Black and Wright Travel Executive Advisory Services

Black & Wright Services Increase Revenue, Optimize Operations and Technology

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:29:05 +0000

Since 2001 our focus has been on financial, technology and operational performance of travel industry organizations worldwide. We measure our success by your financial standards. To accomplish this, we assemble proven industry talent to quickly identify the issues, identify resources and solutions and often help execute.

These individual services are all designed to achieve one result: improve financial performance.

Wholesale to Consumer – Business Model Transition

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:26:00 +0000

Transition to New Consumer Model- B2B companies focused on going direct to consumers face challenges in making a successful transition. We accelerate that process and avoid common pitfalls by guiding the B2B company through decisions about target customers, right product and pricing, marketing, website traffic and performance, technology, and customer service.

Create B2B financial modeling with metrics
Match products and offers with new targets
Refine target customer profiles and personas
Develop consume marketing strategy
Recommend website modifications for consumers
Develop programs to drive traffic
Optimize consumer web traffic
Review branding for consumer audience
Create and manage email marketing

Strategic Partnerships

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:25:23 +0000

We help you identify the right partner at the right time. We are intimately familiar with travel, from the leaders to the innovators to the mainstay mid-size companies. And we have access to the business leaders who make the industry run. If your company is looking for a strategic fit, we can identify the potential partners, validate the business benefits, develop the numbers and facilitate the deal.

If the deal involves an equity component, we work closely with Bentley Associates, investment bankers, who have envious record of success in travel industry transactions.

Evaluate partnership needs and opportunities
Provide prospective partnership strategy
Develop forward looking models/projections
Identify short list of partner prospects
Make introductions and facilitate negotiations
Provide full financial advisory through Bentley Associates
Develop and perform due diligence requirements

Confidential Industry Research

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:24:26 +0000

We identify strategic opportunities, validate concepts and hypotheses, uncover market intelligence to guide planning and decisions for new products, new market entry, business model change or just about any critical unknowns facing the travel organization.

Identify methodology to develop intelligence
Unique access to senior management worldwide
Conduct up to 1 hr one-on-one interviews
In depth conclusions and analysis
Full recommendations and action items
Highly confidential one-o-a-kind intelligence
Conducted by Senior Partners & Research Specialist

Branding and Competitive Positioning

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:23:44 +0000

Black & Wright in conjunction with ISM-Boston works to formulate a clear and well defined positioning and brand platform that creates a competitive advantage, defines differentiation and articulates a brand promise that drives product, marketing and technology. Our business team combines with the Award Winning ISM-Boston group to give companies a tightly woven, unique industry positioning from which to succeed.

Branding Discovery Session
Competitive Analysis
Persona exploration & development
Brand positioning
Messaging by target audience
Communications – Graphic, messages, all media

Travel Email Marketing

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:18:10 +0000

Black & Wright Email Marketing services include initial or later stage complex strategy, evaluating and optimizing existing programs and developing new program to integrate new trends in social networking and merchandising. We know and implement most sophisticated, latest effective programs.

Our email services are run by Dwight Sholes, a marketing professional and entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in building brands and profitable companies, with a focus on the travel industry. In 2001 co-founded Quotient Marketing, a provider of email marketing technology and strategic services that was acquired by Fishbowl Marketing in May, 2007.

Email program design
Customer contact plan
Segmentation and persona analysis
Campaign strategy
Evaluating existing email for conversion
Behavior triggered messaging
Acquisition strategy
Co-ordinate multi-channel programs
Multivariate Testing

New Entry to Travel Vertical

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:17:23 +0000

Companies just coming into the travel industry face challenges navigating, sizing the market, gaining traction and avoiding unnecessary expenditure of time and resources. Black & Wright knows the industry and help size the market, develop the right strategy and identify the decision makers. Whether it’s technology, advertising, publishing, data service or supply…we know how the market will respond and can help focus and accelerate your travel marketing plan.

Confidential Industry Research
Develop new market entry strategy
Provide analysis of industry landscape
New market sizing
Match services/products with right prospective customers
Advise on pricing, positiong for travel & leisure
New entry feasibility

Optimize Revenue

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:16:44 +0000

We evaluate the company’s business model, financial results, web performance to determine where you’re either leaving money on the table or missing revenue because of challenges somewhere between your customer and the results. Using our “Deep Dive” approach, we facilitate a focused Discovery Work Session where we will work together to define, organize and prioritize the issues. A day of concentrated information exchange and brainstorming will give you a roadmap for meeting challenges, including a high level strategy and resources required to further develop it.

Evaluate company/brand financial performance
Identify revenue “left on the table.”
Evaluate website financial performance
Review & evaluate business model
Identify additional distribution channels
Develop “next step” action items
Execute and implement solutions

Product Management

Mims Wright — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:15:31 +0000

We provide short term or interim product management for online travel companies seeking to overcome technology “roadblocks” and increase revenues. We identify travel market requirements and design features into website releases. We provide close interaction with ecommerce leads, product architects and developers. All of our product managers come from major travel company successes and provide highly sophisticated insights and hands-on solutions.

We make sure clients’ technology properly supports the business, writing market requirements documents or Agile product backlogs, and monitoring the implementation of each product project.

Evaluate website performance
Identify “fixes,” improvements
Interim Product Management
Website architecture
Business requirements
Wire frame and functional specs
Lead development, customization, enhancement
Provide ROI on technology enhancement
Develop technology RFP
Interact with technology providers

Susan Joins Travel Impressions; Black and Wright Expands

Mims Wright — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:57:00 +0000

Yes, it’s true! Susan Black, my co-founder and partner has joined our largest client, Travel Impressions, as executive vice president, Global eCommerce. She will be responsible for advancing the company’s global online expansion and directing new online opportunities.

And yes, it’s ALSO true that she will continue her ownership as Senior Partner at Black and Wright and member of our advisory board.

I am delighted for Susan AND for T.I.! Since February, we have enjoyed a great relationship with the T.I. team and we will continue to support them (and Susan) as they leverage Travel Impressions’ robust portfolio of world-class travel products and services, including American Express Vacations. And we’re growing! Our valued Confidential Industry Surveys are more sought after by our clients, so we are joined by Kimberly Gilbert (see her bio); she’s been researching/writing about/analyzing travel industry trends since 2004 and is currently managing editor at Eli Research. See our blog about B&W Research AND ask us to tell you more at PhoCusWright!

Mims Wright