The Manchester 10: March 2010

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Business Model for the Summer City

There are nine factors we have to get right to successfully transform summer business for Manchester.

We have to be clear about:

1. The Key Partners in the Project; hoteliers, cultural institutions, attractions, event organisers, Visit Manchester and CityCo. We don't need everyone in the field we just need the people who see the opportunity and want to share the market opportunity.

2. Understand the customer need; the UK economy remains in fragile recovery and so are most households; the customers need great new ideas that are imaginative, value for money and exceed expectations. Further, with a Euro worth 90p and a US dollar at 66p Manchester never looked like such great value.

3. Build the value proposition. This project is not about diluting the marketing or just discounting prices we need to build a solid value proposition for the customers; great activities, great hotels and great itineraries that are really easy to book. We have to be able to assemble the packages in to a simple attractive booking format.

4. Understand the customer segment. The priority for the Summer 2010 project is family audiences.

5. Select the Channels to Market. At the moment Visit Manchester, CityCo and Late Rooms offer the easiest channels to market alongside all of the partners own on line and PR activity.

6. Establish the Key Resources. How much will it cost to tackle this project in 2010 bearing in mind the market opportunity going in to 2011, 12 and 13? If we get it right we could grow a significant new element to our businesses every year. Awareness Reliability and Responsiveness are key drivers.

7. What are the key Customer Relationships. What type of relationship does each of our customers expect us to establish and maintain with them? Is this really in the hands of the hotels or can we get in to a resort mindset where we offer a family friendly service at every outlet?

8. Revenue Streams. There are multiple revenue streams coming out of this Summer City business model. Hotel stays, retail purchases, food and drink revenue, car parking, public transport income, institutional visits, venue merchandising.

9. Cost Structure. If we really can figure out a way of working smarter and harder this summer then we will have a small increase in costs arising from marketing activities and staffing, however this is a value based business argument, we are creating value in the city in the summer. If we pull together we get economy of scale and scope.

So there it is, a business model framework and so prototype thinking.

If we do nothing then we face another 6 weeks of revenue drought this summer and pin all our hopes on a cost focused solution, can we stay shut more tightly?

If just a small band of us can deliver something in then we get the chance to build knowledge and capability to grow in 2011.

What are World Class Service doing to contribute? We are building a 5 day residential Strategic Leadership Summer Programme to help hospitality service leaders prepare for their future by hearing from Business School heavyweights and industry luminaries. Why are we doing this? Because we see that if Cornell can do it so could Manchester.

Howard Raynor with thanks to Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

Summer City Adventure

Monday 22nd saw the latest MMIE gathering, this time kindly hosted by Richard Morrell at The Palace Hotel. The purpose of the meeting was to update the group on progress made in addressing the promotion of Manchester as a family friendly summer destination specifically between 16th July - 6th September, for 2009 and onwards.

After the customary bacon butties Mike Magrane (General Manager, The Midland Hotel) opened proceedings by updating the group on the positive progress made over the previous weeks with both Marketing Manchester and LateRooms. It is expected that by the end of April, participating hotels will have family friendly rates available through Laterooms.

Desmeana Johnson of Marketing Manchester followed Mike with an unveiling of the new VisitManchester website due to launch over the coming weeks. The new website will include information on family friendly activity and is planned to link through to the Laterooms site to help families get the best information and deals for Manchester.

Howard Raynor of World Class Service also gave an update on the current trend of the 'Staycation' and that with the pound remaining weak against the Euro and Dollar, Britain remains an attractive proposition to holiday makers both at home and from abroad...the time is now to make the most of this opportunity. Howard also reminded the group about the new Manchester Made it Easy website is now available. For more information contact Andrew at World Class Service

Again, there was a great turn out with over 40 present and plenty of discussion from the floor, a lot of which focussed on the the concentration and kinds of events which could take place over this summer period in the coming years. Marketing Manchester and CityCo have committed to developing a long term strategy in promoting Manchester as a summer destination, and the MMIE gatherings are proving to be a productive forum for hoteliers, venues, cultural institutions, festivals and retailers to discuss the best way to move forward together.

The will be another meeting in around four weeks to update the group. In the meantime please send information on events (both for the summer and rest of the year) through to makeila.ellis@marketingmanchester.com

Early bird offer: Manchester Made it Easy website

The Manchester Made it Easy website has been launched at www.manchestermadeiteasy.co.uk

As well as being a one-stop-shop for hospitality and culture/leaisure businesses, the Manchester Made it Easy website is a great tool for customer facing staff. It has all the up-to-date and unbiased information that is key to delivering world class service.

Key features and benefits are:

· All the latest information from Manchester Made it Easy, including the latest on the Summer City

· A business to business website, giving the competitive advantage with up to date information on high profile conferences, openings, large scale events and news.

· Ideal for forecasting, planning and sales campaigns.

· A one-stop-shop for Manchester

· Up to date, accurate information on shopping, dining, retail, cultural opportunities and professional support all in one place

· Built, hosted and maintained in Manchester

· Suggested itineraries for different customer groups

· No pop ups, no advertising or pay for placement

· Fast, clean, easy to use

· Designed for service professionals.

· Key links for guest support

· Weekly “What’s on” sent every Monday covering key recommendations

The website is designed so that your team can save time, make confident recommendations and add value for each customer. It allows junior members of the team to provide good levels of service, even without the knowledge of their more experienced colleagues.

The Manchester Made it Easy website is geared to be a one-stop-shop and is updated on a regular basis so your team can provide interesting and personalised solutions

Happily, the service is just £10/wk. (£520/yr) per license.

Early bird discount: Sign up before April 15th to take advantage of a 10% (£52) discount on your subscription for the first 12 months

We hope that you will support us by subscribing to the site and getting involved with all activities. If you, your manager or general manager would like to subscribe or would like to discuss further then please email Andrew at World Class Service.