Mar
16
Burns described this as a "gift" - the ability to see ourselves as others see us (I'm paraphrasing heavily here, from the words of "To A Louse").
In marketing terms, it certainly is a gift.
To be able to understand what's going on in the mind of the person who might buy a few nights at your hotel would be a gift indeed. You would be able to figure out the right words to use, identify what they need and quote an appropriate price.
Wouldn't that be lovely? It was with this thought in the back of my mind that I found myself leafing through a German guide to "Schottland" in a Berlin bookshop last week.
In marketing terms, it certainly is a gift.
To be able to understand what's going on in the mind of the person who might buy a few nights at your hotel would be a gift indeed. You would be able to figure out the right words to use, identify what they need and quote an appropriate price.
Wouldn't that be lovely? It was with this thought in the back of my mind that I found myself leafing through a German guide to "Schottland" in a Berlin bookshop last week.
I was curious to see how my part of the world was promoted to the Germans.
I was astonished to find that one small town (well, it's more of a big village actually) was so well thought of by the author of the guide that it merited two whole pages in the guide. Whilst my own city of Inverness was almost impossible to find with only half a page of content.
The German market is big for the Scottish Highlands in the summer. There are lots of walkers you see, all keen to experience the wonderful scenery. Inverness itself is packed at the height of the tourist season. However it would seem that, to the Germans at any rate, Inverness is ever so slightly DULL.
Of course, there are lots of things for visiting Germans to do here and they'll have a lovely time.
What a pity we haven't managed to get all those activities published in a popular guide book?
I wouldn't even have known about this glaring lapse in promotion had I not absent-mindedly picked up the guide book. As a City, we haven't "reached out" to our customers very well.
If only we could always see ourselves as others see us.
I was astonished to find that one small town (well, it's more of a big village actually) was so well thought of by the author of the guide that it merited two whole pages in the guide. Whilst my own city of Inverness was almost impossible to find with only half a page of content.
The German market is big for the Scottish Highlands in the summer. There are lots of walkers you see, all keen to experience the wonderful scenery. Inverness itself is packed at the height of the tourist season. However it would seem that, to the Germans at any rate, Inverness is ever so slightly DULL.
Of course, there are lots of things for visiting Germans to do here and they'll have a lovely time.
What a pity we haven't managed to get all those activities published in a popular guide book?
I wouldn't even have known about this glaring lapse in promotion had I not absent-mindedly picked up the guide book. As a City, we haven't "reached out" to our customers very well.
If only we could always see ourselves as others see us.
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