Our good friends over at TourismTiger know a thing or two about how to make your mark online as a tour and activity operator. In this post, Senior Content Coordinator Emma Russel takes us through some effective ways to ensure you're making the most out of your online presence. Social media can seem daunting, but trust us, this article is sure to steer you in the right direction. Thanks Emma!Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin, YouTube...feeling overwhelmed yet? You’re not alone. Many tour operators struggle to market themselves effectively on social platforms, and even more fail to get started in the first place.Here are a few reasons why:

1. I don't have the time.
2. I don’t think it’s important.
3. I don’t know which platforms to target.
4. I don’t know what to post.
5. My target market doesn’t use social media.

As a tour operator, your time is valuable, and you want to be sure every investment is worthwhile. You need a guarantee that dedicating time and effort to social media will benefit your company. You may also ask yourself: do my customers even use social media?The short answer: yes. A common misconception is that companies don’t need to worry about social media if they’re targeting anyone older than a millennial. In reality, the majority of your customers -- young and old -- use some form of social media. A 2018 report revealed 64% of adults aged 50-64 are on at least one social media site, and according to Internet Marketing Inc 76% of travelers post photos of their holiday online, while 52% gain inspiration from their friends’ Facebook photos. No matter your demographic, social media matters. Creating an online presence requires work. But ignoring this aspect of your business could mean ignoring direct channels to your customers. Social media shouldn’t be an afterthought: these platforms present a great opportunity to increase brand awareness, boost traffic to your website, and increase bookings.

Source: https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

Not sure where to start? Below we’ve shared a few tips to help you craft a solid, profitable social media plan:

Slow down and give it some thought

Of course you want to see fast results, but effective social media marketing requires some thought. Before setting up accounts on every platform imaginable, dedicate time to creating a plan. Are you looking to establish a brand for your company? Increase traffic? Advertise special offers? By having a clear idea of your goals, you can establish which platforms are most beneficial for your company. Before you begin, consider the factors necessary for a successful campaign:

• An understanding of which type of customer is relevant to your business and what they want

• Attractions/locations/activities people want to share

• A commitment to sharing other content outside of your own

• An eagerness to connect with your customers -- i.e. respond to reviews, reply to comments, etc.

Below are some examples of companies that know their audience:

Many of Wild Rover Tours’ Instagram and Facebook followers are ex-customers that are interested in returning to Ireland. Their social media posts are aimed at interacting with their followers and showing the best spots in Ireland.

Harry Potter Universal have a large fan base they stay engaged with. They often repost their followers’ experiences and offer the chance to be featured on their social media platforms.

Competitions are a great way to keep your followers engaged while promoting your product. In the above post, Secret Food Tours turn a new tour offering into a competition.

Be selective

It’s only natural to want to get your brand out there, utilizing all possible channels -- but for some, this means biting off more than they can chew. There’s nothing worse than an out-of-date company profile. Large gaps between posts or neglected sites imply laziness, disorganization, and a lack of interest. The fewer platforms you have to manage, the more time you can dedicate to getting it right. Rule of thumb: Facebook is your most solid option and the most widely used platform. This is not only due to its larger network of users, but also to the fact that you can display a list of your products, making it incredibly easy for a visitor to move from your Facebook page to the booking page on your site.

An example of Facebook’s capabilities on Wild Rover’s Facebook page.

Instagram is your next best option. Users on this platform are steadily increasing and Instagram is gradually becoming the platform of choice for many. Whichever (select few) platforms you ultimately choose, ensure that they are popular among your target market and focus on making your posts count. There’s no need to spread yourself too thin. Instead, be critical about which platforms can really be of benefit to you.

