What is the Extranet?

What is the Extranet? It is a password protected area where your local businesses can log in and do a number of things… 

Partner Bulletins – Use the Extranet to post important messages & documents where your partners can find them. This means no more lost or unread emails. Short video-clip example: http://screencast.com/t/rN4zdDx23Tm



Update Member Record – It is important that your destination is notified when there has been a change of staff. Your business partners have the power to make sure you have the information to contact the right people for the right item/task. Short video-clip example: http://screencast.com/t/MydGpbVMrw5n Listings – Take some of the time/labor intensive processes and make them easier for your staff and your partners by allowing business partners to update their listing information (visitor guide, website, etc.) and then have designated staff within the DMO responsible for approving/denying the updated listing changes.



o

Website Listings – allow your partners to update their web content as they see fit (listing verbiage, listing photos, coupons, etc). Empower them to add in seasonal special & holiday menus – which can help with their listing hits and with your web statistics. Short video-clip example: http://screencast.com/t/nZkgx6amXU6 1|Page




Listings (Continued) o Visitor Guide (print) Listings – use CRM to blast out notifications guiding partners to the Extranet to review/update their content before going to print. Then continue using CRM to blast out notification to those who haven’t.  1. Blast emails out through CRM asking partners to review/update  2. Wait a few weeks, then use CRM to blast an email out to those who have not yet reviewed/updated  3. Repeat step 2 a few times  4. When you are nearing the deadline, SV can provide a list of partners who have not logged in to review  5. Reach out to those partners directly via phone/print – track those communications as Traces Lead/Service Requests – Using the Extranet to pass leads on to business partners means a guaranteed delivery of all requests and a guaranteed receipt of all responses. Short video-clip example: http://screencast.com/t/atVjA7WcFthh o Sales Lead Catcher – this role makes this even easier for larger properties.

2|Page


Review Benefits/Reports – Are you emailing or in some other way manually distributing reports to partners? Use the Extranet to allow business partners to pull these themselves. Things like a convention calendar can be valuable to the partners and can give them a reason to log in. Short video-clip example: http://screencast.com/t/DUdIpbpjX

3|Page

Why Should We Use the Extranet? 



Visibility & Accountability o Know who’s making the updates. o No more “I didn’t get that email/message”. Important messages & docs can live in partner bulletins. o Guaranteed delivery of leads/service requests & responses. o Track amenity/policy updates in real time. Saves Time o Visitor Guide description approvals. o Distribute docs & post reports. o Partners can add coupons; manage web site listings and images (final approval by DMO still required). o Let partners add their own events to your calendar of events (final approval by DMO still required). o Cut down on lead time, instead of copying lead/service request responses into CRM, let your partners enter theirs on their own.

4|Page

Rolling Out the Extranet – Tips for Creating Your Plan The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Raleigh, and Destination Cleveland have all had success rollouts of their Extranet and some of the tips that they have said helped them include: 





Be Prepared! – Simpleview offers a “punchlist” of things to consider and/or discuss with your CRM Analyst before launching. o What to include on the Extranet – only give business partners access to the tools you plan on being engaged with o Make sure your team is trained and ready. o Are your contact records set with the correct levels of access? o Do you have training docs available? Promote It! – DMO’s that have been successful is launching the Extranet with their business partners have promoted the Extranet, and some have even branded the Extranet with a unique name and/or skinning their Extranet to maintain a brand identity. o Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau – named their Extranet S.P.I.N. (Sacramento Partner Information Network)  Case study available regarding the rollout of the Sacramento CVB’s Extranet. o Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau – named their Extranet PIXL (Partner Information eXchange Login)  For both sales leads and service requests, Greater Raleigh sent a series of emails (four total, within four weeks), preparing partners to use PIXL for sales lead responses and service request responses. This communication also stated that at a certain date, all leads/service requests had to be responded to in PIXL, and they also mentioned the Extranet at quarterly meetings with partners and at one of their annual meetings/luncheons.  For Greater Raleigh to train their partners on a large scale, the created an advertisement-like video and a series of training videos for each section and included links in communications.  Greater Raleigh worked with the Marketing Department to put together a training video and month-long series of weekly follow up emails to all event service providers and meeting venues to remind them of the process and the benefits of using PIXL to respond to Service Requests.  Also, Greater Raleigh provided easy access for their partners to ask questions or to request trainings.  Two to three weeks after the initial training 75% of partners had updated their info for the upcoming Visitors Guide. Keeping Them Engaged o Destination Cleveland – has great advice that has helped them maintain a high level of usage by business partners over the years.  Flexible with training needs.  Skinned Extranet to keep the DMO brand out there.  Spent a lot of time making an easy-to-use manual, updated with new information  Force business partners to go into the Extranet to update their information when time for publications (send email blasts, no individual emails, phone calls, etc.)  Have Simpleview come out for Partner Extranet training for the partners to learn the system 5|Page