Tourism Marketing and Business Consultants for
When You Are Short of Cash, Time, or Know-How

John Rust Consulting specializes in marketing consulting services for Maine's outdoor recreation and tourism business owners. Our marketing training is highly refined by a lifetime of experience in tourist motels, lodges, sporting camps, and outdoor activities like fishing, hunting, snowmobiling and canoe tripping.

You need someone who understands you, your business, your customers and your needs. We offer you the most intimate understanding of your business and customers of any consultant in Maine, if not New England or the entire United States.

After all, we've been there too!

John Rust Consulting will help you identify your most profitable target market and what they want that only you can provide. We are closely involved with state and local tourism development initiatives, and always seek to stay on the cutting edge of market developments that might lead to a new service or marketing approach you can profit from.

Successful businesses have a sharply targeted marketing plan. In fact, even a basic marketing plan can set you ahead of the competition because so many others don’t have any plan at all. A target market is a group of prospective customers who are unique in some way.

You must determine what is unique about your target customers. You also must be able to reach the market segment with your message. Ask yourself what makes one customer different from another. What are they seeking? Where do they live? Do they go to sports shows, or read certain publications? Are they bargain hunters, or will they pay extra for your good for service?

The more you know about your prospective customers the better. When you narrow the field and send your message directly at your selected targets, you can make a sure and sound hit. This will be your most cost effective marketing approach.

Ask yourself what your customer prospects want you to provide, and what your competitors don’t offer. Put this in as few words as possible. When you clearly state who you are and what you offer, your prospective customers will be more likely to remember you, and they will retain an impression that you are better than your competitors.

Today's tourism customer wants things pretty well laid out for them. What they will get from you. What they will do when they come to your establishment. If you provide lodging, for instance, you not only must tell them why you are the best place to stay, you must also tell they why they should even come to your locale. After all, you are competing both with your local competition, and you are competing for the customers' overall travel dollars. Get them interested in coming to your area first, and then you will have an easier time convincing them to come to you.

Your marketing message requires that you decide exactly what business and market you are in. Once that is understood, you must understand the internal and financial underpinnings of your business.

For example, how you price your service is critical. Almost no business has ever failed because their prices were too high. Just the opposite usually happens. Businesses often fail even though they have the lowest price. Few of us ever make a buying decision purely on price. Competing on price is a no-win plan because there will always be someone who charges less. You must be sure that your price exceeds your costs. What does it really costs to provide your service? You must know this. We will help you identify all your real costs, and to then set profitable prices.

When will you need more cash? Tourism is notoriously seasonal. You must know how much cash to set aside for the slow or off seasons. If you don't know this, you might not make it until next year. We will help you forecast the cash flow of your business, so you are prepared and don't spend your cash when it is really not spend able surplus.

The written content on your brochures, newsletter and website must meet all the traditional marketing requirements such as getting attention, creating interest, motivating customers to make a decision and to take action (contact you and make a purchase).

These are crucial. Unfortunately, all too often a small business creates a brochure or runs an ad that doesn't do these. As a result, customers won't even take a look let alone buy something.

You need to hit the customer right on the head with your core selling proposition - what you have that he absolutely is looking for. This must always be prominent. No one cares about your name or logo, they want to immediately know what you have of interest to them.

John Rust Consulting will help you decide on what your core selling proposition is, and will review all your marketing materials so you can be certain that your message gets through to customers.