Source: https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

Understand what works

Follow successful companies and fellow operators on social media, and take note of what works for them. Pay attention to which posts have the most engagement or which had the most impact on you. Remember: the point of social media is interaction, but as a tour operator, it needs to go deeper than that. Gently encourage your customers to leave reviews on Facebook. Try offering discounts and special offers to those that share your posts. Add a face to your company by featuring your incredible guides; posts images of happy customers on your tours; link to your website. Doing all this keeps your customers/followers engaged and excited about your product. Trafalgar Travel is a fantastic example of an operator maintaining customer engagement while posting relevant material. Here is the proof.They show they care about what they do:

They always respond to messages:

They listen to their customers:

Get organized

As mentioned above, an inactive site can do more harm than good in terms of how your company is perceived. Rather than attracting customers, a disorganized account will do nothing but repel potential clients. Even if you’re short on time, there is no excuse for allowing your site to fall to the wayside. Creating a schedule ensures you always have consistent, high-quality content to share. Not only that: by scheduling what you post, you can take advantage of the most active times your users are on social media.

Source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

There are a ton of resources available to help you with planning and scheduling. Hootsuite is a popular social media management (SMM) system and is used by over 20% of companies including Ebay, UPS, and Gap. TweetDeck and SocialEngage are also popular with businesses.Simply input your posts, add the date/time you want to share it, and allow Hootsuite to take care of the rest. By scheduling posts in advance, you reduce the need to dedicate time to social media every day. You could even set aside time to bulk schedule posts every month or so. Plus, no need to set your alarm in the middle of the night to target overseas followers.

Set up alerts

For business owners, time is money. Scrolling through Twitter or Facebook in search of useful content to engage with can be way too time-consuming. Google Alerts sends notifications directly to your email, notifying you of activity surrounding your business. You can set them up to ping you with industry-related news or when your company’s name is mentioned. Essentially, Google Alerts takes care of the scrolling, making it easier for you to stay up to date with the latest news and activity.

Google Alerts is incredibly easy to set up.

If you’re a tour operator, social media will likely be a part of present and future marketing strategies. This is no longer a secondary aspect to tourism marketing. Social media offers incredible opportunities to increase brand awareness, draw in new customers, provide a platform for reviews and feedback, advertise your product and share relevant content.The good news is, the more thought and energy you invest in your social media marketing strategy at the beginning, the easier it will be to maintain. Take some time out to plan a strategy. The payoff could be huge if you do. If you’re a novice, don’t despair. Start small, focusing on Facebook or a similar platform, and work on expanding your audience. Scan the internet, pick and choose which aspects could work for your company, and craft a campaign that makes a splash. And remember: the goal is not to churn out content with little engagement; the goal is to create an online presence which both promotes your brand and provides a two-way channel between you and your customers. What are you waiting for? Your audience is waiting. Emma is a Content Coordinator for TourismTiger – the premier web design agency for tour and activity operators. We build websites that sell tours. Get started on yours today.

Today, we are happy to announce a dramatic change to our system that makes it easier for you to say “Yes” to more of your guests and offer the flexibility you’ve been asking us for.Summer 2019 makes 6 years of Peek Pro. Which is why we’re announcing Peek Pro 6: a series of upgrades coming all through 2019 that will change the game for your business.Here’s what we’ve got for you in this round of changes:

‍

• Helping Your Guests: TEN new ways that you will be able to say yes to your guests.

‍

• Bonus Releases: Add fire to your growth and cut operational headaches. See below!

‍

If you’re a Peek Partner and excited about these changes, contact Partner Support to check your eligibility to be part of this phase of the rollout. You can also learn more about Peek Pro 6 in our helpdesk here.

‍

Not a Peek Partner yet? Schedule your demo to see how Peek Pro 6 can work for you.

‍

Ok, enough talk. Let’s get into it!

‍

#1: SPLIT PAYMENTS

Your Guest Says: "I'm here with my friend. Can I pay cash, and he pays with a card?"Yes! You can now take as many payments as needed via any method.This is available right now.

‍

#2 UN-CANCEL BOOKINGS

Your Guest Says: "Yesterday, we had to cancel but I have good news! We're able to proceed. Can you please un-cancel our booking?"

‍

‍Yes! You can now easily reactivate a canceled booking to bring all your guests info - including questions, answers & credit cards on file - back from the dead.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#3 DEPOSIT ANY AMOUNT

Your Guest Says: "Instead of a $450 deposit.. can I pay $400? That's all I have on me."Yes! You'll be able to apply custom amounts to a deposit in the back-end of Peek Pro. This is especially useful for large bookings or corporate customers!

