Consumer Affairs – changes in legistlation
There have been recent changes in the Australian Consumer Law which means that small businesses now have consumer protections.
Under the law changes a small business has the rights to refunds, repairs and replacements in the same way as a consumer. Therefore if something goes wrong with products or services purchased by your business, Consumer Affairs Victoria may be able to help.
As part of their expanded offering Consumer Affairs also have a new Business InfoLine and a resolution service for disputes between businesses.
Please click here for more information about small business rights with Consumer Affairs Victoria.
July 29, 2011 at 3:55 pm | General | No comment
Tourism and Events Excellence Program
The full program for the inaugural Tourism and Events Excellence (TEE) Conference has been released.
TEE will be staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Victoria from Monday 5 to Wednesday 7 September 2011. It aims to bring together industry experts and leaders, business owners and operators, destination managers and visitor service providers, offering a unique opportunity to share knowledge, learn from each other, form new business relationships and discuss the issues that matter most to your business and our industry.
Click here to view the full program or to find out more.
July 29, 2011 at 3:54 pm | General | No comment
TQUAL Grants have now been announced
The Australian Government has this week announced the details of the $8.5million given to 117 projects across Australia in TQUAL tourism grants.
Announcing the TQUAL Grants: Tourism Quality Projects at Majura Winery in Canberra on 26th July, Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP said the grants will help to lift the quality and variety of Australia’s tourism experiences.
July 29, 2011 at 3:51 pm | General | No comment
Hints and Tips – Social Media
Social Media is an expanding forum in which businesses can use to market their products and services. However, it can become quite confusing for a business to work in the social media arena, or even, where to start.
ATAP had the please of hearing Phil Lees, Social Media Manager of Tourism Victoria, at a recent workshop. Mr Lees has some great tips to pass on to businesses which we thought we would pass on.
Tourism Victoria are approaching Social Media as a way in which to build the brand of Melbourne and Victoria. They have learnt that it is a great avenue to lead traffic back to their website and create positive engagement, however, for them the advertising of certain deals and packages have not yet seen as much success – it is very hard to actually sell a product. Therefore they have been able to identify what it is they want out of their social media efforts – engage and drive traffic back to visitvictoria.com.
Tourism Victoria sees engagement as key to their social media strategy via storytelling. Having a huge number of people who ‘like’ their page is not as important as getting users to engage with their content.
Businesses should be realistic about how much time and energy they can spend on social media. If a business only has a limited amount of time to dedicate to it then they should be selective in which social media platforms they work with.
Tips:
Claim you place
- Make sure you claim your premises on Google Places google.com/places.
- A community page is created by Facebook or Facebook users when ‘checking in’ to a place, make sure you claim this page. You can also merge this with an existing page you have already created.
- Claim your business name on Twitter and Facebook. This ensure no one else is going to create an account with your business name.
Listen
- Listen to those that have made comments on your pages, you should acknowledge their comments and utilise them to create engaging content.
Set a Social Media Plan/Strategy
- You should set some rules around how often you need to update your page/account. For example you don’t need to make posts on Facebook every day, as every second or third would be suffice, but make sure the content is relevant.
- Remember that your account/page is representing your business make sure all staff know that only positive messages should be made.
Trip Advisor
- Don’t forget about Trip Advisor – it is a social platform where your product or service can be directly discussed. It is important to resolve any negative feedback in a positive manner to ensure others can feel confident to choose your product, as well as showing that your business cares.
You Tube
- You Tube is another great avenue in which to promote your business. It is the second largest search engine used by consumers and is a great way to highlight the experience visitors will have when interacting with your business.
July 29, 2011 at 2:26 pm | General | No comment
Tourism Victoria appoints new CEO
From the Victorian Premiers website, July 27th 2011:
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher MP announced today that Leigh Harry Chief Executive of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has been appointed the new CEO of Tourism Victoria and Deputy Secretary of Tourism and Aviation, Department of Business and Innovation.
Ms Asher said Mr Harry’s experience in driving the international success of the MCEC would be valuable in taking Tourism Victoria to the next stage.
Click here to read more on Leigh Harrys appointment on the Victorian Premier website.
