Globetrotting
Volume 3 2nd Quarter 2005
| WELCOME Graeme Dowie GET TO KNOW YOUR SITE LEADERS Interviews with SITE Chapter Presidents ESNEP Thank You CHAPTER EVENTS Upcoming Events CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARDS Awards SITE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE UPDATES IC Charity Selected HQ UPDATES Revenue, Memberships, & Crystal Awards TALES FROM THE FRONT The SITE Malta Chapter MARKETING INFORMATION Future Focus Trends in Membership Marketing 32 STEPS TO BEING AN OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR Follow these steps |
WELCOME
Hi Folks, What an exciting and motivating time to be a SITE chapter member! The commitment to chapter benefits & education is on the move. As an interim step, examples of current successful chapter educational programs will be posted shortly on the website for everyone to share and USE. By the way, if you have a great speaker you have used or an example of an event then please send the details to Christie (Christie_pruyn@site-intl.org) to be included. The FutureSITE campaign is working on building new educational offerings for chapters – “seminars in a box”, so to speak. This program is starting now in 2005 and will continue throughout 2006. Valuable presentations will be commissioned, collected and evaluated, which the chapters will be able to use with their own presenter to increase their educational offerings and ideas at a local level. Already, two educational sessions are currently being built with Board of Director members, Morag Donald and Bruce Tepper. Now for the good bit - FutureSITE will assist with funding their airfare to travel to interested chapters and present these new seminars in 2006. Get in line to book your chapter’s place now for a 2006 presentation!! To help us cement the relationships constantly being formed around the globe, a chapter Leadership Reception will be held at IT&ME during the IMA/SITE All Industry Reception on 27 September. If you are (or wish to be) a volunteer on your chapter board we’d love to see you there. At IC in Toronto there will be training for the on-line registration system to be made available to all chapters. Once again the funds from FutureSITE will finance the setting up of the program and building each chapter’s template. Additionally it will cover the cost for each willing chapter to participate for at least the first year. So, my hard working colleagues, no empty promises here, just concrete tools. The credit must go to Bill Boyd, the Board of Directors & all you chapter Leaders for committing to “One Vision… One Voice”! Now is the time to check if there are some extra funds in your chapter coffers because as you can see every euro/pound/dollar invested in FutureSITE will return many benefits as the campaign grows from strength to strength. I look forward to meeting many more of you throughout the rest of the year. Graeme GET TO KNOW YOUR SITE CHAPTER LEADERS DOMINIQUE ANDRE Who introduced you to SITE? How and why did you get involved in chapter leadership? What do you like most about your job / career? What I like most is the contact with people and the fact that the job is never boring. As the world, habits, needs and economy is still moving fast, you can never take things for granted. You have to find new ways, new ideas to market your destination, to give as much service for less money. And you have to be very creative. My challenge for the time being is to position our destination in China. You can imagine… Belgium has 10 million people when Shanghai has 16 million, yet those in Shanghai have no idea where Belgium is. They know Brussels, the capital of Europe, yes of Europe…but is it really in Belgium????? If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation? After one week, I need action, and like to discover unknown places with a lot of cultural heritage. Places to discover with my husband, at our pace, enjoying the atmosphere of the place, the culinary delights, reading a book while observing the people passing by. Really enjoying the place, without making any photos, without rushing to add one more tourist attraction on our list. What are you usually found doing on a Sunday? MARIA DA CUNHA Who introduced you to SITE? How and why did you get involved in chapter leadership? What do you like most about your job / career? If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation? What are you usually found doing on a Sunday? SUMATE SUDASNA Who introduced you to SITE? How and why did you get involved in chapter leadership? What do you like most about your job/career? If money were no object, where in the world would you go for a vacation? What are you usually found doing on a Sunday? Thank you to everyone that attended the recent ESNEP in Amman, Jordan from 7-10 May. Tasneem Adamji, SITE Member and East Africa Chapter Member, has provided a program overview. The three 'muskeeters' Roger Tondeur, Lex Granaada and Hugo Slimbrouck put together with the help of the Jordanian Tourist Board , another outstanding event. The educational opportunities were great from 2 main aspects: 1. Industry trends - Without this knowledge and market research it would prove very difficult for us to plan and strategise most effectively. For example, I came away with 2 important pieces of information to help me position better in my future bids - transparency in quoting and destination preferences. 2. Personal Growth - How would we be able to perform better if we did not grow our own individuality or as team players? Do we recognise the signs of stress and its negative effects? How do you cope with it and how do you make the best out of any situation? What kind of a leader are you? How do you motivate your staff? Do you recognise their potential? These were some of the subjects that obliged you to look inwards and challenge yourself. The networking opportunities were fantastic; networking with people from different disciplines, some with whom you may never do any business, but if you are 'open to receiving' let me assure you that you will always come away with some new idea or experience each time. Of course the best part was the fantastic location - amazing diversity in such a small country. And we were indeed honored by His Excellency the King of Jordan, because the red carpet had been laid out at each location from start to end. The Jordanians were the perfect hosts. And for those of us who were fortunate enough to ride Khaled's bus, this tour guide made our trip! He did his country proud and made us all hope that we too would have a treasure like him, back in our own countries! The beach party at the Marriot in The Dead Sea was a smashing evening! A challenge to many such resorts on how it should be done! And the finale of the Gala Dinner hosted by the Grand Hyatt at the amazing outdoor location of the Citadel was brilliant. The dancing kept us warm and we closed the evening and indeed the 4-day conference on a well deserved upbeat note. So now you will ask “Why is she telling us all this?” You are a SITE member, but do you take advantage of any or all of the opportunities SITE brings you? ESNEP and the International Conference are two of them. Growth and change are interlinked and only by networking and learning will you progress in your chosen field. Please, make an effort and come join us at one of the international events - you will be refreshed, rejuvenated and most of all renergised for a brand new season! Invest in thyself... there is no greater good! Finally, a SPECIAL thank you to all who attended the Chapter Leadership Meeting. If you would like copies of the meeting minutes, please email Christie at Christie_pruyn@site-intl.org. IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS FOR CHAPTERS
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARDS The SITE Chapter Council has been working hard to revamp the SITE Chapter of the Year Awards. All chapters were surveyed and their feedback has been used to form the program. A new version will be announced in the beginning of July! The qualifications will remain the same, but important changes to note include:
The goal is to increase chapter participation and make this a valuable recognition tool for SITE and the chapters. The SITE Chapter of the Year Awards ceremony will take place during the SITE International Conference in Toronto on Friday, 4 November. This year’s ceremony will involve increased chapter participation, so get your chapter members registered today! It promises to be a fun and memorable event!
SITE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE UPDATES IC Charity Selected ProAction, Cops & Kids, exists to fundraise on behalf of police officers and provide cops with the financial resources required to develop and operate programs targeting at-risk kids within their communities. Since its modest beginnings just 14 years ago, ProAction has helped almost 260,000 youth in Toronto and funded 680 police-initiated programs, involving over 8,500 officers. By working with a variety of supportive corporate donors and sponsors, ProAction continues to fund police run programs and special events that create a fun and non-traditional environment for at-risk youth. With a mandate of promoting positive relationships and mutual understanding between cops and kids, ProAction works to ensure that the current communication gap between them is reduced each time a ProAction funded program is implemented. More information on the organization can be found online at www.copsandkids.ca. SITE hopes your chapter will continue to support the International Conference as you have all done in the past! Your contributions will make a difference. IC Complimentary Registration Details can be found online at http://www.site-intl.org/chapters/icregistration.cfm. IC Chapter Leadership Functions
Revenue Sharing Update Multiple Chapter Memberships Crystals Deadline Approaching The 2004 SITE Chapter Challenge for Crystals winner: SITE Southern California Chapter Membership Updates A new page on the SITE Web site has been created for prospective members. Please refer all your prospects to this section which contains valuable information at http://www.site-intl.org/member/prospective.cfm. A new SITE Member Handbook has been created that outlines all SITE benefits and opportunities. Find it at http://www.site-intl.org/member/member-benefits.cfm. Don’t forget to check out the SITE Finder Service at http://www.site-intl.org/member/search/index.cfm.
The SITE Malta Chapter recently partnered with the Malta Tourism Authority’s Conference and Incentive Travel Division, together with nine members of the local Destination Management Companies Directorate (DMCD), and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) to hold its second ‘The Knighthood Experience’. The purpose of the event is to showcase Malta’s assets as a conference destination and is aimed at attracting new Conference and Incentive Travel business. ‘The Knighthood Experience’ brought together conference organisers from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Scandinavia, Austria and Russia to enjoy a memorable stay in Malta and visit various CIT facilities. There were 74 participants. Activities themed on the Order of the Knights of St John, enabled the participants to interact. The visit included a welcome dinner at ‘Razzett l-Antik’, as well as a networking session where the guests were proclaimed ‘Ambassadors of Malta’ during a knighting ceremony. The networking session was addressed by MTA Executive Chairman Mr Romwald Lungaro-Mifsud. The programme included guided tours to Valletta, Mdina and Vittoriosa, as well as Gozo. Guests were also shown around various 5-star hotels, and enjoyed a wine-tasting tour, a fact-finding mission, and spa treatments. Joe Diacono, President of SITE Malta, was recently interviewed regarding the experience. His interview is below. What was your biggest obstacle? How have you continued to make the event new and fresh every year? What could other SITE chapters learn from your experience? Future Focus Trends in Membership Marketing By John E. Kasper, PhD, CAE In this day and age of shrinking member retention and dwindling or stagnant new member growth, how you market membership is critical. In this article, we will try to define the parameters of a solid marketing process, identify trends that we have seen within that framework, and briefly discuss some case examples of how the principles suggested have worked in real life and can work for your chapter. The first phase that membership marketing efforts need to address is understanding who your members are and what their needs may be. It is important to develop an objective set of data defining the members, their needs, and evaluating through their input a "basket of benefits." The use of online surveying tools such as Zoomerang and SurveyMonkey is driving this trend. Many associations and chapters are beginning to develop credible sources of data from which they can draw a better understanding of their membership and their needs. Another trend in membership marketing is the growing understanding of the impact of generational differences within the membership. We need to consider how the generation in which the chapter’s members belong affects the way that they receive, assimilate, and react to our communication efforts, including the message we wish to communicate, the way we communicate it, and the media with which we communicate. Matching missions to member needs Next is understanding the mission of the organization in the context of who your members are and what they need. A growing number of chapters are asking that very question, trying to determine if their mission is still consistent in today's context, and whether adjustments need to be made to that mission in some way. Then chapters must define the message(s) that will be used to help members and potential members understand the purpose of the chapter. It is important to communicate what the chapter can do for them, and what involvement in the chapter will bring members. Once the message(s) are defined, the next phase in the overall membership marketing process is choosing the best media with which to communicate that message in an efficacious fashion. Remember, it is important to consider the way in which different cohorts of your membership receive, assimilate, and react to messages, so you may want to evaluate your message with what the literature has begun to identify as key differences in the generations within your population. Of course, you will also need to evaluate key differences between subgroups of your membership based on the demographic differences within those specific groups. There is a trend towards attempting to substitute electronic communication for more traditional media (paper, for example) across the board. And, why not, you might ask. It is difficult to pick up a journal these days which is not touting the virtues of the new technology, the ease with which one can use it, and the long term "cost efficiency" of its use. However, we must ask ourselves if electronic communication is the better way to market our communities? While electronic communication will likely occupy an important part in our near and long term marketing efforts, we would urge caution at its wholesale substitution for some of the more traditional marketing efforts. Further, due to generational differences, not everyone is completely comfortable with technology. It might be a good suggestion to use a variety of networking and information venues, from print to electronic. Be mindful of generational differences A good example of how generational differences potentially can affect marketing decisions can be seen in two of our clients. The first is a mature organization with a fairly stable membership base. This association has a significant number of members in the "Silent Generation" and at the more mature end of the "Baby Boom" cohort. It faces the issue of how to best maximize service to its current membership base while at the same time trying to develop ways to entice younger prospects to join. It has decided to continue to use some of the more traditional methods of membership marketing (brochures, mailings, peer-to-peer networking), while at the same beginning to weave in electronic communication methodologies (blast e-mails and listservs) at a more controlled pace. The second association client has a much younger membership base that is far less stable. It came to us with a retention rate of approximately 26.8%. Working with this association, we have increased its retention rate almost 45% in 18 months. There are those within the association that believed electronic communication was the only way to go with the population of members that typically