online marketing roi - for the travel & tourism industry

Online Marketing ROIFor The Travel & Tourism Industry

“Are your Web marketing effortsconverting virtual visitors into real visitors?”

Bryan Rasch - VP MarketingHanson Dodge Creativewww.hansondodge.com

414-347-1266

Let’s Start with the timeline

of a customer experience…

Awareness/Introduction

Points to consider

- 71% of leisure trips are planned less than 3 months before the trip1.

- 35% are planned less than one month before the trip1.

- 54% of users ranked recommendations from friends or family as the most influential when choosing a destination2.

-18% say travel promotions and 18% Internet sources as their main destination influence2.

1 - Source: 2005 TIA Leisure Travel Planning Report

2 - Source: Guideline, Beyond Booking Report

- 65% say they use Google as an online resource to research trips2.

Awareness comes from many places

- Recommendations from friends and family.

- Prior visit(s) to the area.

- Editorial articles or PR.

- Advertising/Paid Media (Traditional, online, events, travel guides, etc.).

All will drive Web Site visits

- Internet searches.

Qualification

Points to consider

- 69% of users say online research is an enjoyable aspect of preplanning a trip2.

- 64% say that magazine or newspaper articles are their most preferred offline resource2.

- The most compelling Web Site components for a destination selection2.

- 34% Reviews by other travelers.

2 - Source: Guideline, Beyond Booking Report

- 32% Photos/slideshows.

- 25% Articles on the destination/area.

- 62% of users say they use a tourism office or specific destination Web Site to research trips2.

“The Web is the only place consumers

can fully experience your destination

without visiting...”

Is it the scenic vistas?

You must create an emotional

and intellectual experience

that elicits the same response from users

as when they visit for real.

Is it the beautiful rooms?

Is it the spa, attractions, activities, etc.?

Is it the great value, packages, etc.?

Accessible family fun

Romantic country getaway

Cultural and scenic

family destination,

with lots to offer

World class resort

& destination

Scenic?

Historic?

Playground of the rich?

Cultural?

Family fun?

World-class?

What your Web Site should do

- Immerse the user in your destination(s) experience.

- Make access to the “right” information quick and easy.

- Present users with the compelling reason(s) to visit.

- Create content to drive users to “conversion”.

Purchase/In person Visit

Conversion = In Person Visit

- Your destination needs to fulfill the promise created online.

- The visit is where users determine if it is what was promised.

- Capturing feedback from real visitors will impact marketing programs.

Endorsement

Great experiences makes people talk

- A memorable visit creates travelers who will recommend.

- Your Web Site should be used to stay in touch with visitors.

- Create ways to stay in touch with and reinforce their experience.

- Send email thank you for their stay.

- Collect email addresses for sending an email newsletter.

- Collect reviews online and ask all visitors for their feedback.

User review sites

www.tripadvisor.com

Evangelism

Your most passionate visitorsinfluence more visitors

- They tell others, online and offline through stories and pictures.

- Recommendations drive more visits than any other marketing.

- Staying in touch with these users via email and directly is key.

People love to tell others

Blog post on the dells

People love to tell others

Blog post on Door County

Destination specific sites

Evangelism for an area

Photos tell a thousand words

Public posting of photos on www.flickr.com

Let’s talk about how…

How do you convert more users?

1. Understand your site visitors.

2. Analyze your current programs.

3. Define and track “conversion” metrics.

4. Monitor your successes.

5. Continue to enhance your site and refine your programs.

1. Understand your site visitors

- Survey your Web Site users.

- Analyze log reports for patterns.

Survey your Web Site users…

With simple, online survey tools

www.zoomerang.com

www.surveymonkey.com

It’s easy to learn about your users

Survey questions to ask

- Demographic data; age, sex, income, etc.

- Why are they visiting our site.

- What information are they looking for.

- Conversion questions.

- If you were to make reservations would you book online or call.