‍

Note: this is a feature only available through the back-end of Peek Pro.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#4 PAY TOWARDS MY TOTAL

Your Guest Says: "I’ve got a $3,000 booking on Saturday - which I made a $300 deposit for. Can I pay $150 towards the total right now and pay the rest on the day?

‍

"Yes! This is a common scenario when selling larger bookings, and demonstrates the new flexibility that Peek Pro 6 gives you. This will be especially handy when you have groups paying towards a transaction.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#5 RESCHEDULE ORDERS & PAY/REFUND THE DIFFERENCE

Your Guest Says: "Hi, I booked for Monday. Can you switch me to Saturday? I'm happy to pay the difference!"

‍

‍Yes! While on Peek Pro we could always change dates, now you can easily charge the difference with the payment details already on file.

‍

Bonus: If the guest is switching to a cheaper time-slot, you can also refund them the difference.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#6 CANCEL AND REFUND THE DIFFERENCE / ADD GUESTS AND PAY THE DIFFERENCE

Your Guest Says: "Hi, one of our group is sick and can no longer make it. Can we cancel their spot and receive a refund for that ticket?

‍

"Yes! Now on Peek Pro, you can easily change group sizes and charge or refund based on the final result. Previously, you'd have to cancel and refund the booking and create a new one. Add a guest and Pay the Difference: You can also ADD a new ticket and take the payment using the payment method on file, or any other method depending on the guest preferences.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#7 TRANSFER OVERPAYMENT BETWEEN BOOKINGS:

Your Guest Says: "Instead of refunding me, can we put the balance towards an additional or longer activity?"

‍

‍Yes! Any time one of your guests has an additional balance, you'll be able to transfer it to any other activity or day, instead of refunding.

‍

Coming soon.

‍

#8 ADD CHARGE & PAY THE DIFFERENCE

Your Guest Says: "Hi, when I booked my ticket, I forgot to select the GoPro Add-On. Can you please just add that to my booking and charge the card on file?"

‍

‍Yes! You can add any upsell with the card on file, no problem. In fact, this applies to Add-Ons, Custom Questions With Charges, and Additional Charges.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#9 MULTIPLE EXPERIENCES, ONE BOOKING

Your Guest Says: "I'd like to book multiple experiences, and just give you my Credit Card details to pay for them all at once. Can I do that?"

‍

‍Yes! Previously available only on PoS, you can now flexibly take as many bookings for experiences or upsells in the one booking and charge the one time.

‍

This is available right now.

‍

#10 GIFT CARDS COVER ALL COSTS

Your Guest Says: "I've got a gift card for $100 but the website is still trying to charge me taxes and fees. Can't I just pay for everything with my gift card?"

‍

‍Yes! Gift cards can now pay for ALL charges associated with a booking, so long as they have the balance. You just need to configure it.

‍

Coming soon.

‍

Other Improvements You Don’t Want to Miss:

‍

• Tomis Integration. We’ve integrated with Tomis Tech, a marketing software and service company. Check them out.
• Export Manifest. You can now export your daily manifest in order to manage them in other tools.
• Create Rental Bookings on Mobile. Coming later this year, the ability to create rental bookings will now be available on all devices.
• Linked Flows. See image below. You can now easily place a link between different booking flows to assist guests with their navigation.
• A New Help Desk! Have you logged into the Peek Pro help desk lately? It's changed - significantly. And for the better.

WHAT’S NEXT?

‍

If you’re interested in moving to Peek Pro 6, and taking advantage of all these great changes, contact Partner Support for more info!Not a Peek Partner yet? Schedule your demo to see how Peek Pro 6 can work for you.

Navya is the VP of Product at Peek and is responsible for continually elevating the experience that partners & customers have with our product. Navya studied Engineering at the University of Sheffield in the UK, going on to obtain a Master of Science at Stanford University and an MBA at NYU. Prior to Peek, she ran product at StyleSeat, the world’s largest marketplace for beauty services that has fueled over $3 billion in beauty services. She has also built large-scale products at Uber, Disney and Goldman Sachs.In this post, we ask Navya about her time working at Peek, and what exciting things she is working on this year with our product team.

How did you get involved in Engineering and Product Management? Was it always something you were interested in, or was there a catalyst that encouraged you into the industry?

