There is a way to make more of a customer relationship than just a one-off booking. I am Isabella Marlowe and I would put it this way: operators have the means to sell experiences via online platforms, put some Tasmanian products before them for extra revenue, cultivate repeat business with email marketing, explore online strategies suited to Tasmania, or put together bundled offers and joint e-commerce sites with regional partners.
In my experience the best method is the straightforward one. Put it in front of the traveller so they can book, buy and come back without any trouble. In Tasmania you have that on your side; the food, wine, wildlife, the walking trails and small-town hospitality are what visitors remember. Let your online sales be a way for them to bring some of that home, but do not make the checkout an ordeal.
What E-Commerce Can Do
It is not all about putting accommodation on the web. Day tours, private guides, ferry transfers, artisan wares, digital vouchers, seasonal stock and post-trip subscriptions are part of the Tasmanian e-commerce mix as well. You want to address a need directly. Be it a last-minute Hobart room, a walking tour to fill in time between driving days, an anniversary voucher for down the track or a food hamper for the home.
Sell Before They Arrive
Most of the trip is planned by the time visitors touch down. That is when to put forward airport transfers, equipment hire, tickets for attractions, guided walks or a private itinerary.
Be upfront with your product names and the details. Tell them where to meet, if there is parking, how wet weather is dealt with and if children or those with limited mobility will be accommodated. There should be no need for a traveller to fire off three emails to find out the meeting point involves a 20-minute uphill walk.
Make the Most of the Visit
While they are in Tasmania digital checkout is there to take advantage of demand. QR codes at the café, reception desk or wherever the tour departs will put merchandise, add-ons and transport at their fingertips. An accommodation in Hobart might put a Bruny Island package for the week or a wine transfer from the Coal River Valley on offer. In Launceston one can promote a Tamar Valley tasting or a box of regional produce for the evening ahead.
And After They Have Gone
The commercial tie does not have to be severed with the end of the stay. An email with a recipe for something they have sampled, a voucher for another visit or a subscription of Tasmanian produce is a good follow up.
But keep it relevant and have permission. Customer data is only of value if you are open about its collection and responsible in its use. Make plain what one is signing up for and put in an easy way to opt out. Do not clog up an inbox like a backpack full of damp socks.
Tasmanian Products for Beyond the Trip
You can capitalise on the afterglow of a trip with product delivery. Long after getting home a visitor may be thinking of a cider or cheese or a seafood meal. The product should be an extension of the experience, not some online shop tacked on to the site.
Pick What Will Travel
Go with things of a reasonable shelf life and packaging you can trust, bearing in mind the cost of delivery. Local made goods, wine, coffee, textiles and the like are candidates, subject to the rules of the road on licences and freight. But do not think every item a visitor likes has a place in the store. Fresh or delicate fare can be costly if the packaging lets you down or the customer is not there to receive it. Run a trial on a few and note the damage and the questions.
A Word on Direct Delivery
With the right systems in place direct delivery is fine. Give a delivery window, do not make vague pronouncements over temperature-sensitive items or to a regional address.
Drop shipping takes the storage burden off you but the customer could end up with a hodgepodge of parcels and invoices. Should a partner be fulfilling orders, get it in writing who is to deal with a missed delivery, returns and the rest.
Seasonal Offerings
Have some seasonal merchandise to draw the visitor back to the store from time to time. There is a way to put across the true character of Tasmania in its various seasons, be it with end-of-year gift bundles, autumn food boxes, a pack for the summer picnic or some walking gear for the winter.
Then there are anniversary vouchers. A customer close to the date of their booking will appreciate a message offering a small inducement to come back for a meal, tour or stay. To have any impact the message should make reference to what they had before and put an expiry on it.
Online Booking Reach
When a traveller is prepared to part with his money, your online booking process as a tourism business ought to dispel any doubts. The customer should not have to go on a treasure hunt to find contact details, terms of cancellation, duration, price and availability; a well put together page will address these matters in short order.
You can widen your reach through an online booking platform but they do exact a commission and can put distance between you and the customer. Make strategic use of them and in time build up your own direct booking channel.
Put Yourself Where Travellers Will Look
Your listing with Tourism Tasmania and regional bodies like Visit Northern Tasmania will only aid discovery if the information is correct. The same applies to the ATDW (Australian Tourism Data Warehouse) and other regional channels. Austrade’s Australian Tourism Data Warehouse has some good guidance for operators on the management of structured business data for distribution. Tasmanian tourism representatives showcased their offerings at Australia’s largest travel trade event to boost industry connections and visibility.
