Marketing Strategy for Small Teams
May 2025
Insights
If you’re running a small tourism business or a lean marketing team, strategy often feels like a luxury. You’re juggling social media, content, emails, maybe a lackluster landing page for your ads—and now someone wants you to write a strategy?
But here’s the truth: Strategy saves you.
It’s what separates focused, high-impact work from reactive noise. A good strategy tells you where to place your bets and where to let go. And more importantly, it gives your team permission to not do everything.
One of the hardest things to do is to simplify. To choose and commit. But do this and it will take you far. A laser beam can punch through steel, while a soft wide light can barely warm a surface.
Strategy is focus.
And it starts by understanding where you are.
Before you make a plan, you need a map. Here’s how we break it down:
Ask: What are we actually good at? What do we love doing? What feels easy for us that others struggle with?
This is about internal alignment. Many teams skip this and go straight to tactics. But knowing who you are gives you a filter for everything else.
✴︎ Example: A boutique lodge in Nelson realised they weren’t set up to cater to families, despite trying. Once they stopped marketing to that segment and leaned into luxury, couples-only stays, their bookings went up and their guests got happier.
Ask: Who do we serve best and what are they looking for?
You can talk to past guests. Look at reviews. Send a one-question survey. Or just pay attention to who rebooks and why.
✴︎ Example: As Skift Research highlights in their 2023 report How Authentic Experiences Shape the New Tourism Economy, modern travellers are choosing small tour operators over larger ones because of their authenticity and local insight, not just the itinerary. Are you marketing that?
Ask: Who else could they choose and why might they?
This isn’t about copying. It’s about understanding the landscape so you can differentiate with purpose.
✴︎ Example: Two wineries may offer tastings—but one leans into storytelling and regenerative farming while the other emphasises food pairings and events. Both are viable, but different.
Ask: Who shares your audience but isn’t your competition?
This is the part most strategy templates skip. But it’s huge especially in tourism, where networks can accelerate growth faster than paid ads.
✴︎ Example: A guided wildlife tour in Kaikōura partnered with a marine café to offer bundled sunrise breakfasts. Their booking conversion rate jumped 20 percent for early slots.
Ask: What’s shifting around us and how might that affect us?
You don’t need to predict the future. But you do need to be aware. This helps you stay adaptive, not reactive.
✴︎ Example: Post-pandemic, “private group” experiences surged in popularity. Brands that noticed early and adapted their offerings won big.
Once you’ve looked through the five lenses, bring it together.
What’s true across all of them? Where’s the tension? Where’s the opportunity?
Try this synthesis exercise:
Great strategies evolve. They get sharper with time. Don’t wait until things are slow or messy to do this thinking.
Treat this as a 6-month check-in. Revisit the five lenses. Ask your team. Look at the data. Use your gut and your guest feedback.
If you’ve got 20 minutes this week, here’s what to do:
If you do that every quarter, your strategy will never drift far from your brand.
And that’s what we want: small businesses that are clear, grounded, and growing by design.
Sources to Explore:
