PSU
Regional Tourism
Marketing
In Central New Hampshire
Jennifer Aldrich
12/12/2010
Table of Contents:
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Problem
Existing work
Proposed solution
Method: Survey/analysis of data
Results/findings
Recommendations
Partners in project
Problem:
Scott Stevens, the director of the Plymouth Regional Chamber of
Commerce, contacted my professors and me looking for a
direction for the new regional tourism committee to
take in its future marketing plan.
Existing Work:
Four chambers of commerce collaborated.
These chambers are the:
 Plymouth/Newfound Regional Chamber
 The Squam Lakes Area Chamber
 The Waterville Valley Region Chamber and the
 Baker Valley Chamber
("NHCentral")
This region, outlined in red (see figure 1),
is characterized by mountains, lakes and rivers, forests
and small towns.
Figure 1
th
NH Office of State Planning December 13 2004
Existing Work Cont:
The common goal of these chambers is to collectively market themselves as a region. They
devised a name to represent and link themselves. That name is The New Hampshire Central
Chambers of Commerce. The NH Central Chambers have introduced themselves to visitors via a
website where people can find contact information, directions, and an updated list of regional
events ( " N H C e n t r a l " ) . A tourism committee was then formed to address regional marketing.
Plymouth State University and this new committee began working together to find a solution to
the problem of what direction the Central Chambers should take.
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Proposed Solution:
My job was to assist the NH Central chambers of commerce and the regional tourism
committee to further define their identity. I began by looking for commonalities in what the
region has to offer visitors. I knew there was a good possibility my research could show no
common threads within the area. If this was the case, it would not make sense to collectively
market the area. I started by developing a supply survey of what the area has to offer. This
survey was handed out to the members of the tourism committee as well as the heads of the
chambers of commerce in the region.
Sample Survey
The survey asked these people to list the top five cultural, natural and other types of
attractions, as well as the top five retail stores, restaurants, festivals/events, lodging and dining
locations. I asked them to only choose businesses and activities that they associated with a high
level of quality. I knew this is a very subjective way of doing things; however, I wanted to see if
there was a common theme to what the people of the region feel the term quality means.
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Method: Data Analysis
I then compiled all of the data from the surveys onto one main form. I did this to look for commonalities,
being careful to distinguish among the chambers in order to see whether certain chambers had more in
common than others.
Findings:
Based on what the committee members and chamber directors have said, people should arrive to this
region expecting to see
 Small towns
 Small businesses
 Small-scale accommodations
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Results/Findings:
After looking at the data, it was soon very apparent that the term “quality” was almost universally
defined as the old fashioned, sometimes family run, ma and pa businesses. It was not the chain
businesses such as the Walmarts, Dunkin Donuts and Days Inns. Rather, it was the local small businesses
that are often run by members of the community. This was it! This is how the region differs from many
others. It has not lost these traditional style businesses because the people of the local communities feel
a greater connection with them.
As an example, Bill and Bonnie Webb own the Inn on Golden Pond. They greet guests on their website
using a picture of the two of them, so guests feel welcome.
("Inn on Golden Pond")
This type of connectedness and community is what I recommend NH Central should highlight and share
with its visitors. This is exactly what people should be coming to the region to experience… “old
fashioned experiences in the heart of New England.”
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Other types of “Old Fashioned” fun include…
 Old home days
 Town wide yard sales
 County fairs
 Concerts on town greens
 Craft fairs
 And a variety of outdoor activities
“Old Fashioned Experiences…
In the Heart of New England”
Our region is at the center of the state, the center of northern
New England, and the center of adventure with the lakes, rivers, and
mountains at our front steps.
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Target Markets:
It is this old fashioned customer service and variety out door activities that attract multiple
target markets, but more specifically “empty nesters” and professionals with young families. There are
many things that can describe these two target market, but in a nutshell:
Empty nesters Have more free time with children out of the house or in college
 Have more disposable income after children have left
 Have higher incomes and more vacation time on average then their younger counterparts still in
the work force
 Understand and are drawn towards this type of quality customer service that they grew up with
Professionals with young families:
 Professional job market allows for higher income on average + more disposable income and
benefits such as vacation time
 Are drawn toward this type of old fashioned life style for their young families where you don’t
always have to lock your front door
Recommendations:
Based on the research I have done, I recommend that there needs to be total buy-in by
all stake-holders, regardless of the concept agreed upon, prior to moving forward with your
marketing plan.
