Summer’s here and entertainment and recreation destinations are hoping for the best, despite the economy. Some venues, like Six Flags, have already succumbed to bankruptcy. But that doesn’t mean the company won’t be promoting summer fun. A recent press release indicates the company plans to increase advertising this year.

And Six Flags is not alone.  Even the National Parks Service, typically seen as an affordable destination, has begun to market discounts to increase traffic.  In general, ThemeParkInsider notes that theme parks are discounting “more aggressively” than they have in the past. All of this activity means consumers will have their choice of a range of summer activities.  And since at least 50% of consumers plan to vacation closer to home and 32% are planning ’staycations’, they might be looking around for location entertainment destinations.

Take a look at your marketing plan and make sure you’re reaching out effectively, discounts or not, to local residents and visitors this year.

[Sources: Tirrell, Meg. Six Flags Bankruptcy, Bloomberg.com, 6.15.09; Yancey, Kitty. National parks. USA Today, 6.19.09; Harris  Poll, 5.19.09]

It’s enough to keep any CEO awake at night.  Over 4 in 10 contractor business owners report a decreasing backlog and 1/3 have enough work for the only for next six months. These are some of the findings uncovered by a contractor survey conducted by Grassi & Co, a New York-based CPA firm. While the firms in this survey are concentrated in the New York region, they may be reporting on trends that contractors are encountering in many parts of the country.

Here are a few of the leading trends:

• Over 90% of firms expect to bid on more public projects through 2012
• 76% of firms are seeing fixed price work more frequently and larger contracts coming in
• Joint projects are an increasingly common occurrence

Here’s how contractors say they handle the need to market:

• 40% have a formal marketing plan
• 21% have in-house marketing person
• 76% have a Web site

The survey author reports that historically, marketing in this industry has been “conducted on a relationship basis”. It comes as no surprise that he encourages contractors to either increase the level of internal resources allocated to marketing or to seek outside expertise. Whether contractors are seeking new business partners or higher visibility in the community, a new marketing plan can help them compete in the changing economic climate.

[Source: 2009 State of Your Business, Construction Industry Survey, Grassi & Co, 2009]

37% of 18 to 24 year olds influenced by social networks when choosing hair salon, day spa

Fifty-seven percent of 18 to 24 year olds and 48.5% of 25 to 34 year olds say social media influenced their choice of a hair salon/barber or day spa, according to Ad-ology Research.

Across all demographics, online media had the most impact, with local Web sites (28.8%) and online Yellow Pages (22.3%) ranking as the most influential. Direct mail and newspapers were the top-ranked traditional media types.

“The younger crowd wants the latest styles, but they also want to go somewhere popular, somewhere their friends go,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “Salons and spas need to get active online since chatter on social networks and positive comments can attract these young potential customers,” Smith said.

Other key findings:

• Currently, only 3% of consumers prefer to schedule hair and spa appointments online
• 34.3% of African Americans say a sports sponsorship is an important factor in their choice of a hair salon/barber or day spa
• In addition to quality, cleanliness, price and location are top factors in salon/spa selection

The Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey is conducted throughout the year by Ad-ology Research to study online, traditional, and social media influence on buying decisions.

The Media Influence on Consumer Choice: Hair & Spa Services report is available for purchase and immediate download through Ad-ology.net. The report includes 26 data charts, consumer-spending estimates by market, and additional marketing insights.

Loyalty programs - consumers encounter them everywhere. Stay 5 nights at a hotel and get a 6th night free. Spend $150 on groceries and pick up a free turkey on the way out of the supermarket. These offers have proven to be an extremely popular marketing tool and the typical U.S. household belongs to about 12 customer loyalty programs. But they can also be costly, especially when consumers stop being so loyal. Is there any way for a business to win in this situation?

A group of university researchers recently studied this topic and published their findings in the Journal of Marketing. Researchers noted that the basic structure of these programs requires participants to maintain a specific level of spending or patronage to receive their rewards. When those levels drop, consumers are often ‘demoted’. The results of this study found that a demoted customer is likely to drop his or her spending by 35%. [See Figure 2 in the study.] Researchers also discovered that consumers typically feel they have been demoted or dropped from a loyalty program too hastily and may harbor a negative attitude about the company. To prevent these negative consequences, marketers should ramp up positive communications such as apologies or encouragement to spend more to maintain a certain status level.   Marketers should also consider keeping the customer in the loyalty program a year or two after he or she falls below the commitment level needed to maintain status.

Technical readers can study the regression analysis and T-scores here. The rest of us can skim the report and remember to structure a loyalty program carefully - the goal is to sell more and encourage affiliation, not create a negative impression by demoting the most loyal shoppers.

[Source: Wagner et. al. Does Customer Demotion Jeopardize Loyalty? Journal of Marketing. May 2008]