How to go from a travel business and website that sucks to one that rocks!
Last week I shared a short travel website marketing video from Doug Lampi that revealed a 300% increase in retention and a doubling of pages viewed on a client’s travel website – after 
implementing advice from new course.
Let me give you 3 website marketing secrets that will help you go from struggle to success and double revenues. Please take four minutes right now to see for yourself.
Here’s some important (and time sensitive) tourism marketing facts and critical steps that you need to integrate into your website to move from point A (struggle) to point B (your dream tourism business).
Travel Business & Marketing Fact
- Over 94% of all travel is now researched online.
- A travel website that converts visitors into leads and sales, should be your #1 best source of new leads, sales and return on investment. If it’s isn’t, read on.
So how do you go from point A (a website that’s Dead on Arrival (DOA) to point B (a website that rocks)? Let me define the two points.
A travel website that is DOA (Point A) generates:
- Little or no Emails inquiries
- Little or no phone inquiries
- Little or no prospects
- Little or no traffic
- Little or no search engine ranking
- A lot of expense with little or no return on investment
- Pain and frustration…
A travel website that rocks (Point B) generates:
- Regular Emails inquiries
- Regular phone inquiries
- Regular qualified prospects
- Growing traffic
- Regular search engine ranking
- A lower marketing costs with an awesome return on investment
- Has you smiling all the way to the bank…
To transform your marketing and profits, you must have the following 3 elements represented in your travel website, (and all your travel marketing).
#1 Why Most Travel Websites Fail?
A majority of your website visitors spend less than 10 seconds and then leave, often never to return… The reason is, is that most websites stink at answering to two critical questions that all travel consumers must know in 7 seconds or less:
1: What you do and where. Seems obvious but it’s amazing that the majority of websites stink at communicating this very basic element.
2: Feeling good about a purchase they are considering with you. Travel consumers want to know you are experienced, safe, and run fun trips and provide excellent service. Unfortunately the majorities of websites either bury this critical information or omitted completely. Big mistake!
It’s no wonder that most people leave travel website in less then 10 seconds. It is because they are not getting their core assessment and psychological needs met.
#2: Credibility Sells
No matter whether you’re looking out seeing a new movie, going to a new restaurant, or taking a new trip, don’t you always look to see the ratings or experiences of other consumers before hand? Don’t opinions of friends or associates matter?
The same holds true for people shopping for your travel destination or services! So it’s critical that you represent your:
- Years of experience
- Number of happy clients
- Professional certifications
- Where you’ve been featured in the media
- Service guarantees
- And anything else that would help a first-time consumer feel confident and comfortable making a purchase with you.
How to Work Successfully with Travel Agents and Tour Operators
How to make your travel website rock!
Credibility is 10 times more important if you want to work with outside travel agents or tour operators. Why would they send you their clients if they weren’t totally confident that their clients would be safe and have a good time? It’s their reputation that’s on the line.
If you are concerned because you are just getting going, I’ll show you soon how to leverage life and partner experience to reflect your credibility.
#3: Targeted Traffic Vs Sales Conversion:
Most tourism marketers make the big mistake that if they have more traffic they would have more prospects and sales.
Does this sound at all familiar? This is Ass Backwards.
It is better to have a website that addresses the core needs for information and credibility first, so that your online traffic investments converts more web visitors into leads and sales. This is the process of turning strangers into friends and friends into customers over time.
This is called sales conversion and is critical to your over all travel marketing success.
Once you have a website that sells (converts) you must have a flow of targeted traffic to your website both organically, through paid advertising if necessary and some cool free traffic sources I can give you.
Targeted traffic is actually the easier part of the online travel marketing equation.
I always recommend you start with creating a website that sells (converts), then invest in online targeted traffic.
The Results: $45K in New Sales
Here’s a brief e-mail I got last week from Doreen Toller, co-owner of Alaskan Tour Guides and Tollers Timbers (Guest Chalets) who has an unbelievable amount of competition in Alaska, many who are struggling terribly. She is not even done with my new Tourism Marketing Success course and see how her new website rocks!
“ I was excited to share our sales news from the past month. (During a live mastermind call with me and other tourism professionals) I do credit it to website improvements.
We’ve had about $45K in sales in the past month, with inquires for potentially even more…
What I didn’t tell was we received another call while we were in Hawaii (on 1 3-week vacation). It was from a competitor of ours who was worried because they were spending $5-6K a month in Pay per Click (PPC) advertising and they didn’t have one single booking, any calls or emails.
So, YES, I do see the proof in your advertising message.
I want to remain humble. We are very grateful for everything we have obtained in life and business. We work for it but it’s always a blessing when it pays off.
I shared because I wanted others to know that your message does work. I don’t relish the thought of someone else having a hard time either.
Thanks so much for all you do for the small business!”
Preview Tomorrow
Look for a brief over view video how others have integrated these same tourism marketing success secrets into their marketing and their record results. Plus I’ll give you a snap shot of my new course ( going on sale in 2 days) that can help you have website gains in retention, inquiries, sales and profits of 50%, 100% or a lot more this year. Stay tuned.
To your success, Tourism Tim Warren
PS I sincerely appreciate you and the opportunity to make a contribution to your team and bottom line. Thank you.
