Marketing family ski holidays

[ctskifam]

My business provides family ski holidays in the French Alps ([/URL="http://www.skifamille.co.uk"]www.skifamille.co.uk[/url]) . All are in catered chalets with inclusive childcare and we are lucky enough to have some very loyal clients. But, the very nature of what we do means that people outgrow our service and we are always looking to generate new leads.

When people find us they are hugely enthusiastic about the product and are happy to pay the prices we charge (we're definitely not cheap but it does represent good value).

My question is this, how do we best connect with new people? We advertsie on line and in print primarily in sites or titles focussing on parenting or skiing. We also take stands at relevant shows. Results are mixed and I can't help feeling there is a better way. I often joke that I might be better off walking through "Nappy Valley" in Putney on a Saturday afternoon wearing a sandwich board. You may reply that this is exactly what I should do!

I'm not looking for a marketing strategy for free but a marketeer out there may have a spark of inspiration to share that will prod me in a new and slightly more imaginative direction.

Thanks

- Chris

[Peter Bowen]

I think that you should probably look at getting more money from your existing clients before you start to try and find new ones. It's much cheaper to market to your existing clients than it is to find new ones.

My bro. just returned from his 3rd family skiing holiday in 13 months - and has booked another for December. It appear that families that take to skiing will go several times.

I'd guess that parents would take their kids skiing from about 4 years till maybe 16 or 17 when teenagers would prefer to go to a party island for holidays. This gives you 12 years (and more even) worth of holidays from each existing client. If you could get only a quarter of them to come back each year you'd double your business in less than 4 years - good growth by any standard.

There is a really good article about how to get repeat business here:

http://www.salesguerillas.com/flower...are-so-crucial

Cheers

Pete

[genexbs1]

Hi Chris,

Without a doubt Internet is the largest connected media. In my vision, you should work more on your Internet presence and think Internet as your long term medium of presence. You can build online community by distributing free contents and vacation advise and whatever you want time to time.

I hope that helps, you can contact us to discuss more anytime.

Best regards,
Genexbs.com Team

[ctskifam]

Many thanks for the thoughts. We have just commisioned a new website which will hopefully appeal to new clients and encourage even more loyalty amongst existing clients. The latter will I agree be the most important thing - particularly if tough economic times are ahead.

Thanks again

Chris