Tour Operator Blog by Rezdy

How Tour Operators Can Use Social Media in The Travelers' Journey

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 22:06:00 GMT

Social media usage is blowing up - especially amongst today's digitally savvy consumers.

Instead of visiting these sites at particular points in time, consumers are flocking to social networks on a daily basis. It has simply become a part of their daily routine. In fact, consumers in developed countries can spend up to 7 hours a day on social media (Eye for Travel).

So it's no wonder that social media has also become the go-to solution when travelers are stuck for things to do at a particular destination.

As more people share their recommendations and experiences through sites like TripAdvisor and Facebook, these platforms have evolved to become reputable sources of online word-of-mouth.

But to leverage this word-of-mouth effectively, you have to look at the bigger picture. Here's how you should be engaging with travellers through social media at each stage of their journey.

1. Dreaming

At this stage, travelers are dreaming of what places they should visit and imagining where they could go.

The facts:

36% of online travelers visit social networking sites to influence destination selection (World Travel Market)
34% of Asian leisure travelers are actively looking for social recommendations and feedback on ideas via social networks such as Facebook and TripAdvisor (Tnooz)
One out of three US travelers reference social media as a main source of travel ideas and inspiration (2013 Portrait of American Travelers Study)

What you can do:

Fish where the fish are. Be present on those websites that are being used and participate in the conversation. This includes not only sharing your updates but listening to what's being shared in your industry - and what customers are saying about you. You should be responding to every mention of you.

2. Planning

These travelers are done dreaming - they've made a decision about where they're going. Now they must plan their trip. This involves how and when they're getting there (transport), where they're staying (accommodation), and what they will do once they arrive (tours and activities).

The facts:

52% of travelers use social media to plan a trip (Eye for Travel)
71% of Asian leisure travelers consider personal recommendations for a trip "very important" in the decision-making process (Tnooz)
44% of Asian leisure travelers are watching videos about a destination during the research phase (Tnooz)

What you should do:

Encourage social media sharing, and perhaps offer incentives for doing so. For example, you'll give them a free piece of merchandise like a keyring for Liking and Checking In to your Facebook Page.

For bigger actions - such as posting reviews, videos, and photos to TripAdvisor - you can offer a more valuable piece of merchandise, like a free t-shirt.

3. Booking

Now that they have passed the information gathering stage, travelers know what they want. It's time to make it official with some online bookings.

The facts:

59% of Asian leisure travelers want to book travel products "whenever they can" and "wherever they can" (Tnooz)
80% of travelers are more likely to book a trip from a friend liking a page rather than responding to a traditional Facebook ad (Eye for Travel)

What you can do:

Travelers don't want a clunky booking process. The easier you make it for them, the more bookings you will get. Allow bookings on your website via mobile, and directly from your Facebook page (Facebook boasts the most amount of users by far). Your online reservation system should support this (if not, ours does). There is also something called Facebook Offers that allow Facebook Pages to provide offers like deals that can be redeemed online or in person.

4. Experiencing

This is when your customers are at your tour or activity and are sharing their experience with their social networks.

The facts:

42% of stories shared to users' Facebook timelines in 2012 were travel experiences, making it the top story being shared by users (Tnooz)
Holiday pictures are the most shared content on and after vacation (Tnooz)
70% of social media users update status/share photos while on holiday (Eye for Travel)

What you can do:

Make it easy for customers to share their experience. You can even do it for them! Take a couple quick photos and videos, and tell your customers that you will post them online on your website and social media sites. This will make it simple for them to share it on their personal pages. Your customers will undoubtedly go back to Facebook to reminisce their trip, so create a Facebook album that they can refer to.

Maintenance is key

Considering the travelers' journey will put you in the best position to capture their attention no matter where they are in the process. But remember that social media is not a 'set it and forget it' activity. To get it right, it requires a commitment of time and effort - you need to maintain each channel to keep engagement going strong.

For more tips on social media for tour operators, download our free ebook on the subject:

Coupon Marketing 101 for Tourism Operators

Tue, 05 Nov 2013 02:27:00 GMT

Coupons should be a big part of your marketing strategy - and if you haven't already jumped on the bandwagon, it's about time you do.

Here's what tour and activity operators need to know about coupon marketing.

What are the benefits of coupons?

Successful coupons increase your conversion rates and average order values.

According to SmallBizTrends, not only do coupons give businesses access to new markets and customers, but they are a good way to fill capacity during slower periods.

If you use your coupons in combination with a daily deal site, it can drastically increase awareness of your businses, without any out of pocket advertising expense.

What should you consider in your coupon strategy?

To create the perfect coupon, consider...

The Offer

Without a compelling offer, your coupon will be ineffective. SmartCompany suggests that you:

Be ready to upsell. Don't include extras, such as meals or transport to and from your customer's hotel. When you offer it at an additional price, most people will readily say yes.
Create offers that get customers to visit twice. That way, you'll get more repeat customers and encourage brand loyalty.

Here are some ideas of offers if you need a little inspiration: The 5 Best Coupon Strategies for Tour Operators.

The Design

The design you use is extremely important, because psychological research has found that 'environmental factors' such as package design unconsciously influence us. Your coupon has to look professional. Forbes suggests that you use eye-catching content and hire a graphic designer if possible.

At a glance, your coupon needs to include the following information:

What's in it for them. A bulletpoint list of what they can expect. Remember to use colourful language that invites people to take action.
Restrictions. For example, limit one coupon per person per visit.
Images. These must display the outcome of your experience. Use the emotion that people are going for when they book with you.
Tracking code. Your coupon should be assigned one of 2 types of codes - promo codes (which can be redeemed many times), and unique codes (which can only be used once, as is the case with gift cards).
Your logo and contact details. This is important for branding and customer convenience.

Another critical point is that you should make your coupons digital to make things simpler. After all, you don't want to force customers to print out the coupon before bringing it to you. They should be able to tell you the code assigned to their coupon.

What distribution channels should you use?

So you have your offer and design sorted - but it doesn't end there. You now need to effectively distribute your coupons.

In addition to printing out your coupon and handing it out to customers at your tour, the two key channels you should be using are:

Deal Sites

Online coupon sites are great for tours and activities because the business model works well for services where there is not a "thing" involved and no shipping is needed (News International).

They also attract 48 million monthly visitors, so your potential reach is immense. If you get your offer right, users of those sites will make sure to spread it quickly - forwarding it to ther friends via email and social media.

In terms of which specific site to use, do your research as usage will vary depending on your location. In the US, 50% of consumers are aware of Groupon, and 20% regularly receive emails from the site (NPD Group).

Email Marketing

Make sure to distribute coupons to your existing database, as well. Forbes advises that you capture emails regularly so you can update former customers on specials and discounts.

Prioritise people who haven't visited in a while (say over 3 months), and tell them what's new - why should they come back?

Here are some ideas if you're stuck: Email With Coupons: 3 Strategies for Tour Operators.

What pitfalls should you be aware of?

Done right, a coupon strategy is basically free marketing for your tour or activity. It can be very effective, but you should take care to avoid the following pitfalls:

Not setting a logical limit to the number of coupons sold
Offering a discount that is too high for what your business can cope with
Customers turning up in large numbers on the first or last day of the offer
More existing customers using offers so you don't get exposure to new markets/customers

It would be prudent to do a bit of maths so that you know what metrics you need to have higher profits while offering your tour or activity at a discounted price. CertifiedKnowledge provide some great formulas to do this.

For more online marketing tips, download our free ebook:

3 Noteworthy Tourism Trends for Tour and Activity Operators

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 21:45:00 GMT

With 2014 fast approaching, experts in the travel industry are noticing certain trends emerging amongst travelers. It's becoming clear that if tours and activities don't adapt to these trends, they risk fading into irrelevance.

Here are 3 key trends that you should be aware of:

1. Reasons for taking a vacation

In American Express Travel's survey of 200 traveler counselors, respondents noticed the following drivers for vacation decisions:

Arts and culture (32%)
Ultra luxury travel (27%)
Culinary travel (21%)
Adventure travel (16%)

This is probably why respondents noticed their customers were visiting more exotic locales, with 54% of counselors seeing a preference for international destinations.

As a tour or activity operator, you may already fall into one of those categories. A walking tour demonstrates your destination's arts and culture; a limo ride is luxury; food and wine tasting is a culinary experience; and hang-gliding is adventurous.

Know what motivates your customers and think of creative ways that you can make your experience even more artistic/luxurious/delicious/thrilling. Consider adapting your packages so you can generate more revenue per customer with your new idea.

2. Different types of customers

Even though you tend to attract one kind of customer more than the other, it doesn't give you an excuse to neglect the following segments:

The Elderly

According to Futurist Dr Graeme Codrington, the travel industry is not keeping up with the older generation. Consider these facts:

The number of people reaching 100 is increasing by 400% each year
Over half of the people who have turned 80 are still alive, and by 2050 the number will grow to half a billion

Although this generation has a different mindset from young travelers, you can provide them with an opportunity to do things they've never done.

Gen-Y

Young travelers now represent 20% of international tourism (eturbonews). The problem is Gen Ys are hard to please. Sydney Morning Herald reported that "pretty much everyone in the travel game is expected to be more professional. Everything has to be of a higher level. If they're not, the Gen Ys will go elsewhere."

As we have previously discussed, young travelers are interested in cultural experiences when they travel. According Contiki Managing Director, Fiona Hunt, "young travelers want to get involved, get immersed in local culture, and they want their holiday to be based on what they find interesting in their daily life."

They are also demanding when it comes to online convenience. In fact, young travelers are increasingly booking organised tours and entertainment activities online - so make it as simple as possible for them to learn more about you and lock in a booking.

Business Travelers

According to a US study, spending on business travel is expected to fly up 7.2% to 288.8 billion in 2014. The Global Business Travel Association found that gains will be fueled by steady corporate profits, increased business investment and an improving US economy.

