Public Relations is all the communication between a business organization or individual and the public or more explicitly, between a business and its customers and potential customers.
What is Public Relations?
Public Relation (PR) is the deliberate, planned and sustained
efforts to establish and maintain beneficial relationships between an organization and public. It comes from recognition that without the
active support from the public, the organization will have difficulty to carry on and grow. Shareholders,
suppliers, customers, agents, employees all have stakes in an organization. In the case of tourism, the trade and commerce within the
vicinity of the destination and the local people also have a stake. The local
residents at the destination probably have the biggest stake. Their life styles
and the environment are affected by the influx of tourists. Tourists being
visitors from a different culture and society (even if within Nigeria) may be accustomed to behaviors
different from the locals. There could be a fear that the younger generation
may be 'spoilt' by mixing with the tourists. The increased activity
accompanying tourists’ growth may bring in undesirable persons, thus affecting
the sense of security. If the local people start reacting to these
'encroachments' into their ways, their behaviors may significantly affect the
pleasure of the tourists. PR is essential to ensure that the relationships are
conducive to the growth of tourism. Better understanding between tourists and
the hosts/residents at and around the destination can make them feel favorably
inclined to each other. This can be possible through contacts and interaction.
It is part of PR activity to make such contacts contribution towards a better
understanding. The contract becomes more useful if expectation of both is known
and each is aware of the do's and don'ts.
The tools of public relation are the same as for publicity
plus:
1) Journals/Newsletters.
2) Sponsored visits.
3) Sponsorship of activities.
4) Special drives and interest group meetings, etc.
PR efforts are aimed at key personnel and seek to shift the
people toward:
1)
Sympathy from Hostility
2)
Acceptance from prejudice
3)
Interest from apathy.
4)
Knowledge from ignorance.
PR
effort has to be credible but they are difficult to evaluate for effectiveness.
PR is the business of everybody in the organization. The top management may lay
down the policy. But what others in the organization do also conveys message to
the public. This affects their relationship with the organization. The training
and education of staff at all levels on how to deal with customers/people with
courtesy and consideration has to be a part of the PR effort. As tourists
professional you have to be extremely caution of this aspect. Leading organization
have PR department and many others have at least a PR Officer. But many tend to
ignore this. This may have adverse effects in the long term or may be in the
short term itself.
Personal Selling
Personal selling is a part of promotion. Advertisements and
other non-personal communications are not adequate to persuade customers to
make choices. The information required to make choices are more than those
available at awareness levels. The gap can be reduced via personal interaction.
Even then the quality of service and integrity producers is difficult to know.
Salesperson's Duties
Salespersons (boy or girl) have to call on people to sell.
Ideally salesperson has to:
1) Find prospects, that is, get names of people who are likely
to buy.
2) Qualify the prospects, finding enough data on th e prospect
to decide whether there is need and capacity to buy.
3) Approach the qualified prospect by fixing up appointments for
presentation.
4) Make the presentation during which the salesman will explain
what the product can do to the prospect and get him sufficiently interested to
try the product.
5) Close the sale, that is, make the customer buy.
6) Provide after sale service that is to ensure that the
experience with the product is the same or better than what was promised during
sale and the customer has no complaints.
A service, being intangible, presents a lot of uncertainties
to the prospect. The salesman / girl of a service, if perceived as
non-professional, or not credible, increases those uncertainties. They should
be seen as reliable, friendly and meaning well. They should emphasis
conveniences but not ignore to mentions pre-cautions necessary in usage.
Effective salespersons understand and emphasis with the customers and are more
acceptable to the customers. They also demand services from the organization on
behalf of their customers.
Purposes of Salesperson
In practice, all sale calls are not for affecting sales. The
other purposes served through such call are:
1) Data collection and updating prospects list.
2) As a PR effort, to tell about new products and achievements
of the organization.
3) As a service to check on customer's experience and
satisfaction level with what they have bought, leading to feedback for product
development.
4) Intensive sale campaigns in specific areas from time to time.
A salesperson must be sensitive to the reality of the
situation they are in at any particular time and adjust their normal styles and
presentations accordingly. Or else, they might be embarrassed.
For example,- if the salesman of a vacuum cleaner, who, to
demonstrate the effectiveness of his product, scattered a lot of rubbish on the
costly carpet in the prospect's living room, later found that there would be no
electricity for the next four hours.
Generally (subject to exceptions always) people like to:
Think for themselves and understand the product at their pace. They do not like
to be hustled.
1. Have second opinions and look at options before buying,
particularly if the commitment is heavy. In services the commitment is usually
irreversible.
2. Be respected for
their views. Experienced sales person do not contradict or deny directly the
prospect's statements. They avoid an argument. They agree with a 'Yes' and then
express an alternative view with a 'but'.
While buying goods, the buyer takes home what he has bought
and uses it there. A post sales call is necessary to know the experience. In
the services business, the production and consumption occur simultaneously as
an interaction between the consumer and the representative of the producer.
This representative is usually not the salesperson. In the case of many
service, the feedback can be heard during the service transaction itself,
example being, cinema, entertainment, beauty clinic, laundry etc. in many other
services the feedback is delayed. Example of this is medical treatment or
repair services. In the case of insurance the service is delivered (at the time
of claims) long after the purchase is made. During the intervening period,
nothing should happen to nullify the arrangement made. Ensuring all this is
post sales service.
Tourists destinations are sold personally to intending
travelers by travel agents, hoteliers cruise operators and other
intermediaries. Post sales calls help to check whether experience was
consistent with expectations and promises. Such feedback obtained during post
sales calls helps improve the tourism product and eliminate dissatisfying
elements.
Merchandising
Activities that take place within the unit are called
Merchandising. The objectives of merchandising are to make customers within the
premises:
1) Aware of facilities or offers available,
2) Want to avail of those facilities or offer on impulse, and
3) Have a memorable experience.
Merchandising relies on displays of materials and skills. Utilization
of facilities within hotels by resident guests can be improved through
merchandising.
A provider of tourism services has considerable opportunity
for merchandising i.e. to make the customer who is in contact, buy additional
services which he may not have original planned to buy. May be he did not know
of the availability of the services or did not know enough to evaluate its true
worth. If the additional service on offer is unique and exclusive to that
location, the additional costs would seem to be negligible compared to the
opportunity he may not visit the place, at least for quite some time.
"If
Merchandising is done before the tour commences, the tourists will be ready for
it. Otherwise, depending on the availability of money and time resources, there
could be disappointment."
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