And now it’s time to begin creating a Marketing Plan! In the previous class we focused on business structure, now we’re going to look at getting your company’s message out there into the world.

As we said in class, keep in mind that you’re still fundamentally selling a product that solves a problem. Let’s start there.

What is the problem your tour company solves?

It could be a customer’s desire to discover the hidden, local food gems in a neighborhood. Or, the problem of discovering disparate sights in a region, and you’re solving that by providing a vehicle, and incredible stories along the way. Should be simple.

The second part of marketing, on a very basic level, is generating empathy and relationship.

Fundamentally, you want your customers to care about you and your product (empathy), and you want to initiate and continue a relationship with them. The rest of this workbook will be about this basic fact of marketing: all your strategies and efforts are attempts to create and strengthen this relationship, which should be built on caring. You’re not simply selling guests a hammer, but also an experience, and a story.

Begin by brainstorming some basic ways you can build relationships with your customers. Telling video stories about your product? Offering them an emotional wow moment on tour? Creating a Facebook group around a shared passion?

Brand Positioning

Your “brand” (another word might be reputation) consists of two elements: the story you want to tell to your customers, and how they in turn see you.

The goal of thinking of your story is not to share every aspect of your life and background. Instead, it’s about finding the words, experiences, anecdotes, that all combine to give your customer a sense of who you are.

Your Brand Story combines all this into a “perspective” that you’ll share with your customer, through the tour experience, plus website, logo, marketing, and more.

Explore the elements of your “brand story”

Following the examples, begin thinking of individual, isolated words, interests, and experiences that might coalesce to describe to your customer succinctly who you are, and what your tour company is about. Don’t write a novel! This needs to be boiled down into a clear, concise “pitch”.

Personal Interests

You have a deep and abiding love for red wines.

Particular Personal Experiences

Visiting a vineyard with a grape grower in Tuscany changed my life forever, and made me realize Italian red wines were my passion.

Words that describe the “space” in the industry you’d like to inhabit...

bold, intense, rich, luxurious, relaxing