You need to tailor packages according to these different types of customers so you don't miss out on the opportunities they present.

3. Importance of your online presence

These days, if you're not online, you might as well not exist in the minds of a large chunk of your potential customers. In fact, 57% of all travel reservations are made on the internet.

Tony Goncher of American Express Travel says that "As technology advances, so do expectations. Customers are digital omnivores, consuming information across multiple devices, 24-hours a day, from hundreds - even thousands - of sources."

So you need to adapt to the digital revolution. Embrace your online presence instead of fighting it! Work on enhancing your website, and get listed on sites like TripAdvisor.

TravelWeekly reported that Australian youth send an average of 10.8 emails and 7.9 Facebook updates per holiday. Take advantage of social media and review sites. If you're not sure how, download our guide social media for tour operators:

New Research: 3 Ways Tour Operators Can Keep Their Websites Current

Mon, 21 Oct 2013 21:59:00 GMT

In this day and age, having a website that's not up to par just won't cut it. But what exactly makes the cut?

Tourism Research Australia recently released research on the digital uptake of tour operators. The project examined four key topics; the online presence of tour operators, their website adoption and management strategy, their online distribution approach, and their social media and mobile presence. Among the industry sectors surveyed were Tours, Attractions, and Hire & Transport companies.

TRA recommends that updating your web presence and enhancing your website should be a top priority. This is because "more advanced and more frequently updated websites are important in distributing information and driving online distribution."

So the following 3 policies are suggested:

1. Develop greater uptake of advanced website features and interlink sites

In terms of content, your website should have a clear description of your products and services, along with a photo gallery. If you want to stand out, consider adding video to the mix - only 25% of tour operators currently use them.

In terms of functionality, ease of booking is a priority. You should be able to take bookings through your own website or a third party. However,

Almost 90% of tour operators are still taking bookings manually via email booking requests.
Only 54% of respondents allow people to check both availability and price of their products and services.
Only 46% of tour operators with websites offer instant confirmation of booking.

It would be wise to automate your booking process to keep up with consumer expectations.

2. Increase website optimisation for viewing on mobile devices

Another important trend to keep up with is the use of mobile devices for looking up tour operators. Respondents estimated that on average, 29% of web users accessed their websites through a mobile device. However, only just over half (52%) of tour operators have websites that are optimised for viewing with mobile devices!

In a survey conducted by Google, 67% of smartphone users said they were more likely to purchase from a business' mobile-friendly site, while 61% said they'd most likely leave a site that wasn't optimised for mobile.

Because people increasingly tend to travel with smartphones and tablets rather than computers, having a website that can accommodate them is important for selling tours and activities.

3. Increase organic search engine optimisation (SEO) as well as paid search/online advertising

Of those who reported having a website, it was estimated that 48% of website traffic referrals came from search engines. That's almost half of your traffic! With this in mind, it is important to invest in organic and paid search to drive traffic to your website.

For your organic search efforts, blogging will take you far. Your blog can demonstrate your expertise whilst proving useful to people surfing the web for something related to your tour or activity.

In terms of paid search, you can target specific users (location, country) with an ad for a search term and only pay when a user clicks on it. This is under the PPC (pay per click) model. There are other models that you can choose from, such as remarketing, which allows you to target past site visitors.

Have an online booking capability!

By now you probably understand the significance of having an online presence, and you wouldn't be alone. Our survey findings from last year revealed that tour operator websites are the best source of bookings among Australian tour operators. This is probably why the majority of Australian Tours (93%), Attractions (89%), and Hire & Transport (86%) companies have their own website.

Yet there are still some tour operators who go without a website. Their main reasons for this are that they are contacted by other means, or the organisation's too small, or there's not enough time.

To these tour operators, we advise that you at the very least have a booking site that lists your products and services. That way, you can direct people to your booking site and instruct them to search availability and book immediately from your site.

After all, you don't want to miss out on that 57% of all travel reservations being made on the internet. Without an online booking site, you certainly will.

If you're looking for booking software to make your lives easier, then be sure to take advantage of educating yourself on your options. The information in our guide can prevent you from picking software that doesn't suit your tour or activity business:

3 Ingredients to Success for Tours and Activities

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 00:01:00 GMT

Niche tours and activities need to stand out to succeed - and to stand out, you can't just be good - you need to be great. But what makes your business 'great'?

To be great, you have to provide the best possible experience for your customers. That means that you prove your worth, have a great team, and be extremely organised...

1. A great product

This is obvious. The experience you sell needs to cater to the desires of your best customers. If it isn't great, then they won't recommend you to their friends. In fact, if it was particularly bad experience, they might even spread negative word about your business!

If your main customer base is the youth travel market, then understand that the motivations behind their travel has shifted. Young travelers seek enriching cultural experiences. This means that you need to give them something that both excites and educates them about your destination's culture, because it will be more memorable and valuable to them.

Remember that your product doesn't just involve the actual tour or activity itself - it includes their entire experience with you, including how you well you serviced them prior to making the booking, whether you were good at keeping them informed, and how you saw them off as they were leaving.

2. A great team

Who you hire is so important because you're in the hospitality industry. Your staff have to be great at customer service. This means that they're sensitive to the needs of others, are comfortable speaking to groups of people, and have the necessary experience and skills needed to help you run your business.

To run tours and activities, besides having the accreditation needed, staff should also have the right kind of personality. Are they highly motivated to please your customers? Are they good with leading a group of people? Are they extremely organised?

Since they are delivering the experience you want your customers to have, it's important to make sure that they are capable of providing a high level of customer service. However, you should also be willing to give them the tools they need to do their jobs well.

3. A great set of tools

It's your responsibility to invest in technology that makes you and your staff's lives simpler. Being organised hugely impacts the level of customer service you can provide to your customers.

For example, in this day and age, you need to have a well-functioning and up-to-date website for anyone to take your business seriously. Part of this is having an easy and efficient booking process. This is the bare minimum!

Other tools you can use are mobile devices, meaning smartphones and tablets. Being able to attend to business from any place at any time is really the key reason that these are useful for tours and activities:

You can check weather conditions by the hour
You can look up addresses and map your route
You can look up traffic conditions
You can use applications like Skype to chat with clients overseas
You can take quick photos and videos of your customers for promotional use
You can use your tablet to show guests what to expect (in the form of a slideshow or video)
Your online booking software should allow you to manage your business from your tablet (ours does)

The important thing to remember is that your devices don't interrupt your time with your customers. Give them your total attention when you are with them.

3 Data-Backed Search Engine Tips for Tours and Activities

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 04:35:00 GMT

Because travelers and locals are going online to search for things to do in their area, it's easy to see why getting found on search engines is an important goal for tour and activity operators.

But it's getting harder to do. For those of you who have been keeping up with the latest in SEO (search engine optimisation), Google has de-standardised rank, so that how your website ranks in their search engine will change depending on a bunch of factors you can't control - such as a user's search history or whether they're logged into a Google app (such as GMail).

So in today's competitive online environment, how can tours and activities stand out in search results?

Here are some tips from eyetracking research conducted by Mediative in The Buyersphere Project. They apply to both paid and natural search listings:

1. Use selection criteria words

When your customers search online, they may have some requirements that they aren't overtly searching for. The issue could be that they want a trusted company, or certain offerings, or to see competitive pricing information.

You only have a certain amount of characters to capture the reader's attention, so use words that gain trust and reduce their hesitance to buy from you.

For example,

You could say "day tours, night tours, and multi-day tours" to show you have a variety of options
You could include the words "award winning" or "voted best operator in the area" to show how reliable your brand is
You could say "scuba diving starting at XX per person" to highlight your competitive pricing
You could say "book instantly from our site" to assure them that booking is a quick and easy process

Understand your customers' typical objections to locking in a booking. It may be different depending on what type of customer they are - family, corporate, traveler, couple.

If you're unsure what will work, then ask them! There are a bunch of creative ways you can do this - through social media, at the end of a tour, or by offering an incentive.

Otherwise, if you have some online advertising dollars to spend, you can always test what works using paid search.

2. Have scan-able search listings

Mediative revealed that when we scan search listings, we do so for only 2-3 seconds. That's only enough time to read less than half a line of text!

The good news is that we also scan the first 3-4 listings in the shape of an F (down, then to the right), and click through to the page to learn more. If we don't find what we're looking for in that first set, we'll repeat until we do.

This means that all is not lost if you're not ranking #1 (although it helps). To grab attention, consider that our eyes are drawn to pattern variations. Drop numbers and symbols where you can (eg. "2013 Eco Tour Award Winner" and "AUD $50 per person").

And once they click through to your website, make sure it's easy to find your contact information no matter what page they land on.

3. Trigger intrigue

In simplest terms, your (soon to be) customers need to feel like you've got exactly what they're looking for. There's a reason they are searching for a tour or activity like yours, so cater to it.

For example, is it to relax? Is it for romance? Is to get an adrenaline rush? Or is it to have some lighthearted fun with friends?

The words you use in your listing has to reflect that and get them to want to learn more about it. Create pages for each tour or activity package if necessary so that it's entirely focused.

For more online marketing tips for tours and activities, be sure to download our free ebook:

Tours and Activities Need to Tap Into The Youth Travel Market

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 01:01:00 GMT

To succeed in today's competitive environment, tour and activity operators must adapt to meet the needs of the youth travel market.

After all, they are the ones who are most interested in seeking the kind of new experiences being offered by your tour or activity; "Young people save their money for adventures. They spend 25 euros for the hostel and 80 euros for the bungee jump" (ITB Hospitality Day 2013).

According to the World Youth Student and Education Travel Confederation's New Horizon's III report, which involved 34,000 young travelers across 137 countries:

Young travelers now represent 20% of international tourism (in 2012, they accounted for $217 billion of the $1.088 trillion spent on tourism).
The rise in youth spending "vastly outstripped" that of other international travelers whose spending increased by just 3% over the same period.

It's obvious, then, that young travelers are an economic force to be reckoned with - and one that tours and activities would be wrong to neglect.

