It is a major strategic decision for a travel agency to establish its own e-commerce website, which plays an important role in seizing the right to speak and establishing the company's corporate image.
The following summarizes the functions of travel agency websites:
1. The website can enhance, expand and deepen the image, value and extension.
2. The website can provide interactive and cordial "customer relationship management", whether it is a pre-sales customer, a sales customer, or an after-sales customer.
3. The website is the base for online promotion and marketing. On the one hand, in the offline field, a series of marketing activities can be carried out in conjunction with advertising, public relations, promotions, etc.; on the other hand, the website itself is an interactive communication platform, and feedback and communication on both activities can be realized on the website. Moreover, these activities should be based on core values, thus ensuring the persistence and consistency of the activities.
Through effective online marketing activities, travel agency websites can realize the above expectations and achieve the purpose of deepening communication more quickly than traditional channels and methods.
Measuring criteria for website promotion effectiveness: steady increase in website visits, number of member registrations, corporate reputation, website loyalty, call center calls and sales generated by the Internet.
After accumulating many years of offline service experience, the travel agency developed a corporate website specifically for the marketing promotion strategy of the company's own products. Through the launch of the website, traditional travel agencies can seize the Internet as a corporate communication position to enhance the visibility, reputation and loyalty of travel agencies.
The development of the Internet has opened up a new way for travel agencies to integrate communication. The biggest advantages of network resources are that they are fast, convenient, accurate, cheap, efficient, and interactive. Nowadays, more and more people are surfing the Internet, and information spreads widely and quickly. Travel agency online marketing can make full use of these characteristics to serve travel agencies.
"Network application = building a website?" Answer: No. Building a corporate website is the basic work for developing network applications. Clarifying the purpose, available resources and objective constraints of the company's Internet access is the first key to the company's successful implementation of network application projects! Travel agency operating websites must have a clear positioning and make good use of their own advantages: 1. On the front line of tourism operations, understand the most timely , The most detailed and practical travel information! 2. Have a relatively established business cooperation system; 3. Have certain product development and operation reception capabilities; 4. Have the previous traditional team business volume as support, and procurement costs and supplier relationships are easy to control.
Next, pour cold water on it.
Of course, travel agencies operating websites also have their own disadvantages:
1. Lack of understanding of network technology, and completely passively controlled by technology providers in terms of organizing website content and designing functional services;
2. Lack of mastery of Internet marketing applications and insufficient attention;
3. Facing the new organizational structure adjustment, there is a lack of effective incentive mechanism when coordinating the interests of website operation and maintenance personnel and specific business operators, resulting in the inability to fully integrate and utilize travel agency resources;
Issues that travel agencies should pay attention to when operating websites:
1. Selection of technology providers:
1) A company that focuses on information services in the tourism industry, has actual experience in operating tourism websites, and has a deep understanding of the needs of online tourism consumers, the actual operation of tourism business, and even the development of the entire tourism industry;
2) You cannot choose a single technology company, but a full-process information service provider that can provide one-stop services from demand analysis, website planning, design and production to online marketing management and execution;
3) In terms of cooperation methods, do not choose a single cash payment transaction. It is best to use the method of "cash + commission on later operating income". If both parties are happy with the cooperation, you can even consider a cooperative operation model. It is not impossible to consider close contact between travel agencies and information providers and mutual equity participation.
2. Investment in website construction in stages: Website construction and improvement cannot be accomplished overnight. Information planning based on cost control, scalability and marketing application is required, and it must be implemented in stages according to actual application needs.
3. Editing and maintenance of website content: The more website content information, the better. The collection and release of non-scarce information is of little significance for functionally positioned travel agency websites and can only increase the workload of maintenance personnel. Collecting and updating information that is highly relevant, targeted, and timely to the products they operate, and editing it in humanized language is the key to the work of travel agency website managers and maintainers. At the same time, this is also the place to highlight the characteristics of the corporate website and establish a good image.
4. Design of website functions: Since the travel agency website has relatively high information update requirements, when building the website, attention must be paid to the development and construction of the website's backend management functions to provide a good operating environment for operation and maintenance personnel. The general principles are: good interactivity, intelligent management, and friendly and easy-to-use operation interface. Only by achieving the above requirements can we simplify the operation process and improve the work efficiency and enthusiasm of travel agency operators for using the Internet.
5. Reasonable application of Internet marketing: After most travel agencies establish their websites, they do not know how to carry out effective promotion. Those who blindly purchase a large number of email addresses, send spam, or purchase search engine ranking services still have some marketing awareness, but these scattered behaviors that lack systematic and scientific nature are far from achieving satisfactory marketing results. Only by hiring professional tourism online marketing consultants to implement integrated marketing strategies from website planning and design, search engine keyword selection, web page structure arrangement, marketing email content organization, one-on-one community marketing, website access effect monitoring and many other aspects can the travel agency website Stand out from the vast internet and numerous competitor websites!
6. Adjustment of internal management of enterprises: Due to the constraints of industry nature, enterprise scale and other factors, travel agency enterprises are often enterprises that pay more attention to practical benefits. The distribution mechanism is highly correlated with actual business income, and there are few strategic investment decisions. In a sense, the establishment of the network department or the employment arrangements of relevant personnel are definitely medium- and long-term investments of strategic significance. Applying the inherent management system and distribution mechanism of travel agencies will not be able to adapt to new changes. Travel agency leaders must have sufficient foresight and response measures for this change.
Travel agency website building case: www.guolvol.com Beijing Xinhua International Travel Service Online
"Beijing Xinhua CITS Online Platform" is a website business platform for tourism users and industry operators (upstream and downstream suppliers) to build PHP operation needs. The platform integrates almost all website management functions, including agent management, user management, resource definition, service customization, rate setting, business strategy management and other management functions. Integrating agent online services, application service integration, operation business management and other functions into a unified platform system allows operators (travel agencies) to easily carry out corporate promotions on the Internet for corporate customers in the tourism industry, and provides a streamlined information communication. Factory-based, low-cost, high-efficiency solution
Website functional design requirements:
(1)Website creative design
A) The website must fully display the corporate image of Xinhua International Travel Service and let customers feel that Xinhua International Travel Service is a travel company that can provide high service standards. Compared with peer websites, it must be outstanding, refreshing, simple and elegant.
B) Creative design of content homepage
C) Flash, JavaScript, CSS and other technologies can be used to display special effects.
D) Video technology such as switching slides can be used to demonstrate Xinhua.
E) The content is basically static pages. The content of dynamic interaction will be implemented in future projects.
(2) Key points
A) A lot of basic information about Xinhua, including domestic routes, outbound routes, visas, hotels, guides, etc., can be found on the current website.
B) Most of the materials required for making Flash, videos, and photo albums can be obtained from Xinhua International Travel Service.
C) It is necessary to cite the evaluation of Xinhua International Travel Service by some customers or some organizations.
D) Be able to show some media interviews with Xinhua International Travel Service, including online videos.
E) Ability to reserve and place orders online.
F) Xinhua International Travel Service may often launch some promotions or new product promotions, etc. The relevant parts of the website need to be easy to edit and modify with tools such as Dreamwave. Xinhua International Travel Service itself has the ability to maintain it.
G) The international tourism part of Xinhua International Travel Service needs to be reflected on a separate web page to show the main business of the national first-class outbound agency.
H) Create dedicated display pages and promotional information for each area.
Through the joint efforts of Xinhua International Travel Service and the website construction company, it took one and a half years to complete the website on time, costing 5 million yuan and approximately 1,386,000 man-hours; the project volume was huge and the cost was high. In December 2005, the official launch ceremony of the Beijing Xinhua CITS Online Travel Network was held at the Beijing International Convention Center. On the day the website was launched, it received 5 line booking orders and 2 hotel booking orders, which is a good sign.
Today, the Beijing Xinhua International Travel Service Online Travel Network has developed into a website ranked 18,000 in the world. It has entered the top 20 domestic travel websites and is the leader among travel agency websites. Rich in information and accurate, it is one of the must-have websites for netizens when traveling.