Читать книгу Low-Budget Online Marketing - Holly Berkley - Страница 23

Recently a local travel agency asked me to take a look at their website and give them some feedback about how to increase online travel bookings without having to create a whole new site or implement expensive booking technology. The travel site offered hundreds of packages to various cities all over Mexico. The site navigation was broken down by city.

You can effectively personalize your website by organizing its content and making sure the site’s focus on the customer rather than on your organization.

I suggested that in addition to categorizing their travel packages by city, they also divide resorts and packages into categories such as “Family Resorts,” “Romantic Getaways,” or “Adventure Travel.” After determining a breakdown that made sense, I suggested they could take the categories a step farther by breaking them down by price. For example, “Luxury Family Resorts” and “Economy Family Resorts.” By aiming each package at a specific audience, they would help their customer make a confident decision.

When customers have too many choices, they tend to not make a decision at all. This is one of the biggest problems on the Internet: information overload. Organizing information is key. Making information feel as if it is directed to your customer personally is even better.

In addition to reorganizing and naming their travel packages, I suggested they implement a simple site search engine, so customers can quickly find the exact resorts or condos they are looking for. If you have more than 25 products, a simple search engine is a great feature. It will add to the professionalism and utility of your website without you having to spend money on expensive technology. (See Chapter 11 for more information on cost-effectively working with your web developer.)

Online marketing shouldn’t stop once a sale is made. The best way to generate new customers is through your existing customer base (just as Amazon.com did when they suggested I email my friends and family a coupon). I suggested that the travel agency give their clients a spot on their website to post photos from their trip. This not only serves as a genuine customer testimonial, but also encourages that customer’s friends and family to visit the site — and, with any luck, book their own trip. Implementing viral marketing concepts and tools such as “Send a postcard,” “Email my trip itinerary,” or “Tell a friend” are great ways to generate quality leads.