But youth are known for being extremely savvy about the options available to them. How can you stand out from the competition and get them to choose you?

1. Enrich their experience on all levels

Today's youth are traveling further, staying away for longer, spending more, keeping in touch more, and integrating with overseas communities more than ever before.

WYSE's comprehensive survey of the youth travel sector explained that the motivations behind youth travel are evolving and there is a significant rise in the trend of cultural tourism:

"Our research shows that the nature of youth travel has changed enormously in the past decade. Young travelers today want, more than ever, to enrich themselves with cultural experiences, to meet local people and to improve their employability when they return home."

This finding is consistent with Tourism Australia's research into youth market travel trends. Youth aged 15-29 travelled to Australia for holidays (42%), education (20%), visiting friends and relatives (15%), business (8%), and employment (6%).

How does this impact your tour or activity business?

To keep up with their desires, aim for an exciting experience that educates and immerses young travelers in your destination's culture, because it will be more valuable to them.
Provide packages tailored to each of these traveling purposes. For example, have a school and university package, a family package, and a corporate package.

It's also important to provide excellent customer service because "if a target group has been well taken care of from the time of arrival to departure, it develops some brand loyalty" (ITB Hospitality Day 2013).

2. Provide online convenience

For travelers, being able to easily conduct research and book online is extremely important. Our research into booking channels for Australian tour operators found that your corporate website is the best source of bookings.

The way youth travelers use technology to communicate and book their travels is rapidly evolving and having a major impact on the industry - to the point that businesses have no choice but to evolve to meet travelers' increasing and varied requirements.

Below is Tourism Australia's research into items booked on the internet before a trip.

Notice how organised tours (5.1%) and entertainment activities/events (39.7%) were booked online, with the latter having doubled since the previous year.

Being convenient is one of the best motivations your business can offer potential customers. This is just common sense. Why make it difficult with manual booking processes?

To avoid missing out on this massive opportunity, be sure to take advantage of educating yourself on your online booking options. The information in our guide can prevent you from picking software that doesn't suit your tour or activity business:

What are your thoughts on the youth travel market? Share them with us below.

3 Travel Industry Findings Tour Operators Can't Ignore

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 23:38:00 GMT

Earlier this year, TripAdvisor announced the results of TripBarometer, the world's largest traveler survey with more than 35,000 respondents. Whilst some of its findings are more geared to the accommodations sector, its insights into economic outlook, travel planning, booking methods and traveler expectations are useful for tours and activities.

Here are the top 3 findings that tour operators should pay attention to:

1. Travelers prefer to book online

"With travelers going online for their travel research and planning, they are also showing preference for online as the primary booking channel." - TripAdvisor

Tour operators worldwide are being forced to adapt to the enormous growth of online reservations and services, with 57% of all travel reservations being made on the internet.

In fact, US business owners say their own website is the channel that generates the most bookings. This lines up with what Australian tour operators said in our survey on booking channel trends.

Beyond allowing site visitors to book instantly through booking software, tour operators need to invest in the entire online user experience of current and potential customers to spark an increase in bookings.

Make sure your site is easily navigable and not too cluttered. Simply laying all the information in front of them won’t suffice, because it may be overwhelming. By having a well formatted site that is easy to get around you can make life a lot easier for your customers, encouraging them to stick around and make a booking.

2. Online channels amplify word of mouth

Surprisingly enough, when travelers are planning a trip, travel review sites are seen as more "useful" source of information than feedback from friends and family.

For global travelers, the most important sources that influenced their decision were travel review websites (69%), online travel agencies (57%), and tour operator sites (56%).

Tour operators need to perfect their online presence - not just on their website, but on all referring sites such as travel agencies and review sites. TripAdvisor and other social platforms should be leveraged as a way of showcasing their tour or activity through the feedback of past customers.

Having a strong social media presence will help not only with direct recommendations but also with legitimising your website as a modern enterprise interested in its customers. It will also identify you as a person, not a faceless entity. Be careful however, not to say too much about yourself or the tours you provide. Talk instead about why they should book with you and what will suit them best.

3. Travelers are always connected to the internet via mobile device

Travelers go online during their trips, finding local activities using their mobile devices 33% of the time. Besides that, they browse the web (51% of the time), upload photos (39% of the time), and post updates on social networks (34% of the time).

The numbers speak for themselves. If travelers are spending a third of their time looking for local tours and activities, then tour operators need to 'go mobile'.

Since they are probably using an application like Google Maps to find your business, it's essential to create a Google Business Profile with all of your contact information readily available. They will be able to either call you directly, or visit your website. If they choose to browse your site, allow them to book directly from their mobile device - otherwise, you risk them going to a competitor who does.

Today's travelers have come to expect a professional mobile booking experience. This means having a mobile-optimised website which enables mobile bookings, and sends them a confirmation email within seconds the booking is made. Your online booking system should have this available as part of your package.

If you're on the hunt for online booking software that will help you with the above points, download our free guide to selecting the right one for your tour or activity:

By the way, Rezdy checks all the above boxes, too. Click here to take a free trial.

How To Charm Prospects Into Customers: A Guide for Tour Operators

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 00:28:00 GMT

At its core, forming a business relationship is much like forming a romantic relationship - it involves building trust, being considerate to the other party's needs, and ultimately showing your worth.

Tour operators across the globe can use the principles of dating to charm their prospects into customers. There are 5 stages to this process...

1. Your first impression

Since most travelers are booking online, your website has to make a good first impression. In fact, 57% of all travel reservations are now made on the internet (StatisticBrain).

Since your website represents your business, it has to look and be professional. Make sure that it is visually appealing, filled with lots of imagery and videos, and contains information that answers all their questions.

Do you have testimonials of past clients? Or awards that you can display? Prominently display these on your most viewed pages to build a sense of trust with those who visit.

2. Getting to know them

So, if you've intrigued them enough to contact you via email or over the phone, they will give you their details and put in an inquiry. This is good news! They're happy to speak to you about your tour or activity.

The most important thing to remember is you have to be prompt in responding to them. If they've visited several tour operators like yours, then you want to be the first one to reply.

3. Proving your worth

Your conversations with them will determine how compatible your tour or activity is for their personality and interests. Excite them with your descriptions of your tour - use adjectives that bring it to life.

Also remember to answer the FAQs without being asked to do so. For example, "we also offer pick up straight from your hotel." These small details could be the tipping point to choose you over a competitor.

4. Getting engaged

Now it's time to get serious - you have to propose. From what you've learned about them through conversation, you can suggest the best package that suits them, or even custom-make one if appropriate.

Give them as much detail as possible to make them feel comfortable and safe in your hands. For example, if your package includes arranging accommodation, let them know how many stars the hotel has, as well as whether the room will be air conditioned or not.

Also state how much they have to pay and what they will get with it. It needs to be absolutely clear what's not included in the package. This will set expectations and avoid disputes later on.

5. Getting married

If you've done such a good job with your proposal that they accept your offer, then congratulations! Now it's time to make it official and get the booking process under way.

Provide a link to your booking site so that they can book immediately. If you don't have a way of instantly allowing visitors to book through your site, then you're adding an unnecessary barrier to purchase.

Ideally, you should be able to ask for a financial down payment so you can be sure that they are serious. Your booking system should allow you to apply a cancellation policy without having to do credit card charge-backs.

If you're still without a booking software, consider the benefits. There are many choices out there, you just need to find what's right for your business (for more on that, download our free guide to narrowing down your options).

Leading up to the tour, get organised and make sure that you have enough resources to deliver what you promised. Your aim is to make the experience so good for them that they're willing to recommend you to their friends. After all, the last thing you want is a bad track record that hinders you from forming future business relationships.

Happy charming!

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Why Tour Operators Should Care About the Tourism Page Sponsor System

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 23:29:00 GMT

Last week we touched on why creating a TripAdvisor profile for your business should be an important piece of your marketing puzzle.

But beyond your own page, it would be wise to think about how you can use your relationship with your local visitor's bureau to gain an even stronger presence on this influential platform.

Since TripAdvisor has launched the Tourism Page Sponsor system, your visitor's bureau has the opportunity to reach a whole new level of promotion for the destination that your tour or activity operates.

Here's why it's beneficial for tour operators:

1. Your tour gets free marketing without looking intrusive

First of all, the visitor's bureau will link to relevant sites from this page. You need to be one of these sites! Backlinks from a site such as TripAdvisor are invaluable for search engine optimisation purposes, ultimately helping your page rank more highly.

The visitor's bureau will also be able to create and include promotional information for deals and announcements associated with your area, and add an events calendar so that potential visitors will see information relevant to their travel time.

This customised user experience goes on throughout the year so be sure to create offers specifically for this purpose and let your visitor's bureau know.

2. Imagery of your tour can be prominently displayed

As mentioned last week TripAdvisor allows organisations to make use of user-driven content. With its body of more than 200 million users, content is being created for your destination constantly.

Your visitor's bureau select the elements they believe best capture your area and let the images speak for themselves. They can choose and prioritise 10 photos and videos that will always be the most prominent on their page.

Send your visitor's bureau your best photos and videos - created by you or your customers - and ask them to pass it on to the person managing this page. This is how a photo will look:

When you couple this with the reviews from other travellers, an online representation transforms into an experience that the people who visit this page can imagine escaping to.

TripAdvisor also has a destination map displaying where related visitor’s centres are. This will direct real traffic your way and allow all visitors to find your area without trouble.

3. It raises awareness of your tour

In their research on the travel industry, the Californian Travel Commission had this to say:

“TripAdvisor indexed the highest among their competitive set (online travel sites), driving the highest levels of unaided brand awareness, opinion, consideration, strong disposition, and likelihood to visit the state.”

This simple quote encapsulates exactly the strategies that a tour and activity operator wants to employ, especially when reconsidering the two major points people trust when planning travel - that is, friends' recommendations and online consumer opinion. Add to this the factor of brand awareness and it is obvious that TripAdvisor must be a key element of a tour operator's marketing strategy.

