Saw this on the web today from some of my twitter friends, has it come to this........I can actually picture someone on their mobile standing there typing away!

        

Zip Lining is one of the safest activities in the Dominican Republic, Big Willie, our “Zip Instructor” told us so. He said “Smile and be happy! You will not die today”………it was humor and we all laughed and we did smile. In fact, we all believed him. The equipment can hold thousands of pounds, so my 230 was nothing…….

A picture tells a thousand words, so here are some images of our group outing to Zip through the tree tops and get a view of the Dominican countryside that few will ever get.

All I can say is that it is fun, cool and safe. In fact, the act of zip lining is a self contained team building activity, everyone works together to take that first step off the first platform to have the experience of a lifetime and touch the tree tops……..you would not believe the conversations at lunch as we all continued to get to know each other building bonds that will last a lifetime.

Doesn’t your team deserve to build the bounds that will help your company succeed?

Just a thought!

        

Sitting here in the Dominican Republic, I am taking a minute to think of all of the things I need to do and catch up on. I owe you all updates from my recent trip to Frankfurt (IMEX 2009) and to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico (Meeting Place Mexico), these posts will hopefully come this week as I return for a long spell with no travel.

Today, I am in the Dominican Republic for the Annual SITE Chicago Retreat, an educational event for SITE members to learn about the destination of Punto Cana on the eastern side of the Dominican Republic.  A mere four hour flight from Chicago.

What I have learned is what American tourists have known for a long time; the Dominican Republic is an amazing place. Safe, Secure, Beautiful and the perfect place for groups, both meetings and incentives.

My question is, where are the American groups? You need to be here. There are plenty of flights and it is very cost effective. In fact, even Jet Blue has flights from New York, so lift cannot be the excuse…..or maybe it is a question that does not need an excuse because it has a simple answer.

The answer is that we as meeting planners had no idea that the Dominican Republic was a great place for groups so we have overlooked it for years. This is not our fault though, the Dominican Tourism folks have been doing a great job of marketing to the tourists, and they are just now getting a chance to catch their breath before they tackle the MICE market. This is not their fault either; they work really hard and are amazing people. They are the go-to people when you want to learn more. I hope my ramblings actually help them in their endeavors to catch the attention of the meetings and incentive market.

The Dominican Republic has an amazing array of 5 star hotel properties to choose from with great DMC’s to handle all of your group transfer and activity needs. From Paradisus Playa Real and Sanctuary Cap Cana to the Amazing Tortuga Bay and Moon Palace, the properties here are simply amazing. Beautiful, elegant (oops, bad word in the meetings industry) with all of the trimmings.

Group events in Punta Cana and country wide are a cinch; there is so much to do when your groups are not in session or on an incentive travel trip. Catamarans, Zip Lining, tours of the area and even cigar rolling demonstrations are just some of the activities that are available. I am only hitting a couple that I was able to observe, I am not even mentioning the 5000 other things to do (rafting, snorkeling, parasailing, museums, history, jeep excursions, eco-tours, etc). Then there are the properties themselves, beautiful beaches, pools and restaurants. Even a casino or two for good measure.  Groups have a home here.

The biggest selling point however are the Dominicans themselves. They have a sense of self and a pride that shows in their work. Rarely do you find service levels this high. I am not kidding, they know how to treat a group and go the extra mile to ensure that your stay is perfect.

I can sum up the service in the Dominican Republic by simply re-stating what the bellman said to one of our group when we checked in, he said “I work for you”……..an amazing and rare statement from someone in the hospitality industry. These are a people that “get it”. They are here to make sure that your group’s every need is taken care of.

There are, of course, drawbacks (not many though). It is HOT during the day; in fact, it is surface of the sun hot (you can see me sweat in the picture in my next post). We all take groups to Las Vegas and Scottsdale though, same kind of hot so maybe this is not really a drawback…….

So, in short, if you are looking to bring a group international and have not yet chosen the destination, have a look at the Dominican Republic. You (and your attendees) will not be disappointed. Your budget will also be surprised by how affordable it is………and, during the summer, they are on Eastern Time so attendees won’t have a case of foggy brain caused by massive time shifts.

More to come on the Dominican Republic and the SITE Retreat…….this is by no means the end of the story!

Just thought!

Keith

        

I recently returned from the IMEX show in Frankfurt (Great show, more to say later today!).

I was pleased to stay at the Fleming's Hotel Frankfurt - Neue Borse about 4km from the Convention Center (a great hotel by the way).

Fleming's has the most unique set-up in there rooms, I point to the location and shear "glassiness" of the shower........try and share this room with a co-worker.