Growing up, I always had an innate desire to help improve the lives of people - a service before self mentality. This stems, in part, from growing up in a community of doctors in India- actually both of my parents and my sister are doctors!I started programming when I was 15, after my dad bought us our first computer - and the rest is history. It was obvious to me that technology could improve our lives. I was intrigued with the hardware and software aspects of engineering. So, I pursued a degree in Electronic Engineering in the U.K. and then a Masters in Computer Science at Stanford University.Pursuing a technical career satisfied my intellectual curiosity, but I’m also very much a people person. I wanted a career that could combine those two different worlds - technical and anthropological. I realized that as an engineer, I missed the interactions with the customers who were using the products I was building. That desire to talk with customers and dig deeper into their pain points led me to the world of Product Management.

What do you like about working with the Tours and Activities industry?

I’ve spent the better part of a decade working for startups and have a tremendous amount of respect for entrepreneurs who work day in, day out to turn their company’s vision into a reality. The Tours and Activities industry is filled with thousands of entrepreneurs who are in this exact same boat, undergoing a similar journey. I get excited about solving problems for tours & activities operators through product innovations. I am passionate about driving product development at Peek. We play a part in helping operators achieve their visions and ambitions! By putting smarter technology in the hands of our operators, we are able to change their lives for the better. That brings immense joy to my work.Finally, learning has always been a big part of my life. Having been fortunate enough to have lived in Asia, Europe & North America, I love to learn more about new cultures. The Tours & Activities industry embraces people from different cultures every day by creating memorable experiences for everybody, all over the world!

What are your 3 favorite features that Peek Pro will launch in 2019?

I can’t play favorites, but I love to talk about the problems I’m really excited for the Peek team to solve this year for our operators.Our engineers have been working super hard on massive infrastructure upgrades over the last few months that will be all coming together in 2019. This means that we’re stronger than we have ever been to drive Peek Pro to the next level. We identified three core challenges that tours & activity operators face today that we are best positioned to address with our upgraded infrastructure. 1) Grow Revenue: We know from talking to operators that big or small, whether you’re a bike rental shop, run comedy tours, or a cat cafe: growing revenue is always a top priority. Which means it’s ours too. In 2019, we’ll be introducing new product innovations to our booking flow to further drive online conversions through partner websites. We’ll also be launching integrations with partners such as Groupon to drive more bookings at full-price for our partners. This will add to a large existing network that includes Peek.com, Reserve with Google, Yelp and more. 2) Save time: Time is money. Our operators save an average of 10 hours/week with our software: managing on-the-go with our mobile apps, getting fewer calls because of self-rescheduling options, and automating business systems through connections to 750+ online business tools. Over the last year, we’ve used direct operator feedback to completely rethink & further streamline our booking & payments flow on Peek Pro. The first release will allow operators to easily split payments among different customer payment options! This is just the beginning of other exciting improvements that will follow this year.3) Provide a great customer experience: We’re more than a booking software. Our philosophy is to holistically look at customer experience.We obsess about all the steps involved for customers: from researching the options on your website, to booking an activity, to having a great experience, and leaving with great memories to share with friends.Technology can empower operators to effortlessly deliver a 5-star experience to each customer, and I can’t wait for our new product innovations in 2019 that take this end-to-end experience to the next level.

What does it take to make a great product? How do you find ways to improve the Peek Pro software?

A great product is the result of a clear vision and a team that obsesses about solving real problems for customers. Peek Pro’s vision is to be the software of choice for Tour & Activity operators. We want to be the technology backbone of these operators so they can provide amazing experiences for their customers.Everyone at Peek gets excited about helping operators grow and change their lives for the better. Our product team regularly sit down with our customers to see how the product is used, and to better understand the problems that operators face on a daily basis. We are fortunate to have an operator base that provides valuable input to help shape the future of the product.I also read every single request that comes to improve the product from current and prospective customers. We then prioritize features that solve the biggest problems and create the highest positive impact for our customers. 2018 was a big year for Peek Pro with over 600 updates to the software! We’re super excited about all the new ways we’ll improve Peek Pro for our operators in 2019.