For more information on how to market your tour or activity online, download our free ebook:

TripAdvisor for Tour Operators: 3 Reasons to Get Started

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:21:00 GMT

TripAdvisor provides tour operators with the opportunity not only to upload unlimited photos and videos, run advertisements and shape your business profile, but it inevitably fills your marketing campaign with user-driven content that will help bring your experience to life online.

Here are the top reasons why you should be taking advantage of this platform.

1. It's kind of a big deal

TripAdvisor can no longer be ignored because it is the world’s largest travel site:

TripAdvisor receives over 200 million unique visitors per month and more than 60 contributors every minute.
In Australia, TripAdvisor is far ahead of the rest of the field in travel traffic, with over 7 million page views each in NSW and Queensland for the June period alone.
TripAdvisor has easily acquired 13.9% of all Australian online travel traffic. This looks set to increase with a 42% growth year on year.

TripAdvisor is essentially the social network for travellers. In fact, the below table shows how TripAdvisor is superior to other social media sites in the time spent on linked pages and the number visited.

When you consider that up to 7% of a destination site's visits are directed straight from social media, it's obvious that TripAdvisor is essential to any tour or activity marketing strategy (PhocusWright).

By signing up and filling your profile with content such as photos and videos, you'll create a digital representation of the experience you sell. Over time your profile will be populated with spontaneous content (like reviews and photos) from your customers.

2. People trust it

According to a recent consumer study, the first thing people trust when making travel plans is recommendations from people they know - and the second most trusted thing is online consumer opinion.

With this in mind, a tour operator needs to think of two major things:

Make sure you give them the best experience possible. When people visit your tour or activity they should have such a fantastic time that they recommend it to future visitors to the area. This is something to aim for - obviously, you can't force them to pass on their experiences to their friends.
Understand how to deal with consumer opinion. The reason TripAdvisor is so popular and so powerful is because the reviews are from honest consumers with nothing to gain from saying good or bad things about you. However, this may mean that you get the odd complaint here and there. You have to be responsive and learn how to take negative feedback with grace and tact.

People will always trust reviews over your branded content - whether it's from friends or from other online consumers. Listen to all the feedback you get and tweak your business if you're noticing a pattern.

And if someone is being rude, you will just have to respond in a professional and respectful way (for more info on how to do that, read our previous blog: 3 Quick Ways to Improve Your Tour or Activity's TripAdvisor Listing).

3. You can do so much with it

It's important to utilise all your opportunities on the site. TripAdvisor offer tools to help tour operators create the ultimate online presence for their tour or activity.

It gives tour operators the ability to upload photos and videos, including ‘casual’ user-taken photos. This feature helps you make sure that you will have great photos that attract visitors.
It lets you interact with visitors both current and future in offering advice and answering questions, facilitating their planning.
It gives you widgets which you can add to your website. Some widgets display your latest reviews and awards, which can help lend your business authority. Other widgets can be used to encourage customers to give you a review on TripAdvisor.

Turn your visitors on your site into real visitors!

You must leverage all available sources to make your experience an attractive and desirable option for travellers. Thankfully, platforms like TripAdvisor exist to simplify the process.

To learn about how you can use the other social networks for your tour or activity, download our free ebook:

What Tour Operators Can Do To Promote Sustainability

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 00:21:00 GMT

For tour operators, promoting sustainability makes sense - both ethically and also in terms of getting more bookings. Many tour businesses rely on the preservation of the environment, and savvy travelers are now choosing to book tours that will help destinations instead of harm them.

So how can you promote sustainability in your destination?

As a tour operator, you play a significant role in the tourism market. Since you are so necessary for other businesses (such as travel agencies) and consumers (mainly travelers), you can greatly influence their decisions. You can also influence your peers to be more sustainable by sharing your practices with them.

Here are some suggestions taken from the Global Sustainable Tourism (GST) Council and Sustainable Tourism:

1. Maximise social benefits for the local community

Here are some things you can do:

Suggest that your customers purchase local products to support the local community
Don't purchase products made from endangered species, and educate your customers if they may make that mistake
Support local projects - for example, by donating a percentage of your profits to wildlife protection or social causes
Inform your customers of cultural or religious issues where they should be considerate
Make sure that none of your suppliers exploit children or break human rights conduct

It's not only the right thing to do - it will also improve your relations with staff and locals.

2. Maximise economic benefits for the local community

Here are some things you can do:

Invest in the area where your business operates - for example, by sending profit to the local community to help preserve and protect the area your customers frequent
Contribute to the preservation of resources which your company uses
Hire local staff, and provide adequate training
Source your supplies locally to support your local community

Remember that you are equally responsible for protecting your economic impact in your destination. It's not just the job of local authorities.

3. Reduce negative impacts on the environment

Here are some things you can do:

Take responsibility for damage to the environment by your potential use, and make sure to use energy efficient measures
Use conservation and reduction measures for water, waste and energy
Offer incentives for your staff to carpool or use public transport
Offer incentives for your guests to carpool or use public transport
Provide your staff with information and training on how to be more environmentally responsible
Reduce, reuse, and recycle - reduce waste, water and energy where possible
Create an environmental policy - and stick to it!
In walking tours, consider the size of your tour groups. Travelling in groups of small numbers has less impact on the flora and fauna in an area than having hundreds visit at once

Being environmentally conscious will also save your business money by reducing the use of resources, such as water and electricity.

Do what you can!

In some cases - especially for small tour operators - you may have limited resources which prevent you from applying all tips provided. However, as long as you try to keep your environmental footprint small, you are doing your part. If you're an Aussie tour operator, Tourism Australia has created a Sustainability Toolkit to help you get started.

What are your thoughts on sustainable tourism? Share them with us in the comments section below.

5 Quick Tips to Attract Travelers to Your Tour or Activity Business

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 01:38:00 GMT

Let’s face it. People love to travel, and when they do, they spend money.

Whether they’re jumping out of a plane, touring one of the many beautiful wine regions, or learning to surf, travelers are providing tour operators with a direct opportunity to make money - and these “imported” dollars could provide the additional revenue needed to remain financially viable.

To attract travelers to your business, your first and foremost necessity is to get found! How do you do this?

1. Optimize your website

Your website needs to be effective, in terms of

Content. Do all images look professional? Is text clearly written?
Message. Is it clear what you do? What do you want from your visitor?
Functionality. Do all components of your website work? Is there a clear and direct path to a booking or inquiry?

Remember that this is essentially your “first impression”, so be attractive! Think about using colours that compliment each other and add visual components to compliment the written sections.

While there’s nothing wrong with getting out and interacting with people, editing your website can be done from the comfort of your home, or a warm office. Your customers will find you, and hopefully stick around long enough to schedule a booking.

2. Embrace social media

In this day and age you will struggle to become a successful and thriving business without a footprint in the social media world.

Social media provides the perfect hub to

Create a community of people that ‘like’ your company, provide photos of their experience, and give promotional testimonials.
Gain vital feedback that you can take on board for improvement.
Provide discounts and promotions to those who ‘like’ your page as an incentive. This is a core factor to attract visitors to your page.

Create a Facebook company page so you can interact with your customers one on one or as a group. If you’re stuck, download our guide to social media for tour operators. We detail exactly how you should go about each social network.

3. Know your audience

If they’re young don’t expect them to spend ludicrous amounts of money, and if they’re old don’t expect them to be thrill seekers. However, there are many older folks who would seek a thrill if approached in the right way, so be smart as there are always exceptions.

Ask yourself:

What are their interests? Do many of your rock climbers also enjoy forest hikes? If you find a pattern amongst your audience, then you may have found yourself a new marketing channel.
Why would they buy your experience? What makes you stand out to that audience in particular? For example, it’s because you offer romantic tours and you know your customers tend to be couples on their honeymoon.
What motivates them? Travelers will buy based on emotion – do you want them to feel relaxed, amazed, or thrilled?

Knowing and understanding the needs of your travelers is the KEY to getting more bookings.

4. Be trustworthy

Trust is a huge part of any relationship, especially when you’re offering a product or service. People are more likely to purchase from someone they trust.

Be friendly. In person, smile! And use a warm tone when talking. This vibe should shine through on your website, too.
Speak clearly. In most cases your customer will be foreign and may not be confident speaking the language so it's important to cater to this.
Be helpful. Always provide a solution. If people need directions, then provide them. If they need a recommendation, then provide one. If you come across helpful and engaging then there is a high chance people will return.
Listen closely. Take on board and utilize feedback that is given to you. Your customers are your moneymakers so engage with them and ask for feedback. Perhaps, provide a quick ‘Feedback Survey’ at the end of each tour.

When travelers trust you, they will recommend you to their friends when they get home, further boosting your bookings.

5. Fish where the fish are

In other words, advertise and market yourself in high tourist traffic areas, like iconic city sights, backpacker hostels, bars etc.

And beyond brochures and flyers, you should

Partner with concierges and travel agents to get the word out.
Partner with local companies and promote each other.

By the way, the fish are online, too, on websites like Google Places and TripAdvisor. Joining these platforms are a MUST for all tours and activities.

Remember to make your website accessible via mobile. With more and more people engaging with smartphones and tablets, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to learn and buy from you.

A good booking system will be available to you and your customers via mobile device, so look into finding one that’s right for your tour or activity. We have recently created a buyer's guide on how to go about your selection, which you can access at the link below:

5 Tour Operator Website Traits to Avoid

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 04:59:00 GMT

If you don't have an online presence, your tour bookings will suffer. The numbers don't lie - 57% of all travel reservations are now made on the internet (StatisticBrain).

However, if you have an online presence and it fails to impress, then it will also hurt your ability to sell your tours and activities.

Make sure you avoid the below pitfalls to have a steady stream of bookings each month:

1. Talking about yourself too much

If all you do is talk about how amazing your tour or activity is, then people who visit your site may get turned off. While you do need to talk about why they should book with you, tell your customers what's in it for them. When they feel like you truly understand them, they'll trust that you're able give them a great experience.