        

Let me start by saying. I am a marketer, and I am a moron……

I once had a boss back in the boom boom 90’s that used to storm into the office and yell “are you in sales or are you a marketer”…….he thought that a sales person who used email and not the phone was a marketer. He was pretty much right, he would storm in and I would grab for the phone and once he left the office, go back to the way I was doing things……I was one of the top sales people, but I was a marketer. If he only knew….

Marketing is the way to reach your audience and get them to call you, and if they don’t call you, at least soften the blow for the hard working folks in the sales department. It also creates brand recognition and makes people think of you when they need whatever widget or service you offer.

Do you doubt this, when you need to blow your nose, what do you “need”, you “need” a Kleenex. That is marketing. We all know that Kleenex is a brand, not a thing. The thing is a facial tissue.

Marketers, including me, are morons because we have not yet gripped the full potential of technology to help us achieve our goals and become Kleenex. The power is right in front of us, it is free or low cost and requires nothing more than a strategic plan.

Let’s take Hotels and CVB’s for example (I can pick on them for a bit, why not). I was speaking at a conference a year or so ago where all of the hotels and destinations in attendance claimed that the best way to reach their audience was through their snazzy brochures and cold calling. I calmly told them, that all of their brochures, when they reach my desk, go straight into the recycle bin because the information was already too old to be relied upon and did not give me the information I needed anyway. It is way to old school, and you should not be printing that much anyway.

Cold calls, we stopped cold calling years ago. No one wants to get those calls. When was the last time you took a sales call from someone and when was the last time you actually purchased something from a cold call. So went the door to door Fuller Brush salesman, so goes the 1980’s way of contacting prospective clients.

The information I need, is the information I need and I if I have to look at one piece of information that is not related to the information that I need, it is not what I need…….does that make sense?

I explained to the hotels in attendance, that when a client calls me and wants to do a program in say, Virginia Beach, the first thing our planners do is hit Google, then the CVB and then other places we look to for online information. Online is where we get the information we need, when and how we need it. We also get the most up to date, fastest turn around for our clients. I have not picked up a “printed” brochure in years. I have picked up the phone to call, but I did not get your number from the yellow pages, I got it from your website or a directory.

Here is where marketers are morons. They do not take the steps to make sure that they are where they need to be online. They need to take a day and develop a strategic plan for how they are going to be found on the internet. Even a rough draft is better than no plan and if you do not have some type of plan, you are being hosed by the competition because they are way ahead of you.

You, as a good marketer,  should be looking to list on EVERY directory know to man that is remotely in the industry. Not the directory that gets the most hits…..that is only part of the puzzle. You need to be listed on EVERY directory.

Here is the reason. One, say a directory only gets 10 hits per day, and a marketer passes on it in favor of directory that gets 10,000 hits a day. Now, one of those hits was from a meeting and event planner looking to book a total buy-out program that would have netted the hotel or destination over $1,000,000. Oooops, you just screwed yourself because you were too lazy to fill out one more online form because the directory was not popular enough for your ego. Bad marketer, lazy marketer…… no plan.

The second reason that you want to be listed on every directory known to man is that it helps with Google and how important you are to the search bots. The more positive, inbound links that you have from sites in the same industry, the more important the bots think you are. Therefore, you come up higher in the Google search rankings. Make it to the first page of Google and you are golden, you will probably be beating business away with a stick. My people don’t look past page three. If you are a destination in the southwest and you Google “meeting destination southern US” and you don’t come up, you may not be totally doomed, but at the very least, you have made yourself very hard to find. Scratch that….. You are doomed.

Now there are a million ways to get to page one on Google and no matter what anyone tells you, there is no exact science to get there. You can spend a million dollars (literally) on fancy SEO consultants who will probably do a really good job of getting you there, but this is not an article for a CVB, Hotel or Destination that has a million bucks to spend, this is an article for the folks with a limited budget who really want to be found and work their way to that million dollar budget.

For smaller players to be found on the internet there are ways that you can avoid being a moron. Smart marketers realize this and are doing it; the morons are the ones sitting on the sidelines waiting to get fired.

This list is by no means accurate or complete, it is simply a rough “guide” on what you can do to position yourself better to be found on the internet, and this is the 21st century way for meeting and event professionals to reach out and learn more about you and get the information that they need NOW, which in this age of need it yesterday meeting planning, is the best way to secure business.

