Travel accounts for a large no. Of searches and it includes searches for Flights, hotels, car rental and holiday packages, like honeymoon package, adventure package, Business Trips etc.
The travel market is very high competition market and with increased awareness of customer they don’t mind researching and comparing deals before booking it, as the cheapest deal is not always good, thus the terms and condition of the bookings are very crucial to understand.
#Flights which was once a low hanging fruit with higher margins is now a high competition market with low margins, and thus many travel players have extended their services and now provided Hotel, Car rentals, Cruises, Bus & Train Tickets.
Currently Online travel market is going through a changing face in India in particular, with Global players ready to dominate, and local players expanding every bit of it to advance and outshine. Some of the trends which are quite visible includes:-
One stop shop: - Online Travel consultant offer one stop solution to their clients covering Flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, tours and customized packages, as they don’t want to miss an opportunity to cater to the online visitor. Thus the service offerings are expanded.
Focus on complete packages: - Apart from focusing just on flight tickets, travel agent are more interested in providing a complete package including hotel bookings, local travel, guides, group tours, as this has a better margin for them.
Mergers and Acquisitions: - Big Players acquire smaller companies to expand the service base and market size like Makemy trip acquired ticketvala and so on. Apart from these big names there are many small players which are working on collaboration with Travel giants of other country and work as their extended arm for the region.
The Right mix of Online & Offline: - Agent and partner network plays a major role in providing discounts and offers along with it helps in booking where customer is reluctant to book online and prefer a known face for all the travel even if ultimately this known face is booking online for them, it is that they trust him more.
Creating online ecosystem: - Creating and communicating via online group’s chat rooms forums is trending the most where travellers can share their experiences. Make my trips officialatyachar is one great example apart from 1000’s of groups and forum who share insight on specific location, what to have and what not to have.
Global expansion of players: - Internet has removed the boundaries and thus Travel companies are attracting audience from other locations.
The Question is how to get the traveller on website and how to engage them; apart from the basic tips shared on the earlier post http://sankalptechnology.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/the-best-ways-to-grow-your-online-travel-business/ today we will be sharing some insights on how to target customers. We are assuming that you already have a website with quality and engaging content and which is optimized for search engines.
1. Keep an eye on the important upcoming International events:- Consider the yearly planner for the Mega Event and their dates, for example in 2015 we have ICC world cup which will be played for around 1.5 months in Australia and New Zealand starting in Feb-15 and there are many fans who will travel to these location not only from Australia and New Zealand but from other parts of the world. Another event will be Australian Open and a big event attracting travellers.
The travel market is very high competition market and with increased awareness of customer they don’t mind researching and comparing deals before booking it, as the cheapest deal is not always good, thus the terms and condition of the bookings are very crucial to understand.
#Flights which was once a low hanging fruit with higher margins is now a high competition market with low margins, and thus many travel players have extended their services and now provided Hotel, Car rentals, Cruises, Bus & Train Tickets.
Currently Online travel market is going through a changing face in India in particular, with Global players ready to dominate, and local players expanding every bit of it to advance and outshine. Some of the trends which are quite visible includes:-
One stop shop: - Online Travel consultant offer one stop solution to their clients covering Flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, tours and customized packages, as they don’t want to miss an opportunity to cater to the online visitor. Thus the service offerings are expanded.
Focus on complete packages: - Apart from focusing just on flight tickets, travel agent are more interested in providing a complete package including hotel bookings, local travel, guides, group tours, as this has a better margin for them.
Mergers and Acquisitions: - Big Players acquire smaller companies to expand the service base and market size like Makemy trip acquired ticketvala and so on. Apart from these big names there are many small players which are working on collaboration with Travel giants of other country and work as their extended arm for the region.
The Right mix of Online & Offline: - Agent and partner network plays a major role in providing discounts and offers along with it helps in booking where customer is reluctant to book online and prefer a known face for all the travel even if ultimately this known face is booking online for them, it is that they trust him more.
Creating online ecosystem: - Creating and communicating via online group’s chat rooms forums is trending the most where travellers can share their experiences. Make my trips officialatyachar is one great example apart from 1000’s of groups and forum who share insight on specific location, what to have and what not to have.
Global expansion of players: - Internet has removed the boundaries and thus Travel companies are attracting audience from other locations.
The Question is how to get the traveller on website and how to engage them; apart from the basic tips shared on the earlier post http://sankalptechnology.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/the-best-ways-to-grow-your-online-travel-business/ today we will be sharing some insights on how to target customers. We are assuming that you already have a website with quality and engaging content and which is optimized for search engines.
1. Keep an eye on the important upcoming International events:- Consider the yearly planner for the Mega Event and their dates, for example in 2015 we have ICC world cup which will be played for around 1.5 months in Australia and New Zealand starting in Feb-15 and there are many fans who will travel to these location not only from Australia and New Zealand but from other parts of the world. Another event will be Australian Open and a big event attracting travellers.
So position your strategy in accordance to these events and start your promotion well in advance for these places for Flights, Hotels and Car rental. Share about the other places to see in and around these locations and this will ensure you Business.
2. Region wise break and travelling habit:- Travel is planned keeping the holiday one gets into consideration apart from business or honeymoon trips, and a working class married man prefer to take off when its off for kids. Usually summers are the time when Indians travel a lot due to summer break in schools and colleges and its Christmas and New Year times in the west. However trends are changing a bit and Indian also taking up travel plan in winters during Christmas.
