Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!
In a personal piece, Associate Dean Ford (Creative Director of The Modern Agency) shares his own experience of how the war has affected his outlook on business and what we can do to help.
For tourism to recover sustainably, a fresh mindset is required
Whatever the government does, or doesn't do, for or to tourism over the next few months and years, it's absolutely possible for destinations and communities of businesses to take action, ideally in partnership with the existing local support infrastructure.
Don’t go BACK to business as usual, build FORWARD better
Join us in Theatre 3 where we’ll be hosting a fantastic array of the very best people from our industry.I always hang on Colin Shaw's words, and this article is a great rallying call for all businesses as we move "post-pandemic" into some sort of "normality". He heralds "the next wave of business change... Customer Science is the fusion of artificial intelligence (AI), customer data, and the concept of the behavioural sciences".
Platinum Jubilee Business Booster
Presenting a new workshop to help you and your organisation rapidly develop and launch innovative ways to use The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to excite your customers and attract new ones.
Chelmsford Museum
“I engaged Stephen to help me motivate and direct teams of staff across three different museums. Each has their own challenges to overcome to make the shops make increased contributions to the Museum. Stephen shared with us his philosophy and we could then draw on his broad depth of knowledge to help us determine our way forward. Moreover, as he has such a range of experience he was willing and able to talk with passion and enthusiasm about each of his experiences. This rubbed off onto the people being trained and by the end of the 2 day workshops they were feeling empowered and ready to make a positive contribution to their Museum.
I am currently feeding the fire of this new found enthusiasm and encouraging them to look differently at our customers and products, and really take ownership of this key service. It's early days but I'm confident through the learning we gained from Stephen's workshops our retail businesses will go from strength to strength.”
Shane Bartley, Basildon Borough Council (Chelmsford Museum) / ICT and Change Manager
Market Hall Museum
“After a major refurbishment, Market Hall Museum offered a great experience and a popular cafe, while our retail, although small and perfectly-formed, lacked impact. Stephen worked creatively and collaboratively with our team to help us reimagine what the total experience could be, enabling us to become a cultural destination and increase engagement, repeat visitation, and revenue.
He helped us see the concept through to implementation, advising on everything from range development, product marketing and sales, to sourcing a suitable shop designer and fitter. It's been a pleasure working with Stephen and we would happily recommend his services.”
Emma Andrews, Museum Manager
An Talla and Loch Ness by Jacobite
“Stephen and his team played a pivotal role in helping us develop An Talla from an idea to reality. He facilitated the journey of looking closely at what could make our brand unique, who were the customers who would love it, how we fit in alongside the competition, and how we deliver the brand proposition throughout the customer journey.
Above all, his extensive knowledge and experience of developing successful niche and premium retail experiences gave us the confidence to turn the dream into a business that people love. Stephen Spencer + Associates offers an impressive breadth of experience and I'd be delighted to work with Stephen and his team again in the future.”
Freda Newton MBE, Owner + CEO
Cogges Heritage Trust
"Stephen joined us as Interim Director responsible for the day-day operation of the business (Cogges Manor Farm) at a time when we were looking to recruit and appoint a new General Manager following the departure of the previous incumbent.
During his time with us, Stephen brought stability and leadership as well as developing a business and events plan for the following year. He achieved this by rapidly gaining an understanding of the business and by providing much needed structure, encouragement and motivation to the staff team and volunteers. Stephen also ensured there was a smooth handover to the incoming General Manager thus providing continuity.”
Paul Evans, Chair
Hopetown, Darlington
“Stephen, John and Catrina are a pleasure to work with. They bring to the table a great wealth of knowledge and experience from high-profile visitor attractions, but don’t apply a cookie-cutter approach. Recommendations were delivered alongside a clear and structured path to implementation. We now have a clear, workable and measurable strategy to move forward with.”
Rebecca Howarth, Sales and Marketing Manager
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
“Stephen Spencer + Associates, thank you for helping Blenheim Palace create an exceptional guest service charter. Your training transformed our hosts, ensuring our guests receive an unparalleled experience. We are grateful for your expertise and look forward to our continued partnership.”
Heather Carter, Managing Director - Visitor Attraction, Blenheim Palace
Tony G
“After 18 years of continual growth working very much in reaction to demand, we felt as a team we were frequently in chaos on our own individual hamster-wheels.
Stephen and team rounded us into a cohesive whole, clarifying some significant core values we could all identify with and that connected us together better. Introducing us to tools that helped recognise each other’s different communication styles was really useful too and we still make reference to those techniques today.”
Heather Golding, Founding Director