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 Those Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer
By Dr. Don Holecek, Director of the Tourism Resource Center
Driving to the office one morning this week with the radio tuned to a local oldies station, the local D.J. was playing a tune with the oft repeated line that goes something like, “Bring on those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…with pretzels, soda and beer.” The news followed with a lead story highlighting more signs that the economy is rebounding but noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a couple of hundred points and falling rapidly. Market analysts were quoted as attributing the decline to more disappointing corporate profit reports and news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was launching an investigation into the accounting practices of yet another major U.S. corporation.
The summer of 2002 has been marked by “lazy” corporate profit reports, more revelations of “hazy” accounting practices, and “crazy” gyrations in stock prices. While the song lyrics are apt descriptors of the summer we are experiencing, it is surely not the type of summer the songwriter had in mind when coining these lyrics. But, there may be room to be optimistic. The “pretzels, soda and beer” piece of the lyrics may yet salvage Michigan’s peak summer tourism season. After all, summer is the time that Midwesterners look forward to, through seemingly endless weeks of less than ideal winter weather. The summer is just too short to allow all of the negative news to keep us from enjoying our “pretzels, soda and beer” in Michigan's great outdoors.
It’s much to early for Michigan tourism businesses to write-off the summer of 2002 as a “lost cause.” Our on-going regional travel market survey consistently indicates that, pleasure travelers’ planning horizons are relatively short (i.e., 30 days or less for about two-thirds of the trips taken in Michigan). Destinations have yet to be selected for more than 50% of the trips that will ultimately be taken between now and summer’s end.
What adjustments in your marketing strategy might work to capture a bigger than average share of the large number of summer travelers who still haven’t selected their destinations? It is important to recognize that your potential customers are more price-sensitive now than they have been in several years. This is understandable, given unemployment in Michigan approaching 7% and steep declines in the stock market. They are as time stressed as ever, and they are inclined to stay closer to home than usual and travel by car. Gasoline prices remain moderate, which is a further enticement for them to take an auto trip before summer’s end. With this knowledge of your potential customers in mind, what adjustments to your marketing mix (i.e., place, price, promotion, product) are most likely to trigger a purchase decision?
Place – You obviously can’t change your location, but you can emphasize proximity in your marketing messages and concentrate your marketing dollars within the region from which you have the best prospects for attracting drive-in trade.
Price – Like it or not, the customer is in the mood for discounts, and sellers of all stripes—auto dealers, clothing stores and even luxury hotels—are lowering prices to meet consumers’ expectations. But, there are ways to offer the discounts needed to attract customer interest that are less damaging to your bottom line than others. For example, when occupancy rates are low, a hotelier might offer half-price mid-week nights to customers who pay the full rate for three weekend nights.
Promotion – Don’t stop investing in promotion, rather promote smarter than ever before. For most businesses, past customers are the prospects to target first. Customer service staff should not allow a customer to leave without promoting a return visit. While offering incentives should always be considered, it is often enough to simply inform customers of upcoming events in the area that may wet their appetite for a return visit. You might also send an e-mail or “snail mail” thank-you note to recent customers, including an invitation to return and emphasizing specific reasons to come again.
Product – It is important to recognize that a Michigan summer pleasure trip is not a commodity; rather it is a bundle of products, services and other variables that combine to produce experiences and memories. Weather, special events, available activities, and other elements that go into creating a Michigan travel experience, vary as the season progresses. These changes, in effect, alter your product from week to week, but few tourism businesses bother to reflect such product changes in promotional messages. This would be a good year to begin informing the traveling public about how a visit to your area in mid-August differs from a visit in mid-June. This need not be an especially costly change to implement. A news release to travel writers or regular updating of information on your web site come to mind as good places to start.
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