Saturday 21 May 2011
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Travel Agent Survival: Get Online to Compete
With news that Co-Operative Travel are about to make 90 people Redundant (travelmole) it's clearer than ever that Agents need to be able to compete online in order to thrive. Relying on an ageing database and High Street presence is just not going to be enough to be able to capture the new customers that all businesses need to survive.
With 90% of holidaymakers now researching their holiday and travel plans online (even if they are booking them offline) it's clear that Agents must have a searchable travel web site with which they can direct potential and existing customers to, without losing those customers to either OTA's or direct Operator sites.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Why Groupon is Overvalued
Groupon is overvalued at at $25Billion. Caught up in a whirlwind of Investors all hoping that it will be 'the one', the next Youtube or Facebook.
It can't be because it isn't anything different to a normal offline business and is easily copied. All software can be copied I hear you say and that's true. However, the real difference is that in the businesses that have grown to be the biggest in their sector they always offer a Freemium service (as do Groupon) to customers but also actually have a business model for businesses that works economically. Google paid search works. Full stop. You might like the reliance on PPC but it has built many real businesses.
Groupon only offers an opportunity to sell stock at deep discount. Retailers rarely make any money other than covering costs and so the market is limited. I haven't spken to once retailer that really likes selling thourgh Groupon.
Groupon only has Revenues of £700m. How does that equate to $25Billion valuation with 6000 employees? Only if it can't be copied - but it can be and has been (they say Living Social will be bigger than Groupon next year). In truth any business with a large email list can offer a Groupon alternative and win (look a Travelzoo's success with their version of Groupon now valued at $400m). If that's the case my advice to any business is build your mailing list and then think of what you can flog them other than your main offering. If you do it quick you might find your local key cutting shop is valued at $300m!
Monday 21 March 2011
Take a break in Madeira and see the enchanting Flower Festival
The Flower Festival, that takes place in spring when the flowers are at their best, has been one of the major attractions for both tourists and locals for a long time. This enchanting festival with a parade and floats through the streets of Funchal exhibits and perfumes the air with a multiplicity of floral species of the island, spreading a fairy tale ambiance all over the city centre. In every year’s edition each group presents their costumes accompanied with dances to a newly conceived choreography.In the past few years a new addition was made to this event. At the ‘Largo do Colégio’ (Colégio Square) you will find the so-called ‘Wall of Hope’ – a wall where children place their own flowers with the objective of building a big flower wall symbolising the hope for a better and more peaceful world.As part of this event there are other activities like the making of flower carpets in the streets, awarding of prizes for the best-decorated shop window, performances of traditional music groups, a flower exhibition at the ‘Ateneu Comercial’, classical music concerts and a number of variety shows.
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Late Deals on Rental of Villa Aina, Mallorca
Accommodation Only Price Reductions
Exclusive private villa in the Pollensa area with 3 bedrooms , microwave, cooker, dishwasher, fridge, washing machine, electric fans, TV/DVD player, Barbecue, 2 bathrooms, 1 shower room and pool 10 x 5.5 meters.9 April 7 nights Normal price £989/ early booking offer £939. New price £899 SAVING £90
16 April 7 nights Normal price £989/ early booking offer £939 New price £899 SAVING £9030 April 7 nights Normal price £989/ early booking offer £939 New price £899 SAVING £907 May 7 nights Normal price £989/ early booking offer £939 New price £899 SAVING £9014 May 7 nights Normal price £1389/ early booking offer £1299 New price £1249 SAVING £150 PER WEEK21 May 7 nights Normal price £1389/ early booking offer £1299 New price £1249 SAVING £150 PER WEEK28 May 7 nights Normal price £1389/ early booking offer £1299 New price £1249 SAVING £150 PER WEEK
Tuesday 15 March 2011
30% off Luxury Villas
May Villa Deals: This Villa in Paxos is now 35% off for departures in May 2011.
Prices from £450 pppw (based on 3 sharing including flights, car hire and transfers)
- Stylish and elegant villa on Paxos
- 2 bedrooms
- Private swimming pool
- Air-conditioned
- Walking distance to taverna
- Beach 7min drive
- Transfers and air-conditioned car included
May Villa Deals
May Villa Deals: This Villa in Paxos is now 35% off for departures in May 2011.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Speed of Web Innovation leaves the small business confused
The Web is changing fast. The iPad now has the iPad 2. Apps are the new goldrush and meanwhile consumers devour the web like it is their lifeblood.
Apple and Smartphone technology has made the web always on. The broadband revolution started the consumption, the 'always on' devices have made the appetite hungrier. After all, who wanted to check the web when it took 5 minutes to power up your computer?
