4. Target markets - closer to home (NI & ROI markets)
Contents
- Getting started
- 1. Know the basics - know your business
- 2. Market research
- 3. Routes to market
- 4. Target markets - closer to home (NI & ROI markets)
- 5. Target markets GB & international markets
- 6. Market research
- 7. Pricing for Profitability
- 8. Marketing Your Product
- 9. Business planning for SMEs
- 10. Working Safely in a Covid-19 Environment
- 11. Generating feedback and measuring success
Contents
- Getting started
- 1. Know the basics - know your business
- 2. Market research
- 3. Routes to market
- 4. Target markets - closer to home (NI & ROI markets)
- 5. Target markets GB & international markets
- 6. Market research
- 7. Pricing for Profitability
- 8. Marketing Your Product
- 9. Business planning for SMEs
- 10. Working Safely in a Covid-19 Environment
- 11. Generating feedback and measuring success
4. Target markets - closer to home (NI & ROI markets)
Identification of your target market(s) is a key determinant of success and will add another level of detail to the Market Research you have collated in the previous stage. For many start-up tourism businesses, the closer to home markets including the NI Domestic market, and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) represent the best prospect In the first few years, it makes commercial sense to concentrate on getting the closer to home markets right.
We have all witnessed the renwed importance of the NI domestic market and for some businesses particulry in border areas the ROI market, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As many successful businesses have demonstrated, a firm grasp of these markets will provide a sound commercial foundation from which to expand into other markets and niche segments.
Who are your customers?
To assist businesses in being specific about their target customers, market research segments the customer base into groups, each with a distinct identity. The people within each group share common interests and characteristics and form a broad target at which a business can aim its marketing efforts. Often these are built around obvious features such as age, family structure or lifestyle but they can also contain quite detailed information about the types of experience that each segment finds appealing.
Why should I make use of segmentation?
The use of segmentation can assist businesses in making sure that they make the most of what they can offer and don’t dilute the quality of their product by trying to be all things to all people. Sometimes it can be difficult to serve the needs and motivations of different groups effectively. For instance, couples in pursuit of some precious time together may not want to share their space with young children. Similarly older couples seeking a bit of peace and quiet have quite different expectations to a group of young people hoping to experience some local nightlife. Moreover, once a business has made a decision about the motivations of its target audiences it can then focus on delivering some of the added extras that will appeal to them.
Tourism NI and Tourism Ireland have lots of information and research into the key target markets for NI, including useful toolkits, to assist you in this process.
For many start-up tourism businesses, the closer to home markets including the NI Domestic market, the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and the GB Market represent the best prospect.
NI Domestic Market
The domestic market will be key to the sectors recovery. For practical reasons the NI consumer will be highly unlikely to travel overseas for holidays in the near term. Not only will there be travel restrictions but many consumers will not want to travel abroad.
The Domestic Market – Key to Tourism Recovery
As a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic the world we live in has and is undergoing a period of profound change. More than any sector tourism has been severely impacted. However, as we move out of crisis and begin to understand what the ‘new norm’ will look like we must now begin to chart the road to recovery for the tourism industry throughout Northern Ireland. The domestic market will be key to the sector’s recovery.
Ciaran O'Neill, Domestic Tourism Strategy Steering Group Chairperson
As a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic the world we live in has and is undergoing a period of profound change. More than any sector tourism has been severely impacted. However, as we move out of crisis and begin to understand what the ‘new norm’ will look like we must now begin to chart the road to recovery for the tourism industry throughout Northern Ireland. The domestic market will be key to the sector’s recovery.
Ciaran O'Neill, Domestic Tourism Strategy Steering Group Chairperson
Aspiring Families, Natural Quality Seekers and Social Instagrammers have been identified as priority segments in the NI Domestic Tourism Strategy. These three segments combined represent 60 percent of the market and rank the highest in terms of estimated spend. You can find out more about each of these segments from the short videos below.
Aspiring Families
Natural Quality Seekers
Social Instagrammers
NI Domestic Market Review Webinar
This webinar, led by Conor Kavanagh from business advisory firm Genesis, covered all aspects of the NI Domestic Market Review strategy and unpack the research in a meaningful way.
NI Domestic Market Workshop
This session, facilitated by Sharon Scott from Place Solutions, aimed at helping you now use this research to shape your new tourism experiences, segmentation plans, pricing models and marketing channel management.
Republic of Ireland (ROI) Market
The Republic of Ireland (ROI) market is also an important market for tourism businesses in the short to medium term. Currently under review by Tourism NI industry experts, the latest available information on the ROI taskforce market report and associated toolkit are available here. Please check for regular updates.