There are three basic plans a facility should develop and use as a guide but not a gospel to facility operation. The Business Plan involves all aspects of the overall operation elaborating on mission statements, budgets, definition of facility direction and overall plan for operating the facility. Within the Business Plan should be a Marketing Plan with a product, competition and an advertising analysis. The Sales Plan is the implementation of the Marketing Plan. For purposes of this discussion we will assume the Marketing Plan and Sales Plan to be one document.

 

The elements of a good Marketing Plan are basic in scope for a public assembly facility whether it is an arena, convention center, performing arts facility, stadium or other such venue. The content will change and the sales approach will be altered depending on the type of facility being marketed. A good Marketing Plan includes a description of the community, infrastructure (roadways, airports etc.) and the facility itself. The plan will include a market analysis, defining the market you are in, with community assets, liabilities and voids. Consideration should be given to population, industries, hotels, retail, corporate base, etc. Then a description of the competition locally, statewide, regionally, nationally and internationally. A key factor particularly for convention centers is not to overlook local competition. A budget needs to be developed (pre-opening and a stabilized year.) The budget should address collateral pieces, advertising in defined publications for target markets, and other support lead generation bureaus, entities and publications. These should include convention and visitor’s bureau, reader board services, published journals, social publications and corporate listings. A travel schedule should be included from the various market segments and defined. Additional items such as novelties, food tastings, and various local groups meetings should be included. A contingency fund should be allocated. Market segments should be laid out geographically to each sales person, by market or however you choose to approach the potential clients. When a facility is new a much broader approach is sometimes recommended for facilities searching for a niche but once your market is determined a targeted approach should be utilized.

 

Sales Goals and incentives should be set for sales people initially using the feasibility study as a guide and then experience should assist you in setting your goals. Incentives should be set not only for total dollar figures, but for a singular certain dollar piece of business and for periods of the year that are difficult to sell.

 

A sales plan of action and philosophy should be established. Booking guidelines need to be established and business reviews should be held daily to evaluate business prospects. Tracking of goals should start with the sales managers weekly, reviewed by the Director of Sales and verified by accounting before incentives are paid.

 

Marketing plans need not be complicated, actually the simpler the better. One example for a convention center may be what I call the “Rule of 52.” Simply stated there are 52 weeks in a year, the sales goal is to book one major piece of business for each week of each year, and fill in the dates in-between that generate less dollar volume and have a shorter lead time.