COVID-19: Business Continuity and Recovery.

The Post-Pandemic Recovery

By Mauricio Ruiz Arnaut.

Most business owners are always thinking about how to improve their business strategies for future eventualities and growth. However, in an uncertain situation like the one we are living in these days, it is almost impossible for everyone to be fully prepared. That does not mean that you cannot take suitable steps to develop systems to improve the existing progression of your business. Although the pandemic is front and centre in most aspects of life and business right now, it is important not to focus all your efforts solely on a COVID-19 related strategy. Take this opportunity to make a plan that will benefit your organization in the long term and provide your customers and clients with enough information to see you as a long-time partner and keep their loyalty. What worked yesterday may not work today, so give them a reason to keep believing in what you have to offer.

 Continuity

Not every business will make it through this crisis. Businesses that will clearly not survive are best to cut their losses as soon as possible to avoid incurring continued and new debt. We have seen this already in several cases across Canada. Organizations that can keep moving forward will need to adapt to renew. Circumstances are not necessarily 100% negative and changes are not necessarily bad if done with the right approach and proper strategy.

It is important to move forward with proven strategies that still apply in post-pandemic operations and revamp them to create that shift that will make your business/industry meet your customer’s new necessities. Focus on strengths that project the adaptability of your business, and pay special attention where you see weaknesses in your operations. At the same time, as noted in a recent Forbes article, do not lose track of small changes that, when strung together, represent an important part of the whole picture.

Implementation

Tourism is an example of a hard-hit industry that continues to respond and adapt amid closed borders and great uncertainty. Rather than focusing energy on trying to prevent existing reservations from being canceled, many destinations and companies have done their best to make sure that reservations were rescheduled for later dates. The message to travelers is that not everything is lost and they will able to take those well-deserved holidays at a later date. The goal is to minimize the loss of revenue and expenses that they have already incurred. At the same time, they are reaching out to their local communities and encouraging people to spend their next holidays, traveling within, to help local economies bounce back.

The events industry has been forced to pivot/experiment with virtual events, to keep educating customers/students/stakeholders with important topics in their field. This does not mean that events, as we know them, will not happen again, but in the meantime, demand for events remains and it needs to be fulfilled.

Communicating

Clients will be searching for businesses they trust and are clear on their practices/values. Communicate empathy to clients and potential clients to show that your company is there to support them and the community. The tone should be relatable and communicate that we are all in this together. Inform clients about any changes that the company has made and any measures taken to support them during a difficult time.

Communication is key in these times and a wide variety of methods should be used. Remember that customers and potential clients/people, in general, are spending more time online, due to social distancing. Be there to connect and support with any information that could be essential to make their buying decisions seem effortless.

 

Make Your Corporate Event a Success: Important Things to Consider When Planning an Event.

Corporate events are one of the best tactics for putting a face to the name of a company. They allow organizations to connect with stakeholders in a personal way. Organizing a corporate event is not an easy task, but it does not have to be a pain either. An approach that focuses on the goals and planning needs of an event is key to success, whether you are a for-profit or a not for profit organization.

Here are some important considerations:

1.- Organizing and Planning.
Start with a project plan.  This is a to-do list of sorts that includes all the details about your event (before, during and after), which helps you to keep track of what needs to be done and who is responsible. Having a project plan does not mean that some things cannot change last minute, but it helps minimize the likelihood of challenges along the way.

2.- Goals.
Why is this event important? what are you trying to accomplish?
The event goals need to be very clear as communicating internal changes, launching new products or services or hosting a client appreciation event require different approaches.  It is very important to match what the event is attempting to communicate to the audience.

3.- Guests.
Make sure you have a clear target audience and a complete invitation list. Knowing your guest profile will help select the event format and venue. Be certain to send invitations at least 4 weeks in advance. Some people will confirm within a couple of days, some will take longer. However, the more advance time they have to schedule the event the better. But no matter what the situation is, be ready to do some follow up to keep your guest list up to date, and people interested. Also, keep in mind that some people will cancel, others will not show up and some may confirm last minute. 85% attendance is considered a good turnout, so factor that in to your logistical plans.

4.- Agenda and Format.
The agenda and event format need to include topics and opportunities for engagement that are relevant for your target audience, sponsors and V.I.P.s, in order to increase the likelihood of a good turnout.  Guests need to see the value the event offers or they will not attend. Also, be sure to avoid cramming too much into the agenda or important messaging will be lost.

