Mark Clancy, CEO of IGENO stated “We knew that benchmarking was of intense interest to our customers as DMOs are under increasing pressure to compete for meeting and visitor business. It’s hard to prove your value to your Board and members if you don’t know how you compare to your peers. We wanted to create something that was free, easy-to-use and not tied to expensive consulting contracts.”

IGENO announced the new service at the iDSS 2013 User Conference in Minneapolis. IGENO also announced a contest supporting the release. DMOs that sign-up and enter data for three consecutive months are eligible to win an iPad Mini.

For more details and to sign-up, visit benchmarko.com.

The two destination marketing industry leaders will partner to offer destination marketing organizations (DMOs) throughout the world first-class managed reporting services with data connection directly to iDSS’s world-class customer relationship management (CRM) technology. This new collaboration will allow DMOs a robust and visually appealing reporting platform with data coming from a variety of channels including point of sale, accounting software, web analytics and the iDSS CRM. This will create a state of the art reporting platform.

“The need to report to stakeholders on the impact of a DMO’s successes from a variety of sources in one comprehensive platform has never been greater,” said Mark Lynch, general manager of iDSS. “iDSS has extensive reporting capabilities within the CRM, this expansion of data sources greatly enhances the quality of reports available to the DMO.”

“Our dashboards and reports provide DMOs and their stakeholders a clear view of both current performance metrics as well as future trends,” said Mark Clancy, chief executive officer for IGENO. “Our integration with iDSS allows DMOs to spend their valuable time on sales, marketing and management rather than assembling spreadsheets.”

The iDSS Destination Management System provides sales and CRM technology, content management services, managed reporting services, website integration, mobile solutions, real-time processing of online leads and information requests, event registration and lodging systems, media relations and tracking, special event calendars, publication content management, visitor inquiry and fulfillment, group tour planning e-proposal integrations, as well as email marketing solutions.

IGENO’s current tourism client roster continues to grow including iDSS client, the Shreveport-Bossier convention tourism bureau as well as Visit Jacksonville, Experience Grand Rapids, the Calgary Convention Centre and Tourism Vancouver. iDSS works with nearly 100 DMOs, including the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau and Meet Minneapolis.

This strategic partnership will allow IGENO and iDSS to jointly offer their services to the destination marketing industry, expanding existing and future opportunities for both technology marketing firms.

 

About iDSS

iDSS is an industry-leading customer record management (CRM)/content management system (CMS) platform that DMOs use to automate their business activities so that they are consolidated in a single platform. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, iDSS has clients in the United States and across the world.

 

About IGENO

IGENO provides premium, management reporting solutions for the destination marketing industry. For a single, monthly subscription fee, DMOs benefit from comprehensive management reports and dashboards, advisory services from our management consultants, integration with a variety of data sources, templates from other DMOs and licensing of SAP software. For more information, visit www.igeno.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Mark Lynch, vice president of Sales and Marketing

iDSS, Inc.

mlynch@idss.com, 612-767-7822

www.iDSS.com

Mark Clancy, CEO

IGENO, Inc.

mark@IGENO.com, 604-817-8207

www.IGENO.com

While in New Orleans, I spent time volunteering with the St. Bernard Project to help in rebuilding homes affected by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Katrina caused more than $80 billion in property damages, the loss of 400,000 jobs, and overall affected 15 million people, making it the worst hurricane to hit the US in over two decades. Relief efforts for such disasters come in the form of monetary donations, donations of supplies (medical, canned food, bottle water…), and volunteering for search and rescue, debris removal, water treatment, and other vital activities.

Before I outline the benefits of the iPad for reporting, let me just say that I have not been a big fan of reporting/analytics software on mobile devices such as the Blackberry or iPhone. I’ve always felt that these platforms are too small and too slow for any serious analysis. For me, waiting 10-20 seconds to see one chart on a mobile device is just painful — I would rather just get the raw numbers in an email if I’m on the road.

So what makes the iPad and other tablets different? For one, the larger screen allows the user to look at multiple charts at one time — this type of viewing is critical for managers looking at performance reports, trends, etc. Secondly, the zooming gestures on a tablet emulate (or are superior to) the experience of viewing a paper report where you look first at the entire report and then take a closer look at individual charts or numbers. The tablet also seems to connect the user much more closely to the data since you’re literally touching the data for drill-downs and hovers. This type of connection is just not the same when viewing the report on a desktop or laptop. Finally, since many management reports are viewed during meetings, the tablet format is well suited since it’s light weight and doesn’t create a barrier like a laptop between meeting participants.

