Do you know how far in advance your customers plan their vacations or business trips?
You might be surprised by how early travelers make plans.
In one study, 45% of moms planned vacations 3-6 months in advance with another 17% planning all the details 9 months in advance. 28% of moms took less than 3 months to plan vacations, but chances are those answers skew toward the 3 month area or there are a few that plan last second.
And this is when people plan their vacations. Before the planning phase of a vacation there is the research phase.
In another study, travelers research 38 websites before booking a vacation. It’s a safe bet that there is at least a few days and likely a few weeks of research that goes into planning a vacation.
And that’s where your marketing and the timing of your marketing come in. It’s important to structure your promotions early enough to capture your target customers when they’re searching for vacation information.
If your target customers are holiday vacationers, you’ll need marketing information sometime in the June, July or August timeframe.
Here are some action steps to take with your museum, hotel, restaurant or other travel business.
Action Step #1 – Send Your Email Promotions Well In Advance
It’s good to plan your email schedule well in advance. Sit down for one day every quarter and plan for the quarter starting 9 months out.
For example, on January 1st, plan your email calendar for the upcoming September through December timeline.
Does that seem too far in advance? It’s not. In early January, the previous quarter will be fresh in your mind. You don’t have to use specific ideas, but get the basic outline filled in.
For example, you’d write, “promote the latest vacation package”. You don’t have to get specific. You can fill that in when you create the email.
The other aspect is that you’re not sending emails in the September through December timeframe with the holiday in mind; at least not every email.
During this time, people are thinking ahead to spring. They’re starting to think about spring break and other reasons to take spring vacations.
So plan to send your email promotions well in advance so you pique the interest of customers early when they’re just entering their planning stages.
Action Step #2 – Change Your Website Graphics To Reflect Upcoming Events
Next up are the graphics on your site. It’s good to update these whenever you’re entering new travel events. If you cater to spring breakers then you’ll want to start putting your website graphics up the previous fall and into the winter.
If your customers travel in the summer you’ll want to start putting up new graphics in the winter and probably in the early winter. Remember, you want to capture attention right when your customers are starting to think about vacation. This way you’ll be top of mind when they start their planning.
It might seem weird to have a summer graphic on the homepage in December, but people always think ahead when it comes to vacations.
Action Step #3 – Release Guides And Blog Posts
Guides (or blog posts) are great tools for vacationers. From the study above, we know that people research a lot when it comes to planning their vacations. A guide is something your customers will appreciate for their research and planning.
Your challenge, though, is to get the guide up and published on your site at least a half-year in advance of the travel period.
If you’re a ski lodge in Vail, write a guide on something like the Top 10 Things To Do In Vail During Your Ski Trip or How To Plan Your Vail Ski Vacation just as the current season is ending. Publish the guide later in the summer. Promote it with email and with advertising (see below) and you’ll capture the attention of your customers as they’re planning for their winter ski trips.
Action Step #4 – Invest Early In Online Advertising
Finally, your online advertising needs to reflect the time when your customers are doing research and planning. We’re in the beginning of March now. You might be able to catch last minute spring break vacation planners with spring break ads, but you’re likely to do better with ads for late summer and fall vacations.
Conclusion
The key to this article is to think ahead when it comes to your online travel business promotion. Travelers usually plan their trips several months in advance. You want to capture their attention just as they’re starting to think about making plans.
This puts you in the perfect place in their mind when it comes time for them to book.