5. Budget.
The budget will ultimately determine the size, format and location of the event. Obtaining several quotes and alternatives is helpful for building a budget with the best value and one that allows you to adapt to change if required. We recommend leaving some room for budget flexibility in case the opportunity arises to grow the event or an unforeseen situation arises (a required change in venue, for example).

6.- Venue.
Consider how many people you’d like to host and whether you will need to offer options for guest accommodation. Decide in advance whether you will require in-house catering, AV, decoration, liquor (and licensing), etc.  There are both inclusive and bare bones venue options, which have different pros and cons.

7.- Event Promotion.
Creating a positive buzz is important. Doing the right marketing for your event does not need to be super expensive as having the right strategy could go further than you think. Getting everybody involved by using social media, an email campaign and other advertising channels would help to generate the right buzz.

Marketing and communications strategies should start early and continue for a few weeks after the event in order to harness maximum impact.

8.- Team Collaboration.
Start by clarifying roles and deadlines. Schedule periodic meetings with your team to track the project plan progress. This will ensure everything is on time, budget and allow for adjustments as necessary.

If you are planning your first corporate event, remember to plan for every phase of the event in advance. This will ensure you stay organized and on top of every step of the way. An event is a project that requires detailed planning, teamwork and time dedication. If you do not have the capacity to follow each phase of the process, be sure to engage a professional to assist you so that your event investment is a success that provides generous results.

Contact Sinclair and Ruiz to learn more about how we can assist and help you to organize your next corporate event: info@sinclairandruiz.com

Mauricio Ruiz
Business Development

Canadian Travel to Mexico Positioned to Break Record.

We recently had the opportunity to interview Cesar Mendoza, Regional Director for Canada for the Mexican Tourism Board, about growth in the number of Canadians traveling to Mexico. Mendoza said that numbers have been steadily increasing this year, and by the end of the year they expect a record-breaking volume of travelers. That underscores the confidence Canadian travelers have in Mexico as a tourist destination. Cesar also noted the challenges that Mexico faces and the way to overcome them; as well as expected tendencies such as focusing on the segments of culture and traditions of Mexico, to give  Canadian travelers unique experiences that will inspire them. To conclude the interview, he told us what the Mexican Tourism Board expects for 2019.

As background information, it is worth noting that Canada is an important source of visitors to Mexico (datatur), second only to the United States since 2006. Canadians not only travel to beach destinations but flock to cultural festivals, because of the ancestral abundance and their values. Therefore, according to Cesar “Mexico will keep creating/developing experiences to traditional and non-traditional destinations, tailor-made for new generations of travelers such as millennials”.

What are the results for 2018 in terms of numbers, and what do you expect for the end of the season?

According to the latest report from the Mexican Tourism Board, between January-August 2018, Mexico received  12.6 million international visitors by air. That represents a 5% increase over the same period in  2017. During that same period, 1.5 million Canadian visitors traveled to Mexico by air, which is a 15% increase over to 2017. By the end of 2018, for the first time ever, Mexico expects to welcome the arrival of over  2 million Canadian visitors, expecting a final number of 2.2 million, that would represent an increase of almost 12% compared to 2017.

Challenges that Mexico faces for 2019?

There are different factors (negative and positive) that affect the flow of tourists to our country. Among the positive factors that benefit an increase in the flow of Canadians to México is the exchange rate (CAD vs USD), making it more attractive to travel to Mexico than any other destination in the United States. The economic factor of a possible recession causes Canadians to react in advance and postpone or change travel plans.

On the other hand, the immigration rhetoric in the USA has fostered a change in Canadian travel plans for many who now decide to visit Mexico instead. Another factor that affects the tourism industry, are natural disasters like the hurricanes that unfortunately affected some Caribbean islands. That creates a positive flow of travelers to Mexico from Canada and other countries.

The biggest challenge that our country must face for the 2018-2019 season, is the perception of insecurity. Mexico makes very important and significant efforts, to fight groups that negatively affect the country’s image; and at the same time, we work to communicate events and news in the right context. For example, sensationalist notes that do not specify the exact location of negative events, immediately impact reservations to tourist destinations in Mexico.  Canadian travelers are very objective in comparison to US travelers at the moment of making travel decisions. However, negative news affects the image and in most cases, the final destination choice.

What are the predictions and tendencies for travel to Mexico in 2019?

Mexico’s commercial allies, especially airlines and tour operators, continue growing business ties with Mexico.  Our forecast for 2019 shows an increase in the number of seats per plane to Mexico by 10% versus 2018. Recently the Mexican airline Interjet started operations in the Canadian market with flights to Cancun and Mexico City from the main airports in Canada. This has resulted in an increase of an additional 184,000 seats for 2018. The low-cost airline Swoop just announced flights from YHM airport in Hamilton, Ontario to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta starting in January 2019; and on January the 12th they will start operating a flight from YXX in Abbotsford to Puerto Vallarta and on January the 20^th to Mazatlán.