We’ve optimized our new reporting portal to make it very easy to use on tablet devices. We used several design principles during this process:
- Utilize spacing and icons that are suitable to the touch experience
- Reduce the number of “touches” to the absolute minimum to reach the desired report
- Achieve sub-second response times whenever possible
- Support sharing of reports with multiple users simultaneously

Let’s hope that the tablet will, over time, significantly reduce the traditional mad rush to print management reports prior to meetings.

Webinar: Benefits of Data Warehousing and Dashboards for DMOs

“Quality, robust, flexible reporting options are a critical component to any good CRM tool for the destination marketing industry,” explained Jennifer Reichenbach, President of SMI. “While SMI already offers extensive reporting options within Destination 3000, this partnership takes the reporting capabilities of Destination 3000 to a level never seen before in our industry. IGENO will offer our customers nearly limitless reporting options for a flat monthly fee.”

“Our new partnership with SMI comes at a time when there is increased scrutiny of DMO performance by boards and members,” remarked Mark Clancy, CEO for IGENO.  “Our dashboards and reports provide DMOs and their stakeholders with a clear view of both current performance metrics as well as future trends. Our tight integration with Destination 3000 means that DMOs can spend their time focused on delivering results rather than juggling spreadsheets.”

Through careful strategic partnerships, including with IGENO and Informz, SMI is able to significantly increase the scope of its offerings to the destination marketing industry. SMI now offers: sales and customer relationship management (CRM) technology, managed reporting services, website design and integration, mobile solutions, managed hosting services, real-time processing of online leads and information requests, event and registration management, surveys, fundraising, conversion tracking and comprehensive email marketing solutions.

SMI’s core offering is its Destination 3000 Professional application, which provides convention and meeting sales management, convention services tracking, membership/industry partner management, media relations, special event calendars, publication content management, visitor inquiry and fulfillment, group tourism planning and other complete modules to manage all internal operations of a CVB or DMO.

IGENOS’s current tourism client roster includes Destination 3000 customer Visit Jacksonville, as well as Tourism Vancouver and the Shreveport-Bossier CTB. SMI works with over 100 tourism clients, including the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Seattle’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, Visit Denver, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, Syracuse Convention & Visitors Bureau, Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau and Destination DC.

This strategic partnership will allow IGENO and SMI to jointly offer their services to the destination marketing industry, expanding existing and future opportunities for both technology marketing firms.

SMI and IGENO are both exhibiting and sponsoring DMAI’s 96th Annual Convention in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, July 21-23. Please stop by to visit SMI at booth 303 and Igeno at booth 318 to learn more about their comprehensive suite of services for the DMO industry.

About Software Management, Inc.

Software Management, Inc., is the leading provider of sales, marketing and customer relationship management solutions for the destination marketing industry. SMI’s database solutions are used by some of the top travel and convention destinations in the United States and Canada including Orlando, Chicago and New Orleans. For more information, visit www.softwaremgt.com.

About IGENO

IGENO provides premium, comprehensive reporting and dashboarding solutions for the destination marketing industry. For a single, monthly subscription fee, DMOs benefit from unlimited, tailored management reports, advisory services from our management consultants, integration with a variety of data sources, templates from other DMOs and licensing of SAP software. For more information, visit www.igeno.com.

IGENO – We manage your reporting so you can manage your business.^TM

SMI Contact Information:
Paul Franke, Jr.
Director of Salesw & Marketing
Phone: (412) 254-9000 ext. 402
email: paulf@softwaremgt.com

IGENO Contact Information:
Mark Clancy
CEO
Phone: (604) 817-8207
email: mark@igeno.com

Jorge Camoe has put together a lovely example of how this can be accomplished using small multiples.

US Unemployment by State

A small-multiple version allows the user to focus on specific states, compare them to the normal band, etc. States are ranked by labor force size and, as you can see, in the first row seven out of ten are above the US average in April. In the last row, only one is above the US average. You can also see that Michigan was not well (unemployment-wire) long before the current crisis, or a spike in Luisiana (Katrina). It pays to study this chart carefully.

Depending on what you’re trying to find, data can be presented in ways that makes insight instantaneous….ideal for the time pressed DMO. The attached report uses a technique called small multiples, a technique that allows your eye to play “which one of these is not like the others.”

Instead of comparing the unemployment rates of states, imagine using the same technique to compare the average occupancy of the various districts in your tourism region. Polish the presentation to make it palatable for your audience and it’s analytical gold.