Board members met today as the majority of conference attendees arrived.

Scott McGee and Chris Frado welcomed alll attendees. Seth Martin gave a general history of the Ranch ( should be posted soon) then Dick Taylor spoke about his history in the sport and how he helped build the first trails on the land.

First impression of the ranch, stunning. A luxury Colorado experience. Check it the Devils Thumb Ranch page.

I didn’t take notes this day, sorry. I did, however, take some photos of the torch lite parade and some of the amenities.

The Jonathan version

Encourages a formalized approach

Nordic Areas really need to start spreading out beyond Nordic skiing

The structure: Process a mindset and a Product

Jonathan outline a few key marketing Principals:

• Define what business you’re in ( are you just a ski area or are you a hospitality area offering many activities
• Aim to persuade more guests to stay longer and try more activities
• Begin your planning with research
• Concentrate on Guest Benefits – think in terms of “you” vs. “we”
• Define your image in 7 words (doge-friendly, fun, professional, family oriented etc.)
• Set yourself apart – expose that differentiating elements of your business

He had a few handouts that I hope to get my hands on. One interesting one was the Seven Marketing Plan Elements:

1. Goal Definition
2. Benefit Definition
3. Target Market
4. Methods to reach those markets
5. Identity definition
6. Positioning (tag line)
7. Budget

Scott nice and causally presented a pile of market research data. His presentation with all the details can be found below

Some quick facts:

• Its All about me mentality by customers
• They want to “Get it done in a day” showing time is in short supply
• Performance and innovation sell so does tech
• Trial should be the objective – offer intro and how to clinics

Have a look at the presentation. He has tons of interesting facts in it.

Ian and Antje Harvey talked about the trials that Antje went through as a member of the East German Cross Country and later Biathlon Team.

As a young athlete she refused to take performance enhancing drugs and both her and her coach father were kicked off of the team.

Read her story here (as told by Wikipedia)

She had the whole room enamored in her story.

This afternoon we had two different panel discussions. Here are some general notes on them

What do customers want?

• They want to have fun
• Great experience
• Stress relief
• Good value cost relationships

The general consensus was that TIME is the most valuable resource to customers so they need to feel like they’ve spent it appropriately. (like having fun or releasing stress)

Groomers and Snow cat makers got in on the Green Conversation

Manufacturers are improving efficiency of machines

• Local manufacturers are benefiting from oil prices and weak dollar

Piston Bully and Prinoff both talked about the need to properly train operators to reduce waste in running the machines. Don’t idle your cats!

]]> http://ccsaa.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/same-customer-different-perspectives-and-are-grooming-and-snowmaking-green/feed/ 0 jsloss http://ccsaa.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/on-snow-activities/ http://ccsaa.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/on-snow-activities/#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:22:17 +0000 jsloss http://ccsaa.wordpress.com/?p=27 ]]>

We all had an opportunity to participate in a clinic or just go for a ski. Below are some of the grooming machines being demoed and some of the ski equipment reps working their magic.

(Panel: Cara McDonald, Jonathan Wiesel, Benjamin Sadavoy, Roger Lohr and Holly Johnson, facilitator.)

The talk started off with one important point – Journalists want their lives to be made easy!

Cara McDonald

Cara then went over her top tips to pitching a regional magazine. She’s the editor of 5280 Magazine – http://www.5280.com/

1. Make it timely – Magazines need a minimum lead time of 12 weeks
2. Make it personal – Find the direct appropriate contact at the magazine and drop a brief, personal email introduction. No generic email blasts!
3. Keep it Focused- Be specific and show exactly what the story is for the magazine you want to reach
4. Be prepared- Have a general media, an about us web page and a beautiful and functioning website. Ideally have an area for media to find out details on your operation quickly and easily
5. Speaking of Photography – Have a variety of high resolution photos for the publication
6. Be receptive – Have a clear contact in your organization who handles media and focuses on maintaining those relationships.
7. Be Proactive – Reach out, pitch and suggest stories. Don’t wait for publications to find you.
8. Know your audience – Read the magazine you’re pitching, learn what departments your ideas fit into.

Benjamin Savadoy

Benjamin from Ski Trax magazine http://skitrax.com/index.php?module=Section&action=view&section_id=9

Use the KISS principle – Keep it Simple Stupid

It’s the job of a journalist to look for stories, they like the help you give them when you send them a great idea. Start building a media list today and keep it segmented. A local tourism board is a great way to start making contacts. Lastly, have thick skin. You wont always be successful.

Roger Lohr from xcskiresorts.com wants cross country areas to start pushing the recreation and travel related side to their business, not just high end racing. Pitch him a story about why he should visit you.

Jonathan Weisel of Nordic Group International echoed the above mentioned points and really encouraged areas to actively pursue a PR plan. It worked for him at Royal Gorge.

Bill came and spoke about the benefits of Land Trusts and some of the things that they have been doing at Middle Park Land Trust.

Check out their website here – Middle Park Land Trust

When Bob and Suzanne bought the ranch, it was in need of some love, both physically and in the business sense. Suzanne and Holly capitalized on the spectacular amenities and the unique Colorado experience that sets Devils Thumb apart from other resorts. By looking at the experience through the customer’s point of view and integrating departments to better market a Devil’s Thumb experience, Suzanne and Holly have communicated the riches of the natural Front Range Landscape to thousands of visitors.

Promotions were done through limited print ads, whatever they could afford, and a strong local and eventually international PR pushes. Holly gave some great advice, she said, “if you want your story told, you have to be the one telling it”.

Bob and Suzanne have committed to creating more than a ski resort, they’re building a legacy. The passion and commitment to that legacy is apparent the first time you step foot into one of their buildings.

Interesting notes from Suzanne about adding a Spa to your facilities:

• Increases length of stay by 1.5-2 days on average
• Results in $50 extra revenue per room on average
• 14%-22% of guests will take a spa treatment

Check out the Devils Thumb Ranch Spa here. – http://www.devilsthumbranch.com/index.cfm/page/Spa/pid/10204

John’s presentation focused on some finer points of trail building. To be nice to the environment, trail builders should use everything, make them permanent where possible and take great care by installing flat bottomed ditching. All shoulders should be seeded immediately

John also talked about the importance of naming trails. He said, ” The best sign is the one that gets stolen the most. I hope to get his slide show loaded up, John send it to me if you want it here!