Ten Strategies to Grow Your Conferencing and Catering Business · and Conferencing Business ......

12/1/2010

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Ten Fundamentals for Growing Your Cateringand Conferencing Business

CECS 2010Tim Copeland

December 1, 20101

Copyright 2010, DemandEngine, Inc.

Your challenges?

• Generate more revenue

• Do more with less

• Staff reductions

• Attention to value andROI

• Shorter time frames

• Public perception ofmeetings and events

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Conferencing units with well-developedbusiness development plans will thrive,

while others will be contracted oroutsourced. We have to be good stewards

and effective managers.


1. Current environment

2. Ten fundamentals for growing your cateringand conferencing business

3. Three recommendations to move forward

Agenda

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Your business?

• Run a dedicatedconferencing facility?

• More than 60% ofrevenues from campus?

• Part of a CE unit?Housing?

• Directors?

• Programmanagers/coordinators?

• Furlough days?

5


Q&A

• What are you seeing in yourmarket?

– External?

– Campus?

• Seeking new revenue sources?

– Explain

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A New Economic Reality

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Competition

• New trend – holdingmeetings atcustomer sites

• From $1,000 to $87per day

• Reduce costs

• Inspiration

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Sometimes we are not user-friendly

• Secret shopping university conferencing units

• Emails

• Web forms

• Phone calls

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Example: The Delay

• We were returning their voicemail

• Transferred multiple times

• 30% of our call time was onhold

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Example: The Web Shuffle

• The prospect was on thephone,

• … yet sent to website tocomplete application

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“Who are you again?”

• Transferred, disconnected,and interrogated

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Pass the buck

• A leisurely stroll through anorganizational web

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Other examples

“I called number provided on website. Representativeanswered…found out he was ‘in a bucket/fork lift’.Yelled to other staff to ask how to transfer calls. Verynice person, but not the most professionalexperience.” DemandEngine researcher

“Representative bordered on being combative.Questioned which facility I was calling about andthen basically talked me out of doing business there.Ended call suggesting I call the other facility.”DemandEngine researcher

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What this means

• An already competitive businessjust got tougher

• Downward pressure reducingstate budgets – reduction inacademic conferences and travel

• Corporations looking toimprove/innovate meetings,reduce costs, and improve travelprocesses

• To compete, we have to be user-friendly

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2. Ten fundamentals for growing yourcatering and conferencing business


Agenda

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Ten Fundamentals

1. A business-development mindset

2. Clear and realistic goals

3. Management by the conference funnel

4. A written business development plan

5. Development of an adequate inquiry pool

6. Efficient means for follow-up

7. Methods to manage the conference funnel

8. Use of information systems

9. Management reporting and progress towardbusiness objectives

10.Outward-looking business processes17

Fundamental #1:A business-development mindset

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Conferencing is sometimes viewed as‘easy money’

“Everyone who has an extraroom or two thinks they

have a conferencecenter…I’m surprised wehaven’t seen the FuneralHome and Conference

Center.”Louise Silberman, Summit Executive Centre


A business-development mindset

Inhibitors

• “Return revenue”

• No pressure to set goalsand accountability

• Realization that acommitment to growgenerally includesnew/shifting resources

• Lack of pipeline reporting

• Disconnect with staff

Questions?

• How have you ‘designed’your product?

• How many are looking togrow conferencing/eventbusiness?

• How do you set goalstoday?

• When do you set goals?

• How do you currentlyreport on goalattainment?

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Fundamental #2:Clear and realistic goals


Clear and realistic goals

Setting targets

• ‘Grow’ is not anactionable goal

• Simply looking at revenueis like driving by yourrear-view mirror

Questions

• How are your goalsdetermined? Considerpotential? Capacity?

• Do you ‘reverse engineer’your goals?

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Fundamental #3:Manage by the conference funnel


Funnel Example

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Manage by the funnel

Developing a pipeline

• Forward-looking

• Improves forecasting

• Failure to recordconferencing inquiries

Questions

• Do you record inquiriestoday? Why or why not?

• Pathway? Proposals tocontracts? How many?Conversion rates?

• What do you track?

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Fundamental #4:A written, business-development plan

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What’s in a plan?

• Clear goals by marketsegment andproduct/service offering

• Strategies for achievingyour goals – at least oneper goal

• Success indicators

• Defines accountability


The ‘plan’

Writing a plan

• Tendency to get lost inSWOT, etc.

• A list of stuff (e.g.directories,advertisements)

• Reluctance to commit

Questions

• Do you have adocumented businessdevelopment plan? Whyor why not?

• Elements of your plan?Good and bad?

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Fundamental #5:Development of an inquiry pool


Growing conferencing revenues

• … is really a simplebusiness

• In order to have anevent, what musthappen?

– A customer with aconferencing need

– Raise their hand

– Qualify

– Propose

– Sign

Customers

Contracts

Proposals

Inquiries

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Five approaches to finding customers

1. Solicitation

2. Self-initiated

3. Referrals

4. Past customers

5. Events


Psst … Your online presence is important

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72%

67%

61%

69%

60%

54%

60%20%

25%

25%

20%

15%

14%

15%

6%

4%

6%

6%

9%

14%

5%

<$500

$500-$1,000

$1,000-$2,500

$2,500-$5,000

$5,000-$10,000

$10,000-$50,000

$50,000+

Budget ranges

Search engine

Known manuf. ofthe product

Portal for theindustry

Source: Enquiro, October 2004

“Where would be the first place you would go online to find out more abouta product or service?”

