by Andy StroteThis year has been rough – visits to Ontario by U.S. tourists staying more than one day was down 9% from 2005. There are lots of theories about why that is happening – the price of gas, Ontario’s economy, high Canadian dollar and Americans staying close to home. Sometimes it seems it doesn’t matter what your promotional tactics have been, people are just not buying.
It’s not just the economy, it’s the change in shopping habits. Statistics prove it.
We have another idea. We believe the Web has permanently changed the way people shop for their vacation ideas. Travel Web sites have become more important than brochures and most types of advertising. Statistics prove it – calls to 1-800-Ontario and visits to Ontario travel information centers have negative growth in the double digits, while visits to large Ontario Web sites have exploded.
Many of you have probably seen this shift. If you continue to rely on the same quarterly brochures or newspaper ads to promote and sell, you may be reaching the end of the trail.
But it is not enough to just have a Web site. Most importantly, you need to sell to visitors. The irony is that while hits to major Ontario tourism Web sites are up, the overall travel to and within Ontario has been flat. Sounds like the Web visits aren’t translating into buying.
What should you do?
It is critical, that as you plan for 2007, no matter what your budget or your product, you need to allocate part of your marketing plan to serious e-marketing which translates into real “e-sales”. It’s time to expand your business using the Web – because frankly you have no choice.
Simple e-marketing
We know that some of you don’t have a lot of marketing budget and much of it is tied up regional or association programmes, but there are some simple and inexpensive ways to get started by applying the 5Ps (See www.contextcreative.ca/5p). Remember it’s not about working harder or spending more, it’s about thinking smarter.
Here are some suggestions:
• Personae. If your Web site is more than 2 years old, you need to revitalize your site. Have a good critical look at the content – words and pictures – on your Web site. Does it appeal to the interests of your target audiences? It’s probably time to revamp and revitalize.
• Positioning. Find out where you rank on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Need help? We can show you how.
• Prospecting. There are many ways to advertise on the Internet. You should consider everything from buying keywords, advertising on relevant sites, holding a contest, setting up link exchanges or entering partner programs.
• Pitching. Once they come to your site, figure out ways to keep in touch with them. Then you can let them know when you have new offers through email campaigns, RSS feeds and other notifications.
• Partnerships. Work with complementary vendors to create offers for shoppers. For example, if you are a resort, work with a nearby attraction, destination marketing organization or joint market with local events and festivals and build links to partners to increase the chance that you will found on a number of sites, not just yours.
Start with One-to-One Prospecting
In our opinion one of the best ways to jump-start your e-marketing is to build a list so you can start Prospecting and Pitching.
Why? Did you know that 40% of visitors to travel Websites subscribe to an e-newsletter and 20% bought a vacation because of what they saw in an e-newsletter?
For many of you, the challenge is how to get prospects to sign-up, and then, how to start simple outbound e-marketing campaigns.
Here’s a tip to get started
Why not start building your e-marketing strategy by Prospecting face-to-face with the attendees to the travel shows? They can be your best leads.
Travel shows are the ideal place to start your 2007 e-marketing efforts. This is your chance to meet people specifically interested in your region or products. They are engaged and are serious shoppers, and you should have a program to capture them, and then follow-up. Whether you’re going yourself or with your association, make sure the “leads” coming to the booth are captured with their permission, for your e-mail database. By the end of the first show, you will have the beginnings of your email list.
The Tourism Marketer’s Bottom Line: The Web has permanently changed tourism marketing. Make sure you adapt and prosper. Remember, even if the numbers are down, you still have a huge potential market every year. Do they know about you?
Our Offer to You
How should you start improving your e-marketing efforts? Start with our offer of 3 hours of complimentary E-marketing Consulting. This is normally a $600 value. This will be three hours of practical, no-nonsense consulting about your site, your e-marketing efforts. We understand your business is unique, so this session will be about you. You’ll be able to apply what you’ve learned immediately and successfully. Imagine if your new e-marketing efforts could increase your business by 10, 20 or 50 percent. What would that mean to you?
After the meeting we’ll follow up with a summary report with suggested next steps. You’ll be able to take immediate action to start a high performance e-marketing initiative for your business. Email consulting@contextcreative.com or call 416 972-1439 and ask for Eugene Zakreski.
