Lessons learnt from Butlins

Lessons learnt from Butlins

Butlins at Skegness
Image by Gordon McKinlay via Flickr

We spent a weekend at Butlins in Skegness recently and it was interesting to see some of the things their marketing team and strategy have put in place. Here are some great things I saw:

  • Focusing on the target market: First of all, who are the target market at Butlins? Well, they have a number of segments they attract, but each of these was catered for individually. If you’re a kid, there’s a whole selection of things to do. If you’re a parent, there are loads of things to keep your kids amused and give you some space. If you’re into live entertainment, there’s something new every evening. If you’re into gambling, there’s a whole selection of slot machines and bingo you can lose yourself in.
  • Deliver: The delivery of the service Butlins provide is excellent. Do they provide accommodation? food? entertainment? In part, yes; but the real deliverable is a complete holiday experience. Everything I saw was aimed at delivered a great experience to the holiday makers, from the hassle-free check-in, through the selection of entertainment options, all the way to the cordiality and approachability of the staff. For example, when there’s entertainment put on in the evening, a number of staff members are present who’s sole role is to entertain the kids. This means that the kids have a great time, and so do the parents because they don’t have to hassle about keeping their kids in check or worry what they are doing.
  • Leverage the great experience: I think the greatest takeaway though was the fact that Butlins will try to keep their customers engaged and encourage them to book their next holiday while they are still there. There’s no better way to sell something to a client! There are reminders around the complex offering incentives if you book your next holiday and I could have sworn that these changed on the last day to “If this is your last day, you might want to book your next holiday”

All in all, an enjoyable stay at Butlins, and some great lessons learnt.

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