An easy way to do this is to constantly use the "2nd person" - use you, a lot. For example, instead of saying "Our company provides the most comprehensive diving tours of the Great Barrier Reef", you could say, "When you take a trip with us, we'll show you all of the best spots in the Great Barrier Reef". Which one sounds more engaging?

2. Not asking enough

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a tour operator is forgetting to ask people to do things that will encourage them to book with you.

You should provide prominent buttons inviting people to learn more about particular packages, as well as book directly from your website.

Here are some other examples of things you should be asking your site visitors to do:

Contact us for more information
Learn more about this tour
See photo gallery
Follow us on Facebook
Add extras to your package
Book now
Check availability

If they have enough things to do, then they're more likely to stick around on your website.

3. Having too many things on one page

On the other side of the spectrum your website can end up looking very cluttered if you ask too many things at once! It will confuse and overwhelm people to the point that they click off.

Try to think of one main thing that you want people to do per page. While you want them to book, consider what they will be thinking at that particular moment in time, and design a logical path to your booking engine.

For example, learn more > product info page > see photo gallery > book now.

Make sure you play with design to keep your web pages looking professional.

4. Not being social enough

Tour and activity operators, get on social media! Why?

Social networking is one of the most popular things to do from a mobile device. In fact, 55% of social networking consumption occurs on a mobile device (MarketingCharts). And mobile phones are the #1 item to bring on holiday (etravelblackboard).

So you can no longer ignore this norm. Get your business active on social platforms that your customers use - Facebook and Twitter at the bare minimum!

(If you're not sure how to approach social media for tour operators, download our free ebook which talks about exactly how to do that.)

5. Being way too difficult to navigate

Even though this is #5 on our list, it is probably the most important point to make. If your website offers a poor user experience, no one will use it.

Ask yourself the following questions:

How easy is it for people to book from every page on your website? Is it a long process that involves phone and email tag, or is it in a few clicks?
How easy is it for people to find what they're looking for - whether it's information about your tours, or the people behind it?
How easy it for people to contact you through your website? Do you provide a form, or do you ask them to email or call you?

Remember that search engines are looking for indicators of websites that people like to use. Things like how long visitors stay on your site and consume your content will weigh in your favour. If your site is difficult to use and accumulates lots of bounces, then this sends the signal that maybe search engines shouldn't refer their users to you.

Want more tips on online marketing? Download our free ebook:

5 Quick Tips to Get More Bookings for Tour Operators

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 23:46:00 GMT

There are certainly things you can think of to boost your revenue, such as how you can increase your revenue per customer, or set your pricing to increase revenue.

But for tour and activity operators, increasing your booking numbers is always a top priority. After all, it's what keeps the cash flowing, and your business growing.

So what are some of the quick tactics you can use to increase your bookings?

Tip #1 – Add your business to TripAdvisor

Averaging a monthly visitor inflow of 57 million people, as well as a member base that exceeds 36 million, TripAdvisor means business, literally (Source).

The site is diverse, with millions of traveller reviews, to a profound array of accommodation options, tour guides, attractions, hotspots and essential travel information.

In fact, it's so influential that 53% of travellers were adamant they would never book with any business that didn’t attain a TripAdvisor profile (SparkloftMedia).

That’s over half the market! Can you really afford to miss this opportunity?

Tip #2 – Add your business to Google Local

A listing on Google Local identifies your company and its details on their universal mapping service. Why should you care?

Well, since 97% of people now prefer to find business online (Forbes), and Google Local has 150 million mobile users alone, it just can't be ignored.

This outlet allows people to find, share, rate and recommend your business to their friends and people across the web.

With 20% of Google searches being for local information (Hubspot), this service is a great way to ensure your surrounding consumer base can find and book with your business.

Tip #3 – Create social media accounts

Social media is now a genuine marketing platform, with 93% of marketers using social media to their advantage (Source).

It’s easy to see why - it's a fast, easy and cost effective solution. It will allow you to not only reach a broad spectrum of online users, but also target particular market groups.

Forbes magazine has dubbed social media as “the most misunderstood and greatest underused tactic in all of marketing today,” and they’re not wrong.

Ensuring you tweet it, Facebook it, Pinterest it and so on, allows your business to share its experience with the public, as well as share the traveller's experience like never before.

Your customers are using social media, and so are their friends. If you can get them to share a photo or a video, or even say something about how much fun they had with you, then that's the best kind of marketing you can ask for.

Tip #4 – Create special coupon deals

Coupon deals are a great way to engage consumer spending, even in what may be your quiet or shoulder seasons. But how can deals and discounts boost revenue?

Well it’s estimated that every hour consumers spend couponing is worth about $100 to businesses involved. With 96.8 million adult Internet users expected to use online coupons in 2013, figures begin to indicate the trend of ‘coupon hunters’ (Source).

Aside from increased consumer spending, coupon deals allow for access to broader markets. They provide your business with a more wholesome appeal to travellers, looking for affordable holiday activities.

Tip #5 – Use online booking software

Over 50% of today’s travellers will rush to the keyboard, rather than the phone to make their travel bookings (Source).

So why make it more difficult for both you and your customers? Use online booking software to add convenience for their booking experience, and yours. For example, Rezdy allows your customers to book directly from your Facebook Page.

There are plenty of online booking systems specifically geared to suit tours and activities - like a feature that allows you to add agents and re-sellers so you can track their contributions to your bookings.

To get the most bookings possible using your online reservation system, It's important to combine it with effective CRM practises. This will enable you to develop and manage your on going relationships with your customers and implement more effective marketing strategies.

Here’s to being “all booked out”. Best of luck!

Rezdy can help you increase your bookings. Ask us how.

Email Marketing With Coupons: 3 Strategies for Tour Operators

Tue, 23 Jul 2013 01:41:00 GMT

Many small tour or activity business owners may see coupons as detrimental to their bottom line. However, when you focus on developing an effective email marketing coupon strategy, you will find that your profits actually increase.

Coupons distributed through email are highly effective, because it can help increase your customer base, instill loyalty among existing customers, and raise awareness about what your tour company offers.

Here are some ideas for tour operators on how you can promote your coupons with email marketing:

1. Promote Coupons During Low Travel Seasons

If you offer a sightseeing tour of your area, chances are throughout the high travel season you are booked solid with customers paying full price for your tour. However, come the low season, you may find that you are struggling to meet your minimums in order to take your vehicle out.

This is the time to promote your coupons for off-season products and rates. You should do this with your own database as well as through coupon websites, making sure your coupon is included in their emails for that time period. This offer will help increase business during a traditionally slow time, as people will be tempted by the great deal.

Whether you create a buy-one, get-one free deal or you offer your customers 20 percent off an upcoming tour, be sure to state that it's a limited offer. You should also specifically list the dates that the coupon is valid, so as to avoid confusion with your customers.

2. Go for the Up-sell with a Coupon Promotion

As a tour and activity operator, chances are you offer several products or tour packages for your customers. For instance, if you are a winery tour company, you might offer customers a private tour experience or a group tour booking option. After customers have completed a group tour, send them an email asking for feedback and provide them with a coupon for a discounted private tour on their next visit to the area.

Another way to go for the up-sell is to send out a coupon with the booking confirmation email that is sent after a customer utilizes your online booking system. This coupon could provide them with a free product, such as a coffee mug or a T-shirt, or you could offer a discount on a food and beverage purchase during the tour. Chances are the coupon will inspire your customers to spend more cash while actually out on the tour with you — which helps to increase your profit margins.

3. Raise Awareness and Incentivize Repeat Business

By emailing past customers and offering a discount on a future tour for referring a friend, you will incentivize your clients to do your marketing for you. First and foremost, your customers will be focused on promoting your business in order to get the discount on a future tour or activity. The benefit for you is two-fold: you will gain new customers while also earning repeat business from clients who will be using their referral coupon.

Start using coupons in your email marketing strategy!

Coupons can be a great way to drive business to your tour and activity business, especially when these promotions are integrated with your online marketing campaign. Many travelers today are on a budget, and are looking to find the best deals on tours and excursions.

If you offer customers on your email list exclusive coupons and offers, they are more likely to consider booking a tour or activity with you. Whether you are offering them a percentage off their next tour, or you are going to provide them with free products such as food or souvenirs if they redeem their coupon, you will find that creative, thoughtful coupons generate buzz and help boost your profits.

However, it's important to keep in mind that creating coupons alone is not enough. You need to make sure that they are easy to apply and track within in your online booking system. If you make it easy for your customers, they will have better experience with your company, and recommend you to their friends.

To see how an online booking system allows for coupon tracking, why not take a free trial of Rezdy? It's obligation free and no credit card is required:

Today's great topic idea came from Sharmila Das of Loksha Tours. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

Increasing Revenue Per Customer: Tips for Tour Operators

Thu, 18 Jul 2013 03:10:00 GMT

How can you increase your profits per customer rather than just increasing your revenue? Since profit is what you get to keep, that should be the part of the equation that tour operators focus on improving.

There are some pretty easy tips that can help you increase the profit per customer ratio of your tour or activity:

Tip 1: Focus on Gross Margins

To figure out what your gross margins are, you divide your gross profits by your net sales and the result is your gross margin. To find your net sales, you take your total sales, minus out your costs, and that gives you your net sales.

If you want to increase your gross margins, then you have to raise your prices. But if your ticket prices are higher than your competition, then you need to stand out from your competition by developing a niche market.

If you do something better than everyone else, and are consistent in what you do then people won't mind paying more for a richer experience. When you can achieve this, then you no longer have to compete with your competition. They have to compete with you.

Tip 2: Cross-sell While on Tour

The simplest thing you can do to increase your revenue per customer is by adding a complementary offer to the experience. For example, offer lunch and dinner options to go along with it, or additional equipment hire.

