Time to listen to tourists

I had a very interesting conversation recently with Charlotte Hardie from RetailWeek about how brands can capitalise on the influx of tourists visiting Britain to make the most of the painfully weak pound. She wanted to know how a word of mouth approach could help.

My initial response was that this is a great opportunity for retailers to discover what that generalised mass of ‘tourists’ are actually saying about the brand - to get insight into their real motives and priorities for shopping in the UK . Maybe they are most interested in selecting a few investment pieces from the likes of Aquascutum or Jaeger? Or maybe they want to hit Topshop for some serious quantity? Maybe they’re headed for quirkier boutiques in Manchester and Birmingham rather than just sticking to the capital? Rather than making assumptions, brands can look at what is really inspiring their potential consumers abroad and therefore what will engage them, and get them talking, most effectively. Indeed, UK brands often focus their WOM listening in their home country but this is the perfect time to get a sense of their global reputation and appeal.

The Eurostar/Regent Street/Sister PR event I blogged about a couple of months back, which got Belgian and French Girl Geek bloggers excited about shopping in London, was a great example of a powerful tourism-led word of mouth approach. I predict we’ll see more internationally collaborative campaigns cropping up as retailers realise the power of the tourist pound.

Read Charlotte’s article incorporating my own humble comments here.

Brought into the world on Monday, May 18th, 2009 and filed under Uncategorized.