Significance, Signals & Sensitivity

Not unlike you, we’ve had lots of opportunities over the past 8 months to be part of Zoom calls that challenged us, informed us…and some that inspired us. And, those are the ones that prompt this edition of the Z-News. Two of the trinity of ideas we’ll share today came from futurists that we follow (and you should too). And, they all start with the letter “S.”

Significance over Success. Dan Burris dropped this bombshell on me early in the crisis during a Zoom call with professional speakers and entrepreneurs…and it has stuck with me. We all strive to be successful. We all want our DMOs to be successful in delivering value to our communities and partners. Success is typically easy, if one focuses their forces and brings their best game to the initiative.

But, is it significant? In a pre-COVID world, increasing visitor spending by 3% year over year was a success. Maintaining participating partner levels at 95% was likely a success. And increasing the community’s brand awareness from #56 to #42 in some random survey? Yeah…we’d all call that success. But are these “significant?” I mean, really significant.

And, that’s where the re-invention of Destination Marketing needs to go. We need to move, as Dan says, from “success to significance.” How can your DMO become so significant that it is invited to every table? Or, more importantly, everybody wants to be at your table. So significant that political leaders, local to federal, value the critical importance of what we do.

In a recent conversation with a DMO pro, she shared that her political leaders have become extraordinarily more focused on the importance of her DMO during these days. And, with good reason. They’re sitting on hundreds of millions in destination development bonds that were guaranteed with Room Tax revenue. As DMOs are the primary tool to generate those revenues…yeah, how do you like me now?

What are the pain points facing local government today as they begin to realize that their response to the pandemic is now impacting their bottom line, too? How can DMOs encourage community leaders to see that we are the path to recovery? Because, without the infusion of new dollars into our economies, there is no recovery. And, new dollars is what we do. And, that is more significant than Room Night goals.

Signals Over Trends. Our friend Rebecca Ryan closed out the first day of the Destinations International Advocacy Summit last month with a sensational concept. She suggested that futurists don’t focus on trends…they focus on “signals.”

Trends are things that most of us recognize. We’re DMO pros. It’s what we do. We see a trend and figure out how to maximize a shift in consumer preference to build visitor appreciation, choice and spending. But, signals are more elusive. We may momentarily notice them but we don’t pick up on the fact that others may momentarily be noticing them as well. And, without peer validation, these signals often wither on the vine.

With a serious tip of the hat to Rebecca, we’re going to begin to encourage the reception of these signals. Each month, DMOproz will be convening a Zoom call for any of you that want to share the signals that you are picking up on. Together, we hope to find the future trends that will put us in a position to capitalize on future trends before the competition sees them.

Sensitivity. The third “S” is mine…but inspired by the countless memes and messages on Social Media in the aftermath of the US Presidential election. Maybe it is simply the vagaries of my newsfeed, but I've been seeing a raft of encouragements to celebrate…but not gloat. To reach across the divides that were exacerbated by our country’s leaders and attempt to find the commonality that used to bind America. And, the President-elect certainly seems to be carrying that message in his post-election speeches. After four years of focused demonization on both sides of the political aisle, it is time to take a unilateral step back. 

So, let’s take that lead and run with it. During the interminable walk up to last Saturday’s network call for Biden-Harris, I watched former Ohio Governor John Kasich opine that the Democrats need to take seriously the fact that they have no earthly idea what is behind the fact that almost half of this country voted for the other side. They need to stop thinking they possess the moral and intellectual high-ground and attempt to learn why virtually half of all Americans think Democrats are the sworn enemies of the nation. Only then can this country heal.

Shouldn’t we in the DMO world take the same tack? Call me Pollyanna…but mirroring a Presidential call for unity and understanding absolutely resonates with all for which a DMO stands. We are the storytellers of our communities' culture and ethics. We embrace diversity as the magnet that attracts our customers. We are the choreographers of our destination’s experiences. We are the voice that represents our communities to everyone around the world for every reason. Shouldn't DMOs be the organizations that reach across previous divides within our communities to bring us all together?

As I write these words, it occurs to me that many of the first 40+ episodes of the DMOU podcast series stress sensitivity and collaboration. This month's conversations with Tammy Canavan and Jake Steinman certainly do. To the "seat at every table" concept, check out the episode with Kalene Griffith. And, feel free to dive into the archives of all our past episodes to find your inspiration with which to move forward into the recovery we all await.

Significance. Signals. Sensitivity. These are the 3 S’s that we’ll be focusing on in the coming days. How about you?