|
Think Outside the Box
Lately I've been reading and writing about the wonders of marketing partnerships as they
relate to timeshares. I believe that in one of my recent columns I was talking about tying timeshares into products
that "fit"; such as suitcase retailers, ski shops, etc.
In reality, what you need to do is design your own potential owner base by partnering with those entities that
mirror what you want your owner base to look like. Sound confusing? It's simple.
Do you want your owner base to have similar lifestyles, habits, income, etc. to yourself? Great (or not so great).
What do you do for fun? Where do you shop? How do you entertain? With whom do you associate?
Example. I'm from Chicago. There is a wonderful, upscale accessory and home furnishings store headquartered in
Chicago. They've been in existence for more than 30 years I believe, and I would venture to say that they have
done extensive market and psychographic research to determine exactly who their customer is. I'll lay you odds,
that store's customer is my timeshare's customer.
So what is a marketer to do? Think outside the box. You've heard me say it again and again and again… JUST BECAUSE
IT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE IS EXACTLY THE REASON TO GO AFTER IT. Call their marketing department. Make some inquiries.
Ask. You never know until you ask.
There are three things that stop most people in the timeshare industry from thinking outside the box and if you
fall into this category, I will warn you now you will not be happy with me:
1) Fear of the unknown
2) General laziness
3) Not enough belief in your own product
I'll spare you a lecture on the first two… most of my columns address these. But the third is greatly overlooked.
If you don't believe in your own product, you will be less likely to tell others about it. Just like a salesperson
that truly does not believe in timeshare and suffers low sales because of it, if you do not believe in your own
product, you are defeated before you even start.
Marketers in general have long been guilty of focusing on the marketing rather than the product. How much do you
know about your own product? How much do you believe in the product? If you had to go out and give a non-sales
presentation about timeshare to the general public, what would you say? What would you know? Would you come across
as enthusiastic? Do you own a timeshare of your own, or merely take the perks of the industry?
Speaking as a sales manager, I consider there to be three things essential to purchasing timeshare: a willingness
and/or desire to vacation, half a working brain and a willingness and ability to spend some money. So where would
you find those people? I'll bet you that some of them would be found shopping the aisles of my favorite store in
Chicago.
Marketing is not a one size fits all, one try and you hit the jackpot business. No marketing source, no OPC location,
no mini-vacation hits all the time. The best would probably garner a 30% success.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying something different with a small percentage of your marketing
budget. As for my favorite store in Chicago… don't bother contacting them… I already have and will report the results
here when I can. Oh yes, and no more cash, theme park and dinner show tickets for gifts. Once my program hits,
people will be coming in to see and buy the timeshare, not for the gifts. Gifts will be given upon purchase of
the timeshare as a "thank you". More on this unique concept later on.
|
Lisa Ann Schreier is a dynamic, outspoken, devout believer
in the power of advertising done correctly. Lisa brings a wealth of advertising, marketing and promotional knowledge
to her many business interests. She is the director of her own marketing/advertising agency, a full-time timeshare
salesperson, a contributing writer and a part time Cast Member of the Walt Disney World Resort. After one too many
long cold winters in Chicago, she now happily lives in the Orlando area where she is known for her consumer insights
and "back to basics" style of business. Lisa writes a bi-weekly column on the basics of effective advertising.
She be reached at GRQ1@aol.com , or read
her ad here. |