2. Region wise break and travelling habit:- Travel is planned keeping the holiday one gets into consideration apart from business or honeymoon trips, and a working class married man prefer to take off when its off for kids. Usually summers are the time when Indians travel a lot due to summer break in schools and colleges and its Christmas and New Year times in the west. However trends are changing a bit and Indian also taking up travel plan in winters during Christmas.
So the strategy would be to target such holiday keywords in advance for a particular region that is rank high on dot in or do.au etc. So that when they plan to book usual a month or 2
On advance you rank higher.
3. Catering to the niche travellers:- These are fan followers of POP artists or other Live performers. For instance there will be a Mariah Carey show on the 30th of Oct on Bangkok, big opportunity for Travel agents to book for the thousands of fans who are expected to travel just for a day or may be couple of days to explore Bangkok and Thailand.
On advance you rank higher.
3. Catering to the niche travellers:- These are fan followers of POP artists or other Live performers. For instance there will be a Mariah Carey show on the 30th of Oct on Bangkok, big opportunity for Travel agents to book for the thousands of fans who are expected to travel just for a day or may be couple of days to explore Bangkok and Thailand.
So the strategy would be to use this key word and work, use Hashtag on social media to be available among the followers of Mariah Carey who will look to book for Bangkok, share more about Bangkok and nearby places in your blogs, articles and images.
4. Participate in Groups with your suggestions, point of views and comments on the subject as you are the subject matter expert, this will help you build an online images and reputation and help you to position yourself as a brand.
5. The Repeat Customer:- Keep your customers engaged by greeting them time and again sharing best flight deals, holiday packages etc. If you maintain a CRM system it will be great if you can send them a birthday or anniversary card etc. You can also share “Last year this month you holidayed in Hawai, how about travelling to Zimbabwe to experience the wildlife” Connect with them on social platforms.
6. Plan your PPC well: - Start off with less amount keep on tracking and changing to understand what is best for you. As the name suggests it’s Pay per click, so the keywords you choose must be right or else you lose the money.
7. Go for Press release: - This is one of the best tools, although paid, but you must use it for maximum outreach once in a while. Change the PR Company and choose minimum 2 companies who are best for you.
8. Invite people to share content on your website. Let them share their experiences.
9. Use Affiliate Marketing: - If you are big enough use affiliate marketing for your website and business provide your Search boxes, comparison boxes on flights, hotels and car rentals to your affiliate. Work on a affiliate strategy, help the affiliate to rank on the keywords on which you are not ranking or divide it in such a way so that the marketing effort covers the maximum market.
10. Have a travel Blog to share best of your experiences and your recommendation specific to the location, and don’t forget to optimize the blog. Invite your visitors of comments and engage them. A well drafted real travelling experience is a big hit and builds you online reputation.
11. Most important is Reporting and Tracking: - Reports of each and everything that has been done for your online travel business must be present on every 15 days or so, and analysis must be done.
Some key metrics to help you are bounce rate, Conversion rate optimization, and cost per acquisition which helps you to set things right and get results. Set your Google Analytics to understand the traffic you are catering to.
Majority of travellers are willing to spend more for hassle free and quality services, make them feel the difference when they land on your website and they will come again. Travelling is fun when planned exactly the way you wanted. Travellers expect security, safety, and experience while they travel.
Hope you liked the post. Keep travelling keep learning.
SANKALP TECHNOLOGY
Mobile: +91-8432429929; +91-8740061779 |
Web: www.sankalptechnology.com
E-mail:[email protected]
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5. The Repeat Customer:- Keep your customers engaged by greeting them time and again sharing best flight deals, holiday packages etc. If you maintain a CRM system it will be great if you can send them a birthday or anniversary card etc. You can also share “Last year this month you holidayed in Hawai, how about travelling to Zimbabwe to experience the wildlife” Connect with them on social platforms.
6. Plan your PPC well: - Start off with less amount keep on tracking and changing to understand what is best for you. As the name suggests it’s Pay per click, so the keywords you choose must be right or else you lose the money.
7. Go for Press release: - This is one of the best tools, although paid, but you must use it for maximum outreach once in a while. Change the PR Company and choose minimum 2 companies who are best for you.
8. Invite people to share content on your website. Let them share their experiences.
9. Use Affiliate Marketing: - If you are big enough use affiliate marketing for your website and business provide your Search boxes, comparison boxes on flights, hotels and car rentals to your affiliate. Work on a affiliate strategy, help the affiliate to rank on the keywords on which you are not ranking or divide it in such a way so that the marketing effort covers the maximum market.
10. Have a travel Blog to share best of your experiences and your recommendation specific to the location, and don’t forget to optimize the blog. Invite your visitors of comments and engage them. A well drafted real travelling experience is a big hit and builds you online reputation.
11. Most important is Reporting and Tracking: - Reports of each and everything that has been done for your online travel business must be present on every 15 days or so, and analysis must be done.
Some key metrics to help you are bounce rate, Conversion rate optimization, and cost per acquisition which helps you to set things right and get results. Set your Google Analytics to understand the traffic you are catering to.
Majority of travellers are willing to spend more for hassle free and quality services, make them feel the difference when they land on your website and they will come again. Travelling is fun when planned exactly the way you wanted. Travellers expect security, safety, and experience while they travel.
Hope you liked the post. Keep travelling keep learning.
SANKALP TECHNOLOGY
Mobile: +91-8432429929; +91-8740061779 |
Web: www.sankalptechnology.com
E-mail:[email protected]
Facebook | GooglePlus | Twitter | Pinterest
Rebelmouse | Kippt | Bundlr |Pearltrees | Thinglink |
Weebly | Wix | Blogger |Wordpress | Tumblr | livejournal | Jimdo | Blog | Snappages