DIY Research Mistakes

Another interesting blog - Five DIY research mistakes that can lead to disaster - which highlights some common errors.

So what are the common mistakes:

1. You load the dice to get the answer you’re looking for
2. Right questions, wrong people
3. Right questions, wrong environment
4. Failing to corroborate the evidence
5. Good evidence, bad decisions

These research mistakes are most likely to occur where you are entering into a market which has limited public data and you are trying to identify a niche market.

An example is the gay and lesbian travel market where RainbowTourism.com markets. While there is some research a lot of the research is self selecting i.e. it captures a "visible" part of the market who read a certain magazine. The research in this area also tends to be biased towards gay men and to North America. However the good news is the internet means this research is getting broader.

The other lesson is that even with the best research you should test the market to see what works. The good thing with the internet is you can test different ads, web pages, etc to see which gives you the best click through and buy rate. The cost isn't huge but it does need to be trialled over different periods to see what works/doesn't work.

Business Blogging Tips

I stumbled on this interesting blog - Business Blogging Tips - which had an interesting link to the book - Meatball Sundae - Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?

While the book looks interesting this comment on the blog says a lot about the purpose and usefulness of SEO:

We tell clients this all the time. MOST print advertising, including the YELLOW PAGES, is a waste of money these days. Would you rather spend $1000 on ad that is gone in month? Or spend $1000 online, where that ad can live on indefinitely?

Seth also comments on the speed of SEO - "

"My position is that the clients are the problem, not the consultants. That's because they want shortcuts, not hard work. The best SEO is great content. Don't do that and you don't get much."

The Web 2.0 has powerful tools to help someone be found online. But it takes time. It does not happen overnight, usually. You have to build the temple....and then they will come! It's like planting seeds in the garden. It takes time for the seeds to fully grow and develop.

I think the comment about print advertising says it all as does the comment about content. It reinforces the comments we have made before:

• Start a blog - one post a week means 52 pages of new content in a year
• Take the best content on your blog and integrate into your website
• Add a page of things to do on your website
• Employ someone to edit the content if necessary. Having a professional edit your content is extremely helpful to pick up typos, errors and come up with good unique content.
  
• Employ someone to help with SEO.

All these things are possible and we can assist you with any of these things through our various partners. Do feel free to contact me for a no obligation assessment of your tourism marketing needs.