Best practices in multi-stakeholder collaboration will be useful to chambers of
commerce in the region as they move forward with their collaboration. There much to benefit
from regional collaboration, including leveraged resources. Research on this kind of
collaboration shows the importance of careful, deliberate, early, and transparent
communications. For example, Merryln Rutledge has come up with a great guide for strategic
alliances where partners will decide whether they are at the cooperation, coordination,
collaboration or coadunation stage. Each stage is clearly defined, although it is not important
which one you are at, only that everyone involved is aware of where they fit on the continuum.
This invites precision within the group and allows for open lines of communication. Asking
questions such as “where is there a common purpose,” “how will decisions be made” and
“what and whose resources will the alliance use to accomplish the common goal?” is an
essential part of this activity.
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Asking these questions and figuring out where you are and where you would like to be
on the continuum really puts you on track for a successful strategic alliance.
Copyright 2008 Merryn Rutledge, Ed. D, Principal , ReVisions LLC www.revisions.org using Bailey & Koney 2000
Recommendations cont:
After this is analyzed, the client can begin to focus on the further development of the
marketing strategy, such as identifying the current markets that are visiting the region.
It is important to identify the current demand coming into the area and thoroughly
understand them before spending precious time and money on marketing.
Once the full marketing strategy is formed, then it must be implemented. I recommend
closely monitoring and evaluating the success of the plan by coming up with measurable goals
so that the Central chambers can determine if the strategy needs to be adjusted or stay the
same.
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I want to thank all of the partners in the project for giving me this great opportunity. I have
learned so much from the experience and I am honored to be a part of such a positive process. I want to
give a special thanks to Scott Stevens, the director of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce for helping
me through this process, and to my professors, Dr. Mark Okrant and Dr. Thaddeus Guldbrandsen, for
putting up with my thousands of questions.
Conclusion:
It is my observation that the current organization of this project is rather difficult to
navigate through. Members of the committee each represent businesses, though I wasn’t sure
if all members were committed or just interested in the idea of regional marketing. If it were
more clear who is a part of this project and who is contributing to it, the marketing plan would
be that much easier to achieve. Success can be best achieved by each member clearly communicating
what they expect to contribute and receive from the process. Once this is achieved, I
recommend the group focus on determining the current demand for tourism in the area. This
involves figuring out who is currently visiting the area for what activities and who could be
visiting but is not (Okrant). After the current demand characteristics of the market is determined
it can then be analyzed along with the supply to develop the initial marketing plan (Okrant).
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This understanding of supply and demand should be used to develop a marketing
initiative, using the brand, “Old Fashioned Experiences in the Heart of New England.”
Bibliography
Copyright 2008 Merryn Rutledge, Ed. D, Principal , ReVisions LLC www.revisions.org using Bailey & Koney 2000
"Meet The Inn Keepers." The Inn On Golden Pond. InsideOut Solutions, 2010. Web. 20 Dec 2010.
<http://innongoldenpond.com/welcome/meet-the-innkeepers/>.
"NH Central Cham ber of Com m erce. " NHCen tra l . Sullivan+Wolf Design LLC, 2010.
Web. 20 Dec 2010. <http://www.nhcentral.com/NH -central-chambers.php>.
"New Hampshire Grand." NHGrand. N.p., 2010. Web. 20 Dec 2010. <http://www.nhgrand.com/>.
Okrant, Mark. "Modeling Tourism Impacts." Introduction to Travel and Tourism. Plymouth State University.
Plymouth, NH. 10-12-2010. Lecture
Guldbrandsen, Thaddeus. Community Research Experience. Plymouth State University. Plymouth, NH. Lecture.
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