Partner visits are vital to improving our product and seeing it in action!

What do you enjoy most about working at Peek?

So many things! Here are my top three:The Mission: Our mission to connect the world through experiences inspires me. I’m passionate about building products that customers love. Being able to directly contribute to this mission by improving the Peek Pro software gets me excited to bring my best self to work every day!The Challenge: As the businesses of our operators grow, new opportunities come up to improve their lives. I get excited about solving new problems every day that directly help our operators. Never a dull moment!The Team: I am lucky to work with Peek’s team that is passionate, collaborative, hard-working, intellectually curious, caring and loves to have fun!

Peek Company Offsite 2018

Both the Tours and Activity space and the Tech Industry are male dominated. What has your experience been like as a female leader in your industry?

My mom started her career as a dentist in 1970s in India, at a time when dentistry was highly male-dominated. Seeing her thrive in the environment by focusing on her career aspirations and bring herself has always been a source of inspiration for me. When I started my career in engineering, I received this advice from my mom that still helps me to date: Be yourself and command respect. I genuinely believe that being authentic makes you a good leader. Not feeling the pressure to fit in means I can bring my whole self to work every day. I am not shy about my feminine interests. I openly talk about my lack of interest in male professional sports (!), and actively focus on self-reflection to stay authentic. It’s important to pick a work environment where authenticity is encouraged and you can fairly compete to rise in your career. As a female leader and a mom to my 2 year old daughter, I consider it my responsibility to help younger women in the industry. I am lucky to work at Peek, which is not only female founded but has a culture that promotes great workplace equality.

Peek ladies across our Utah, San Francisco, New York and Santiago offices!

Any words of motivation to end on?

“Do what you love, love what you do”Thanks Navya! Check out more content from our SheTalks series by clicking here!

Did you hear about Arival 2019? It was this year’s premier conference for tour & activity operators.We had a huge presence and loved meeting all of you who came. Here are our takeaways from some of the talks we attended:

Jason Hackett, Brier Katama: Marketing Foundations

‘Getting your website right is the single most important thing you can do for your business’Jason started with two key numbers:138: number of websites that your guest is going to see before they finish booking all their flights, hotels and activities.80% of your guests are still purchasing in-market. They will make their decision game day or game week.Jason ran marketing for two major tour & activity operators in New York before branching out to offer consulting with his firm, Brier Katama. He says there are three elements you need to get right before spending on marketing:

• Website (Desktop + Mobile)
• Email
• Booking Platform

We agree! And Peek can help you in the following ways:Website: Peek Pro has partnered with three companies who we recommend for website builds - TourismTiger, TomisTech and IwerxConnect. Don’t have the budget to afford a new website? We can set you up with a simple site for $200. Just email support@peek.com.Email: Collecting emails and making use of your customer list is vitally important for your success. That’s why we built an integration with Zapier so you can collect emails into your marketing software. Here’s how to set it up with Mailchimp.Booking Platform: if you don’t use Peek Pro yet, check it out.[caption id="attachment_15833" align="aligncenter" width="1792"]

All of our Growth Lab sessions were highly attended. In this picture, Kyle Davidson is giving a talk about how to grow more direct bookings. If you’d like to see this talk, Kyle is doing a repeat for Growvember on the 25th. More info.[/caption]

The Foundations of Your Marketing

Your website is where you begin and end every single piece of your digital marketing. It’s the biggest driver of SEO traffic and online bookings.But it doesn’t stop there. According to Jason, once the booking happens, many people believe that’s where marketing stops and the experience takes over. Done well, however, it never stops. After the experience, your customer will be the word of mouth champion for you. What can you do to help them go further?

• Send Photos for Them to Use: Within the Peek Pro app, you can take photos of your guests and automatically send those over. Ask your guests to upload these to social media and tag your accounts.
• Request Reviews from ALL Guests. Peek Pro’s Smart Reviews capability enables you to request reviews not just from the guest who made the booking - you can also request reviews from anyone who signs a waiver. This triples the amount of potential reviews you can get! More info about our Digital Waivers.

Building on Your Foundations

As you can see, Jason was on fire during this talk! Here are 5 further suggestions.