In 2019, the Mexican Tourism Board will continue with their strategy of distinguishing beach and sun destinations from others, and highlighting their competitive advantages and emphasizing the value that they offer through the segments such as culture, gastronomy among other. Equally, Mexico will continue developing new experiences in our traditional and non-traditional destinations, to tailor to the needs of new generations, specifically “millennials.” We are not only looking to increase the number of travelers, as we would love to see every traveler venture out of their hotels and enjoy the wonderful attractions and delightful  Mexican food.

What is Cesar Mendoza’s opinion?

Canada is our second largest source of international travelers to Mexico after the U.S. In 2017, 1.9 million plus Canadians arrived in Mexico, that translates in an increase of 9% more than the previous year, as I mentioned we expect to close 2018 with a 12% increase. Air Canada, Aeromexico, Air Transat, Interjet, Sunwing and Westjet are some of our main commercial allies that operate between Canada and Mexico on a regular basis from 23 airports in Canada and 13 Mexican destinations.

Due to the geographic characteristics of Canada (the second largest country in the world), the cultural characteristics of each region and the French language in the Province of Quebec, Mexico’s Tourism Board features three offices in Canada which are based in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. We work very closely with the local tourism industry and analyze aspects and tendencies that affect the flow of tourism.

Having a presence in the three main regions of Canada allows us to take the correct actions in conjunction with our head office in Mexico.

Wrapping up…

We would like to thank Cesar for taking the time to answer our questions and sharing this valuable and interesting information.

The responses outlined above support the premise that market intelligence is crucial for decision-making around defining and developing the best marketing strategy. By doing this we can determine with precision how to best fit into the market to meet the needs of consumers, identify areas of opportunity for market penetration and for market development, among others. All of that will help to increase and retain customers, generate revenue, and generate leads. Furthermore interpreting market intelligence is key for long-term results.

Mauricio Ruiz Arnaut
Business Development.

 

 

Case Study: Promoting Trade in a Foreign Market

A business organization hired the Sinclair and Ruiz team to develop a communication strategy directed to potential trade partners for their members. S&R prepared the speech and presentation for the client’s event in New York.

The goal was to present  business opportunities and competitive advantages in an effective manner.

Shortly after the communication strategy launch, the client received inquiries from buyers looking to be connected to

the members of the organization who could fulfill their demand for products. Thus, the persuasive communication strategy generated concrete results.

Contact us info@sinclairandruiz.com to discuss how we can assist with the design and execution of effective strategies to open new markets and strengthen relationships with existing clients.

Case Study: Fly and Buy Discovery Week Campaign

Sinclair and Ruiz promoted and coordinated a Discovery Week trip for a developer client who was seeking to promote awareness of their new rental and property management service; along with the remaining units available for sale in their latest condominium project.  The campaign was designed to convert leads obtained through different marketing efforts into clients.

Our team assisted with the design and implementation of the Discovery Week invitation and travel logistics. In order to engage with the leads, we designed a communications strategy to speak to the needs and emotional wishes of the prospective clients. We delivered this communication strategy via inbound marketing efforts, and providing easy contact with our branded representatives for interested parties. Upon reaching the desired level of engagement we maintained frequent communication with the prospective clients to answer questions, assist with travel arrangements, collect any required fees, and increase excitement about the Discovery Week.

To support our developer client, assisted in the design of the Discovery Week Schedule, in order to optimize the possibility of obtaining successful fly and buy sales results.

At the campaign conclusion, our client obtained a 52% conversion rate of prospective clients that paid their own flight and a discounted condominium rental rate to spend a week at the units available for rent. In addition to earning new rental clients, our client sold condominium units by the end of the Discovery Week, thus generating a short term return on their investment.

 

Contact Sinclair and Ruiz today at info@sinclairandruiz.com to learn how we can design and manage your successful Fly and Buy campaign. www.sinclairandruiz.com

Points to Consider for Successful Press Trips

• Objective. Determine what you want to achieve and the line of communication that you want to transmit. Target the media you want to invite accordingly and the numbers you can successfully host. Quantity of journalists should not be the objective.

 

• Plan ahead.  Often press trips are planned with only a few weeks advance notice. The more time there is to plan and provide journalists with detailed information, the better.

