See my Travelview Blog at http://tomallen22.wordpress.com/
Everyone accepts that the Internet has changed travel dramatically, possibly more than any other industry apart from gambling and porn! And yet travel and leisure companies have been slow to pick up on the changing consumer, and understood the speed at which they are changing. In general, travel companies have tended to focus on the Internet as a distribution channel, and not appreciated the vast amount of knowledge that Internet access has imparted to the consumer, and how it has consequently altered their perceptions and needs.
There is no doubt that at the 4* end of the market and above, the trend has turned markedly away from ‘fly and flop’. People want to gain something from their holiday. Certainly they want to experience the destination and learn a little of its history and culture. They are more inclined to seek out that hidden gem of a local restaurant than they were before. They know a lot about the destination before they go because they have ‘googled’ it, and looked up their hotel and destination on a site such as Trip Advisor. How are you helping them, both with what you are offering, and with descriptions and advice? They or their travel agent will already have checked the sort of flight prices they should be paying. How can your reservations and sales people add value when the customer’s knowledge level is so high? Have you addressed and reacted to this stuff?
And how are you reaching the consumer? Are you still reliant on traditional marketing and distribution channels? Have you truly embraced the concepts of SEO and PPC, not to mention social media such as blogs and networking sites? It is vital that your website is built with SEO in mind, and developed from search term research that your target market are already using. Do not build it from your product and brochure, and hope to maximise it later for SEO by changing the text and adding meta-tags. And are you dabbling with PPC? Are you using search terms that you think the customer is using? And even if you are happy with the volumes, are they converting to sales. Good research will ensure you are using terms that are more likely to convert. Although conversion will also depend on your site build. Once you get them in are you maximising your chances of getting a sale?
One of the interesting things about on-line marketing is that every day, hundreds of thousands of people are entering phrases into search engines that your product would satisfy – a whole new market every day! You want to be there for them.
And when the customer does touch you, make sure you are collecting information from them to build your database. You should also be segmenting it to ensure you are sending relevant information and offers to them.
It is still fascinating that you can walk into high street travel agent and walk out with half a dozen brochures, and they know nothing about you. At least get an email address!
Please contact Tom for an informal chat:
E: tom.allen@tomallenpartnerships.com
M: 07785 704934