To do this well, you really need to know what your customers want. Think of an observatory tour operator, who offer private telescope viewing sessions. If it's a couple who book a private viewing, you could offer a glass of wine and tapas prior to the viewing to make the experience more romantic.

Tip 3: Encourage Customer Loyalty

To obtain repeat business, you treat your customers well, and offer them an incentive to come back again. The simplest example is to offer a discount for things like referring you to a friend, joining your Facebook page, or leaving you a good review on TripAdvisor. That way you build a positive relationship with your clients - and, if you impress them enough - their friends.

Part and parcel of customer loyalty is providing a way for customers to keep in touch:

Social media. You should be using social media to connect with customers online, and attract new customers. For example, you can take photos of your customers on tour and post them on Facebook. Photos and videos are the best way to convey what it feels like on your tour, so you should definitely be using them for marketing.
Blogging. Maintain a blog, and encourage your clients to contribute, and participate. The SEO factors can be complicated, but they need not be the focus of the project. Focus instead on providing beneficial content, and the SEO will naturally follow.

The key is to differentiate your business from competitors. To do this, treat your guests well, and offer a unique service that they value. Show that you really understand them and they will happily return (and hopefully with their friends).

Rezdy can help you grow your business! If you're interested in learning more, click on the link below:

Today's great topic idea came from Joey Pool of Perth Scuba. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

How Mobile is Changing the Tour and Activities Sector

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 22:50:00 GMT

It's clear that mobile technology is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, sales of web-enabled mobile devices are outrunning computer sales (GigaOm). Tour operators can no longer ignore this trend, and instead must adapt to it.

Here are 5 ways that mobile technology has evidently impacted the tour and activities sector.

1. More people are booking online

If you are a part of the tourism industry today and aren't offering online bookings, then chances are you aren't getting any reservations. According to Statistic Brain, more than 148.3 million people use the Internet to make reservations for their accommodations, tours and activities. That's more than 57 percent of travelers each year.

Of those travelers who are booking their reservations online, many are opting to use their smart phones and tablet devices rather than a traditional computer to make their reservations. This means that mobile booking options aren't the way of the future — these mobile booking systems are the way of today.

2. More people are booking from their mobiles

Mobile smart phones and tablet devices allow people to conduct their daily business wherever they are, making daily chores far more convenient than they were before. Rather than sitting down after a long day at work to look online for travel arrangements, many travelers are using mobile apps to quickly locate tour and activity operators, read reviews and book their reservations.

According to New Media Trend Watch, 52 percent of travelers that took part in a JiWire study used a smart phone or tablet to complete travel bookings. Of those 52 percent, 23 percent opted to use their smart phone while 29 percent made their reservations on their tablet.

With the use of mobile booking apps on the rise and more people using their smart phones and tablets to make reservations, it's more important than ever for businesses to develop a prominent web presence.

This means investing in search engine optimization strategies that get your business listed on Google and other major search engines. People will use map apps, such as Google Maps, to find out which businesses are in the area. There they can read reviews, link to the business and make a reservation — all within a matter of seconds.

3. More people are using social media

Developing a presence on search engines and on the web is only one part of a successful online marketing plan. Travel businesses — whether you offer guided tours of your city or specialize in activities and excursions for travelers — need to have a well-developed presence on the best social media sites at the same time.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor and YouTube are just a few of the networks that many travel businesses use every day.

Social media presents an opportunity for travelers to research a company and get real time reviews about the company's performance. For instance, if someone is hoping to book a tour with your company they are likely going to check out TripAdvisor, like your Facebook page and follow your Twitter updates.

After monitoring your activity and your customers' activity on your pages, they will be able to make a better decision about their own travel plans. An expert social media strategy is necessary, as according to 2012 data published by Media Bistro, about 52 percent of travelers change their plans based on social media activity and responses.

Travel companies, including tour and activity operators, are taking note. More than 50 percent of travel-related businesses have found that social media has resulted in a direct increase in bookings each month.

4. People expect a professional mobile booking experience

Today's tech-savvy travelers don't just want a quick and easy way to book with your company, they still expect you to maintain a professional appearance and provide them with excellent customer service.

You should have easy instant booking available directly on your mobile website, allowing your customers to click a button and save their spot.

The second a person makes a reservation with your organization, they will go to their e-mail where they expect a confirmation to be waiting for them.

That confirmation should include all of the relevant information about the reservation — including the date, time and activity that was booked as well as the participants' information and the payment information.

5. Tour operators are taking advantage of mobile technology

The numbers can't be denied, and tour operators are taking advantage of the mobile device trend for their own business. Many tour operators and activity providers are investing in online booking systems that offer easy-to-use mobile platforms.

For example, Rezdy offers tour and activity operators an online booking system that can be used easily on a computer or laptop as well as conveniently on a mobile device.

When investing in an online booking system, tour and activity operators should make sure their system is equipped for mobile devices - from a user perspective and from the customer's perspective.

To see mobile-enabled tour operator software in action, why not take a free trial of Rezdy? It's obligation free:

Today's great topic idea came from Michael Ngalia of OmyAmsterdamTours. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

5 Ways to Raise Awareness For Tours and Activities

Thu, 04 Jul 2013 00:44:00 GMT

While you probably have a marketing plan to advertise your business as a whole, you shouldn't to forget the importance of marketing individual packages offered by your organization.

One of the sure-fire ways to increase your bookings each month is to raise awareness about individual tours and activities that you offer as a company. But how do you do that, exactly?

The following tips will help you build awareness about individual tours and activities that you offer, which will ultimately lead to an increase in bookings each month:

1. Create tour packages that are different and unique.

Travelers to your area can book a tour that visits the top attractions in your city with just about any competitor you have. To stand out, you need to market yourself as the business that offers the most unique and informed tours in the area.

So try to put a twist on it. For example, consider designing a few themed tours that will attract a niche group of people. One of our clients, Cat O' Nine Tails, has done this outstandingly well with their boat tours of St. Helena Island Prison in Queensland. Their tour guides are professional actors who mix education with entertainment, bringing the colonial period to life.

Highlight what makes you stand out among the crowd in your area. Prove to your clients than you will do more than just give them the standard tour or activity that they can get anywhere else.

2. Use your brand marketing materials with each tour and activity you are promoting.

You want people to recognize your business brand and identity. Do you even have a clearly defined brand for your package?

Whether it's in a designed print publication advertisement or you're creating an online marketing campaign, you must include your company name, logo and slogan with all tour and activity materials.

Try to give each tour and activity you are offering a unique (and catchy) name. By promoting your brand as a whole while focusing on an individual tour, you might find some customers check out your other packages and make a different selection.

3. Set expectations and deliver on them.

Let tourists know what to expect from the experience - and be sure to deliver on what you promise them! This will encourage word of mouth recommendations, which are the most effective way to build awareness.

For each tour and activity you promote, write a short but catchy description of what the average traveler will experience. In addition, include photographs and perhaps add a video clip to your website.

This allows potential customers to get a quick glimpse of what they will experience themselves while on vacation, but it's essential that you make good on your promises.

Essentially, you have to make promises to your customers in order to earn their trust, but only make guarantees that you can keep.

If you guarantee guests a dolphin sighting on your dolphin watching tour, you better be able to come through in the end. If you don't, your guests will inevitably feel let down and it will reflect poorly on your business.

4. Use social media as a promotion tool.

Promote individual tours and activities on your social media accounts.

You need to fill your social media pages with frequent yet relevant updates each day. Instead of tweeting the same promotions once a day, or posting general statuses on your Facebook account, take the time to promote the different experiences and tour packages that you offer.

One day, you might post a Facebook status that asks guests "Did you know we offer a Haunted Mansions tour of the city? If you want to see where all the ghosts and goblins live around here, check out our tour at 7 p.m. on weeknights."

This will offer insight into your company while also promoting your services.

5. Design specials and discounts for certain tours at different times.

Coupon deals will entice people to take advantage of what you have to offer at a great price.

If you have a hard time filling up your sailboat excursions during the month of May, offer this tour at a discount and promote it individually.

This will help you increase your bookings at a relatively slow time for your business, while also attracting new customers who may opt to take other tours with your company while on vacation.

Your tour and activity business is probably as eclectic as the clients you serve. When you raise awareness about individual tour packages that you offer, people will have a better idea of all the experiences they can enjoy while on their holiday.

For more tips on how to market your tour or activity online, download our free ebook:

Today's great topic idea came from Sharmila Das of Loksha Tours. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

5 Trust-Building Tips for Tour Operators

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 02:59:00 GMT

In general, there isn't a lot of trust between the consumer and the retailer. In today's competitive economy where many small businesses struggle to stay afloat, the customer has become accustomed to assuming that the business is trying to pull a fast one on them.

As a tour operator, you need to develop a sense of trust with your customers so they know that they're getting a high quality experience at the best price available.

The following tips will help you establish trust in all aspects of your business:

1. Create a website that is visually appealing and easy to use.

According to the Biggest Leaf, this is one of the first steps of building rapport with clients. Travelers today use the Internet almost exclusively to book their vacations, accommodations and excursions. A website that is easy to use on a mobile device, with high-resolution images, concise information and a clear layout makes you look professional, which immediately allows customers to put their faith in you.

2. Incorporate a secure and efficient online booking system.

Tourists are looking to quickly and easily make their reservations online, but they will only provide their personal and financial information to a tour and activity company that they can trust, according to 4 Hoteliers.

A secure online booking system allows them to make a reservation with your company without fear that their information will be stolen, hacked or lost in cyberspace. Of course, you want to make sure to invest in a reliable system that will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Otherwise, a frustrated client will simply find another tour and activity operator to work with if it's too difficult to make their reservation using your system.

3. Use social media to help develop a positive reputation for your company.

Developing your brand on social media will help clients to find your business as well as instantly see how you interact with your customers. They can check out your Facebook page, your Twitter account and your YouTube channel to see what type of information you post, what your customers are saying and how you are reacting. A well-developed social media marketing campaign will ensure that customers recognize your efforts, noting that you can be trusted to provide them with a fun and exciting tour or activity on their next vacation.