So, here we go, in no particular order, here is your rough draft:

• Get listed on every directory that has to do with the meetings and events industry. If you have to pay 20, 50 or 100 bucks, do it. It is a simple thing, just time consuming. Remember that the one directory listing you pass on because it is 50 bucks may be the one that nets you the largest return (our biggest client was the only lead we have EVER received from one of the directories we list on, was the $50.00 worth it. Yes….I just renewed for another year).
• Join every social network you can, both personally and as a business. This allows for at least two touch points in every situation (think about it, you now have twice the opportunity to be found).
• Get your staff to join all of the social networks as well. You are multiplying the touch points.
• Participate in the social networks you join. If you join PlannerMix or LinkedIn or MeCo, be active. No one is saying you have to be on 24 hours a day, but devote a small portion of each day to going in and participating by answering questions,  giving advice or even asking questions.
• After you join the Social Networks, lay off the marketing…..be an expert about your subject, don’t just keep rehashing the “we have a special deal this week for meeting and event planners”. Tell us what cool things are happening in your area. Tell me that they just opened a Kinko’s next door to your property or about the new 5 star restaurant in town.
• Get a twitter account and use it. I follow about 300 hotels……do I follow you? Who am I going to think of the next time I need meeting space in southern Florida?
• Start a blog, and post as frequently as you can.
• Find a way to become an expert and get mentions in the industry press. This is not as hard as it seems. When you are an active member of the social networks, reporters and editors frequently look for story ideas or people to quote. This one is primarily tied to Google. It helps you become positioned as an expert and “get found”.
• Share the wealth. This one is often overlooked, but is one of the most important things about the internet. After you get listed in Directory A, link back to them. This helps them come up higher in Google (remember those positive in-bound links) which increases your chances of being found. Don’t worry about the competition being found, they are already being found. Start an “industry links” page on your website, if you work for a destination or chain that has rules against this, simply mention it in your blog….”Hey, we are now listed on Directory A, check them out, here is the link”. Get mentioned in an article, do the same. “Hey, I got mentioned in an article, I am great….here is the link”
• Go back to step one and repeat, every day. I did not say all day, simply follow the steps every day.

This is not a one and out proposition, it takes time and time and even a little more time. You will find however, that as the weeks go by, the inbound traffic to your website starts to go up and the phone rings a little more often than it used to.

We did a test a few weeks back, to see how many smart marketers there were and how many morons there were out there. We offered virtually free or totally free listing packages on PlannerWire, the PlannerWire Directory and on PlannerMix just to see what would happen. With the exception of a few, most failed.

I like to test the power of the internet, so here is another test……

Go to www.plannerwiredirectory.com, click the get listed tab and choose the “Showcase” level listing option, right now it says $249.00 per year……put in all of your information. When prompted, enter the promo code “nomoron”, it will make it free for the first 10 who list. After that, the next 20 will get a full listing for $20.00 for the year……now you have started the process.

Go and find other directories, or check back here in a couple of weeks, I am going to start to put together a comprehensive list of all of the industry directories I can find……smart marketers make all of our lives easier.

I wonder how many of you will actually do it…or are you just lazy.

        

I was fortunate to head to the Allstate Arena in Chicago last night to witness something I would never see again, I show by my favorite band of all time, the Dead (they used to be Grateful, but sadly Jerry Garcia left us a few years back).

As I was walking through the parking lot before the show, I was struck by all of the things that meeting and event professionals could learn from the band, because, if you were not aware, the Grateful Dead are probably the first of the truly “Viral Marketers” and are amazing "Event Planners". You do not attend a concert, you become one with an experience.

The first lesson is to produce something magical, if you do, people will come back over and over. Even when they had no money and little production skills, the Grateful Dead would never perform the same concert twice. Always different, every night. This encourages fans to come back every day and want more. If you are producing the same conference, year after year, why should your attendees keep coming back, you must always be fresh.

Choose best of breed suppliers. The Dead use only the best. The best equipment, the best staff, the best stuff the budget can afford. They don't skimp to save a few pennies. This lets them concentrate on the music and not on the concert details.

Love your attendees and show them you appreciate them. In their 40 year history, the Grateful Dead have always embraced the fans and made them feel like they are part of something that is bigger than just a concert or some music. Treat your attendees the same way and make them feel special. This does not even require a budget, this is something you must do.

Give it away and don’t care, it will only make people want more. Since the bands founding, the Grateful Dead have always encouraged concert goers to record, reproduce and share the material with anyone and everyone (as long as you do it with an open heart and for free). This is an important thing to note in this time of copy write laws and lawyers….you should give away all of your conference materials to anyone who wants them, even those who did not attend. It is good to reinforce the message for those that were there, and it makes those who were not there wish they were. Don’t be scared, try it, you will find that you are not hurting anything, you are only encouraging people to spread the word for you. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.

