Guest Post: Call tracking for the travel industry

Measure ROI from multi-channel campaigns, says Nick Ashmore, vice president of marketing at ResponseTap Continue reading →

Measure ROI from multi-channel campaigns, says Nick Ashmore, vice president of marketing at ResponseTap

A staggering 90% of Cruise1st holiday bookings take place over the phone, yet the travel provider, like many, has a multi-channel marketing strategy, targeting customers online and offline.

Having just opened its first UK brick and mortar store, featuring virtual reality technology enabling visiting customers to experience its holidays and cruise ships, the company now has even more channels to monitor the success of.

“Phone calls are still the bread and butter of our business” says head of contact centres at Cruise1st, Dale Sourbutts. However, Cruise1st acknowledges the complex journey a customer has often taken prior to phoning.

With extensive digital advertising campaigns in place, from PPC to social media, and its own dedicated 24-hour TV channel, there are many touchpoints taken by customers. Ultimately however, the majority will still use the traditional method of booking a holiday and phone the company’s customer booking line.

Simon Hoe, Global Head of eCommerce and Digital at Cruise1st, said “Phone calls are crucial to our customers as a cruise is a high value, measured purchase. We tend to find however that there has been a long consideration phase online, from price comparisons to reviews, and this is when our customers often come across our brand.

“Therefore, it’s important to know what our customers are doing online before they phone our call centre. To do this, we need to see their whole journey, both online and offline.”

As a result, Cruise1st has adopted ResponseTap, our unique call tracking platform which links offline and online marketing activity.

Using the platform, Cruise1st can track which of its marketing efforts, from a print advert, a PPC keyword or a retargeting ad, are a driving force behind customers calling its booking line.

Furthermore, it can now also attribute monetary sales value from phone calls to marketing sources, providing exact return on investment, something that’s been notoriously difficult for marketers for a long time.

Simon added: “We use ResponseTap across all of our marketing channels, including TV, website and online and press. It’s fundamental that we track all off these channels. The main benefit we have seen as a business is knowing the bottom line impact. For example, we’ve been able to optimise our paid search activity to a very granular level, which is allowing us to compete in an extremely busy space online.”

Head of Contact Centres at Cruise1st, Dale Sourbutts, added: “Ultimately, wherever our customers are coming from, we need a clear picture of their journey from start to finish.”