Be sure your descriptions are consistent and you have up to date photographs, opening hours, accessibility info and a link to book. There is no point in your marketing copy being particularly poetic if a guest shows up to park and is met with a narrow street and a three-block walk; the review will not be so flattering.
A Simple Mobile Checkout
Travellers will be making enquiries from their phone in an airport queue or at a café table. Have a checkout that is quick to load and puts the total in front of them with as few fields to fill in as possible. An immediate confirmation with your familiar payment methods is in order. Put the meeting place, parking, weather advice, arrival time and a number to call in the email and you will spare yourself some calls and see guests arrive ready to go.
Marketplaces
For the international market Trip.com and the like may be of service in putting Tasmanian experiences in front of those who have yet to come across your site, so long as you are content with the commission and the rules around payment, cancellations and ownership of the customer.
Synchronise your availability. You do not want a double booking to be the kind of Tasmanian surprise you put on a postcard. Where a platform will not talk to your system, put a cap on inventory and check it every day when things are busy.
Getting Repeat Business
It is less costly to get back an online customer than to find a new one, assuming the initial encounter was a success. From a good product and a proper welcome you can lay the groundwork for email marketing down the line.
Timing is everything in asking for permission. After a trouble free tour a guest is amenable to local tips, but a person whose transfer has been held up would rather have a fix than a sales pitch.
Data Worth Having
Only gather what you can put to responsible use: where they are from, what they bought, the date of the booking, their interests and whether they are open to communication. Do not make sweeping assumptions about your customers, segment them by what they have done. One who has booked a wine package might be interested in some regional food writing, a walker in another trail, or a family in something for the school holidays.
Follow-Up
Have a sequence of messages with a single purpose in each: a thank you, a pre-arrival note, a request for a review and perhaps an offer to return later on. In between the selling, be of some use. Tell a producer’s story or put in a word for a good café. Let people decide for themselves, the “book now” approach does not suit Tasmania tourism.
Digital Vouchers
These are handy for extending the sales window, for Christmas or a birthday present, or for an interstate supporter of an operator he holds in high regard. Be plain about the value, the blackout dates and how to book. Should the voucher not cover the whole cost, spell out how the balance is to be settled. Staff will have more to do and the customer left with a bad taste if the rules are opaque.
Regional Offers in Partnership
What one business cannot do alone can be put together in an offer with a partner. A visitor is apt to book a full day with transport and food and an activity in one go rather than put in three payments on three different pages.
Spending in the visitor economy is put to work by way of partnerships. What matters is to have the details settled before one puts a package out there, be it on pricing and availability or who has responsibility for customer support and refunds when the weather intervenes.
Bundle Complementary Experiences
A Hobart sojourn might be paired with a tasting in the Coal River Valley, a Launceston base with a food trail of the region, or a guided river outing and some local produce for a Huon Valley trip.
But build the route and timing with some logic. One should not be selling a morning tour on one side of the island and then a lunch reservation hours from there without an itinerary that makes the drive plain to see. On a screen Tasmania appears compact enough; in reality roadworks, winding roads and the odd photo stop will tend to make the day run longer.
Under a single regional identity joint e-commerce sites can put several businesses in front of the public. This is a good model for multi-day itineraries, tickets to local events, coordinated gift boxes or food trails.
Have someone on hand to field enquiries and keep product information current. Make no mistake about how revenue is apportioned, who has the customer relationship, the refund process or what to do if a partner has to close for a time. Without shared responsibility a website is no more than the digital equivalent of all hands standing around for another to boil the billy.
Plan Around Access
The experience page ought to tell a visitor where to park, whether public transport is an option and what means of return are open to them, and under what conditions of travel, not just in general terms.
For walking give the distance, the surface, any elevation, mobile reception and toilet access as well as risks from the weather. Coastal pursuits require unambiguous guidance on tides. An outdoor operator will want to set out his cancellation procedure and what is in store in the event of bushfire or high winds.
Reach Valuable Overseas Markets
There is a need for convenience and confidence among international and other high-value travellers to tip the scales in your favour. They may not be familiar with the roads or the distances in the region and their time is at a premium.
Digital sales can put those concerns to rest prior to their arrival. If resources are an issue, translate only the essential pages but be sure the information is still right when safety instructions or prices are altered.