1. Every time you evaluate your website, do so on mobile. This is where most of your guests are headed, so this is where you should be focused.
2. Adjust your copy: remove fluffy adjectives - the guests care about the facts: What is it, Where is it, Who is it suited for, etc.
3. You simply must run PPC Ads. The first four Google listings are ads. On mobile, this takes up the whole screen, meaning you may not even show up when people Google for your business. At a minimum, buy this ad space so you come out number one. Check out what happens when you search for ‘Eureka Tower Tickets’: The Eureka tower website is nowhere to be seen.

1. Don’t be deceived by your Analytics and remember: behind every number is a human being with their own individual story and context. Collating things into data may illuminate, but it won't provide the whole picture. For example: mobile matters even more than you realize: bookings that are conducted on desktop, are often researched on phones.
2. Understand who your guests actually are. Hackett suggests surveying your guests, as asking them questions during check-out reduces conversions. Or does it? Peek Pro has launched a feature that enables you to delay any unnecessary questions until after the reservation is done. Learn more here.

[caption id="attachment_15837" align="aligncenter" width="676"]

Ruzwana Bashir, our CEO, sharing the truth on stage[/caption]

Lukas Hempel, BookingKit: Getting Your Pricing & Profits Right

In this quick talk, Lukas shared with us lessons about pricing and profit:

1. Everyone has something that they can upsell! Try to find three upsells for your business. Peek Pro users, that’s an easy one: have you tried selling Add-Ons or Bundles?
2. Charm pricing works. Something for $0.99 converts 1.6x better than $1.
3. Product vs. Price? What should you show first? The answer is simple: are you quality focused? Show the product first. Are you focused on being the most affordable? Show price, first!
4. The Rule of 100. This is for when you’re running a discount. If your price is under 100, show a % discount. If your price is over 100, show the actual $ amount discount. This way, it’s easier for customers to understand what the actual discount is.
5. Once someone is booked in, they become less price-sensitive. We will spend hours trying to get the best deal on a flight, sacrificing comfort and time to save $10. Then we get to the airport and spend $16 on a beer anyway! This means that your tour prices should be competitive, but your upsells when the customers are showing up can be priced higher providing you with a bigger overall margin.

That last point is particularly interesting, especially given that in Peek Pro you can customize your emails however you like to drive further revenue. If you’re a Peek Pro user, consider offering upsells in ALL your confirmation and reminder emails! We recommend sending an upsell email in the days prior to the activity to see if you can get your guests to book more than one activity.[caption id="attachment_15832" align="aligncenter" width="1792"]

We had a ton of fun meeting with existing Partners. Going to a conference soon? Reach out to us to set up a meeting.[/caption]

Akila McConnell (Unexpected Atlanta) & Lesli Peterson (Sunstone Digital Marketing): Email Marketing Insights

Akila is a well known tour operator, having presented at multiple events. She teamed up with Lesli Peterson, from Sunstone Digital Marketing, to share thoughts on online marketing.What worked for Akila in 2018?Expensive, but lots of conversions:

• TripAdvisor, OTAs
• Google Adwords
• Other Promo Codes

Inexpensive, but low conversions:

• Blogging/content/SEO
• Press Mentions
• Social Media (FB/Instagram)
• Networking and Festivals

There was only ONE marketing channel that was both inexpensive AND high converting: Email.

‘Email Marketing is your best bet!’

Email converts at a 4300% higher rate than social media. In fact, McKinsey & Co studied 72 million customers and found that conversion from social media traffic maxes out at 1.08%. Email, on the other hand, ended at 17.75% conversion in 2018. Take those figures with a grain of salt, of course, but they do point to a larger truth.The Mailchimp benchmark for open rate on newsletters is 20%. You target people based on specific action-based triggers to increase conversion rate.

