Handy tips to make the most of the Tour de Yorkshire
The Tour de Yorkshire is expected to generate over two million roadside spectators over the four days. This will bring with it plenty of opportunities to generate revenue for many businesses across yorkshire. Here are some handy hints and tips:
Tip 1: BE RACE READY
Talk to your staff
• Newsletters - Circulate the Allez Yorkshire newsletters around your team or print a copy and put it on your staff notice board.
• Team Meetings - Host meetings and include Tour de Yorkshire on the agenda, so that all staff are aware of the Tour de Yorkshire.
• Tour de Yorkshire Champion - One person can take responsibility for being the champion so other staff members know who to come to for information.
Talk to your customers
Plan what you want tell your customers and have a list of the key points for staff, which might be:
• How far away the Tour de Yorkshire passes from your business
• What your opening days / times will be during the Tour de Yorkshire
• Where they can find out more information E-shots
If you are sending regular emails out to your database you can include some factual information about the Tour de Yorkshire on here as a secondary message.
Promote what else guests and customers can do in the area. If you are an accommodation provider you may be able to get extend their stay, if they are made aware of
an event happening later in the week. You could also use what is happening in your area to encourage people to come back to you via your e-newsletter and advertising.
Why not promote a special offer to encourage people to return after the Tour de Yorkshire.
Promotion
Link back from your website to letouryorkshire.com to make sure your visitors can access relevant, up to date information on the race.
Collect official Tour de Yorkshire spectator guides, car stickers and posters from your local Tour de Yorkshire Roadshow and offer these to your customers.
Or create your own posters and leaflets (within the Tour de Yorkshire guidelines) to remind customers of your opening hours etc. during the Tour de Yorkshire
weekend. Advertising your next events locally to give people a reason to return later in the year.
Tip 2: SHOUT ABOUT YOURSELF
The Tour de Yorkshire will generate a huge amount of media attention.
Top tips for writing a press release
• Do not overtly promote the product. Remember a press release is a news story not an advert
• We suggest press releases are kept to one side of A4
• One of the most common problems is that the story is not strong enough for a press release, so think carefully and be honest with yourself – is the story worthy of a press release?
• Another common problem is that press releases can be boring and long winded
• Use everyday language and avoid any industry jargon.
• Nothing frustrates a journalist more than not being able to get hold of someone to discuss the press release with, so it should finish with a name, position, email, land line and mobile Format of a good press release
Headline: Punchy, attractive and short - around six words is ideal, such as: Royal wedding is a blessing for local church.
Intro: Always put the story in the top line - make the intro short and snappy, and tell the entire story in 20-30 words. Phrase in such a way that the reader will want to read on and find out more.
Body: Go into more detail with key information such as headline figures and timescales etc.
Then, importantly, introduce a quote. Use the standard journalistic style which is set out below.
Quote
Full name and position:
John Smith, museum director, said: Make the quote emotive and interesting. Try to avoid offering bland, obvious quotes. Keep the sentences short to makes it easier for the journalist to sub if necessary. Where possible offer a second quote (usually of endorsement) from a third party such as the local MP, a national body or Welcome to Yorkshire, as this gives credibility to the story.
More detail
Add more detail about what has led to the news item, what it includes and if necessary more background.
Sum up
If appropriate, end with website and contact details, i.e. To find out more information visit www.website.com or call phone number
Tip 3: CUSTOMER SERVICE
Most businesses offer good customer service. The Tour de Yorkshire is an excellent way to showcase your product or service to a large audience. By focusing on the
customer service you offer will not only mean you can delight people buying from you, it also means they’re more likely to recommend you to their friends,
and to return and buy from you again in the future. What can you do to make it great and help people leave with fantastic memories?
• Provide your team with the resources necessary to answer customer queries effectively. This could range from bus timetables to explaining the village fête happening in 2 days’ time.
• Encourage and gather feedback. Listen to what your customers have to say and act on it!
• Encourage your staff to be your customers’ problem solvers and to go the extra mile to make their day run smoothly.
• Be proactive – anticipate your guests’ needs before they ask you.
• Invest in your staff and look into enrolling them into external customer service courses.
Think of your business from the customer’s point of view and think of ways that you can enhance their experience. The smallest attention to detail may make a huge difference. Other creative ways you can delight your customers, include:
• Allowing guests to pre-order food deliveries prior to their arrival if using self-catering accommodation.
