Informed consumers today will look at 3 to 5 competing businesses before making a purchase decision. That's why it’s important to attract the right kinds of customers to your website, keep them engaged and convert them into paying customers, as quickly as possible. The last thing we want is for them to leave your website and book with your competition. Here are a few actionable tips to help convert your website visitors into paying customers and ultimately increase booking & sales revenue:
Segment Your Customers & Use Personalize How You Target Them
You wouldn't use the same bait while deep sea fishing as you would fly fishing. The same goes with attracting new clientele to your website. Different types of customers are attracted to different types of advertisements and offerings. Let's assume you serve young millennial travelers for a moment. They put a strong focus on positive reviews and extraordinary experiences that they can share with their peers. Create an advertisement quoting a 5-star TripAdvisor review with a high-quality image of a group of young travelers. To attract families, create an ad using a photo with children in it. Be sure to promote the fact that you offer family discounts or discounted rates for kids.
Make Website Booking Seamless
A large and bold Book Now or Reservations button should be included in your website's primary navigation. This button should bring customers to a page that lists every offering and product you have to offer. This way they do not need to go digging through multiple pages on your website to find an offering that interests them. You should also include Book Now buttons on every individual tour offering page. This way no matter what page a customer is on, they can still make a purchase without having to question how to do so.
Share Your Live Availability
Travel planning can be stressful. Give your customers peace of mind, knowing that their booking is paid for and confirmed. This is not the same thing as updating your website on a weekly basis with availability that is not up-to-date. Using an online booking system is the real solution. When a customer can see that your 2:00 pm tour has 3 seats available they realize that they are making a real-time booking and not simply submitting a request with no real confirmation. An online booking system will send the customer their itinerary and payment receipt right away and will update your calendar so you never over book. This process can save your tour business as many as 3 hours per day in admin work.
Keep Reservation Forms Simple
No one likes filling out paperwork. The same goes for online forms, event registrations, and tour bookings. If you use a contact form on your website or a real-time online booking system, keep the process short, concise, and as simple as possible. The more blanks the customer needs to fill in, the higher your risk of losing them half way through the process, especially if a customer is booking using a mobile device. If you need a lot of information from your clients to be able to service them, try sending a form with the confirmation email that they receive after booking.
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