry.
Lorenzo Gonzalez: So I'd start by saying, asking yourself, why did you go adults only? And if you ask yourself that, then you will be able to answer, you know, be like, okay, so adults only. The example that I provided, uh, in Naviva It's an adults only resort and that they target their audience specifically, like, be like, okay, so what do adults only don't like? One of them would be, they don't want, some start, but they don't want kids. Yeah, they don't want kids ruining their vacation, ruining, you know, like, they don't want kids there, like, jumping in the pool, crying and doing all of these things. Because you know what, often they either haven't had kids, so they don't know the joys of having kids, you know, if you can see that, or two, they already had kids and they're tired of taking care of kids, right? So that's your target audience. So your target audience are going to be people of a specific age, right? Specific age that have specific interests, right? And so, and then you're able to cater services to them.
And then you have to protect your brand and protect your services. And one simple example would be, Don't, like, you know, you're a hotel, you might say you want a little extra cash, so you want to open your hotel pool to the public. But guess what comes with that? Then, perhaps, families would come, and that would ruin the atmosphere for the people that are paying to be in an adult only resort.
So, that's, I don't know if that helps you, but, um, that's, like, one good way to, like, be able to understand your target audience more. I'm, I'm And yeah, just do, do research, uh, see what other resorts that are adults only are doing and then replicate, try to make it better, like be like, okay, now how can I improve on what that other place is doing? Angela Wu: Yeah, and on that topic, um, since, um, Lesia mentioned that they recently went all adults only, um, how often would you say or should you recommend for a company or someone, an entrepreneur, to be strategic when it comes to, like, improving or changing, um, their products or services? Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yeah, so this is a really good question, excellent question, and, um, I think that this is what an issue that a lot of people face where They have a winning product or a winning service and they think that, okay, jackpot, this is it. Now I can just relax and rest for the rest of my life. But no, unless you have a monopoly, uh, yeah, unless you have a monopoly, then you have people that are competitors that are fighting to take away your, your slice of the pie.
So My recommendation is that you should always be thinking about innovating, changing things around, you know, think about ways how you can improve your services. A good example would be to consider what, who, who is the biggest, uh, like one of the most innovative consumer, um, products, uh, company in the world. And that is Apple, right? And what does Apple do when they release the iPhone iPhone 13? They immediately after they release iPhone 13, they start working on the iPhone 14. Figuring out ways how to improve the iPhone 13 by making the iPhone 14. And the minute that the iPhone 14 gets launched, They start working on the iPhone 15, and actually, they might start working on these newer models before it's launched, before the 13th is launched, they're already working on the 14th or the 15th, so that's like a good, uh, you know, um, example to use, just think about, you know, sometimes it's really important to think about, like, okay, what is, what is, The context behind this, be like, okay, so what do other companies do to make sure they stay as the top brand, uh, you know, uh, of their field? And Apple is, is a, is a good example of, um, of that.
And that's why I recommend that if you have a product, even if it's, you think it's wonderful and great, find out a way how you can make it better. All right. And we Angela Wu: We have a question from Mr.
Abner. He asks, what are some tools or reliable resources you can recommend for doing marketing? Analysis. Lorenzo Gonzalez: So, um, one, one tool for like, so it's just trying to find data. Um, um, so where is the data that you need? So often you can find data from your Google Analytics.
Um, um, yeah, so just make sure you, you download that data, but you, there's also like different companies that provide that information. And then, uh, Abner actually provided a good example of last session about using an AI product called, um, AI tool called, uh, Perplexity to be able to do market research. So I really recommend that you try that, um, product and just ask questions and they will be able to help you.
Um, the other thing that you can do is you can actually use ChatGPT if you have the paid version to be able to help you. And again, if you don't know how to interact with AI, you can simply ask AI how. to interact with them, with it, and just ask it what are good questions for me to ask or what should I, what approach should I take? And, and one other thing I would say, I recently saw on LinkedIn that Damien from Idea Labs launched a market research company in Belize. So I would say, I haven't looked into it deeply, but I believe that They, that they would provide some interesting products that, that, that you can, you can take advantage of. All Angela Wu: right. And then we have a comment from Ruel.
