IACVB Performance Measurement Initiatives

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IACVB Performance Measurement Initiatives

• ACME Annual Conference
• February 25, 2004

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IACVB Core Initiative

• Provide CVBs with proactive, credible auditable
  approaches to performance measures.

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Performance Measurement Team

• To standardize CVB reporting practices by
  establishing definitions, guidelines, and metrics
  in order to provide meaningful and useful data.

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STANDARD DEFINITIONS PERFORMANCE MEASURES
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The Challenge

• CVBs receive the lions share of their funding
  (82) from public sources
• Unique position external performance audits by
  local community stakeholders
• Lack of uniform approach to productivity
  reporting ? skepticism with CVB-supplied results

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A Real External CVB Audit

• The CVBs marketing program has not developed
  or implemented any formal monitoring and
  evaluation procedures or mechanisms to determine
  the effectiveness of its marketing
  activitiesdespite the acknowledged importance of
  a monitoring/ evaluation systemInstead, CVB
  relies on such VAGUE ideas as the health of the
  industry and such HAPHAZARD methods as what
  people tell them. While senior CVB officials
  acknowledged the LACK of a monitoring system,
  they claim at the same time that the overall
  success of the CVB during the last five
  years---the increase in visitors and growth of
  expenditures and tax revenues generated by these
  visitors---all indicate that the CVB marketing
  program MUST BE WORKING.

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The Solution

• Develop an Accountability Mindset
• CVB must be seen as a business by its investors
• Account for the effectiveness of the investment
• Establish standard definitions and measures for
  tracking and reporting CVB sales and marketing
  performance

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Why Standards?

• Uniform approach for internal/external audits
• Quantitative, management tools to identify
  organizational strengths, weaknesses and
  opportunities
• Recognized benchmarks to measure success over
  time
• Competitive Assessment - How does the CVB compare
  to other comparable CVBs?
• Serve as a basis for ROI calculations

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Interested Parties

• CVB Management Staff
• Destination Stakeholders
• Government/Funding Entities
• Consultants Auditors
• Media

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The Process

• Started in 2003
• Initial CVB outreach - Survey
• definitions used by CVBs
• activity productivity metrics
• visitor characteristics
• methods used to track specific variables

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Results of the Survey

• Good News
• CVBs at all levels measure their activity and
  productivity to some degree
• Bad News
• CVBs use inconsistent definitions
• Activity and productivity metrics measure
  different things
• Data Rich but Information Poor

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The Process

• Initial draft recommendations debated at joint
  PMT/Convention Sales Shirtsleeves meeting during
  2003 Annual Convention
• Revised draft circulated to PMT, IACVB membership
  general public for comment via www.iacvb.org
  Sept. 2003

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Standard Convention Sales Definitions, Activity
Productivity Measurements
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Sales Productivity Standards Criteria

• Documentation
• Auditable
• Accountable
• Credible

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CVB Implementation Strategy

• Core Measurements
• Ensures CVBs are consistent in reporting baseline
  metrics
• Supplemental Measurements
• CVBs will expand and enhance their
  accountability and productivity practices

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Recommended Convention Sales Definitions

• Lead
• Bid
• Tentative
• Booking - hotel event
• Booking - citywide/conv. center event
• Lost Opportunity
• Cancelled Business

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Recommended Convention Sales Activity Measurements

• Bids
• Tradeshows attended
• Outside sales trips
• Clients/Potential clients visited
• Client site inspections

• Fam tours
• Fam tour participants (planners only)
• Telephone call reports
• Direct mail campaigns
• Telemarketing campaigns

Note All Convention Sales Activity Measurements
are CORE metrics
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Recommended Convention Sales Productivity
Measurements

• Leads
• room nights
• Bookings
• room nights
• attendance
• attendee spending
• Lost Opportunities
• room nights
• reason for loss
• attendee
• attendee spending

• Cancellations
• room nights
• reason for loss
• attendee
• attendee spending
• Number of leads per tradeshow attended

• Tentatives
• Status being refined

Note All Convention Sales Productivity
Measurements are CORE metrics
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Next Steps

• IACVB Board adopted recommended definitions and
  core performance measures
• Publicized to IACVB membership and key industry
  partners through communication and education
  efforts
• Standards have been submitted to APEX for
  inclusion
• Review recommend supplemental convention sales
  productivity metrics and special issues

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Next Steps

• Focus on Convention Sales Supplemental Measures
  Special Issues
• CVB Originated vs. Assisted Business
• New Repeat Business
• Sales Conversion Ratios

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Leisure Sales Productivity Measures Update

• Three separate areas
• Definition of a visitor key visitor statistics
• Group sales activity productivity measures
• Consumer sales activity productivity measures
• Initial recommendations under review
• Enlist the Tourism Committee for input
• Recommendations slated for July 2004 IACVB Board
  of Directors meeting

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ROI Update

• Incorporate Convention and Leisure Sales
  Productivity Measures
• Extensive review by membership and industry
  partners w/expertise in CVB ROI
• Results will be completed end of 2004
• Provide CVBs with tools to measure value to
  community stakeholders

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IACVB Commitment

• Providing CVBs with pro-active, actionable
  approaches to performance measurements will
  remain a CORE initiative for IACVB.
• Check www.iacvb.org for updates on its
  Performance Measures Initiative

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Questions/More Information

• Ruth Trojan, Nadler Associates
• ruth_at_nadlerandassociates.com