Data, it's often described as 'the new gold' and in the last few years, we've seen a race from destinations to really get their house in order.
What started out as a discussion on 'big data', with few grasping the significance in terms of strategic implications, has now become a major priority for most DMOs. Here at the DTTT, we've seen a gradual sophistication from DMOs over the last five years when it comes to tackling the topic of data, from those who were just getting started, surfacing a lot of thoughts, ideas and questions to the many who today are working comprehensively on impressive strategies where data forms the core.
What started out as a discussion on 'big data', with few grasping the significance in terms of strategic implications, has now become a major priority for most DMOs. Here at the DTTT, we've seen a gradual sophistication from DMOs over the last five years when it comes to tackling the topic of data, from those who were just getting started, surfacing a lot of thoughts, ideas and questions to the many who today are working comprehensively on impressive strategies where data forms the core.
What started out as a discussion on 'big data', with few grasping the significance in terms of strategic implications, has now become a major priority for most DMOs. Here at the DTTT, we've seen a gradual sophistication from DMOs over the last five years when it comes to tackling the topic of data, from those who were just getting started, surfacing a lot of thoughts, ideas and questions to the many who today are working comprehensively on impressive strategies where data forms the core.
Today, we are seeing a totally different relationship with data emerging to those early exploratory developments a few years ago. The one key thing is that 'succeeding with data' is just not as simple as the term may suggest. There are many degrees of separation between adopting a more data-driven marketing strategy and being a data-led organisation, where investment in machine learning and AI are widespread throughout your operations.
Wherever you are on that data journey, it helps to set things out clearly and know exactly where you are going. If there's one thing that's clear, commanding a good data strategy requires a clear understanding of why and a precise definition of what data is needed to get us there. Whilst 'big' data may sound exciting, a selective and targeted approach will lead us to results.
To help break it down, it's worth considering first off how we can break the silos that exist between departments and how data may be the key to this. Data is changing the way destinations work, from traditionally working in departmental silos on long-term planning to real-time cross-collaboration around actioning data insights. Think about how data transcends strategy, marketing and research and how the convergence of data and data fluency across these departments can lead to greater integration and coherence at a holistic level. In this sense, data can be a catalyst for wider change.
Then, think about the different ways in which data plays a role, here are just four but if you look inside your organisation there are surely many more specific applications.
With that set, you can start to think about different scenarios and how data may play a role in supporting your DMO's strategy, here are three pillars you may want to consider in your strategy.
Aggregating data from a wide range of sources, Destination X can create an ‘open data’ strategy for operators to exploit and a business intelligence dashboard so everyone can make data-informed decisions.
We want to be an enabler in empowering our tourism industry to make data driven marketing decisions.
Combining user data and private data shared by industry partners, Destination X can target content and optimise messaging to users based on the sites they visit, the content they engage with and actions they take, known as ‘signals’.
We want to understand and target visitors based on their search preferences and online behaviour.
By leveraging data on flight connections, capacity, and booking data, Destination X can react in an agile way to prioritising markets and run campaigns using automation to target users according to propensity, message and booking window.
We want to prioritise markets based on connectivity, capacity and booking & purchase patterns among users.
Once you know where you're going with data, it's time to start organising. As mentioned above, it's important to be selective and focused. Big data is great, it'll enable so much incredible intelligence and solutions, but it's important to focus on the data that you need to have. This is important not only for you and your team's sanity but also in consideration of privacy laws such as GDPR, you should only retain data that you need to have.
When thinking about the role of data in any strategy, you'll invariably start to realise that getting to grips with the data available to you is a really crucial starting point. To navigate this, think about:
Once you've got an idea of that, you can start to think about getting ready for your data journey, considering:
Below is a simple wall chart you can use to work with your teams, or make into a remote wall, to start exploring the different sets of data you have access to, or might want to get hold of.
To help with that, you can start to think about the many different touchpoints along the visitor journey and what kind of data might be available to do. There really is an almost infinite range of possibilities here, so we've only put a smattering together in the below chart, but just consider that every interaction, partner, transaction, enquiry, channel and so on comprises incredibly rich data. Sometimes, the question is not what, but how can we negotiate access to that data.
Once you truly start to get a grip of data, by organising it thoroughly and consistently and understanding what data is going to do for you, it's time to start thinking about exploiting data.
Data has a role to play in almost every aspect of the work you do today. The classic examples you will probably be most familiar with are those destinations leveraging the potential of data for enablement, helping their industry to tap into and fully exploit open data, business intelligence tools and real-time interpretation of data to promote a culture of data-driven decision making.
Turismo de Portugal is probably one of the best examples of an NTO doing this with their TravelBI Platform, which has been widely recognised as 'the next chapter' for DMOs working with data.
Watch this talk from Sergio Guerreiro, Senior Director for Knowledge Management and Innovation at Turismo de Portugal.
Then there are those who are working with data to accomplish more specific aims, such as the Thompson Okanagan Region, which is currently charting out their new journey when it comes to data, aiming to have a sustainable destination strategy, which is fully underpinned by data. You can read the full case study here and download additional slides.
Watch this talk from Glenn Mandziuk, President and CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association together with Birka Valentin, an independent consultant, explaining their data journey.
Aside from these two more holistic approaches, you will no doubt be most familiar with the discussion around data when it comes to marketing. Every decision in destination marketing today should be underpinned by data, from choosing the right creative to evolving the message to targeting and conversion, but how can we consider the choices in front of us?
Whilst this is by no means exhaustive, a good place to start is by mapping out the different ay you might want to up your game when it comes to optimising every step in your marketing funnel.
Here, we thought it would be useful to frame the opportunity of data in destination marketing into three strategic pillars, looking at data touchpoints, behavioural insights and commercial data.
So with these different strategic approaches considered, you can start with a data-driven marketing strategy, which requires you to map out the visitor journey according to data insights, touchpoints and an evolving message.
Whether you’re just getting started or well on the path to maturity, maximising the potential of data requires a strategic, approach, which considered key principals.
Then when mapping the journey towards data maturity, consider this. Big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning have become key buzzwords amongst marketers.
Realising the potential of automation, however, must go hand-in-hand with data maturity, strategy and leadership.
Lastly, whatever you do, be sure to stay grounded. Pursuing a data strategy is a significant investment for any destination, make sure to know what you want to achieve from data before rushing in.
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