By Dennis A. Marzella

Information sources that instill confidence in consumers are likely to be the most influential in the decision-making process. Regrettably, travel advertising is perceived to have the lowest degree of credibility. Credible third party sources, such as friends and travel agents, are likely to have more impact than traditional commercial sources of information such as brochures, articles in newspapers and magazines, or programs on TV and radio. Furthermore, Americans express more confidence in travel agents than in media sources.

Clearly, friends--the people who stayed at your resorts, wandered around your destination, and rented cars from your rental car company are the single most valuable source of information to consumers when making travel decisions. This emphasizes the importance of making sure consumers are satisfied before they leave your confines. Creating methods by which consumers can express their concerns and empowering employees to correct any problems serve the need of harnessing the full potential of word-of-mouth advertising. Moreover, recognize that the consumer has new power to access the "fraternity of strangers" through online technology, as well as utilize traditional methods of finding out about the travel experiences of others. The sustained role of friends continues to support the importance of developing and working a customer database through integrated marketing communications. Use appropriate incentives and promotions based on past patterns of patronage. This goes far beyond the traditional perspective of maintaining a guest history.

However, to reap the full potential of word-of-mouth, we must engineer the product experience to give the consumer something to talk about! So you have to ask yourself what would get the customers talking about my experience? This can be a grand scheme like the one conceived for Western Pacific Airlines whereby some of their aircraft were painted with very non-traditional designs. Perhaps the most striking was the Beavis and Butthead treatment. Other less "offbeat" versions of the painted aircraft include The Broadmoor, the famous five-star resort, and another one which simply proclaimed, Colorado Springs.

Of course, you don't have to have a million-dollar paint job on an airline to get people talking. Doubletree Hotels and Resorts gives away homemade-style chocolate chip cookies. Sôfitel presents guests with french bread baguettes. These are unexpected things that reinforce brand images as well as get people talking. Perhaps the place to start "engineering" for word-of-mouth advertising is in your staffing policy. Hire people that convey the ambience that you are striving to create with the totality of the product experience. There are people out there with talents that go far beyond their given personalities. In many communities, budding actors are available that can add another dimension to your resort experience. These people of special talents can be integrated into your experience. Why do you think Walt Disney Company calls their employees cast members!

Advertising and public relations efforts still have a way to go before becoming credible in the consumer's mind. In order to create more credible communications, first, don't have so many hands in the soup. It really is true, albeit a tad cliche, that "too many cooks spoil the broth." This practice is blatant in the travel industry. To start, let the marketing person do the job. You don't do your legal work, lawyers do. You don't do your audit, CPAs do.

Hire a qualified marketing professional; that is what they do. Then, dramatize the experience with "authentic" visualization through realistic photography or cinematography. Avoid promises and portrayals that cannot be fulfilled. This guidance is particularly relevant at this time because computer graphics make it easy to mislead consumers. Credible communication is more likely to serve the marketer better than illusion marketing. This is not to say that you should not present the product in its most favorable light or that you must limit your creativity. Communications should not, however, deceive. Possibility Agenda consumers are willing to extend trust, but will lapse into cynicism again if their trust is violated. Therefore, test the communications using research procedures to make sure the consumer impact is likely to be favorable. Then, the advertising itself may be one of the reasons they talk about you.