IT STARTS WITH STRATEGY: MARKETING 101

IT STARTS WITH STRATEGY:

MARKETING 101

After receiving rave reviews for her workshop at the 2022 Tasmanian Tourism Conference in August, we recently took marketing maven and strategy superstar Toni Kibbey on the road to deliver a 101 in building a measurable marketing strategy. Whether you managed to get in the room or not, we sat down with Toni to get her hottest tips preserved on the pages of the TICT Quarterly!

Toni has a long connection to tourism and hospitality, having spent a gap “year” (which turned into 15 of them) as a travel consultant with Harvey World Travel in Launceston under industry stalwarts Phil and Manina Berryman, as well as various roles in bars and hotel operations. Her experience in the marketing and communications world runs deeper still, beginning as The Examiner newspaper’s youngest ever advertising sales representative at 20 years of age, and later moving across the world to manage the major agency accounts at London’s The Independent newspaper. Returning to Tassie in 2006, Toni was appointed as Executive Manager of the Road Safety Task Force, and later moved into a Marketing Operations Manager role with Tourism Tasmania, before Brand Manager roles with Hobart Airport, Lark Distillery and Aurora Energy. “It was in these marketing roles that I really learnt the importance of strategy and driving behavioural change,” she says. “All of that experience has helped me to hone in on marketing and business strategy, with a broader perspective of communications and leadership that aligns back to an organisation’s vision.” Toni now puts that expertise to good use as Director of Element Co., her own consultancy that specialises in customer experience, brand strategy, marketing, change management, leadership and mentoring. “My consulting approach is to embed myself in the business to understand what makes it tick,” Toni says. “From there, we can identify what the real challenge is, and how we can truly help develop strategic approaches to meet the business needs.” Working with businesses from all around the state and a diverse range of sectors, Toni says the common barrier to developing and delivering on a marketing strategy is that operators are time-poor and unsure where to start. But she emphasises that writing and understanding your personal strategy should be a nonnegotiable in every business. Importantly, a marketing strategy is not synonymous with advertising. Instead, Toni describes it as knowing who your customer is, what they need, and how you can help fulfil that need for them. She says that it underscores every step of the customer’s experience, and is more than just the collateral that is often associated with the marketing mindset. “A great marketing strategy informs the targeted messaging that goes out to your market, so it’s important that you’re clear on what you’re trying to achieve to ensure your messages are purposeful,” Toni says. “But a marketing strategy also goes right down to how you greet your customer when they’re at your business and, for example, the type of sheets you use on the beds if you’re an accommodation provider.”

So, where should you start if you don’t have a strategy, or it’s time to shake it up? Toni says it doesn’t need to be a daunting a prospect as it might seem. It simply answers the question, “why should they choose you?” Toni breaks that single guiding question down to unpack each element and inform an overarching business marketing strategy.

WHY SHOULD THEY CHOOSE YOU

They – Who are they (your market)? What do you know about them? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? Who do they spend time with? Who makes the decisions? Where will they hear and learn about you? What do they aspire to? How much do they want to spend? Go deep! Why Should – What motivates your customer? What are their needs and pain points? You – Who are you? What is your brand? What are your values? What do you offer? How can what you offer meet your customer’s needs and pain points? Choose – Who are your customer’s other choices (competitors)? How can you differentiate your brand from theirs to uniquely deliver on your customer’s needs? “All of this then informs your brand position, and the key messages that you want to communicate,” Toni says. “Because you now know your customer and what they’re motivated by, you can use the right channels to talk to your customer about your relevant experiences or offerings.” While it’s common for operators to focus on the content and creative elements of their marketing plan, Toni says that strategy must come first. “If you have a clear strategy, it becomes much easier to manage your actions and budgets, and you and your team become accountable to delivering on your goal and the pathway to get there.

Strategy takes time, but everything else benefits from it. It all starts with strategy!

To connect with Toni, email toni@elementco.com.au