Managing a tour operator website can be a monstrously huge task. There’s the content which always needs updating, the client queries which need processing, the marketing campaigns that need to be created, and the well-structured site with attractive images and CTA’s. Read on for our online Marketing Strategies for Tour Operators.
Each of these processes can be seen as points on a square. Though each of these “points” uses different methods to reach it, they all share one common goal.
The point of the following tactics is not to tackle all of these issues head on, but rather minimise the workload in each sector by looking at things from the perspective of your end goal: a happy user.
From the User’s Perspective
What type of Tour Operator company are you? Whether you’re a multinational corporation or a small-town tour guide, there is a specific experience your company has built its foundations around.
That specific experience attracts specific people, and finding out more about your demographic lowers your overall workload.
Marketing – Knowing your customers means you can look into the social media platforms, advertising styles and general marketing techniques that attract this specific target market.
Content – Having a specific demographic allows you to get comfortable with a single style of content. Eg – A tour operator that primarily creates solo tours to remote destinations would not advertise to the general tourist, but rather a specific group of adventure enthusiasts who need a level of fitness and local knowledge to reach their destination. The content should appeal to this adventurous side, while also giving enough detail to sound professional enough to plan a dangerous trip.
Site Structure – Knowing your users allows you to theme your site to best suit their wants and needs.
Usability – If your content and site structure are based around your target market, you’ve already improved the usability of your site.
There are three strategies that will help you see things from a user’s perspective, and get you on the right track:
Creating Customer Personas
A great way to narrow down your demographic is by creating customer personas –
Think “Who is my ideal customer?”, and then create them.
A good way to start this would be to investigate your actual customers. Look into the social media platforms and general interests of those who have left good reviews or who are continuously returning to you for their trips.
This allows you to get into the mind of those people who are fundamental assets to your business. Getting to know their interests allows you to structure your site to better interest them.
Surveys
A great way to passively gather information from your users is by offering optional experience-rating surveys/questionnaires to users who have completed enquiries or people who have actually ended up taking a tour.
User Case Studies
Learning what a user wants is easy fr
om an actual user. Ask somebody (who won’t be biased) to find a tour, accommodation or destination on your Tour Operator website they wish to visit and enquire about it.
Don’t tell anyone in your business about this enquiry, and let the employees follow the procedure of contacting the client.
Once this is complete, you can question your fake user on all aspects of their experience. From the ease they had finding the package they wanted, to the level of interest they had in the content and imagery of the site.