• Training a few key members of staff on puncture repairs and/ or offer a complimentary bike cleaning service.
• Provide your customers with a simple cycling related gift.
Tip 4: WORK AS ONE
• Are there complementary businesses/events nearby that could enhance your own to provide a superior package for your customers? For example:
- Could you supply bike maintenance/hire for nearby hotels that cater for cyclists?
- Could you offer evening meals/packed lunches for nearby accommodation that cannot offer their own, such as local campsites?
• Introduce a local loyalty scheme. This doesn’t necessarily have to be offering a discount. Think of an incentive that could be unique to your business.
• Don’t forget to talk to your local council and Welcome to Yorkshire to tell them what you are doing and tagging us into any posts on social media or by using #TDY.
• Get involved and work with local tourism and business groups in your area. Support your local groups and feedback ideas for possible ways to increase tourism in your area.
• You can achieve economies of scale by promoting your business in partnership with others and your message will have far greater reach if several of you are promoting it.
• The Tour de Yorkshire sees new visitors to the county, a lot of these first time visitors – you can make it easy for people to plan their first holiday here by working with other businesses to promote your town or village as a whole to them.
• Don’t over charge! There will be a greater demand for accommodation during the Tour de Yorkshire and tourists may be willing to pay high prices. However, visitors may not return or recommend Yorkshire if they feel they have not received value for money and you may receive negative feedback and reviews.
Land Art
Since its hugely successful launch in 2016, the Tour de Yorkshire Land Art Competition is back again this year and is a great way for businesses, landowners, farmers, schools, community groups - and anyone else with a creative spark - to get involved! Last year hundreds of pieces popped up in fields, playgrounds, market squares and car parks along the race route, and every one of them complemented the action brilliantly with their bursts of colour and creativity. To find how to get involved go to our land art competition page.
Dress to impress
Make sure your business, community, village or town are looking their best as every stage of the Tour de Yorkshire is televised in 180 countries and watched by
some 9.7 million global TV viewers across Eurosport and ITV4. Bunting, bikes and anything yellow and blue will help your community look its best on the day welcoming visitors and the peloton to Yorkshire.
Tip 5: INTERNATIONAL THINKING
Learn foreign phrases
• You and your team may benefit from learning a few simple sentences in different languages, including:
- Welcome/Welcome to
- Hello/Goodbye
- How are you?
• Why not make your web page internationally friendly by displaying your information in different languages?
• You could use the services of translators and language teachers to have your promotional literature translated or hire someone for a few hours to help train your staff in some key phrases. Click here to find out more.
Food expectations
• Although international guests will come to Yorkshire to experience our traditional English food, it may be good for cafés, restaurants and bars to also offer international food options.
• Why not host some internationally themed food days/nights to get in the Tour de Yorkshire spirit? Choose a country and decorate your café, bar or restaurant, then serve the traditional food from that country, play music and get dressed up.
Make international visitors feel at home
• International guests are less likely to be familiar with the local towns, cities and roads in Yorkshire. On your business’s website, leaflets etc. make sure
good, clear directions are available for international guests with distances in kilometres as well as miles.
Although some international guests will be able to speak English fluently, others may not. It could be useful if there were some staff that could speak the basics of different languages.
Accommodating international guests
• Have universal chargers available for international guests to borrow.
• Why not produce your own town guide, which would make international guests feel excited about visiting the area? You could focus on the local attractions which would mean the most to visitors from overseas.
• Offer your international guests ways to pay in their own currency.
MAKE THE TOUR WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Things to consider
How will you get customers in and out – will you need to change opening hours / start times?
How will you get your employees in and out?
Will you need extra staff to be working during the Tour de Yorkshire and if so how will you manage this?
Will you need to increase orders and deliveries to cater for greater numbers or to deal with the disruption of road closures?
Do you know when the anticipated surges in interest around the Tour de Yorkshire are likely to be?
If you’re going to offer a specific package, have you worked out all the details of what you want to offer? Is there a minimum spend or booking period? What will
customers get for their money? How does what you’re offering compare with the competition’s packages?
Look at up-selling/increasing your sales. For example some visitors will leave early in the morning during the Tour de Yorkshire to stake out their favourite area by the road side. If you offer breakfasts open early, or at least offer a cold breakfast that can be pre-ordered the day before. When spectators take their place by the roadside they may not want to move away from it. Takeaway lunches/picnics will be very popular if there is nowhere to eat close by.
