Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Need Out Of The Box Marketing Ideas

Posted by Anonymous on 7/29/2008 at 1:13 PM ET 500 Points
I am promoting an RV resort. They are selling RV sites and want real out of the box marketing ideas. HELP! So far I have:

• Start a suggestion box for your employees, soliciting innovative marketing ideas. Some of the best and most creative ideas come from people who are involved daily with various aspects of your business. Give a $100 award for ideas used.
• Free Weekend Getaway to the new Buyers
• Offer a wine club membership
• FREE camping equipment or fishing gear for the new Buyers
• Raffle off a RV site. Sell the raffle tickets
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by joshuacrumbaugh on 7/29/2008 at 1:41 PM Member
    Gimmicks aren't used to sell, but rather to gain leads. So although Steve is right that the resort has to make sense emotionally as well as economically; there is still need to get people to the resort and generally that is done through incentives/gimmicks. As far as an out of the box idea is concerned the best way to come up with ideas it to learn everything you can about that business. Whenever I start marketing for a new client I spend weeks and even months working with someone in every division to learn about that company. More often than not the answers are right in front of me.

    Here is an example: Nearly all car insurance companies send council if you're sued, but the only company that advertises it is Allstate. Do you think their marketer came up with that idea out of thin air or by learning every attribute of the policy? In nearly every company there is a marketing gold mine waiting to be realized. It's your job to find it.

    So my question to you is this: Do you have issues with traffic or sales? The answer makes a large difference as to what the best marketing technique would be.
  • Posted by Phx SC on 7/29/2008 at 2:53 PM Accepted
    Host an event/open house- - open RV? ;) -- for prospects so that they can tour the resort. Have a wine and cheese party.

    Invite a local personality (radio, TV, local celeb) to stay in an RV at the resort. This can expose many of the amenities that are available. We traded an RV for mentions in a radio promotion that I worked on, and the RV dealer saw a sizable jump in traffic.

    Or a combination of the two, invite that personality to host the party at his/her RV site.
  • Posted by wnelson on 7/29/2008 at 3:00 PM Member
    Poinsie,

    Going along with Steve, I can understand why you are looking here for "out of the box" suggestions - the ones you mentioned would be at the top of the list of "the usual things RV people (or anyone else) do to market their products/services." They couldn't be more in the box. Don't take this too hard because it's good to know the "not out of the box" things and also to understand what your competitors are doing. To understand "out of the box," there are a few things we need to know:

    1. What are you presently doing?

    2. Why isn't that working?

    3. What is the competition doing?

    4. Why do you think more traditional marketing techniques aren't enough (versus "out of the box")?

    5. What are you trying to achieve in your marketing? (i.e. Goals - immediate sales, brand recognition, pipeline of leads, etc.)

    Some other things to take into account are things like your specific demographics, psychographics, geographics, and your target customers' needs because marketing activities are not universally effective across the spectrum of these factors.

    While we can give you a bunch of random ideas that worked here or there for RV resorts, other kinds of resorts, or other unrelated areas, if we knew these things, we could better help (and having put them together, you may learn some things that help you in other ways).

    Some of the things to consider versus just "promotions" is product/service definition. Do you have the right mix given the needs of your target customers? For instance, is a "need" of the customer a desire to have variety? Like, ownership to one RV park ties them down too much. If this was a factor that you uncovered by understanding your customers' needs, you could partner with your competitors in other geographies and offer a "membership" to a group of RV resorts. This isn't revolutionary, but if you aren't doing it, it might help in your marketing efforts. Understanding the factors above will help you come up with the less "out of the box" ideas that will help your efforts and possibly more "out of the box" ideas besides.

    I hope this helps.

    Wayde
  • Posted by wnelson on 7/29/2008 at 3:51 PM Accepted
    Poinsie,

    Oh, you reminded me with the "direct mail" comment. Direct mail all by itself is not a real winner. While some are better than others, this is the same with all marketing activities. It's analysis which leads to strategy which leads to an integrated marketing plan that builds to a "buy" decision because the customers see information multiple times (think like Nike didn't make their swoosh a household logo through one ad or one ad campaign). An integrated marketing plan also has a series of "decisions" the customer makes before he makes the "buy" decision - each one small and easy, but leading to more and more commitment until he buys. In the case of a direct mailing, having a "call to action" of "visit the website and get a BOGO night at the resort." When they visit the website, they click on the link, and you give them their "registration" instructions in a 30 sec video with a tour of the resort as the image. Then, they fill out a registration form (with email required for confirmation) and you email them their certificate. The registration has an "opt-in" box for email (which is by default, opted in and they have to uncheck it if they don't want the email newsletter). On the certificate they receive via email, you have them call in to a number to make a reservation for their free night. The inbound telemarketing person gives them a 30 second "benefits" of the resort and then makes the reservation with the purchase of one night. When they arrive for their weekend, you provide a "reception" for all guests in the BOGO - with wine, cheese, hot hors dourves, etc. After some "mingle" time, then there's a 5 minute "speech" that informs them that you're running a "membership" special for anyone who signs up for a meeting to hear more about membership. Then at that meeting, you qualify them, present the benefits of membership (ownership), financing options available, and bring them up to the "buy" decision. All small, low pressure steps leading to the ultimate buy decision.

    Whether the process above is something you can actually use or not doesn't matter. It's the process of little steps all in concert that makes an integrated marketing plan.

    Wayde
  • Posted by wnelson on 7/29/2008 at 4:26 PM Member
    Poinsie,

    Like many of the pros on this site, I am "for hire" so contact me off line if interested. Click on my name and it takes you to the profile. From there, my email address can be found.

    BOGO is Buy One Get One and is usually connotes buy-one-get-one free. In this case, versus giving away nights with no commitment, which you could and it may be more effective, this is a way to get something out of the customer and get a stronger commitment.

    Wayde
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 7/29/2008 at 11:58 PM Accepted
    Some other ideas:
    You could focus on people who've never RVed. Rent them the RV & the space & the experience. Offer them RV-ing lessons, if they're interested (how to drive, rent vs. buy vs new/used, etc.).

    Focus on a niche - families with young children, wedding parties, office retreats, singles weekends, etc. Now you can focus your efforts on attracting the niche, rather than selling RVing.

    A video showing the full-experience of your resort.

    A cost-comparison of your resort vs. a hotel.

    Offer free wifi, and attract entrepreneurs who want to travel but still be connected to the office.
  • Posted on 7/30/2008 at 12:12 AM Accepted
    Another option, which is similar to the "Open House" idea, is to have a contest which is related to the outdoors such as a wood cutting contest, strongman contest (carrying/pulling lumbers, etc), fastest tree climber contest, mud wrestling contest, etc.

    Another bright idea is to try to invite participants to break a record in the Guinness Book of World Records such as fastest corn eater, fastest bonfire, most earthworms found, etc.

    :)
  • Posted by Levon on 7/30/2008 at 11:45 AM Member
    You need web presence.
  • Posted on 7/30/2008 at 12:50 PM Accepted
    First, you should organize an online/offline focus group to solicit honest feedback from 6-12 existing or potential customers. Second, you should periodically survey customers (include only 6-8 pertinent questions on the survey form).

    You should also try a combination of e-mail marketing, banner advertising, and pay per click (PPC). Furthermore, you should work with some creative thinkers to create a contest. For example, the winner of the contest would receive a Free Weekend Getaway.
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