Sell Confidence And Convenience
Be upfront as to what is involved, the duration and what the customer must provide. For wine regions or where driving is not to the visitor’s liking, add transport options. Prompt confirmation and secure payment go without saying. Date formats, Australian time zones and local currency will be appreciated by those from overseas.
Make Your Decisions With Evidence
Your booking data will tell you more of what your business is like than a sizeable social media following. Look at the source market, lead times, order values, the rate of cancellations and repeat purchases.
Take an illustrative month: 1,000 visits to the booking page with a 2 per cent conversion gives 20 bookings. At an average of A$180 that is A$3,600 in gross revenue before any commissions or costs are taken out. It is a simple way to weigh the cost of traffic against the value of a better conversion.
| Measure | Example Calculation | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Booking conversion | 20 bookings / 1,000 visits = 2% | The effectiveness of the page in making a sale. |
| Average booking value | A$3,600 / 20 = A$180 | For channel and product comparison. |
| Email revenue | From campaign activity you are allowed to link | To see if the follow-up is worth it. |
| Delivery margin | Sale price less freight, packing and product | So a popular item does not lose you money. |
| Repeat purchase rate | (Repeat/total customers) x 100 | A sign the relationship endures. |
Choose Your Best Digital Strategy
In Tasmania the online strategies that will serve you best are a matter of capacity, season, location and product. For a small operator, having every platform at your disposal is not the point. What is required is a dependable route from the point of discovery to delivery and payment.
Take a commercial problem and make it your first order of business. Be it more direct bookings, filling up on otherwise quiet dates, getting visitors to spend more or an avenue for post-departure product sales. Put that to rights before you think about expanding; do so once you have a stable process in place.
This checklist is a good way to go about it:
- Make sure your regional listings as well as those with Tourism Tasmania and ATDW are in order.
- Put the booking journey through its paces on a mobile, from the initial search to when you get confirmation.
- Lay out the facts plainly as to access, parking, what the weather is like, timing and any physical demands.
- Pick a single post-visit offer, be it a voucher, an email for the season or a box of products.
- And keep tabs on conversion, refunds, delivery hiccups, repeat sales and average order value.
Capacity must be commensurate with effort.
Should you put aside a day to put some e-commerce in order, the direct booking page is where to start. Make certain there is a working payment process, clear pricing, current availability and instructions on how to meet. With more time one might put on a partner package or a few products, but do not put 40 on the market until you are sure staff can cope with packing, returns and fielding questions. You want a system the team can run come a busy Saturday with the phone off the hook and the weather against you.
What tends to trip operators up?
Technology is often mishandled in the early stages. One will see attractive pages put forward before anyone has decided who is to do the fulfilling of orders, update availability or process a refund. Then there is the error of making no distinction between customers. An interstate family, an international visitor and a local for the weekend will call for different things in terms of information, payment and timing. Rely on some basic customer segments and refine them as your data allows.
Frequently Asked Questions
I put together these answers for the sort of concerns tourism businesses have when they are mulling over online sales. In brief, it is reassuring: be precise in your service and with what you expect of the customer and you can start small.
Is an online store a necessity for the small operator?
Not of itself. A guided experience is best served by a good booking page rather than a shop of the full extent. Introduce e-commerce when your team can be relied upon to deliver and it is of use to the customer.
Do the commissions on booking platforms pay off?
They may well do if they open up new or international markets. Weigh the commission against the booking’s worth, the risk of cancellation, the support you get and the scope for direct repeat sales, all within the bounds of marketing and privacy rules.
Where to begin with what you sell?
With something you can deliver without fail and that already has some interest from the customer, say a transfer, tour or seasonal add-on. See how one offer does and then improve on it.
Food?
You can, though it is a matter of being meticulous with labelling, storage, packaging and the Australian and Tasmanian requirements that apply. Something like premium seafood calls for fulfilment you can count on.
Overbooking?
Have a system in which your website and the online platforms are in sync as to availability. Failing that, limit what is on external channels and check in on bookings. Have a manual back up for when systems go down.
Build Sales That Last
To build sales of any longevity, e-commerce has to be in keeping with the visitor’s entire journey from planning to return. The Tasmanian business can make of it an opportunity to put memories and products on sale via a digital experience you can trust.
Accurate listings, uncluttered online bookings and a pertinent follow-up are where to make a start. From there you can proceed with care to partnerships and the like. That is what turns Tasmania tourism marketing into a practical exercise in sales and not merely a well made post to be found online.