- What would make you “convert” with us.

- What information would make your visit more valuable.

How does this compare to “real” visitors?

- Same demographics? If not what is different?

- Are the “right” type of users coming to your site?

- What are similar users looking for online?

- What needs do different types of users have?

- Can you add content that will fulfill their needs?

- Do you want to convert more of these users?

Analyze log reports…

General snapshot of traffic

www.google.com/analytics/

Top content analysis


Sources of traffic


Google keywords


Look for user patterns

- Top visited pages tell about what users are interested in already

- How are most of the users finding the site?

- Does traffic mirror any offline increase in activity? If so why?

- How can you make the most visited content areas more valuable?

- Are updates to the site changing behavior?

2. Analyze your current programs

- PPC programs.

- Email marketing programs.

PPC Advertising

Online Advertising

www.google.com/adwords/

Ad version comparison

www.google.com/adwords/

Some PPC stats from 2005

- 2.6% - Average PPC Clickthrough rate

- $1.61 - Google average cost per click

- 3.6% - Average PPC conversion rate

- 4.2% - Average search engine conversion rate

Top 10 PPC Recommendations- Choose relevant keywords.

- Cast a wide net. Include misspellings, "fat finger" typos, and plurals.

- Combine multiple words to create phrases.

- Develop a bid strategy to match your business objectives,

what your end goal is for your search campaign:

a. Maximizing profitability.

b. Maximizing exposure.

c. Capturing buyers at various stages

- Write relevant copy, it needs to closely tie to the search term.

- Include an offer in the copy.

- Continually test new copy.

- Deliver a relevant and unique landing page.

- Continue the sales process.

- Relevancy! Relevancy! Relevancy!

Email campaign data

Email Campaign Tracking…

www.campaignmonitor.com

Email daily open rates…


Email drives spike in traffic…


Where did they click…


Email marketing trends

64% report 20% to 49% open rates


Most recent users have highest open and click rates


Majority of clickthru rates are between 3% and 15%


Be careful of the SPAM stigma, too often is bad

Email marketing recommendations

- Capture as many emails as you can (esp. from real visits).

- Use your email list to stay in touch with and help “Evangelist” spread the word.

- Create valuable content to send to your list, content that they will find value in, not just promotions.

- Utilize a provider that allows for strict opt-in management and offers in-depth reporting tools.

3. Define & track “conversion” metrics

- Utilize log report and campaign data to determine metrics to track.

- Tracking success may entail online and offline data analysis.

- Key metrics should be tracked over time and refined as needed.

- Revisions to the site and/or programs should be compared against past metrics to ensure no decline in conversions occur.

/’

Define what a “conversion” means to you

- CVB sites, users clicking on external Web site links

- Hotel sites, reservations booked online and via phone

- Attractions, redemption of an online coupon upon a “real” visit

- Restaurants, the contact us page or menu page

/’- Monitor traffic to key page(s) of the site.

- Setup funnel navigation tracking (users flow through a set of pages).

- Work with your Web developers to create tools needed to track metrics on all programs.

- Don’t forget to match offline “sales” data against online data on a regular basis, to get a complete picture of success.

4. Monitor your successes.

Web Site Funnel tracking…


5. Continue to enhance your site and refine your eMarketing programs.

- Expand content to enhance the user experience (photos, video, copy).

- Look to your competition and make sure your online experience sells you better.

- Monitor your eMarketing program success using all your tools.

And always remember…

If your are trying to convert these

type of users…

World class resort

& destination

With this…

Scenic?

Historic?

Playground of the rich?

Cultural?

Family fun?

World-class?

Any type of eMarketing program will

not be that successful…

Until your site matches your target

users mindset and expectations.

HANSON DODGE CREATIVE

Bryan Rasch - VP Marketing

Hanson Dodge Creative

www.hansondodge.com

414-347-1266

online marketing roi - for the travel & tourism industry

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