4 Tactics to get started with Email Marketing

Step 1: Grow Your ListGet started:

• Get emails for all the people on your tourCapture the emails of people on your site

Level up:

• Use opt-in forms with a targeted lead magnetGet them to give you their email by offering something like a local guide for your tours (lead magnets increase opt-in rate by about 85%...!)Follow up with a welcome series immediatelySend them something letting them know about your personality and your brand of your business

Step 2: Personalize Your ContentGet started:

• Tag subscribers so you can keep track of what they’re buying

Level up:

• Auto tag customers with purchases, spend, browsing, custom fieldsAuto send campaigns based on this info

Step 3: Meet People in the MomentGet started:

• Market to upset, cross sell & build engagement between purchase and fulfillment
• 35% of Amazon sales come from cross sells and resales
• Existing customers are 60-70% more likely to sell

Level up:

• Build automations to manage this
• Implement browse-abandonment campaigns on your site
• Someone comes to your site and downloads your lead magnet. They'll often to go other parts of your site - it's possible to track the parts they're interested in and automatically send them more details about the pages they were visiting.

Step 4: Create Content that ConvertsGet started:

• Write specific call-to-actions in your subject line (this can increase open-rate by 100%)

Level up:

• Tell a story with your content (switching to story-based newsletter increased her open rate by 124%!)
• Personalize content using segmentation

They highly recommend Drip as their email marketing tool. You can connect your Peek Pro account to Drip using Zapier.So, that’s the wrap for this year. A special thanks goes to Matthew Osterhaus, our superstar Product Manager for attending many of these sessions and taking amazing notes.See you next year in Phoenix?One Last Thing:Peek Pro is running Growvember again, in 2019! By popular demand.It’s a series of online workshops available to anyone where we’ll share with you how to grow your business. It was a HUGE success in 2018.Get more info and grab your place here.

Growvember 2019

What a couple of days we’ve had! Thank you to everyone who participated – we can all agree that our eight incredible speakers provided us with some awesome insights.In case you missed any of the sessions, this is your one stop shop for all the resources you need to catch up and start applying the information to your business!

Recordings

Below you’ll find links to all 8 recordings for you to watch at your convenience:3 Keys That High Growth Companies Use to Succeed - Evan Tipton8 Steps to Building a Universally Accessible Website - Andrea LopezAutomating Your Operations for Explosive and Sustainable Growth - Allan Graves5 New Ways To Grow Your Business On Peek Pro - Matt OsterhausGrowing your Conversions Using Google Adwords & Call Tracking - Steven EdwardsSystems that Scale, Profitable Distribution and Driving More Sales - Josh Oakes & Kelsey TonnerMore Direct Bookings - How We Reduced Our Reliance On OTAs - Kyle Davidson

Avital Ungar has been leading food tours since starting Avital Tours in 2011. She has served as a judge at the International Chocolate Salon, the Best of the West Rib Competition, the Good Food Awards and has been featured on CNN, the Travel Channel, Travel+Leisure and more! In this post, Avital takes us through some of the ways in which tour operators can work to make their experiences truly stand out in a fast-growing, competitive industry. In the tours and activities space, it can be hard to stand out.You might be lucky enough to offer a totally unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience that can’t be found anywhere else in the market. But for many operators, you might be offering a similar activity, or hitting up the same spots, alongside many of your competitors in the area.If you run food tours, for example, it might be that you visit the same neighborhoods, or even some of the same restaurants, as other tour operators in the area. So — how do you create an experience that is truly unique for your guests? What can you do to differentiate yourself from the competition? For me, it has always been about the customer journey. Taking steps to differentiate our tours at every single stage of the experience, start to finish. In this post, I’ll lay out just a few ways in which you can achieve this, and create an experience that is totally unique to your business.

Remember that the experience begins as soon as the booking is made

Many operators tend to focus on the experience that they offer on the day of the tour or activity. It makes sense — it’s the most important part. But by doing so, you could be missing an opportunity to build up anticipation and hype for your tour. Why not set up automatic emails to be sent out before your tour or activity to really get your guests excited? This is not only a happy reminder of their upcoming trip, but a chance to offer some little tips and recommendations in the area. That way, you’re showing your customer that you’re thinking about them and enhancing their experience before they’ve even arrived for your tour!As an owner-operator, I understand that these details are often low priority as you juggle the day-to-day tasks of running a business. But, by investing a little time in emails like this, you help plant the seed of your incredible experience and create a relationship with your guest before you meet them! They won’t forget it.