 

• Collaborate. The team in charge of logistics on the ground should work closely with the agency or persons coordinating with the media.

 

• Individual media visits vs. group press trips.  Many journalists participate on group trips on a regular basis, and prefer group activities. Yet many others will not participate in group trips, period. Depending on the industry and size of the company/organization launching a PR strategy it is important to decide if individual media visits will be accommodated. If you host a group, make sure your itinerary is relevant to their interests. If you host an individual visit, get to know the journalist before he or she visits.

 

• Downtime/ free time. Press trip hosts understandably want to show their media guests as much as possible.  However, in a recent survey conducted by S&R we found free time was a “must have” for all respondents.  This includes sufficient time between tours and meals for your guests to change and rest.

 

• Internet access. Press trips are work trips. This means media reps need to work on stories and stay in touch with their office. It is imperative that guests have easy access to internet at all hours.  Hotel room internet access is preferred, but as some hotels begin to focus internet usage in common areas it is important that the setting is comfortable, and provides privacy if needed.

 

•  Flexibility. Group visits should allow flexibility within reason. It is especially important to accommodate certain requests that are in reference to assigned story topics.

 

• Hour by hour itineraries.  Everyone is different. Often journalists who have never visited a destination prefer more detailed itineraries, whereas journalists who are familiar prefer less structure. It is important to assign reasonable start and end times so the days are not too long.

There will always be imperfections during press trips, but when they are well organized they can generate great benefits. A couple of weeks ago we received a note from a  journalist for whom we arranged a media visit. He wrote “[the] trip was one of the best media trips I’ve been on, and I’ve been on quite a few! My hat is off to you… and everyone who helped. I was very pleased with all the arrangements, schedule, etc. Outstanding  trip.”  Our client benefited from two months of premium national exposure through the print and online circulation of this journalists article. The article’s message was consistent with the client’s communication strategy, and that is what defines a successful press trip.

Elements of Successful Marketing Campaigns

I’d like to share some elements that have made marketing campaigns successful in our experience:

• Effective communication and promotions that are attractive to the target audience. In addition to a new audience, the communication strategy should motivate contacts who have known about the company for over a year – but had not done business with the company – to finally respond to the call to action.
• The strategy should take into account past strategies that worked as well as strategies that  may been good ideas originally – but weren’t implemented properly. They should be modified to fit into the objectives of the current campaign if it is thought they can meet the needs of the target market.
• The campaign execution should include plenty of follow-up with  prospects along the way.
• The strategy design and execution phases need to run their course without being rushed. Each phase should be implemented without cutting corners. Once the campaign ends, it is importante for the client’s staff to continue to engage the segments of brand new audiences who were not ready to act right away.

Marketing Strategy vs. Execution: Ending the Blame Game for the Sake of Success

Blame is often distributed generously when companies don’t obtain the expected return on investment. Most often, the “execution” phase becomes the accused party. As noted in a recent article in the Harvard Business Journal, it is common for businesses to follow the mantra that “a mediocre strategy well executed is better than a great strategy poorly executed.”[1] The article argues that the metaphor is misguided, and that having a good strategy is important. Therefore, a poor strategy won’t cut it even with a spectacular execution.

We agree. Success depends to a great extent on a sound strategy – because even great execution simply follows a blue print. A key element to designing a good strategy is considering the realities and needs of the business from the perspective of the staff that will execute strategy, as well as management’s expectations.  Communication across the board is important if you want to start on the right foot.

Having said that, once you have a sound strategy  it is not wise to underestimate the importance of the execution phase. Follow-up, guidance and communication will continue to be necessary throughout the execution phase.  This way management can determine if processes are flowing effectively and  if there are any areas for improvement.

Strategy and execution go hand-in hand. Although it is essential to stick to the strategy’s framework, it is also important to allow it a measure of flexibility. Thus, the strategy can be modified or improved according to the needs of the company’s day to day operations. Companies and – especially- organizations that depend on external funding are subject to ebbs and flows, and do not always operate under ideal circumstances.  The strategy must be able to adapt to changes.

In conclusion, strategies should not be abstract concepts designed from the top-down. Their design requires communication with all levels of the company to become truly effective. Execution must be properly monitored to ensure the strategy is implemented correctly. Both phases are important and fulfill specific needs. Both must be approached seriously if your goal is success rather than reaching a state of “good enough”.

CIS

Carolina@sinclairandruiz.com

www.sinclairandruiz.com/marketing

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[1] Roger L. Martin, “Drawing a line between strategy and execution almost guarantees failure,” Harvard Business Review, July – August 2010, 66.