Today I am in Bucharest, the 1.8-million-soul capital of Romania.
From what I’ve seen so far, Bucharest is the same as every other place.
The same Irish pubs. The same kebab shops. The same escape rooms.
Yes, it’s a bit more run down. A bit cheaper. And free of the hordes of beautiful women who plague other eastern European destinations.
But otherwise, it’s the same. Which makes me not want to travel any more. At least here.
Not that I have a special gripe against Bucharest.
Last year, I was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Minsk is NOT the same as everywhere else.
There are very few if any bars or restaurants. The locals are polite but not interested in dealing with foreigners. The main attractions are large socialist monuments, which you can see in a day and a half. All of which makes me not want to travel to Minsk again, either.
Maybe you think I’m just a spoiled tourist. And you’re probably right. But I bring these two cities up to illustrate a marketing point.
Lots of gurus out there advise one of two things:
1) Be yourself and find your quirky and unique voice, or
2) Follow a proven marketing process, and just fill in the blanks
It’s almost always one or the other. Either you need to be doggedly unique… Or you need to follow a proven, cookie-cutter approach.
I think this is foolish.
It’s the marketing equivalent of Minsk and Bucharest, both cities that are unlikely to draw a lot of my repeat tourist business.
The answer, at least as I see it, is you need both.
You need to have your own unique ideas and voice…
And you need to follow a marketing approach that’s been proven to work for many other people.
Maybe you already do this.
If so, good on ya.
But maybe you need some help to make your business the hot attraction that you know it can be. In that case, here’s one place to start your marketing efforts: