As we get close to the last weeks of November, travelers are making their own lists and checking them twice. The reason? Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, is just around the corner.

I know a majority of our partners here at Navigator have had this week planned out for some time, excited for this big day!  

Traditionally, Black Friday is associated with retailers, but businesses in the travel industry have realised the benefits of taking the opportunity of customers in a buying mood.

Have you heard about Travel Tuesday? It used to refer to the busy day of travel as people made their way home from Thanksgiving trips. But now it’s a day dedicated to the best travel deals!

Travel marketers are preparing for Black Friday in an unprecedented way. While it might be intimidating to jump into the highly competitive holiday marketing minefield, we’re happy to guide you through so that your brand can stand out and attract your ideal customers at the start of the Holiday season. 

 

What is Black Friday?

Before we discuss what traveler marketers should be doing this Black Friday, it’s important to acknowledge WHY it even exists. It’s hard to get excited about participating in an event if you don’t understand how it could benefit your business (whether you’re based in America or not).

Black Friday marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Originating in the United States, it has now become a global event, with retailers offering enticing deals and discounts. The travel industry, with its unique offerings, can capitalize on this trend to boost sales and visibility. Ultimately anyone within the travel space should be taking advantage of this offer as the phenomenon is now global and is a big opportunity to bring in new and old customers.

 

 

Why Should Travel Marketers Care About Black Friday?

 

Increased Consumer Spending

Black Friday is synonymous with spending. Consumers are primed to make purchases, and travel deals can be particularly appealing as people look forward to holiday getaways or plan for the upcoming year. Even in these tough economic times, 68% of all consumers are expected to shopping this year!

 

Competitive Edge

Many travel companies still underutilize Black Friday. By creating compelling offers, you can stand out in a market less saturated than traditional retail sectors. An example you will see often is 40-60% off for a limited time during the weekend after Thanksgiving. 

 

Building Brand Loyalty

Offering special deals can attract new customers and strengthen relationships with existing ones. It’s an opportunity to showcase your brand’s value and commitment to customer satisfaction. You can see them everywhere even with big players like Gap , Amazon, or Target.

 

Leveraging Online Platforms

With the rise of e-commerce, Black Friday has extended to online spaces, opening up vast opportunities for digital marketing campaigns. Even Walmart is going all out on digital!

 

 

How Travel Marketers Can Maximize Sales on Black Friday

 

1. First Party Data

Make sure you have the perfect audience of confirmed travelers. Black Friday is a small window and you can’t spend too much time split testing. Here at Navigator, we have already been helping our partners reach passengers on a global scale that are either flying out this week or next month. I personally helped some of our biggest partners plan out the 2023 campaign strategy weeks ago.

 

2. Early Planning

: Start planning your campaign well in advance. This includes deciding on the deals, setting up the marketing materials, and strategizing the rollout. Now, it’s not too late if you haven’t yet started. Make sure you get something together for this Friday, all it takes is one deal to change your end-of-month sales.

 

3. Targeted Offers

Tailor your deals to your target audience. Whether it’s luxury travel, budget trips, family vacations, or solo adventures, make sure your offers resonate with your customer base. This is a BIG deal and it should be the day when you give the best offer your potential or current customers will ever see. There is no better day to maximize sales.

 

4. Multi-Channel Marketing

Utilize a mix of online and offline marketing channels. Engage with customers through email campaigns, social media, PPC ads, and traditional media.

 

5. Creating Urgency

Use countdowns and limited-time offers to create a sense of urgency. This encourages quick decision-making and drives sales.

 

6. Post-Black Friday Strategies

Consider extending offers or introducing new deals for Cyber Monday, Travel Tuesday, and Small Business Saturday. Keep the momentum going beyond Black Friday.

 

 

What Should Travel Marketers Do After Black Friday?

After Black Friday Navigator’s optimization team has found that creating a strategic digital marketing approach focused on analyzing all the data greatly helps in maximizing sales.