4. Make customer care a top priority.

You want to respond to all inquiries as quickly as possible. If a tourist contacts you via your website and you don't respond for a week, they're likely to assume that you're not interested in their business. They may even jump to the conclusion that your company isn't your top priority. It's important to be prompt when responding to all customer questions, concerns and feedback. Whether you receive an email from a client or a post on your Facebook profile, you should make an effort to respond within a matter of hours. Set aside time each day to respond to past, present and future travelers, proving to them that customer service is your top priority.

5. Let your personality shine through.

Allow people to get to know you on a more intimate level. Customers are more likely to trust someone that they know on a personal level, rather than a tour and activity operator who maintains a cool, safe distance from their customers. While it's important to always be a professional, you can let your personality shine through on your website, your social media accounts and even when you are talking on the phone with future tourists. Try to see your customers as friends or family members. It will allow people to connect with you and develop a sense of trust in you.

People won't do business with you if they don't trust you!

The more your customers begin to trust you, the more bookings you will have each month. As you develop relationships with your current customers, they will recommend you to their friends and family. Building trust isn't always easy to do in today's digital world where travelers are more apprehensive than ever, but with hard work and effort you will quickly become known as the most reliable tour and activity operator in your area.

Through social media, your customers can leave reviews and ratings, as well as help you to promote your business by sharing your pages with their social networks. To learn more about how tour operators can use social media, download our free ebook:

Today's great topic idea came from Joey Pool of Perth Scuba. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

Tips for Creating Social Content While Out Running Your Tour

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:02:00 GMT

Whether you are driving the double decker bus to all of the famous sites around your city, or you are guiding a group of kayakers through the open ocean, you still need to be thinking about the online aspect of your business.

Social content doesn't create itself, and you will want to be continuously developing content to disperse on your various social media accounts.

There are many ways to give an amazing tour for your customers while still generating the content you need — be it videos, photos or simply statuses — to keep your business buzzing online:

1. Snap a couple quick photos or take a few minutes of video of guests enjoying your tour on your smartphone or tablet.

Images and videos are really important for your marketing. Perhaps you offer whale watching tours and you see a beautiful humpback whale breech right in front of you.

Grab your smartphone and snap a quick photo, add an interesting filter and post it to Instagram immediately.
The next whale you see, take a video on your tablet and post it to your Facebook page when you get back from the tour.

If you're into new social networks, you might want to try out Vine, too. It lets you create 6-second loop videos really easily, which you can share on Twitter.

2. Tweet updates about exceptional experiences that occur while you are on your tour.

For instance, if you give walking tours of a big city and a guest runs into a celebrity, get on Twitter right away and post about this exciting moment of happenstance. Don't forget to follow it up with a tweet to ask people to book! By providing past, present and future visitors with insights into your daily tours, they will be more apt to make a reservation with your company.

3. Designate a hashtag for a particular tour group and encourage visitors to use that hashtag as they tweet about their experience.

Before you take your group out on the tour, be sure to let them know what the hashtag is so they can use it. Travelers today are constantly posting updates about their vacations and holidays to their social media accounts, and using a hashtag can help them connect with other people on the tour. Not to mention, it helps you with creating content and promoting your business.

4. Schedule posts to update throughout the day on your Facebook and Twitter pages while you are out giving a tour to a group of travelers.

Shamrock Financial notes that you can specify the time and date that you want each post to show up, allowing you to plan ahead. This gives the appearance that you are working constantly at providing new and interesting information in order to engage your customers. You're the only one who has to know that you're really out having fun with your customers all day, showing them the sights and sounds of your area.

The most popular tools are Tweetdeck and Hootsuite. Although Tweetdeck is owned by Twitter, we recommend Hootsuite. You can sign up and add up to 5 accounts for free.

5. Ask tourists to share their experiences through the various social media platforms you participate in on a daily basis.

Whether this means having them instantly upload their photos to Instagram, or asking them to be a guest blogger for your site, you will want to encourage everyone to share their positive experiences with other future travelers. Remember, the more people that recommend your company and talk about your tours and activities, the more validity you will have when it comes to generating buzz online.

Is it OK for you to use your personal account for business purposes?

In short, absolutely! If you are comfortable doing so, you can use your personal account to promote your business. As long as you don't say anything that will reflect negatively on your business, it can only be good for your business, as it lets people see the human aspect behind your business.

Penny C. Sansevieri discussed this topic in a column published on the Huffington Post. She advises business owners to use their personal profile to inform people about their business rather than sell them on products or services.

Instead of asking your friends and family to share status updates about sales and promotions, simply show off a photograph or provide a bit of information about what you offer at your location.

Managing your business social media accounts can be overwhelming, but when you take the time to create content while you are doing your daily tasks you will find it much easier to manage.

Taking a few photos or tweeting a quick update takes literally seconds of your time, and it's a worthwhile investment. Social media is the way that travelers are connecting with businesses today, and by engaging these potential tourists you will see a direct impact on your sales, reservations and profits.

For more tips on social media marketing for tours and activities, download our comprehensive ebook:

Today's great topic idea came from Michael Ngalia of OMY Amsterdam Tours. If you would like to give us a challenge you're experiencing for us to blog about, click here.

The 5 Best Coupon Strategies for Tour Operators

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:33:00 GMT

In a world of daily deal sites and online coupon codes, almost every traveler is looking to get a bargain on their tours and excursions for their upcoming vacation. So it's important to find a strategy that will draw customers in and encourage them to purchase products and promotions from your business.

After all, offering a great deal via a coupon can mean the difference between a customer choosing your tour business and opting for another activity operator in your area.

Tour and activity operators can benefit from developing a well-planned coupon strategy for the tourism season. Here are our 5 top picks:

1. Reach out to your local community

Print a coupon on a rack card and deliver it to your local tourism bureau or visitors center.

Blogger Matt Zito recommends printing your coupon offer at the top of the rack card, rather than at the bottom of the print product. Most businesses will opt for the bottom of the page, and this makes it all too easy for potential customers to skim over your card.

When your promotion is displayed at the top, customers will be attracted to your card as it will be distinguishable from the rest of the tour operators and activity centers in the area. The more enticing your offer is, the more customers you will generate from this type of promotion.

2. Use your existing database

E-mail a coupon promotion to past customers in order to encourage them to book another tour or activity with you.

The United States Small Business Association notes that many tourists choose to go back to the same vacation destination every year. E-mailing your past customers a coupon offer will encourage them to book another tour with you or to try a new activity they couldn't fit into their schedule last year.

This also allows them to easily refer your business to family and friends who may be taking a holiday in your area this year. E-mail coupons are an inexpensive way to generate buzz and spread the word about what is going on at your business this travel season.

3. Give them something new

Create a coupon that encourages your customers to try a new tour or activity that you are offering this year.

If you are offering a new sight-seeing tour of the city, or you have created a hang-gliding expedition for your customers, create a coupon that is geared specifically toward that activity. It will broadcast the fact that you are constantly changing, growing and developing to better serve your customers. It will also pique your customers' interests — they won't want to miss out on a new and exciting travel opportunity.

Many travelers want to try new things on their vacations, so showing them that you have something else to offer might be just what they need to make another reservation with you. Of course, the fact that they can get it at a discount won't hurt either.

4. Offer savings for bigger packages

Provide incentive for customers to purchase a higher package or a larger quantity of reservations.

Small Biz Viewpoints notes that this will help you increase your profit margin despite the fact that you are offering a coupon promotion. For instance, if you offer wine tours to the vineyards in your area, you can create a coupon that offers customers a discount when they book a tour for four or more people. Travelers will want to save money where they can, so they will be more likely to recruit friends and relatives to take the tour with them in order to save a bit of cash.

5. Throw in a gift

Offer a free gift for booking a tour or activity with you during a certain month.

This is another way to incentivize customers without compromising a lot of your profits. If you are a tour and activity operator that offers surf lessons on the beach, perhaps provide your customers with a coupon for a free beach towel if they book lessons that month.

You may want to choose a month where sales are typically slow, as this will help you see an additional boost in income during a relatively slow period for your business. The beach towels will be an investment on your part, but it will be worth it when you have a record number of customers booking surf lessons that month.

Coupons are worth the trouble

As a business owner, you know that offering a coupon promotion will hinder your profit margins for the duration of the promotion. However, this temporary decrease in profit will ultimately lead to an increase in sales, and perhaps more loyal customers who will book tours with you again and again.

Many travelers choose to go to the same destinations year after year, so a quality coupon strategy will encourage customers to continue to book with you. Make sure your customers can use their coupon when they make their online reservation. Your online booking software should support this, because the easier you make it for customers to make a reservation and save a bit of money, the higher your sales will be during your coupon promotion.

For more tips on marketing for tour operators, download our free ebook:

What coupon strategies have worked for you? Share them with us in the comments section below.

How To Create A Tour Operator Liability Release Form

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 03:59:00 GMT

No matter what type of action and adventure your company provides its customers with, it's important to cover your ground legally. There is a certain amount of risk and liability associated with each type of tour and activity, and all tour operators should have their patrons sign liability release forms for protection.

A liability release form protects your business from being held liable in the event of an accident, injury or damage as a result of the tour or activity. It is common for travel-related businesses and tour operators to have their customers sign liability release waivers in order to reduce their business liability and protect their assets.

The following tips can help you create a liability release form for your tour or activity:

1. Pick A Disclaimer

You should start by researching the various types of liability releases and disclaimers that are usable in court. According to Travel Agent Central, there are two main types of disclaimers that can be used by people in the travel industry:

Third party disclaimer

The most common disclaimer used by those in the tourism industry is the third party disclaimer, which states the services that will be provided by the company and informs the customer that the company is not responsible for any loss, theft, damage or personal injury that occurs during a particular tour or activity.

