Shared Community Value
In previous editions of the Z-News, I’ve shared that I often experience moments where a word or a concept seems to randomly pop with magical frequency. Indeed, sometimes it’s a word that so powerfully evokes the zeitgeist that it seeps into common vernacular (like “intentional” has over the past 18 months). Sometimes it is the rapid acceptance and adoption of a concept (like the recent embracement, by scores of DMO professionals, of Destinations International’s Jack Johnson’s suggestion that Destination Marketing should be viewed as a “Shared Community Value”).
The practice of asking “why” is nothing new. We all did it during our formative years (often to our parents' exasperation when it was incessant). And yet, as we mature, we tend to ask “why” less frequently.
We should ask “why” more frequently. Like, every day.
Of course, Simon Sinek exhorted us to ask “why” a decade ago in his debut book and famous TED talk. His research on the most successful companies in the world had shown him that companies that were founded on “why” were vastly more successful than those that were started with “what” (think Steve Jobs’ desire to “put a dent in the universe” vs. Michael Dell wanting to make a great computer).
But, I’m hearing “why” with intriguing frequency over the past few weeks. I just finished a fascinating book by Priya Parker entitled “The Art of Gathering.” In it, she suggests that meetings, conferences, social gatherings that aren’t founded in “why” are often a maddening waste of time or, sometimes worse, a soul-defeating forfeiture of opportunity. We should all ask “Why will this gathering be meaningful? Why will this meeting be different? And why should people on the guest list be invited (or not invited)?"
By asking “why,” powerful things can transpire, as they did with a client workshop I had the honor of leading earlier this month. It was for a destination that had suffered through a debilitating natural disaster. The past year had been consumed with a message of “what” (“we’re back in business and ready to welcome you back”). But, as we kicked off our first day together, the CEO opened the day by telling the gathered that the time for “what” was over. And, he urged us to focus on “why.”
Why should people come to the destination? Why will the destination captivate their souls? Why will the experiences that visitors accumulate here become lifelong memories? The message must no longer be that the lights are on and the hotels are open. It must be about why a visit to this destination will be transformative.
And then, there is the “why” of what we do in Destination Marketing. There was a time in the last century that most of us believed that our primary customers were our hotels (this was an era in which we clearly weren’t asking “why”). To our collective defense, it made some sense. Hotel Room Taxes had been levied to power our marketing efforts and the hotels were collecting the tax. Thus, they were the “client.”
During the early part of this century, we became more sophisticated, realizing that our primary customer was the visitor. This enlightened view was based upon the notion that if we focused on attracting the consumer, we’d fill all the beds of our former primary customer (a veritable two-fer). And, you must admit, it made a lot more sense. It’s when I coined the phrase, “it’s not just heads in beds…but cheeks in seats, torsos through turnstiles, feet on the street, fans in the stands and more in the store.” Truth.
But, we still weren’t asking “why.” So…let’s start (and, please, act like a 3-year old as you do):
Why do we do what we do? To increase visitor spending in our community. Why? To help local businesses thrive. Why? So they can put more residents to work. Why? Decrease homelessness and increase personal wealth. Why? To enhance the economy and increase non-resident taxes. Why? To enhance our Quality of Life. Why? To enhance our lives, individually and collectively.
Who is the primary customer now? Our fellow residents; ourselves.
It’s an argument that Sedona’s Jennifer Wesselhoff attempted to make when public opinion veered dangerously anti-DMO a couple years ago. Angry activists were demanding an end to Destination Marketing because they believed their lives were being negatively impacted by tourists. The invective being hurled at Jennifer was increasingly personal and insulting. She attempted to counter her opponents that it was her town too…and that she’d never do anything to ruin the region’s Quality of Life. Of course, nobody believed her, despite the truth and logic of her argument.
Which is why her DMO led a Sustainability Task Force that has produced a masterful plan for alleviating the maddening aspects of the Visitor Economy while maintaining employment opportunities, the accumulation of entrepreneurial wealth and the continued generation of non-resident tax revenues (things that residents should, ostensibly, want). Be watching for her story on an upcoming episode of DMOU: The Podcast.
If we don’t place residents at the center of our raison d’être, we are completely missing the point. Because, if residents are happy, DMOs will be a Shared Community Value that will be honored and supported by our public and private sectors alike.
Keep asking “why” until you find your truth.