Embrace technology. The Grateful Dead are a 60’s band that continues to grow and embrace new technologies. I can go on i-Tunes and grab concerts from years gone by and relive the moments over and over. In what I thought was a strategic masterpiece, I walked into the concert hall and was greeted with the option of paying $25.00 for a copy of that evenings performance…….all I had to do was pay, watch and then head to the t-shirt stand where my 3 CD special packaged set would be waiting for me on the way back to the car. Not bad for a bunch of hippies……You can do the same, get some equipment and have those copies of the conference ready to go when the event is over; people will pay for the convenience and think that you are a genius.

Although I could keep going, the most important thing that meeting and event professionals can learn from the Dead is simple, be the best. The Grateful Dead are the best live band on the planet. Period, there is not even a debate. They rehearse and practice and then do it again. This ties into being magical. You can have a different show every night, but if it sucks, no one is going to pay any attention and they will certainly never be back.

Have a Grateful Day!

Just a thought.....

Keith

        

Is the current crisis gripping the meetings and events industry for real, or will it simply be something that lures us into a false sense of security for when the real deal does hit, because, eventually, we will have a global bio crisis. One can only hope that the next global pandemic is not as severe as some of the past events that have happened....

One thing is clear, Mexico is taking the brunt of the hit (so far) and this is something that they cannot afford at the moment (also add an earthquake this morning on top of violence, a bad economy and a possible pandemic).

Here is a little from Serenity's latest article on PlannerWire.............

Scheduled meetings and events are already dropping off the calendar in response to multiple (and multiplying) reports detailing rapid worldwide developments of an outbreak of swine influenza A, or H1N1. The outbreak originated in areas of Mexico, including Mexico City, Oaxaca and San Luis Potosi, and it has spread into various parts of the United States and Canada, along with a few reported cases in other nations. In response, fears about the potential for a pandemic flu are already aswirl across the World Wide Web.

On Saturday, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), stated, “The current situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.” On Sunday, WHO confirmed 20 cases of swine flu found in the United States and 18 in Mexico.

Early today, the first European case appeared in Spain, prompting the European Union’s Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou to caution travelers against visiting the United States and Mexico “unless they have serious reasons to go.” This afternoon, the WHO’s count of United States swine flu cases doubled to 40.

Click Here to Read Full Article

        

Rodrigo Esponda, Director Midwest at the Mexico Tourism Board

On Friday April 17, 2009, PlannerWire had the pleasure of sitting down and talking to Rodrigo Esponda, Director Midwest at the Mexico Tourism Board.

In our conversation, Rodrigo shared his views on the current crisis in Mexico, the AIG effect and why now is a great time for Meeting and Event Planners to choose Mexico. 

        

There are a host of internet scams going around that are targeting third party meeting, event and wedding planners....

Tough economic times make it easy for unsuspecting people to get caught up in these seemingly great "client" events and get taken for a ride. We don't plan weddings, but about a year ago, we started getting these, so we Googled a portion of the text (always a prudent step).

Here is text text of an email we get about once a week..........

Hello,
 
My name is Mr .Small, I am an Medical consultant by profession. Presently i
am in Edinburgh,SCOTLAND.I am contacting you with respect to the my daughters wedding scheduled to hold on the 5th August,2009.
 
I want you to handle the wedding arrangements on their behalf as my would-be
son in law is a citizen of your country and as a result, i need the blessing
ceremony,reception and wedding party  to be in his country. Please get back
to me with any of the services which you can provide as regards the wedding
arrangement of my daughter.
 
- Vehicles /hotel transfers for the guests - ( coaches transportation)
 - Limousine hire for the couples
 - location for the wedding and reception.
 - lodging  for the guests for an estimate of sixty people(4th - 6th June)2009.
 - Wedding cakes and decorations
 
The wedding Budget is at the range of EUR 39,000 for now and it remains very
flexible pending our final conclusion.Please do let me have the details of
all i should know so we can make payment for the services you can provide.
Estimates and calculations should be based on the quoted budget.
 
Regards,
Mr. Collin Small.
+447035966378

Granted, the language in the e-mail sounds so BAD that most people (including me) would hit the delete key, but there have been a couple of instances of people getting hurt by these scams, so I thought it might be a good idea to throw this out there to anyone who might not be in the loop...................

Ya get this email, delete it. Don't feel you have to respond to anything like this, it only lets whoever sending it know that thay have a live email address and they don't care anyway.