Elevating destination management at VisitAberdeenshire

VisitAberdeenshire is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organisation (DMMO) for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. As a leading tourism agency in Scotland, their goal is to strengthen the region’s position as a world-class tourism destination.

To achieve this, VisitAberdeenshire promotes visitor experiences in north-east Scotland, while also working to develop the local economy through initiatives which include:

• Helping tourism businesses to understand and meet demand from their ever-changing market;
• Generating leads and support bids for targeted business events;
• Working with partners across the region to deliver a great delegate welcome.

New strategy, new CRM

In March 2018 a redefined destination strategy for the north-east of Scotland was launched – with an ambition to grow visitor spend to £1 billion by 2023. This, coupled with new investment in visitor infrastructure, presented major opportunities for VisitAberdeenshire to grow the organisation and increase its influence.

With new opportunities and ambitions, VisitAberdeenshire acknowledged that its old CRM system was not meeting its requirements and that it had outgrown its capabilities.

The search for a new CRM system began by asking partners for recommendations and researching online. SpotlerCRM was considered after it was recommended by Hello Scotland and another CRM vendor.

SpotlerCRM provided good customisation options as well as offering great value for money.
Laurie Scott, VisitAberdeenshire

After careful consideration, VisitAberdeenshire chose to implement SpotlerCRM. Laurie Scott, Head of the Convention and Events Bureau, explained, “SpotlerCRM met all of our requirements. Our account manager, Muhammad Miah, was great during the onboarding process, as he seemed interested in ensuring the system met our needs rather than making the sale. We also thought that SpotlerCRM provided good customisation options as well as offering great value for money.”

System setup and training

During the early stages, VisitAberdeenshire worked with their account manager and the SpotlerCRM support team to identify their exact requirements, customising the CRM system to meet their unique needs as a tourist board.

The CRM is now used daily to monitor sales, visitors to the region, key contacts, and to provide pipeline demonstrations. Laurie Scott stated, “Adopting SpotlerCRM has given us a better overview of our contributions to the Aberdeenshire economy. Our project management is much improved as we can easily view the history of long-term projects.”

Adopting SpotlerCRM has given us a better overview to our contributions to the Aberdeenshire economy. Our project management is much improved as we can easily view the history of long-term projects.
Laurie Scott, VisitAberdeenshire

Team adoption

The VisitAberdeenshire team found the SpotlerCRM easy to learn by attending the online webinars provided, and they have not needed any further support since.

Laurie Scott summarises his experience with SpotlerCRM: “Many of our staff were involved with choosing the CRM, so it was a team decision, not just management. Everyone is on board and using the CRM, and this has made a big change to how we work on a daily basis.”

“Our sales team couldn’t manage their daily tasks without using the CRM. SpotlerCRM is straightforward and simple and their team ensures the system works for your business without pushing for a sale.”