Webtrends Shares 4 Best Practices to Boost Travel Website Bookings

PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwired - May 28, 2015) - Online travel booking is one of the most competitive markets in the digital world today. With so many travel booking companies and suppliers deploying a wide range of services and fierce sales tactics to turn 'lookers' into 'bookers' -- specialized discounts, group deals, customer loyalty programs and more -- it can be challenging for travel marketers to know where they can gain a competitive advantage and boost sales ahead of this year's peak summer travel season.

One proven strategy for success that is often overlooked is going back to the basics and understanding the foundations of your brand's digital presence and booking funnel. According to market research firm PhoCusWright, consumers use 6.5 sites and devices on average to research before booking travel. With potential customers moving all over the digital map when researching their travel plans, marketers need to understand how to simplify, contextualize and link engagement between each digital touch point so that when a consumer enters a brand's booking funnel, they stay there until a purchase is made.

When perfected, the booking funnel can be one of your most profitable marketing assets. It can be a powerful tool to not just convert potential customers, but also build loyalty through providing a seamless and more personalized brand experience. Online train ticket retailer in the UK and client of Webtrends, redspottedhanky.com, experienced this firsthand, increasing its bookings by more than 5 percent by going through the process of better understanding its customers and running a multitude of tests on its booking funnel.

For travel brands wanting to get ahead in the game for this year's peak summer season, below are four best practices for perfecting the travel booking experience:

Best Practice 1: Understand the travel visitor and his or her purchase process

Understand the buyer's journey and map your digital data to its key phases. Ensure you are able to analyze this journey as it spans different access channels providing a single view of a visitor. Understand the potential buyer's shopping behavior, device usage, communication preferences and how well this information can be used to customize his or her digital experience. Consider the different segments of travelers that visit your site -- both known and unknown -- as well as the attributes that can be used to tailor their experiences with your brand.