TUI Group is today one of the largest companies in the tourism sector worldwide. Although in its origins it began as a company related to the industrial and transportation sector, in 1997 it evolved into a business focused on services and leisure. Today, it brings together 1,800 travel agencies, six airlines with more than 130 aircraft, more than 300 hotels with 210,000 beds, 13 cruise ships and a large number of incoming agencies in the major vacation destinations around the world.
The business activity and products of TUI Group have diversified over the years of activity, but without doubt, one of the most outstanding products are the excursions that the group offers as an activity at the destination. These organized excursions allow travelers to get to know the authenticity of the place they are visiting, the best sites and the most characteristic traditions. A proposal specially designed to ensure the comfort of TUI customers, while satisfying their interest in the destination to which they travel. But how do you convey this information to your potential customers at the destination?
Download the TUI case study here.
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The challenge
The solution
.Results
.The challenge
The traveler’s journey of travel consumers does not end once the booking of means of transport and accommodation has been made. If there is one thing that differentiates the purchase cycle in the travel industry (dreaming, planning, booking, experiencing) from other sectors, it is the various cross-selling possibilities in the final stages of conversion. And this is especially important if the brands managing the trips are agencies or tour operators such as TUI.
However, attracting potential customers in the later stages of the cycle and, mainly in the destination itself (during the experiencing stage) when they are still receptive and open to new experiences is not easy. The great competition in the market of tourism activities and the great amount of information that exists on multiple online platforms about destinations means working on marketing techniques to attract, retain and, fundamentally, generate the engagement necessary to motivate the purchase of new services.
Therefore, inspiring tourists with new experiences in the destination to increase excursion sales was a challenge for TUI, in particular for its sales development team, who, to date, had only brochures with color images as their sole medium. They had to show the advantages and facilities of contracting these activities based on an unattractive content that was not enough to transmit the experience of the whole excursion.
The solution
.Content, especially audiovisual content, is the best way to convey a clear message while generating more conversions. According to Forbes, 90% of consumers say that video is the content format that most helps them in the purchase decision process, as it is more attractive and they can better understand what the product is about. Montage, images, sound elements (music, voice-over, etc.) and other animated resources are more effective when explaining a sales message, since they are more creative pieces that affect the most emotional part of consumers.
In general and increasingly, businesses are increasing their investments in video content, both internal and external, to help meet the growing demand for this format throughout the customer lifecycle. Therefore, in this case, video marketing was the most appropriate solution to anticipate the destination experience and generate greater engagement with potential excursion customers. With one- to one-and-a-half-minute videos, it is possible to generate more trust and convey in a convenient, entertaining and engaging way the TUI Group’s sales message to travelers.
The video was the most appropriate solution to anticipate the destination experience and generate greater engagement with potential tour customers.
Results
.More and more destinations and agents are requesting the promotion of their excursions through video marketing. TUI Group’s sales development can now use a tablet to show the video of the excursion experience at the Welcome Meeting and the customer can find out exactly what the experience will be like at the hotel.
Video is the ideal medium for stimulating emotions and conveying sensations. A video for each excursion you intend to promote, with interesting images and characteristic music, can significantly increase sales of excursions per destination.
- In general terms, video marketing is the best strategy to follow in these cases because, according to several studies, the use of video in sales conversations has experienced a considerable increase: from 25% to 37%.
- Nearly 70% of participants in the same study indicated the importance of viewing data for the sales team as it is possible to use this data to generate more engagement and qualitatively improve conversions and realizations.
- In addition, audiovisual pieces of less than 90 seconds in length show an average retention rate of 59%, compared to longer videos, which retain only 14% of viewers.
The solution, multimedia content
Video marketing was the most appropriate solution to anticipate the destination experience and generate greater engagement with potential excursion customers. With one- to one-and-a-half-minute videos, it was possible to generate more trust and convey TUI Group’s sales message to travelers in a convenient, entertaining and engaging way.
Tools for representatives
Now the sales development of TUI Group can show with a tablet the video about the tour experience at the very moment of the Welcome Meeting and the client can, from the hotel, know exactly how the experience will be offered.