Um, just mentioning that it's important to be able to distinguish between challenging customers and bad customers as a part of the market research. Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yes. Um, do you mind, uh, elaborating more about that? Like talking more about that? Angela Wu: He stated that he's currently working with MSC Cruise Lines in the Shore Excursions Department. He's a licensed Belizean tour guide with work experience in Belize, ranging from front line to administration to management. And he says that it's very important for anyone, be Business owner or an employee to be able to distinguish between challenging customers and bad customers as part of market research, and I guess maybe it contributes to improving their services. Like Mr.
Abner mentioned in the presentation, Previous Webinar Series, um, he's using a tool called Brand24, if I'm not mistaken. And it's just to listen to what, um, travelers are seeing about your specific brand online, whether it be social media or other, um, I guess, social media channels. So maybe he's referring to that in terms of the customers. Lorenzo Gonzalez: That, you know, that's a, I forgot about that suggestion, but yeah, that, that sounds, seems like a really interesting tool. And I, I believe Belizing uses it, um, to make sure that their brand is on point. So yeah, that's, that's a great suggestion.
Um, one thing I wanted to add to, um, your earlier question about, uh, what are like easy, um, easy ways that you can like do market research or what are tools that you can use is like, I think that one underutilized tool is. Um, reviews, like just looking at the reviews that other places have, and then you can, you can adapt your place based on that. So one, you can adapt based on people's mistakes. So, um, you know, to the person that asked about like the adults only resort, go and look at the reviews of the other adults only resorts that you want to compete against and see what are the complaints and then see what are the things that the people like. And then you could always like replicate that, make it better. And as for complaints, make sure that those complaints don't happen at your resort.
So find ways to remove that complaint. I mean, to make sure that complaint never happens. And that's, you know, you can go to TripAdvisor, but you can also go Google Business Profile. I always, I sometimes follow people like my target market.
I'd be like, okay, so, um, I was like, let's say I'm, I'm, so I'm helping a restaurant in Belize. And, and they serve a certain type of food, I'd be like, okay, so what are other restaurants that serve the same type of food? And then I go and I read the reviews, right? And then I, and then I was like, oh, wow, okay. So that's like really interesting that they complain about, I don't know, like, that they saw like cutlery on the ground.
You know, I'd be like, okay, so this is something that you have to tell your, your, your, um, your staff, like, hey, make sure, like, You don't drop any cutlery. People find that really, like, you know, you know, like, disgusting. Because, you know, because they imagine, like, they imagine, like, oh, that fork or spoon is on the ground, is on the ground right now, but, like, that could have been my fork that I am, you know, later eating with or something, you know. Angela Wu: Reviews are actually important like across different platforms and channels.
For example, on your Google My Business page, you will see the reviews that people give on your like Google My Business page. But then there is also a link that says like reviews from the web and it would grab like reviews from other OTAs. It would grab reviews from other websites as well. So you have to make sure that reviews for your property or your business are correct. Like at least four or five stars and they talk about good things.
If not, you could use that as a part of your research as well. Do you have bad reviews on your, about your business where you can improve? Um, do you need to address those things? So that also plays a role in your market research as well. Not just researching about what your competitors are doing, but what your existing customers are experiencing and what they like or don't like about your business. Lorenzo Gonzalez: Exactly. Wilson. Angela Wu: Alrighty, well we are close to the end of this presentation.
It has been, well, I enjoy reading everyone's questions and their feedback about the topics you have covered. I guess if they don't have any other questions, we could close out for now. Lorenzo Gonzalez: Yeah, sure.
Like I just wanna remind everyone to make sure that you do the quiz at the end, because then it counts towards your completion of this course. And you could take the course, the quiz at least for five times, like, you know, like up to five times. If you get it wrong, then try again. You know, , don't give up after one try if you don't get it.
. Angela Wu: Yes, so thank you all for joining us this afternoon. This session covered the importance of strategic thinking and marketing for tourism businesses and entrepreneurs in Belize, and Lorenzo covered how to apply for Those strategic thinking and marketing tips to improve your business. Um, also remember what Lorenzo said to complete the test at the end of the session. Um, it's already uploaded.
So after this session concludes, you could go ahead and complete it. Um, I also would like to remind you of our next session. On August 21st, we, a representative from The Lodge at Chaa Creek, will touch on sustainability and conservation. As mentioned earlier, this initiative is supported by the Emergent Ventures Grant from George Mason University's Mercatus Center in collaboration with Belizing.
com. We appreciate your participation and engagement today. If you have any further questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to us.
Our contact information is on the screen. And thank you once again, and we look forward to seeing you at our next session next month. Lorenzo Gonzalez: Bye.
2024-07-21 06:04