Agent negligence disclaimer

The negligence disclaimer can be more difficult to craft, and often must include other requirements before it can be considered legally valid. It might be best to avoid this type of disclaimer when creating a liability release form.

2. Contact A Lawyer

If you prefer to write your own liability release, contact a lawyer to complete the language for you. A legal professional can consult with you about the various activities you offer and your legal needs as a business.

The National Tour Association recommends that tour operators include an Assumption of Risk and a Liability Release portion of their form:

The Assumption of Risk asks the customers to assume personal responsibility for their actions and consequences during the course of an activity.
The Liability Release specifically releases liability from the business providing the tours and activities.

While it provides these recommendations, the NTA notes that all tour businesses should have their own legal counsel craft and review their legal documentation and forms.

3. Include Third Party Contractors

Many tour companies use third-party contractors to provide their guests with a particular excursion. If that is the case for your company, contact the third-party supplier about their own liability release forms. You may be able to use their form for your guests.

If you do intend to use the same form as the third party supplier, make sure that all business parties are aware that the forms are being used by your customers. Have legal counsel from both your company and the third party contractor review the form and decide if it is the best choice for your business.

4. Look To Trade Associations

Some trade associations will provide members with liability release form waivers that can be used by members in their businesses.

For instance, the diving trade association PADI offers a liability release form that can be used by any business that offers PADI scuba diving experiences.

The form that is provided by PADI addresses several different issues throughout it:

First, it identifies that many different risks that are involved with scuba diving.
Then, it asks the participant to acknowledge that the company, its employees, its subsidiaries and the PADI organization are not responsible for any accidents or injuries that result from the experience.
After addressing the various risks and asking for acknowledgement of said risks, the participant is asked to sign and date the form before they can participate in a PADI experience.

Knowing that the form you use is a standard set by your industry association will give you (and your customers) more confidence that you haven't left anything out.

Using your liability release form

A liability release form is an important part of any tour and activity business, as it protects you legally and helps to limit the amount of liability you take on. This can help with your insurance costs and ultimately allow you to increase your profit margin.

It's important to inform your guests of the liability release form at the time of booking. Remind your customers that they should take the time to read over the form and agree to its terms and conditions before signing the paperwork. This is a legally-binding document, and your patrons should be aware of its significance.

Once you have a liability release crafted for your business, make sure you collect a signed copy from every single customer. This will allow you to relax and enjoy the process of providing your customers with the experience of a lifetime!

For more useful tips for tour operators, be sure to subscribe to our blog. We'll deliver them straight to your inbox:

Credit Card Transaction Best Practices for Tour Operators

Tue, 28 May 2013 00:50:00 GMT

In today's world, travelers almost exclusively use their credit cards and debit cards to make reservations, book tours and pay for their vacations. That's why tourists are looking for businesses that accept credit cards, largely because it is more convenient than cash.

So regardless of whether your tour company is a one-man show operating one tour per day, or you're a larger corporation with several activity centers, you will be dealing with credit card transactions.

But what's best practice for tour operators? What do you need to know? Make sure you implement these best practices:

1. You must be PCI compliant.

Let's start with the basics. You need to honour the law. You probably use an online booking system to allow your customers to make their reservations quickly and easily, but this means they are providing you with their credit card information in order to save their spot.

PCI DSS, or the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is the set of guidelines and requirements for any business of any size that accepts, stores, processes or transmits credit card data. These standards were developed to protect the consumer from fraud.

It's essential for any type of tour or activity operator to understand these regulations, as vendors can face significant fines and penalties if they are not complying with the standards. Fines can range from $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

There are two ways that you can make sure your system meets these strict standards:

Run a PCI compliance scan. This is an automated tool that helps find any vulnerabilities in your system. The PCI Compliance Guide notes that you are required to run a scan every 90 days in order to stay in compliance with the guidelines. You must use a PCI-approved scanning vendor to complete this scan.
Submit a PCI compliance report. This form must be submitted to a merchant processor. It's a questionnaire that asks yes-or-no questions. If you fail the questionnaire then you must adjust your system and policies, correct the form and resubmit it. You can complete this form online if you do less than $6,000 each year in credit card transactions, but if you do more than $6,000 per year, you must have an on-site audit performed by a Qualified Security Analyst.

Understanding and complying with the PCI DSS regulations is essential to the overall success of your business. It allows customers to trust you with their personal information, and at the same time it protects you from facing significant penalties.

2. Keep your customers well-informed.

The following tips also will help you ensure your customers that you conduct credit card transactions in a safe and professional way:

Explain to your customers how the payment process works, addressing how you will keep their credit card data safe.
Once a booking has been made, send a confirmation email, and in it, tell your customers how your charge will appear on their credit card statement (ie. under what business name).
Display your cancellation policy clearly and make sure your customers have to agree to it before making a booking. Also don't forget to enforce your policy.

It's important to every consumer that the businesses they work with comply with the strict safety guidelines that are designed to protect them from fraud.

By letting your customers know that you're doing your best to keep their details safe when they interact with your business, you will quickly develop a trustworthy relationship with them.

3. Don't charge the credit card until you're 100% sure you can run the tour.

This is to save you from all the unnecessary administrative hassles that accompany refunds.

While it might seem easier to simply charge a customer instantly for their tour or activity, it's important to wait to charge their card until you're sure you can provide the tour - especially if yours is weather-dependant.

If you charge their card immediately, and they don't show up, you have to deal with the administrative hassle of providing a refund. Instead, simply post a cancellation policy and charge your customer the cancellation fee if they don't show up for their tour.

Many people might argue that prepayment helps to reduce the amount of no-shows on your tours, but collecting credit card details and posting a cancellation fee will be just as effective. That way, you will maintain a positive cash flow for your business.

If you're looking for a reservation system that supports this function, take a free trial of Rezdy - there's no obligations and no credit card needed.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Mobile Website Design for Tour Operators: 5 Reasons Why You NEED It!

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:47:00 GMT

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is rapidly moving from online to mobile.

In many countries (including the US and Australia) sales of web enabled mobile devices outstrip computer sales, and this trend is accelerating! For the young the world has already moved from the desktop and the laptop to the smart phone and iPad.

The implications of the rush to mobile are especially pressing for tour and activity operators due to the nature of their customer base and the purchasing preferences of their consumers.

Here's why a mobile-friendly website is essential for tours and activities:

1. You don’t waste your marketing dollars.

The switch to mobile search is rapidly changing the relative effectiveness of websites. If your website is not mobile friendly, potential customers arriving by mobile will simply “bounce” off to other sites which work better on their mobile device.

Indeed many traditional websites present so poorly on mobile that those potential customers who actually arrive with a purchase intention drop off without buying through sheer frustration at the difficulty of navigating the site.

According to new data released by search engine giant, Google, Australian online shopping related searches via mobile devices and smartphones have spiked 40% year-on-year!

If your website is not mobile friendly and you spend money driving traffic to it then you are wasting money to get visitors who will just bounce away because you don’t load well on their mobile device. As the market moves more and more to mobile this effect will become more and more marked.

2. You get a lower cost of customer acquisition.

Getting customers to your website is one thing. Getting them to engage and make a purchase is another. The rate at which your visitors convert to customers is crucial to your profitability. However conversion rates vary widely depending upon the type of device being used by the visitor and the type of product in question.

The Q2 2012 Global Digital Advertising Update by Adobe notes that for most products conversion rates from mobile phones are lower than for computer searches but “in the case of tablets, CPCs are 30% lower even though they convert 20% better than desktops. Thus, ROI on tablets is 70% better than desktops. This represents a significant opportunity for the savvy marketer.”

This insight is likely to be particularly pertinent to tour and activity operators due to the purchasing behavior of their customers. People increasingly tend to travel with phones and tablets rather than computers. Having a website attuned to wireless mobile search is thus particularly important for websites selling tours and activities.

3. Mobile friendly sites attract more tour and activity customers.

Mention has already been made of the disproportionate importance of mobile for tour and activity operators due to the increasing propensity of people to travel with phones and tablets rather than computers. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The purchase of tours and activities is generally an optional luxury. Creating a user interface with the right “look and feel” is known to be particularly important when it comes to the sale of discretionary and lifestyle products/services; especially those prone to impulse buying.

If the website of your 3rd party motor insurer doesn’t work too well you will probably transact with them anyway. But if an activity website doesn’t look attractive……well there are other things to do!

In July 2012 Google undertook a survey of 1,088 smartphone users. Sixty-seven percent said they were more likely to make a purchase when visiting a business's mobile-friendly site, versus 61 percent who said they'd most likely leave a site that wasn't optimized for mobile.

4. You give customers what they want.

Mobile friendly also means that it must be easy to transact through your website from a mobile device. This means a whole variety of design features such as minimizing the keystrokes required to make a booking (ie. because people are much less prone to typing on mobile devices).

Mobile search customers want things like:

Fast loading – under 5 seconds is preferable
Ease of use – features like large buttons and minimum scrolling
Immediate information – key information (e.g. location maps and phone numbers) should be immediately visible and easy to read on a small device

If potential customers want to find out about tours and activities when they are on the road then it is a smart move to give them just what they want.

5. Increase your repeat and viral customer.

Another finding of the Google research cited above was that 74% of people said that “If a site works well on a mobile phone I am more likely to return to it in the future”.

Correspondingly a website which presents poorly on mobile devices actually does brand damage with fifty-five percent of respondents agreeing that, “A frustrating experience on a website hurts my opinion of the brand overall.”

Since word of mouth is so important, getting people to see you as professional online is essential in getting them to recommend you.

Does your online booking system support mobile bookings?

You need to make sure that not only is it possible, but it's efficient and easy to do. If you are interested in learning more about how to do that, read our blog post: 6 Essential Mobile Optimisation Tactics for Tours & Activities.

Or if you would like to take a free trial of Rezdy (which definitely does support mobile access - both for you and your customers), then click on the link below:

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net