What does this mean for small businesses such as travel agents? Well, 89% of all travel research starts on the web according to Google. If you have any form of travel business then you simply must be on the Internet. But not just that, you have to have a presence that can compete against the big budget brands or you will not attract customers (or worse - lose them). We have seen this already in travel with the rise of Expedia. The online agent Travel Republic has stolen £400m of the UK travel agency market through being internet savvy (the guys that set this up were not even travel agents).
Getting online in a meaningful way that engages the consumer, what with social media, blogging, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, not forgetting expertise in SEO and Paid Search is now a mindfield without a huge budget to outsource and who has that in 2011? Travel companies have always survived with remarkably small margins, certainly very little to re-invest in new technologies that aren't guaranteed to provide an immediate return. So how does this unfold?
What's the customer looking for and what are you selling?
The answer to this applies equally to bookshops and other businesses as it does to travel agents and tour operators. Asked what the business does and no owner or MD ever replies of these traditional businesses "We are a web company, investing in ways to ensure that we compete against other websites". What they actually say is all to do with good old fashioned service, ability, expertise, BUT they have none of their time or budget available to do this. What they should be doing is investing time in blogging, engage their customer so the customer can believe in them. Launch a YouTube channel (check out Gary Vaynerchuk's internet success phnenomenon using YouTube). Then vanity checks in and they worry about having the same site as a competitor and wouyld rather spend an aweful lot of money haveing a site designed that they felt gave them a differentiated presence for heaps of money - and then it went out of date in a year.
If you stand back from a business and assess what it stands for then the only answer to the internet presnece one is to rely on a third party to provide the technological innovation and share this with others. Don't worry about the fact that everyone else looks the same (we all like the fact that the Veg isle is first in ALL the supermarkets and certainly don't compare supermarkets based on 'ambience'). For any business a webiste should first and foremost give the user what they are looking for quickly and then the use of social media channel and blogs the compnay can start to engage in a conversation with customers to 'sell' their service and expertise.
Perhaps the reason why 96% of travel agents don't have a website is because they just haven't got the money, or expertise, or up until now a solution to be able to showcase their product to customers in a professional and cost effective way. That's the reason we set up Net Effect Travel Web Solutions - to even the playing field and let everyone get on with their proper job rather than become sidetracked by the web.
Saturday 5 March 2011
SEO Tactics for Companies
Watch out, the world is moving fast. Only last year I wrote a post about how a respected SEO agency was advising clients to ignore social media. At the same time I met up with an independent SEO specialist who described their job as 'a link builder'. Could SEO really be as easy as link building? Did we all really think that Google could be beaten by savvy link builders to beat their algorithms?
The good news is of course that Google is on the case and developing ways of integrating influential users via all channels, including social media, in ranking authority. There will always be blips in the development of Internet marketing and a few savvy people will make some money. The danger is that traditional companies will believe those agencies that sell their services based on 'beating google'. They will spend '000's hoping that sem magic Internet savvy guy will be the answer to their prayers and make marketing as easy as it was in the last century.
All businesses need to look at their customer base and work out how they should attract and retain these people. Social media is going to be an enormous part of the process and companies will start to have conversations rather than 'shout' marketing. For the time being there are plenty of opportunities to find new business, and SEO while always important is no a panacea. A reasoned and budgeted approach to building businesses is the righ approach, not throwing money in the direction of Internet marketers that claim they will solve all your problems.
Why the Search Marketing Industry Must Adapt or Perish
http://mashable.com/2011/03/04/search-marketing-changes/
Why the Search Marketing Industry Must Adapt or Perish
http://mashable.com/2011/03/04/search-marketing-changes/
Friday 4 March 2011
What Resources do Customers use for Holiday Research?
Social Media via Facebook/Twitter/Blogging etc. is just a medium to engage customers and be able to hold conversations with them thorughout the year, rather than thourgh targetted mailshots or adverts in papers. News will find customers this way and customers in turn will get used to brands and companies finding them rather than the other way round. For any travel companies that are not embracing social media now is the time. A recent Survey of over 2,000 people found some interesting trending stats as shown below. The key to the future for independent travel agents will be to ensure that they can provide a relavant and searcheable site for customers. Customers clearly want this ability and prefer the 'known' agent to anytning else. Recommendations online and offline are increasingly playing an important part in peoples choices.
Which resources do customers use for holiday research?
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Is Branched Out really the new Linked In?
It will be interesting to see just how this shapes up against LinkedIn. Facebook is primarily a personal site where you may well buy holidays, shoes and converse with your friends but do you really want your friends on Facebook to know you are looking for a job, especially if these include workmates? The seperation of your business profile on LinkedIn and your personal time in Facebook seemed clearcut to me. Does this blur the boundaries too far?
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