With any business it’s important to know your place in the market, whether that be a specific sector, quality of product/service, or demographic. Being a ‘Jack of all trades’ may seem like a sure fast way of getting customers, but seldom does it work like that.

With the travel and tour industry this is particularly important; any holiday isn’t the same as the next, and similarly every tour operator or travel agent is different.

But why is this important?

Let’s consider hotels to keep things simple. Budget hotels such as an Ibis offer basic accommodation at a low price. On the other hand, a hotel like The Ritz charges considerably more for something far superior. Both business models work well, both businesses are very profitable, and importantly they both have completely different customers.

Imagine now that the Ritz marketed to everyone; they would be spending a lot of money reaching out to people who would prefer to spend less and stay in an Ibis.

In a similar way, if you offer family holidays you’re better to market to families, if you offer business trips, you’d do better to aim your marketing at business people, and so on.

It costs money to advertise and market your business, but luckily thanks to the digital-age it’s possible to target specific demographics and niches very easily.

Even if you offer something very specific, if you have competitors that do something similar it’s important to know what separates you and make this apparent in your marketing.

Imagine two tour operators that specialise in battlefield tours; one may focus on World War 2 and one on Napoleonic. One may be very technical and one may be for amateurs. One may be fully organised and one self-drive. One may be better suited to adults, and another families or school trips. One may be relatively cheaper and one focusing more high-end. Depending on all of these variables the two battlefield tour companies could effectively be marketing to different people.

Several travel niches

Of course, in reality, it’s possible that you have several niches, and several demographics that you want to market to. For example the marketing for family and school ski holidays is likely to be completely different, with one focused on teachers and one on parents. This is where you can pick off niches one at a time, and market to them individually. A teacher, for example, shouldn’t be presented with any ‘family ski holiday’ material.

This is where it’s important to start build separate campaigns. It’s likely that you may even use different marketing methods to exploit each nice or approach each demographic; you are very unlikely to see the Ritz marketing in the local free-ads.

Monitor and adjust

It’s also worth mentioning that with digital marketing everything can be monitored and adjusted. You’re not going to get things right first time, marketing isn’t like that, but luckily we’re not ‘shooting in the dark’ and can make educated choices, monitor, and adjust until they become effective.

Determine your market before you start your marketing.

The first stage with any marketing is to find out your niche and what separates you from your competitors.

The second stage is to then find out who your customers are and where you can find them

The third stage is to determine and start a marketing campaign. It’s important to do stages one and two first.

The fourth and final stage is to review your marketing and adjust it depending on what you find; it’s unlikely you’ll get perfect results first time.

By thinking carefully and finding your niche it’s possible to market yourself effectively in an already crowded marketplace.

If you need help, please get in touch with the team at the Travel Web Design Agency.