Phuket Marketing. Stop Planning. Start Doing.
The Shark 13 October Marketing Series
September was all about getting ready for Phuket high season.
We talked about marketing. We talked about content. We talked about websites, social media, customers, expectations and what businesses should be doing before the island gets busy again.
Well, September is over.
It's October.
So we're going to stop talking about getting ready.
It's time to start doing.
Welcome to the Shark 13 October marketing series:
STOP PLANNING. START DOING.
October is an interesting month for businesses in Phuket.
We're not quite into full high season yet. The roads aren't completely mental. Every restaurant isn't packed. Hotels aren't all full. Boats aren't running at peak capacity.
But things are changing.
More tourists are starting to arrive.
Expats and locals are still here.
And, perhaps most importantly, thousands of people who aren't in Phuket yet are sitting at home planning their high-season holidays.
They're Googling.
They're scrolling Instagram.
They're watching TikTok and YouTube.
They're reading reviews.
They're looking at restaurants.
They're comparing hotels.
They're researching boat trips.
They're deciding which beach clubs they want to visit.
They're checking out activities.
They're looking for gyms, padel clubs, spas and places to take their kids.
They're asking Google questions.
And increasingly, they're asking AI.
The decisions are already being made.
The question is:
Are they finding you?
Stop Waiting for High Season
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make in Phuket is waiting until high season arrives before they really start marketing.
November comes around.
The tourists arrive.
And suddenly everyone wakes up.
"We need to start advertising!"
You needed to start before they booked the holiday.
You needed to be visible while they were researching Phuket.
You needed to be in their saved Instagram posts.
You needed to appear when they searched Google.
You needed reviews that reassured them.
You needed videos showing them what the experience was actually like.
You needed to give them a reason to remember your name.
That's what October is for.
But Don't Forget the People Already Here
There's another side to October marketing that businesses sometimes forget.
Phuket isn't empty.
There are hundreds of thousands of people living here.
Locals.
Expats.
Families.
Teachers.
Business owners.
Long-term residents.
People who eat in restaurants, play padel, go to gyms, take their kids out, visit spas, book activities and spend money every single week.
Yet some businesses spend October desperately waiting for tourists while almost completely ignoring the customers already living five minutes away.
That makes absolutely no sense.
Your October marketing needs to do both.
Talk to the people who are here now.
And...
Get in front of the people who are coming.
That's What We're Doing This Month
Throughout October, we're going to look at different Phuket businesses and ask one very simple question:
Phuket Marketing
What should you actually be doing right now?
Not next year.
Not when high season starts.
Not after another three-hour marketing meeting.
Now.
We'll look at restaurants.
Tours and activities.
Padel clubs.
Hotels and resorts.
Property businesses.
Spas and wellness.
Beach clubs.
Fitness businesses.
And plenty more.
Because the answer isn't the same for everyone.
A restaurant shouldn't market itself like a boat tour.
A padel club shouldn't market itself like a hotel.
A property agent shouldn't create the same content as a spa.
Yet open Instagram and sometimes it feels like half the businesses in Phuket are following exactly the same marketing plan.
Post a nice picture.
Write something generic.
Add some hashtags.
Hope.
That's not much of a strategy.
What Is Your Customer Doing Right Now?
This is one of the questions we'll keep coming back to throughout October.
Don't start with:
"What should we post today?"
Start with:
"What is our customer doing today?"
If you run a restaurant, your local customer might be deciding where to eat tonight.
Your tourist customer might still be in the UK researching restaurants for their Christmas holiday.
Those are two completely different situations.
If you run a tour company, someone in Phuket might be checking tomorrow's weather and looking for something to do.
Meanwhile, somebody in Australia could be planning their December family holiday and comparing five different Phuket boat tours.
If you run a padel club, your potential customer might have moved to Phuket last week and be looking for somewhere to play and meet people.
Different customer.
Different moment.
Different content.
Different marketing.
That's what we need to understand.
Less Planning. More Doing.
I'm not saying Phuket Marketing planning isn't important.
Of course it is.
But there comes a point when planning becomes procrastination.
Another meeting.
Another spreadsheet.
Another content calendar.
Another conversation about whether the logo should be three pixels further to the left.
Meanwhile, your competitor just made a video, uploaded it, answered five Google reviews, updated their website and replied to three customer enquiries.
Guess who had the more productive afternoon?
Marketing doesn't have to be perfect.
It has to happen.
Make the video.
Write the blog.
Take the photos.
Update Google.
Answer the reviews.
Fix the website.
Email your old customers.
Show people what you do.
Tell them why you're different.
Answer their questions.
And give them a reason to choose you.
October Is Your Opportunity
October sits in a very useful little window for Phuket businesses.
High season is coming.
The customers are coming.
And many of the decisions about where they'll stay, what they'll do, where they'll eat and where they'll spend their money haven't been made yet.
At the same time, you've still got a huge local and expat market right outside your door.
So don't spend October waiting.
And definitely don't spend the entire month planning what you're going to do in November.
We've done the planning.
Now let's actually do something.
October.
Stop Planning. Start Doing.
Got it?
Good.
Comments