Why do they do it? It destroys faith in the brand, puts off customers and above all, drives me up the wall!
I am talking about misleading venue sales, through websites and brochures. After 10 years in the MICE industry you would have thought I was resigned to the situation and used to it all – but no, clearly not.
I have recently been hunting the country with my better half, looking for a wedding venue. Somewhere beautiful and intimate with just the right level of quality.
We both love Scotland, particularly the highlands and west coast. Surely there is somewhere up there??? Apparently not.
Following a quick trip, the four potential venues were, in the order we saw them:
Pretentious, inflexible and a travesty of modernisation. Although I imagine it was incredible five to ten years ago before investors destroyed it.
Horribly over priced, the worst room I have ever stayed in and I certainly don’t plan to detail the filth on the walls.
Potentially perfect. Oh, except the fact that the “wild country location” was actually in the middle of a busy town.
The biggest disappointment of all, in its stunning location: 100 yards from an intercity railway line and a major motorway.
Why this tirade of abuse and disappointment? Because it doesn’t take much to tell the truth. They all had superb website with sumptuous imagery. Stylized photography looks great in brochures but it can only live up to expectations in the best of venues. Each one of these properties had a genuine, credible offering and a perfect target market, but they were pitching to the whole world .
Targeted marketing and PR is always more successful than a scattergun approach and rarely leads to miss-selling. I believe we must all aspire to do and be better but downright lies are foolish. Although I will not mention their names here, you can bet I will not be recommending them to friends, colleagues or potential corporate bookers.