COMPETITIVE EDGE - EVENT MANAGEMENT FIRM SETS ITSELF APART
Nashville Business Journal - by K. Denise Johnson

October 1999

Rhonda Marko of Destination Nashville has parlayed her computer hobby into a tool that has revolutionized her business.
Destination Nashville, a professional destination management company uses a state-of-the-art computer program written by the company's president to streamline the most time-intensive -- and expensive -- part of the business, the proposal.

Destination Nashville specializes in the design and delivery of events, activities, tours, staffing and transportation. Most of the company's business comes from corporate and association conferences that are held in Nashville. Destination Nashville has done such events as off-stage productions for the CMA Awards and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum groundbreaking ceremony this summer. But it had a problem. Proposal writing was draining too much time and resources from its staff.

The company doesn't travel with its clients. It is a uniquely Nashville operation. Extensive knowledge of the market and its amenities is what makes the company attractive to clients, says Rhonda Marko, founder and president.

When Destination Nashville gets a lead, one of the first things it does is create a proposal for the client. Proposals are comprehensive and include numerous details on aesthetics and logistics, all calculated based on the number of people attending the event. Best of all for the client: they're usually free. But they're not free for the business to create, says Marko.

Creating a proposal is the most time-intensive part of the job for Destination Nashville employees, but at the same time, it's the most valuable service to a client, Marko says.

Because proposal-writing takes so much time, many in the destination management industry were contemplating beginning to charge for the proposal process. Marko decided that it was too valuable to her clients. She wrote a computer program that streamlined the process and saved her company time while keeping the value-added process free for her clients. Marko says the move gave her an edge over any competitors who wanted to charge for the service.
The program has a complete archive of every event the company has ever done. The company has stockpiled pricing on every venue it has ever used, in addition to speakers, caterers, transportation services, tour operators and other details.
In addition to a proposal program, Marko has tooled her own database to track business, keep track of contacts, manage invoices, run reports and do virtually everything that any client or employee needs done. She uses only Microsoft Office and Outlook.

"What used to take us half a day to do will now take us half an hour," says Marko. "And what used to take a week, will now take a day. We still work hard at it, but we've streamlined the process. We're not reinventing the wheel every time."
The ultimate product -- the proposal that is delivered to the client -- has never looked as nice or consistent, says Marko. "We get compliments on the thoroughness of our proposals every time we send them."

Technology isn't the only thing Destination Nashville is using to give itself an edge. Marko credits her suppliers, vendors and employees with making her business a success. "My business mentor was my father," she says. "....He always told me, you be as nice to suppliers and people under you as you are to the customers and people over you.

"I tell my employees, I want you to treat my best client the way I treat you. That's our bottom line philosophy and that's what's been the success of this business." Creating good relationships with the people that Destination Nashville uses to successfully pull off their events is important.

"We have a good relationship," says Bobette Dudley, director of events and program development for the Country Music Association. "They are extremely organized and efficient and anytime I have a project or event that calls for me outsourcing to a company, I choose them. I don't have to think for them... that's the bonus. They think of all the details for me."

Destination Nashville sells the products and services of Nashville, says Marko. "It's all relationship building in this town," she says. "We don't make widgets, we sell a service."

Marko cites her company's lack of turnover as another success. The destination management business is knowledge intensive, and training someone new takes time, says Marko. "We try to hire the right fit, the right person and treat them well, so they don't want to go."

Destination Nashville is one of four major independent destination management companies in Nashville. Others are Helen L. Moskovitz & Associates, Key Event Group and Gary Musick Productions Inc. Destination Nashville has four full-time employees and about 32 part-time, and "we're always looking to expand," says Marko. Right now there are two positions open. The company's revenue was $1.1 million in 1998. It hopes to end 1999 at $1.2 million, says Marko.

Convention business is seasonal, and most associations have their annual or semi-annual meetings in the spring or fall. Corporate business is year round, but "December is a traditionally slow month for us," says Marko.

Destination Nashville has produced events for some of the titans of American industry, including: Miller Brewing Co., National Car Rental, Chase Bank, Met Life, Ford Motor Co., Burger King, Deloitte & Touche, Nissan and the National Association for Home Care.

<< Back