Base: approx. 1500 business respondents

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UCSB is ready for business

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Copyright 2010, DemandEngine, Inc.34

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How you rank

35

University name City Search term 1First

page?

Google

maps?

Possible

competitors,

Natural Search,

1st page

Possible

competitors,

paid search,

1st page

University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles los angeles conference center yes no 13 5

University of California, Berkeley Berkeley berkeley conference center yes yes 4 0

University of California, Merced Merced merced conference center yes no 5 1

University of California, Santa

BarbaraSanta Barbara santa barbara conference center no no 7 1

University of California, San Diego San Diego san diego conference center no no 10 4

University of California, Riverside Riversideriverside california conference

centeryes no 5 1

University of California, Davis Davis davis california conference center yes no 6 0

Source: DemandEngine


Developing an inquiry pool

Inhibitors

• Ability to manage multiplepoints of entry

• Inputting all inquiries

• Tracking the source, dateof inquiry, and timeframe

Questions

• What sources provideyou measurableinquiries? What’sworking?

• What offer strategies doyou use to get prospectsto raise their hands?

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Fundamentals #6 & 7:Efficient means for follow-up andmanaging the funnel


Efficiently managing the funnel

Inhibitors

• Lack of resources makethis seem impossible

• Inconsistent follow-up

• Too few communicationsparticularly with pastcustomers

• Requires systematiccommunicationsapproach (e.g. print,email, phone)

Questions

• How do yousystematically follow-upwith past customers?

• What happens whensomeone inquires?

• Do you treat the decisionprocess as a considered-purchase? Why or whynot?

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Fundamental #8:Use of information systems


Databases

Inhibitors

• Non-existent or shadowdatabase systems– “the Book”

• Failure to utilizecapabilities of existingsystems

• Lack of databasecompetency among staff

Questions

• How do you manage yourcustomer informationtoday?

• How would you rate yourown data quality?

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Fundamental #9:Management reporting and progresstoward business objectives


A Reporting Example

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Conferencing Pipeline ReportWeek ending March 20, 2010

FY2011 FY2010 - YTD FY2010 - FINAL FY2009 - FINAL

Inquiries 200 225 300 350

Proposals 90 125 150 170

Contracts Signed 23 35 50 58

Conversion rate 45% 56% 50% 49%

Yield (close) rate 26% 28% 33% 34%

Source: DemandEngine, Inc.

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Management reporting

Inhibitors

• Unsure what to measure

• Not defining what tomeasure

• People issues

• Lack of process systemsand technology

Questions

• What reporting do youuse today to manageyour business? Top fivereports?

• What adjustments do youmake to your plans basedon the data?

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Fundamental #10:Outward-looking business processes

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Recent research

• Shopping scenarios

– Corporate leadership retreat - 25 participants

– day meeting, 30-50 participants, breakfast andlunch, 1 large room, 1 breakout room, audiovisual

Copyright 2010, DemandEngine, Inc.46

Date/time email

submitted

Date/time

response

received

Qualifying

questions?Capture info? Ask to call?

Any follow-up

after their

initial

response?

Is this

organization

easy to do

business with?

General observations

11/16/10 @10:22 11/16/10 @3:14 no yes, they asked for my number to call me no yes

She responded quickly but just asked me

for my phone number to discuss the scope

of the event.

11/16/10 @10:25 none n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

11/16/10 @10:26 none n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

11/16/10 @10:33 11/16/10 @12:45 no

They already had my basic info from the

web form I completed. She asked the

age group that would be attending the

meeting & if I was located in the LA area.

no yes

She responded quickly. She was very

helpful but ultimately re-directed me to a

person in another group that had a more

appropriate meeting site. She said they

recently posted some ads on Facebook &

asked if that was how I heard of them.

11/16/10 @10:27 11/16/10 @5:33 no no no yes

They emailed a respose quickly. They

indicated that one of the dates requested

was not available. They attached a

document with information regarding

their rates & provided a phone number for

further questions.

11/16/10 @10:28 none n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

11/16/10 @10:36 none n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Source: DemandEngine

UCLA Catering and Meeting Rooms

UC-Berkeley

UC-Merced

UCSB

UCSD

UC-Riverside

UC-Davis

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Outward-looking business processes

Focus on your customer

• Most are organized byhow we want customersto do business with us

• Secret-shopping revealssometimes delayed andnon-existent follow-up

• Beware: the morechannels you open, themore you have tomanage

Questions

• What’s the experiencelike for your customers?Internally? Externally?

• How many one-stopshops do we have?



2. Ten fundamentals for growing your catering andconferencing business


Agenda

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Three Recommendations

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1. Start with clear goalsand measurableobjectives



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2. Reverse engineer yourgoals into funnel metrics

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3. Develop a written,business-developmentplan connecting actionswith results


If you would like a copy of theseslides, leave your business card

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Tim CopelandManaging Partner

Email [email protected] 912-354-8007Web www.demandengine.comBlog www.enrollmentmarketing.orgTwitter www.twitter.com/tim_copeland

How we can help

ASSESSMENT

•Audits on current marketingapproaches

•Secret shopping institutionaltouch points

•Developing audience profiles

PLANNING

•Business development strategy•Communications planning

Outsource Services

•Email marketing programs

•Search engine marketing

•Social marketing

For upcoming events, researchreports, and white papers visit:

www.demandengine.com

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