• We segment the audience based on their interactions during Black Friday—targeting new customers, returning customers, and those who browsed but didn’t purchase with tailored messaging. 
• Shift from high-pressure sales tactics to value-driven content,  consult on email marketing for personalized follow-ups and retargeting campaigns to re-engage visitors. 
• Recommend that customers on social media are engaged with user-generated content and reviews, and start building anticipation for upcoming holiday sales. 

 

Of course, it’s helpful when you have a team of travel marketing experts doing this for your business! By taking these steps your marketing efforts should maintain the momentum from Black Friday and keep customers engaged, leading to increased sales in the post-Black Friday period for all our Navigator partners and your own personal campaigns! 

Continue reading “6 Ways to Maximize Black Friday Sales in Travel Marketing”

Why is the holiday season so important to travel marketing?

Marketing during the holiday season is a high-stakes time for marketers. There’s an enormous amount of stress on marketers who are trying to capture the attention of the large audience travelling over the holidays.

During this holiday season more than 2 in 5 Americans (44%) plan to spend money on flights or hotel stays, spending $1,582, on average. That’s over 113 million holiday travellers, spending nearly $180 billion on travel expenses.

If you’re a marketer in the travel industry, it’s crucial to take advantage of the holiday season so that your business can benefit from this uptick in consumer spending.

Here are key tips to build your best holiday marketing plan.

 

How do marketers prepare for holiday travel trends?

Before you start building your holiday marketing plan, find the insights that speak specifically to the travel products you are selling. 

Marketers shouldn’t get caught up in the big global trends, especially if they do not speak to your ideal audience. Consumer spending is obviously grand regardless of whether it’s slightly up or down from one year to the next. So when your researching this year’s travel trends, focus on what only your ideal customers will be affected by.

For example, if the West is expected to have heavy snow this winter (which it is!)- hotels and flights serving ski markets will be able to capitalize on promoting inventory in that area.

Mexico and Caribbean Travel is expected to be strong again this winter – so Air travel rental cars and resorts in those destinations should be able to capitalize.

Identify insights from reputable sources that serve your product best and market to it.

As consumer spending is up, so is marketing. It’s competitive!

In Q4 of last year, we saw a total estimated spend of $38.82 billion ($4.89 bn – Print / $16.15 bn – Digital / $17.78 bn – TV, according to MediaRadar. That’s about 30% of the spend for the year!

Take a deep breath and remember, that you can never go wrong by providing value and engaging your customers.

 

How to market holidays?

 

1. Use Data

First-Party data enables you to speak to the consumer you most covet. 92% of marketers find first-party data to be the most valuable for targeting and segmentation purposes. Through our platform, Navigator uses only first-party data to identify and target prospects and audiences for the most qualified marketing.

Data is valuable for all positions along the funnel from Awareness or Introduction to Point of Sale.

40% of all Americans travel in December. 29% will go somewhere for Thanksgiving and 19% will be away from home over New Year’s, according to NerdWallet.

When you use data, you can identify your customers within this large group of travellers at the right place and time.

 

2. Be smart with your creative

Through the data that we have, we now know exactly what they are searching for and we should speak to that in the creative.

Use creative of your resorts in Riviera Maya to travellers flying into Cancun.

Show Big Ben for travellers looking to cross the Atlantic and land in Heathrow or Gatwick.

If you are looking to sell hotel rooms, flight seats, or cruise packages you want to showcase specific deals with prices highlighted in the creative.

Always have 4 to 5 creatives in rotation with one “soaker” ad as a backup so that you do not go dark. Navigators offers creative insights, consultation and design services as part of our marketing services at no charge.

 

3. Leverage Social Media

Every media channel has its place and reason for being, but Social Media really stands out during the holidays.

The medium connects you to friends and family, which is what the holidays are all about. Understand the role of social media and use the right unique voice and creative for each specific platform.

Travel Marketing works on social platforms!

 

Follow the principles of marketing

Follow the right principles of marketing to ensure that you compete and win customers during this holiday season.

When you identify with your customers and inspire them to act with your message and creativity, you will have the best gift a marketer could ask for this holiday. The goal is to cap off a great year and help to build your base for the next.

Happy Holidays and Happy Marketing!

Continue reading “Travel Marketing: Your Best Holiday Marketing Plan”