Step 1: Identify Your Audience

Ask yourself:

• Who is your most loyal or most frequent customer?
• What is a customer group that you would like to attract?
• What is one customer that would supplement your current business?

Then, develop a customer persona.

• Where do they get their news & information?
• What is their level of digital savviness?
• What do they want to see from their favorite travel brands?
• What do they want when they travel?
• What do they need when they travel?

Step 2: Think About the Customer Journey

The customer journey — or travel path to purchase — includes all the experiences your customers go through when interacting with your business. The journey is not linear; customers may spend more time in one or two phases, and some may overlap.

The Dream phase is when someone is just beginning to think about taking a vacation. Maybe all they know is that they have some vacation days to use up over the summer for example — they know they want to get away, but they may not be sure where. This is when people are looking to be inspired by a particular destination.

Plan is when the details start to take shape. Building on the example above, our traveler knows she wants to spend five days in Cody. She knows she wants to stay at a small boutique hotel rather than a larger chain. She’s seen reviews of a certain restaurant and she knows she wants to eat there.

Book is the conversion point. She’s done her research and she’s ready to commit to a destination, an activity, or an experience. 

The customer journey doesn’t end here, though — the Visit phase of a trip offers plenty of opportunities to reach your target audience. Our traveler might be looking for a place to grab breakfast near her hotel or a guide to a nearby landmark. During the trip, there may be a day of bad weather and she needs to find nearby, indoor kid-friendly activities in a hurry.

The Share phase occurs both during and after the trip. Our traveler posts photos and videos on Instagram of her trail ride and her delicious dinner, and once she’s home, she shares a review on Tripadvisor about her hotel stay. She notices a question on a forum about facilities at the rodeo and chimes in about her experience. She tells her friends, family, and colleagues about her experiences.

As you think about goals, consider which phase of the journey you might focus on.

3: Align Goals with the Customer Journey

Your goals will vary depending on your business and destination. One may want to sell tickets to a new tour or event, while another might be focused on extending the shoulder season, or driving recruitment efforts for new staff. At a high level, we think about things like inspiring visitors and increasing awareness, increasing website visits, social media engagement, and positive reviews, and driving sales and bookings. Consider also what makes your business or destination unique, and what you offer that puts you at a competitive advantage.  

Think about it this way:

Goal: Increase Awareness
Customer Journey Stage: Dream

Goal: Drive Bookings
Customer Journey Stage: Plan, Book

Goal: Increase Positive Ratings and Reviews
Customer Journey Stage: Share

Here are some examples from a local business:

Goal: Travellers are inspired to visit our destination
Customer Journey Stage: Dream

Goal: Travellers book their tour with us
Customer Journey Stage: Book

Goal: More people share stories and images of their experience with us
Customer Journey Stage: Share

4: Pick a time horizon

Define start and end points to your goal (3 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months). Goals with deadlines or schedules for completion are more likely to be achieved than those without.

5: Identify Measures of Success for Your Goals

To determine the success of your efforts, you will need to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that align with your goals. Here are some examples:

Goal: Increase Awareness
Customer Journey Stage: Dream
How to measure: Content Consumption (e.g. video views, length of view, scroll depth, time on site, pageviews per visit).

Goal: Drive Bookings
Customer Journey Stage: Plan & Book
How to measure: Number of new bookings

Goal: Increase Positive Ratings and Reviews
Customer Journey Stage: Share
How to measure: Social media metrics (e.g. engagements, shares, hashtag uses)

By understanding what you’re working toward and how you’ll measure the success of your efforts, your marketing efforts can be more focused and effective. Use the grid below to track your own goals and measurements: