NCTA Masterclass - Google Analytics

“So, how was your journey?"

You automatically ask this question to guests, colleagues, business contacts and friends, but understanding how your customer came to “arrive” as an enquiry, booking, call or email is a powerful tool to shape and enable your business to strengthen and grow.

Earlier this week the free NCTA masterclass on Google Analytics helped a wide range of coastal tourism businesses better understand this invaluable free tool, a season ticket every business owner/manager should hold and use regularly. This gives you the route-map with timetable precise data such as…

  • how many people are viewing your website each day
  • if they are new visitors
  • where they live
  • which social media or websites links are referring traffic to you
  • which pages they visit on your site
  • did that marketing campaign result in more web-hits?
  • did they use a mobile or PC to view the site?
  • did they watch that promotional video?
  • when and where they leave…

Going back to the journey, how many started out but got lost along the way and consequently didn’t book or arrive at your destination?

A recently published report by Google, “Measure What Matters Most” looks at both “assist interaction” (the information which starts to sway their decision) and “last interaction” (what makes them purchase). Social media plays an important role in awareness, whether seeing friends posting about enjoying your products/services or reading a review online. Effective search performance ensures they locate your website and navigate to the right information/pages to support a purchase, whether online, email or call. NCTA research has identified the time to take this decision and how this can be influenced for different age groups. Nevertheless, meeting or exceeding the customer expectations always influences today’s customers and tomorrow’s recommendations.

It’s generally agreed that it costs six times as much to attract a new customer as keep an old one. Worse, unhappy customers are likely to share their dissatisfaction with 11 people, happy customers will tell just three. Perhaps your marketing department or agency (that’s if you have one, it might just be you) can tailor and advance your online presence? Every member of staff can help, whether they’re responding to emails, answering the phone, manning reception or giving directions. If they understand the importance of excellent customer service, they’ll understand the importance of tracking the customer’s online journey to your business.

Our popular, online and free NCTA’s Bournemouth Ambassador offers help with resort-knowledge training and customer care, now being rolled out to other destinations. Our delivered courses focus on the importance of delivering excellent customer service whatever your area of the tourism industry, to drive new arrivals into your business so you can have the pleasure of asking them…. “So, how was your journey?”

By Simon Hanney