How to Survive

Boxer Mike Tyson (am I really quoting Mike Tyson?) famously said “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

The Destination Marketing sector has been punched in the mouth. And, we’ve taken a fair number of hits to the body. And, a few below the belt sucker punches. We hurt…but cannot give up.

Some of us are clinging to the ropes. A handful have been ruled TKO. And the future for many of us is unsure and ominous.

That’s why we wrote our manifesto on how we need to re-imagine community development. It’s why we wrote the treatise on Board Diversity. But…we’re done writing for now. It’s time to start doing.

DMOs have provided triage for their partners for these past six months. They fought to save community businesses. But now, it is time to focus inward. How will the agency that came to the aid of so many survive this carnage? How will the organization make sure it isn't on the chopping block and save itself?

Here are the top 3 things we believe are imperative:

1) We wrote our position paper on a new vision for community development for a reason. We knew that, as local governments realize the fiscal impacts of the ‘VID to their bottom lines, there would be calls to combine or merge community development agencies for greater “efficiencies.” And, it just happened in Bowling Green OH, where the Mayor announced last week that he would not renew the City’s contract with its DMO. Instead, he would entrust destination marketing to the Chamber to eliminate "duplication of services."

That is the typically expedient reaction for many community leaders. They know the Chamber; they respect Economic Development. So, why not let those agencies assume the role of marketer? I mean, really, how hard could that be? Yet, one look at the DMO’s website versus the Chamber’s website should be all one needs to suggest that there are two very different skill sets at work in Bowling Green (and in most communities). Both valuable...but rarely transferable. 

If you are a DMO and have not yet read our position paper on how these community conversations should go, we implore you to do that this week. Be at the ready to offer a more logical approach to community development when the time comes. Or, better yet, don’t wait for someone else to start the process. Initiate the conversations...and take the lead in your community.

2) For the DMO to thrive, its Board of Directors must be rock solid and firmly engaged. These are hallmarks of organizations that are respected among community leaders. For, as much as a DMO CEO may be an effective and inspirational communicator regarding the agency’s role as a Shared Community Value, their singular voice cannot carry the day. Like the Shirtless Dancing Guy, it takes a tribe to create a movement. That tribe must have an engaged Board to spread the Idea Virus of the critical importance of DMOs to a community’s resilience and recovery.

If your DMO Board isn't accustomed to being engaged on behalf of the Organization and Destination, now is the opportunity to begin to build that muscle. Indeed, today, we believe it is imperative. If the Board is designed properly, its members should already wield a certain amount of influence and credibility in the community. In addition to ensuring the goals of its Strategic Plan are achieved, the Board exists to advocate for the Organization and the Destination.

If you are the CEO of a DMO, when was the last time you had one-on-one conversations with each of your Board members?  I'm fairly confident that every CEO has been keeping their Board up-to-date with their Organization's response to the crisis ('VID, hurricanes, wildfires, social unrest, etc.). But, now is the time to make sure that the flow of information is a two-way street. Whether via Zoom, a physically distant lunch or a good old fashioned phone call, those conversations need to happen right now. Find out what is transpiring in their sector and make sure they understand what is happening at the DMO. They may nod absently on a Board Zoom call...but, are they really processing what they are hearing?

And, more importantly, do you know what's happening in their world? We've been talking with a client DMO that is facing the potential loss of a funding partner...one that helped found the CVB 30+ years ago. It seems unfathomable but, if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. You can't afford to be blindsided. Call every single one of your Board members and listen to what they have to say...and what they are hearing out there.  

Then, suggest that you need them to step up and ensure that community and business leaders in their sphere of influence are fully aware of what the DMO is, and has been, doing on their behalf. Tell them that you need them to be an extra set of eyes and ears in the community because you can't be everywhere. Encourage them to step up and be an integral part of the Organization that is valued and respected in every quarter of the community.

3) And then, it comes down to resources. Every DMO must reassess how it operates as a business unit. The days of thinking like a non-profit are long over. To survive, DMOs must be entrepreneurial. They must analyze every possible revenue stream, no matter how much it may have previously been considered impossible or impractical.

Look at Apple. Because they started with “why” instead of “what,” they were able to go from computer to software to music player to music store to app store to video platform to video content creators with Apple+. DMOs must get back to “why,” and it most assuredly is not "heads in beds." DMOs exist to enhance their communities and the lives of residents through destination promotion, job creation and the generation of non-resident taxes. So…where are the revenue streams? They're everywhere, if you think like Apple.

There is no going back (as if there ever was). As Yoda might say, “only forward going.” And, we’re done writing. We’re ready to dive in to help you instigate these imperatives. Need assistance in facilitating those conversations with Stakeholders and other Community Development Agencies? Need a hand making sure your Board is actively engaged, pursuing Strategic Goals and not sales and marketing? Need encouragement as you look toward developing potential new revenue streams? Time to upgrade your Strategic Plan to one that is more intentional than "grow the Visitor Economy?" Yeah...call us.

Summer’s over. Let’s get to work.