Promoting Exotic Cruises On The Internet
The internet has changed the way that firms of all sizes promote their products and services and for the majority of companies it offers opportunities that it would be a mistake to ignore. A well-designed site can act as an online shop window that attracts clients from all over the world. Different products need to be advertised in different ways and holidays at sea are a good example of something that is best promoted with a mix of text and appealing images. A look through the sites that firms such as Celebrity Cruises maintain can give you a good idea of the kind of designs that work best. The destinations page breaks holidays up into regions such as Canada and New England, the Caribbean and Europe, which makes it easier for potential customers to find a trip that they are likely to enjoy. Simple navigation using clear, uncluttered menus is vital to the success of any website and even more so in the holiday industry where people will quickly go to another website if they become frustrated. Among other companies, NCL Cruises follow a similar format with a page giving an overview of the various destinations that their ships travel to, one going into more detail about the vessels themselves and one devoted to shore excursions that can be booked in different areas. When you see several major companies all going down the same route it is a safe bet that the design has proved to be the best solution.
Capturing the imagination
The saying, 'a picture paints a thousand words' may be an overused one but it is a valid statement especially for Seabourn Cruises and other companies that sell trips to exotic destinations across the globe. However much you try to paint an image of a country like India with purple prose, there is no substitute for photographs of the stunning scenery that can be encountered in such places. When setting a new site up it can be tempting to try and save some money by taking pictures yourself or, even worse, stealing images from other websites. In either case, it often turns out to be a false economy. Companies like Princess Cruises usually copyright the photographs they use on their website pages so other firms that also travel to Australia, South America and Asia are best off commissioning a professional photographer in order to avoid getting entangled in expensive legal battles. Pictures alone will not make a great site of course and detailed descriptions of each port that a ship visits will help to entice the reader into making a booking. A lot of firms focus more on the prices of their holidays and a quick look at the site that Thomson Cruises use to promote their breaks will show how this can be done without confusing the visitor. A search box on the home page can be used to find deals on trips to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and other areas that they operate in on a regular basis.
Targeted marketing
An effective website needs to keep a record of visitors who make online bookings and those that request further information on various destinations. These records can be used to send targeted emails to prospective customers detailing offers and special promotions. MSC Cruises, as an example, sell holidays to South Africa so if they manage to strike a particularly good deal with a company that organises safaris in this country then it would be well worth their time emailing passengers that have travelled with them to this country in the past. The important thing to remember when putting together email marketing campaigns is that quality should come before quantity. One or two well put together messages will be much more effective than a deluge of generic newsletters. The unique selling point of Regent Cruises and other firms operating smaller vessels could be said to be the intimate atmosphere that these ships engender. Assuming this is the case then such companies would be well advised to target clients looking to book a trip for their honeymoon or older couples who are celebrating an important wedding anniversary. This type of information can sometimes be gathered by encouraging people to fill in forms to subscribe to a newsletter by offering them the chance to win a free holiday. For their more mature themed breaks, Fred Olsen Cruises could possibly target older customers by promoting the golfing and art appreciation holidays they organise in this manner, with the winner going on an all-expenses paid break.
Accentuating the positive
A cleverly designed site will concentrate on the strengths of a company in order to make people aware of what it is that they are good at doing. With regard to luxury liner operators, some companies offer exciting shore excursions whereas others go to great lengths to secure top class entertainers to keep their guests happy in the evening. Silverseas Cruises make a big effort to provide a personalised service to passengers staying in one of their suites and even have a professional butler on call at all times. This is a selling point that they can focus on in order to attract the type of holidaymaker who appreciates being pampered and made to feel like an honoured guest at all times. A good website designer will take the time to familiarise themselves with what the company they are working for has to offer and work in concert with their marketing team to produce a site that reflects this. Cruises can be booked with dozens of different operators so it is especially important to get the design right in this competitive marketplace. Regular site updates can help to keep visitors coming back as there is nothing more boring than a website that never changes from one year to the next. Fortunately, for companies that sell oceangoing holidays, there are always new itineraries to publicise and special deals to promote so it is relatively easy to come up with new content to keep the site looking fresh and maintain visitors' interest.
