Don't Panic - SNAFU - Emails

The words "Don't Panic" are printed in large friendly letters on the cover of the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

From Wikipedia:

Arthur C. Clarke said Douglas Adams' use of "don't panic" was perhaps the best advice that could be given to humanity.

So what does this have to do with SNAFU - "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up" and what does this have to do with Emails.

Emails are a great bit tool but sometimes they can cause a lot of communication problems and result in a SNAFU.

When tensions increase in the email STOP sending emails. Ideally give the person a call or if you are in the same office go and talk to them face to face!

Some recent examples of emails which have caused problems:

Example one: SNAFU = Loss of business referral.

A request for a small credit. 

The response was that the amount was so small that they wouldn't credit. The writer then went on to explain in great detail why the charge should stand. This resulted in a further exchange of emails between ourselves and the other company. In the end we stopped emailing them as it was clear they missed the concerns we had and the amount of time wasted on the emails over 10+ was not worth our effort.

End result - we removed our weblinks and recommendations for this company.

How we could have achieved a better outcome - phone them and discuss the issue when it became clear they had misunderstood our concerns. How they could have handled it better. Not insulted us with our request is a waste of time response as their first comment then spent the rest of the time actively defensively.

Example two: Almost a SNAFU

A tourist requested a booking which was confirmed. They then emailed about other dates. We confirmed all options and then after the dates were finalised confirmed back to them what was booked. 

End result  - SNAFU avoided as potentially with so many dates the customer could have ended up thinking we had booked different dates.

However we could have done it better. We should have called the client earlier to confirm what they actually wanted and what options they were looking for - i.e. if we had been a bit more proactive we could have gathered all the information in one phone call rather than 10+ emails.

Google Chrome - check your website stats

While you may be happy using Internet Explorer the launch of Google Chrome is a good time as any to check out how your website looks with a different browser.

You can be sure now that with the growth of Firefox and now the launch of Google Chrome that more and more visitors to your website will be using something other than Internet Explorer.

It is important to check as sometimes different browsers will result in code displaying differently. For example on Rainbow Tourism there is a minor difference on how Internet Explorer displays our site versus Google Chrome and even a difference between Firefox 2.0 and Firefox 3.0

You can always find out how your visitors check your web statistic reports. Our own statistics show that 68% of our visitors currently use internet explorer, 22% firefox, 8% safari, 1% opera and we have  other browsers listed.

I suspect in a month or two that google chrome will have gained a small share at the expense of both firefox and internet explorer but it will also mean people will be more willing to switch browsers.

So why do I need to have more browsers on my desktop - the key reason is to check that your website functions as you expect it to - if it isn't get your webdesigner to fix and make your website code friendly to all browsers.

Social Media - What is it?

The following presentation explains very simply what social media is and how you can use it to market your business and why you can't ignore it.

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Email Newsletters - Permission Based Marketing

Email newsletters are a great way to connect with your clients.

Below are some tips we follow at Rainbow Tourism with our email newsletter to ensure we always obtain permission to send the email.

Subscriptions from our website
On our website we have a link on every page to our newsletter page. From this page we offer the visitor the chance to view our newsletters from our archives. We also offer three ways to sign up to our newsletter from this page.

1. Via our constant contact email program we use.
2. Via RSS using feedburner to subscribe to our newsletter blog.
   
3. Via Feedburners email subscription option for updates on our newsletter blog.

This way the user is in full control of how and when they read our newsletter.

Subscriptions from our blog
Just like our newsletter page our main blog has subscription options to sign up to our blog and to our email newsletter.

Subscriptions from bookings
Every time someone makes a reservation on our website we ask them if they want to subscribe to our newsletter. Again we only add those that give us permission.

Offline subscriptions
At gay and lesbian fairs and other events we have sign up forms which seek permission to go on our newsletter list.

These are some of the potential ways you can increase your email distribution list.

One of the important things to remember is to go for quality NOT quantity. You want an active readership not one which just deletes your email.

Finally there is a lot of email delivery options from free to paid. We have found Constant Contact to be one of the better ones for ease of delivery. If you are interested in giving it a free 60 day trial and also want a $30 credit let us know as can refer you and both of us receive a $30 credit.

If you have any ideas for email newsletters or want some assistance in writing and managing your email newsletter contact us.

Sponsorship

When you are in business you will often be asked to offer sponsorships of various kinds.

Sponsorship can be a rewarding option to promote your business but you have to be very clear of what you want to achieve.

Depending on the organisation they may have a plan of what they can offer but in some cases they may not.

So how do you evaluate a sponsorship - you have to be hard nosed and asked what does our business get from this.

Ask for what you need as a business - you are after all putting money into the organisation.

The bottom line is you should be comfortable with the organisation and the end result should be a win / win situation for both your business and the organisation your are sponsoring.

Housekeeping - Audit your business

Ideally once a year you should do an audit of your business.

Be critical and ask questions such as:

• Is the business on track financially?
• Are you achieving your objectives that you intended?
• Is there parts of the business which need focus?
• Are there opportunities which you haven't been able to capitalise on?
• What is holding your business back?
• Do you have the skills to take the business to the next level?
• Should you sell some or all the business?

Finally make sure you ask are you enjoying what you are doing?

This should be a frank and open discussion with your staff and business colleagues and will involve reviewing feedback from customers and other people.

Your should also include in this your personal friends and partner.

With this information make a decision about where you are going and where you want to be in a year, two years or more.

We have been doing this at Rainbow Tourism as we realised we need to focus on our core gay and lesbian business and also need further funds to make it grow. We have decided as part of this review to sell a large number of domains which were used in previous businesses and also sell the Pink Pages.

These decisions are never easy as you can always see the potential but ultimately you have to make a decision of where to focus ones energy.

So when did you last do a business audit?

Making Connections

I have just been at the IGLTA convention in Las Vegas and one of the key outcomes is the importance of making connections with your target market.

While there is a cost to coming to conventions one of the big benefits is that you can meet a lot of people face to face. Knowing someone personally makes a huge difference when you are wanting to engage in a business relationship.

This means for the gay and lesbian travel market you need to join organisations such as IGLTA, find local gay and lesbian community groups which you can support and find ways to connect with the local gay and lesbian community.

For example if you were in my home city of Sydney you might consider joining the following organisations:

IGLTA - International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association
GALTA - Gay and Lesbian Tourism Australia
SGLBA - Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association

You should then consider supporting a gay and lesbian community group. To make sponsorship effective you have to have a clear understanding of what you want from the organisation you are sponsoring and what you can offer to the organisation so it is a win/win situation for both organisations.

You should also consider obtaining some assistance with the market - there are pitfalls and by seeking help you can avoid some expensive mistakes - so if you are wanting to engage with the gay and lesbian traveller contact people who can offer you a marketing plan. RainbowTourism.com is one company which can assist you in this area so please feel free to contact us.