Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Building Corporate Credibility
In order to build corporate credibility you must first have a tourism company based on values of respect, honesty and integrity. As with any company in the tourism industry you must be able to sell, communicate and produce a valuable product or service for which you are proud of. Employees are key and the first step to building corporate credibility, if you cannot treat your staff with respect and deliver all promises how can you begin to sell an honest product and/or service?In addition, you must not try to be too perfect, deliver your service/product to the best of your ability using the highest quality staff and tools.
Is it Real or is it Photoshop?
Oh the wonders Photoshop has done for the fashion world, the music industry and tourism. Not only can you create a flawless and perfect image of someone, the perfect product or service, but you can also create the perfect destination to visit. Essentially Photoshop has allowed crooked companies and individuals the ability to market false images and lies.
The authenticity of an image contributes to the validity of a blog posting in that it lends credibility and authenticates what was written, basically it backs up what you claimed. Example this hotel has great rooms and service- so I post a picture of myself with the maids and the post a picture of my hotel room and show how the towels are folded nicely and the bed is made. Since many people are better at processing images than words, this means that we not only have to process words but also have to work to process images presented to ourselves. The better an image looks the more we will be attracted to it. I believe the first major step is to be somewhat sceptical, in that you cannot believe everything you see or read. Thus this means being critical and educated to the fact that you have to be analytical with everything you see on the Internet. Like the saying goes 'buyer beware' which can be related to 'viewer beware'!!!
I feel the best way to assure a blog viewer of the authenticity of the image is to include other images which relate to original image. As stated above include pictures of yourself, in real life and still. This will show you not only copied an image from a company website, but that you are giving others the opportunity to see other areas and aspects you experience in the hotel. In addition, you can post explanations or further links to which validate the images posted, such as the hotel website address.
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about authenticity of images as it reflects the reputation and credibility along with, the changes in the industry and forms individuals perceptions of the industry. If fake images are posted and promoted the industry will be tarnished, and this as a result could slowly ruin companies and destinations not necessarily related to the original images. Also, many companies and clients are using online tools and want a hotel, conference centre, destination etc to have the most relevant and up to date information available.
The main thing to keep in mind with e-marketing is the relationship that is being formed with everyone who views a image posted, and that it is the responsibility of every e-marketer in the industry to effectively communicate, promote and sell services and products responsibly over the Internet.
The authenticity of an image contributes to the validity of a blog posting in that it lends credibility and authenticates what was written, basically it backs up what you claimed. Example this hotel has great rooms and service- so I post a picture of myself with the maids and the post a picture of my hotel room and show how the towels are folded nicely and the bed is made. Since many people are better at processing images than words, this means that we not only have to process words but also have to work to process images presented to ourselves. The better an image looks the more we will be attracted to it. I believe the first major step is to be somewhat sceptical, in that you cannot believe everything you see or read. Thus this means being critical and educated to the fact that you have to be analytical with everything you see on the Internet. Like the saying goes 'buyer beware' which can be related to 'viewer beware'!!!
I feel the best way to assure a blog viewer of the authenticity of the image is to include other images which relate to original image. As stated above include pictures of yourself, in real life and still. This will show you not only copied an image from a company website, but that you are giving others the opportunity to see other areas and aspects you experience in the hotel. In addition, you can post explanations or further links to which validate the images posted, such as the hotel website address.
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about authenticity of images as it reflects the reputation and credibility along with, the changes in the industry and forms individuals perceptions of the industry. If fake images are posted and promoted the industry will be tarnished, and this as a result could slowly ruin companies and destinations not necessarily related to the original images. Also, many companies and clients are using online tools and want a hotel, conference centre, destination etc to have the most relevant and up to date information available.
The main thing to keep in mind with e-marketing is the relationship that is being formed with everyone who views a image posted, and that it is the responsibility of every e-marketer in the industry to effectively communicate, promote and sell services and products responsibly over the Internet.
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