joined the association. However, in working with the association, we found that even though electronic communication was a much more important vehicle in this case, a solid mix of written and electronic marketing and communications was the better approach, with more emphasis on the electronic side for this group The next phase of the marketing process is to determine good ways to obtain feedback in regard to the efforts. Of course, the most telling way to measure those efforts is to take a look at the number of members in the association. However, associations are beginning to use technology effectively to help complement their efforts to retrieve such feedback. They are using the online tools alluded to earlier in the article; electronic "suggestion boxes" on their Web sites; e-blast communications, etc. Hopefully we won't see a slavish devotion to only the electronic, with significant reductions in the use of voice-to-voice or face-to-face opportunities to market the association and receive vital feedback to its efforts. While being cognizant of the importance of electronic tools associations must remember that they are about interpersonal relationships, a feeling of cohesion and belonging, and a need to communicate with our peers. In the future, associations must remember those guiding principles as they use more and more elaborate tools to market the association to its members. The final phase of the marketing process is to use that feedback to reevaluate all that you have done, and ensure that the association's marketing efforts are consistent with the existing context. 32 STEPS TO BEING AN OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR Whether you are communicating verbally or in writing, show that you have a solution and are willing to take responsibility to apply your solution. This will make your employees feel valued and can have a positive impact on their commitment. Demonstrate you really heard their ideas by acting on them. If you can’t act, explain as soon as possible. Staff won’t know unless you make a deliberate attempt to convey carefully the information. Hold staff meetings to report how the organization is doing, major accomplishments, concerns, announcements about staff and so forth. Do a roundtable approach to hear from each person. Take the attitude that it is better to give too much information than too little. Keep a flipchart in your work area. Write news on it regularly. Allow your people to write questions that they want to deal with at your meetings. Often, information reaches your staff before you get it. Track down the source and establish whether the information is fact or fiction. When you have the truth, let your people know right away. If there is the possibility for conflict, start off with something you both agree on. Build on areas that you have in common to establish a positive atmosphere. The word immediately puts people on the defensive. Be conscious of both what you say and how you say it. Don’t get the reputation of being someone who is very good at finding holes in the ideas of others. Demanding phrases like the following simply coercion and pressure and prompt resistance: “You should,” “you ought to,” “you must…,” “I must ask you to….” In a negotiating situation, use questions to find out what the other person’s concerns and needs might be. Try: “What do you need from me on this?” “What are your concerns about what I am asking?” Just as you need to know the other party’s needs, he or she needs to know what you need. It is important to state not only what you need but also why you need it. Often, disagreement occurs over the method for solving an issue, not the overall goal. If your preferred solution isn’t acceptable, know how far you will bend. You argue when you want to prove the other person is wrong, not to make progress in reaching an agreement, whatever the situation. Arguments often result in a power struggle. Is a major decision required? Is the issue complex? Does the matter need to be studied prior to a decision? Under those circumstances, a document is often preferable. Write as if you were talking to friends. Focus on the steak, not the sizzle. Make your first paragraph short—grab your reader’s interest and keep it by writing clearly and concisely Say what you mean clearly. Do not garble your message behind phrases that obscure or soften its impact. You can thank your employees for doing extra work without being apologetic. What is it you really want to say? What emotions do you want to express? Which ones do you not want to express? How can you communicate these through your use of language? Praise is usually welcome at any time, but avoid criticizing an employee’s work when he or she has one foot out the door and is leaving for a three-day weekend. Better to save your observations for a more receptive time. You can either delay the discussion or ask questions first to help you collect the necessary information. If you are not sure that the people to whom you are talking have understood you, ask them to repeat your message. Also, let your body language reflect the importance of what you are saying by leaning forward, opening your eyes wider and using appropriate hand gestures. Your superior wants to be prepared, to look good and in control. If you embarrass him or her, it will come back to haunt you. The grapevine will get to your boss before you do, robbing you of the chance to put your own slant on the issue. Present your ideas concisely and clearly. Your body language should reinforce your self-confidence. Lean forward and maintain eye contact on critical issues. Who are they? What do they already know? How much detail do they need? What have they experienced prior to your message? What do they want to hear? Are they paying attention? Do they care about you and what you have to say? Most people speak at an average rate of 120 words per minute. The average listening capacity is about four times faster. This difference can cause your mind to wander when another is speaking unless you focus on the speaker’s words. Don’t plan your response while the person is speaking. Don’t assume you’ll remember later. Use a tape recorder and make notes—this is one way you can get over the hurdle of a blank page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||