Who decides what in your digital function?
A three week review for destinations, attractions and tourism bodies. It tells leadership what is working, what is not, and what to do over the next 12 months.
Independent. Nothing to build, nothing to resell.
| Digital | Marketing | IT | Vendor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website roadmap | A? | A? | C | R |
| Booking platform | R | C | A | R |
| Visitor data and CRM | C | R | C | ? |
| Vendor contracts | ? | I | ? | I |
| Reporting to leadership | R | R | I | ? |
Who it is for
Destinations
Resorts, islands and new developments that sell stays and experiences directly.
Attractions
Theme parks, museums, venues and events with tickets, apps and returning visitors.
Tourism bodies
Tourism authorities and boards that promote a place and serve its visitors.
Does this sound like your week?
Pick the one closest to yours.
Every change to the website takes weeks
What is behind it
Nobody holds the decision. Requests travel between marketing, IT and the agency with no single owner.
After the review
Each recurring decision has one named owner, and requests follow one route.
The monthly meeting is an argument about numbers
What is behind it
The same figure is produced in two places, with two definitions and no owner.
After the review
One set of numbers, each with a definition, a source and an owner. The meeting is about decisions.
Agency invoices rise every year
What is behind it
Vendor scopes overlap, and performance is not measured against anything.
After the review
Every vendor has a clear scope, a measure and a verdict: keep, change or exit. You know which contracts to reopen and when.
Guests come back, but you cannot name them
What is behind it
Customer data sits in separate systems, and the CRM is not part of anyone's daily work.
After the review
A clear picture of what you hold, where the link to the customer breaks, and the first steps to fix it.
Everything depends on one person
What is behind it
Roles grew by accident. Key knowledge sits with one employee or one vendor.
After the review
A map of roles and gaps, and a decision on what to hire, what to train and what to buy in.
You could not show what the last budget returned
What is behind it
Spending is spread over projects with no order of priority and no measure of result.
After the review
A 12 month plan in priority order, with an owner, a rough cost and a test of success for each action.
Independent, and from the client side of the table
We have been the client
The review is led by someone who has spent a career on the buying side, hiring and managing agencies and vendors. We know what a client is not told.
We have nothing to build or resell
No development team, no platform, no commissions. A recommendation from us is not a sales pitch for more work.
We know this sector at scale
Digital functions built and run for a world expo, a theme park island, a tourism authority and an international airport, over sixteen years.
Six areas, one plain question in each
Websites, apps and booking. Digital marketing operations. CRM and customer data. Design, technology and reporting. What we mean by a digital function.
Operating model and governance
Who decides, who owns what, and how is work prioritised?
Team and roles
Is the structure right, and where are the skill gaps?
Vendors and contracts
What does each vendor deliver, at what cost, and where do they overlap?
Platforms
Do the website, app, booking and CRM platforms fit the need?
Customer data and CRM
What is captured about visitors, and is it used?
Reporting
Does leadership see numbers it can trust and act on?
Three weeks of work, twelve months of direction
- Week 1
Listen
Interviews with leadership, the digital team and key vendors. Existing documents reviewed.
- Week 2
Analyse
Analysis across the six areas. A first read of findings shared with the sponsor.
- Week 3
Decide
Final findings, a 12 month plan, and a leadership session that agrees the first three actions.
- Month 3
First changes in place
The plan is built so the first three actions can be finished within a quarter, by your own people.
- Month 12
Clear owners
The aim of the plan: decisions with one owner, vendors with clear scopes, numbers leadership trusts.
The review What it sets up
Led by someone who has run the function
Every review is led by a senior digital executive who has built and run digital functions for some of the largest destinations in the Gulf.
Photos: Louvre Abu Dhabi by Nazar Skalatsky, Expo 2020 Dubai by Shuxin Wu and flamingos by Jack Sparrow, all on Unsplash. Zayed International Airport by Oleg Yunakov (CC BY SA 4.0). All cropped.
Start with a short conversation
Tell us about your digital function and what is not working. The first conversation costs nothing.