VIP is what you make it

Everyone loves a little VIP treatment. For tour operators, offering exclusive access is a great way to set you apart from the rest. As a food tour, for us this could be meeting a chef or restaurant owner who can offer their story and a little something special. But what happens when the restaurant owner has to leave for an emergency dentist appointment? Things like this can happen all the time, so it’s important to manage the expectations of your guests when offering these exclusive experiences. VIP can definitely mean exclusive access, but it doesn’t have to. Consider the easiest way to make your experience special: service.Take hotels. Most offer the exact same service; there are only so many types of beds! The real difference for them however, lies in the service. What can you do to shine?Why not use custom questions in your booking flow to learn more about your guests ahead of time and provide great service right off the bat? We cater for all forms of dietary restrictions, but knowing this ahead of time means we can go the extra mile to provide great service and accommodate those guests.

Did you know that in Peek Pro, you can ask custom questions AFTER the guest has paid? This means you can collect relevant info without sacrificing conversions!

You can also offer discounts for repeat guests, and incentives for them to go back to the places or landmarks on your tour. This makes them feel like they’re getting a deal that’s not available to just anyone and helps your partners feel recognized for the value they bring.If it’s a special occasion, point it out. Have the group sing Happy Birthday to them. On Mother’s Day, hand out roses to all the moms on the tour. It’s minimal effort on your part, but it could make their day — and that happy atmosphere will also rub off on the other guests.

Being dedicated to incredible levels of service and VIP touches helps to give us a unique advantage in our niche

Your guides are your biggest asset

If guides are part of your business, use them wisely. They are a huge part of the uniqueness that you offer. In San Francisco, everybody wants to see the Golden Gate Bridge — but the stories they’ll hear along the way are what they’ll talk about when they tell their friends and family about their experience. That’s why I focus on hiring guides with strong presentation skills. I’m looking for people that I would want to go and get a beer with after the tour or talk to at a cocktail party — since they have no issues with being the center of attention! Depending on the style of your tour and balance and type of content you share, you might want to think about how guests interact with your guides. Do you want your guides to talk with the guests or at the guests?

My guides’ relationship with our guests is a top priority, always!

You should also think about how much content should come from management, versus the guide themselves. There is no right answer. It’s all about trade-offs. Find where your tour falls, and how relevant it is to have that spontaneity on your tour. Think about your guide turnover, and the type of people you generally hire. Remember that the more tailored the experience is to each guide, the more the experience will change if that guide moves on.Not everyone will have the capacity to create a whole tour themselves, or possess a deep, all-around knowledge of the area. But they will always have different interests that can add color to your experience. I suggest digging to find these and encouraging them to use them! Maybe you have a guide who’s an architecture buff, or has a strong understanding of the area’s LGBTQ scene. Use your guides’ personality and life experience to your advantage.

Know your brand — but don’t be afraid to shake it up

A brand is an evolution. It’s never static. When I started in the Mission District eight years ago, guests would be often be nervous to visit the area. To many it seemed dirty, unsafe, just on the wrong side of ‘quirky’. One of the values we offered was that we knew where to go. We offered a safe route into an unexplored area to show our guests the hidden gems.Now, eight years later, the Mission is totally different. Everybody knows about the food, they’ve already read up on the hotspots and many of the locales are well-known by tourists and locals alike. If I was still trying to lead the same tour I was a few years ago, there’s no way it would work. I have to evolve with my surroundings and adapt my tours to ensure they are always offering something unique.

A tour cannot be stagnant. You have to constantly be on the lookout for new and exciting opportunities the city has to offer, and mould you tours to fit the evolution of neighborhoods and towns.Which brings me to this: don’t be scared to kill an experience. I’ve built products that I thought were phenomenal. But sometimes, they don’t age as well as you’d like, or sadly, the market just isn’t there. I recommend specializing — focus on what you do well, and make it fantastic. You can’t be everything to everybody. The whole industry is moving that way, and that’s what will help you truly shine in your niche. Have you signed up for our SheTalks webinars yet, bringing you more exclusive tips and content? If not, sign up here! You can also check out all of our SheTalks content from the month of March by clicking here! And for more tour operator inspiration make sure you check out Avital’s website featuring her incredible food tours in San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles!