BUSINESS BREAKFAST
‘Free extras and social spur holiday purchase decisions’
N
ew Google research has found that while brand remains important when
holidaymakers are looking for package holidays online, it is not the defining influence. Recommendations on social
networks and industry body ‘kitemarks’ or awards serve as short cuts for customers in the decision-making process, the search giant’s research suggests. Also influential in the package
sector is ‘the power of free’ – added value such as free nights or all-inclusive – Google senior industry head Ruairidh Roberts told last week’s Travel Weekly Business Breakfast. Roberts said the Google research
was part of a first scientific study of the “messy middle” – the phase of
The buying cycle
for travel can be up to 70 days – it can take weeks or months
consumer travel buying between initial inspiration and booking. “TV, press and above-the-line
channels create triggers at the botom at the purchase point, where Google plays an important role,” he said. “What we have not really looked
at, and we know this is critical to the buying cycle, is this messy middle. “Te buying cycle for travel can
be up to 70 days – it can take weeks or months – and oſten it involves more than one person.” Roberts said Google’s research,
Rowland: Move marketing from above the line to social media
Travel agents must improve the way they use social platforms to market their products and services as the impact of traditional press, TV and other consumer media declines. Alistair Rowland, chief retail officer for specialist business at Te
Midcounties Co-operative, said that today’s world is “all about inspirational and aspirational content”. He added: “Te days of above-the-line press and media are at an end.
Marketing is social in all channels. “Legacy agency groups need to move marketing from above the line to
social. I think perhaps things are changing faster than we are managing it. “Tey [agents] need to be beter at Instagram as well as Facebook for the
next generation. Inspiration is part of our future and it’s relevant.” Abta board member Rowland said that, although influences are
changing, brand remains important to give people the reassurance to make a purchase decision. “People are confused,” he said. “They love content, but they want something to get them over the line.”
10 16 MAY 2019
based on 100,000 experiments, would help brands understand the unconscious factors that determine why people make buying decisions. Te search giant will produce a
full report this summer including insight into five travel sectors: packages, hotels, short-haul flights, long-haul flights and car hire. Hinting at early results, Roberts
revealed: “In hotels it’s a much more clutered market than holidays and differentiation is harder to deliver, so additional free components work much more to influence unconscious decision-making.” He added that by offering certain
combinations of triggers, firms can successfully enter a market with “zero brand identity” and “still win” without having to invest in a brand building campaign.
‘Abta has made InteleTravel better’
Te boss of controversial US homeworking firm InteleTravel said gaining Abta accreditation had made it “a beter company”. Te agency, which says it
now has 2,500 agents in the UK, up from 1,800 in March, was accepted unanimously by the trade association’s membership commitee last month aſter a two-year application process. President James Ferrara said:
“Coming from the States where we do not have the same kind of regulation of the industry you have, Abta has won my respect. We are a beter company now as a result of the Abta process.”
Ruairidh Roberts, Google
Headline sponsor
The Future of Travel Selling was debated by panellists representing high street agencies, homeworker
Supported by
Host
Panellists with Travel Weekly’s Lucy Huxley (right)
travelweekly.co.uk
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