top mobile booking strategies for 2016 | avvio & hsmai europe
TRANSCRIPT
Top Mobile Booking
Strategies for 2016
Mark Murray & Cara Callaghan, Avvio
Having a mobile strategy is not a trend; it’s a vital requirement for 2016
Today we will cover:
• Mobile landscape for hoteliers in 2016
• Importance of mobile strategies
• Top strategies to grow mobile bookings through brand.com
• Using mobile to communicate the “Book Direct” message
• Top tips for mobile web design
Introduction
“Mobile has forever changed the way we live, and it’s forever changed what we expect of
brands. It’s fractured the consumer journey into hundreds of real-time, intent-driven micro-
moments. Each one is a critical opportunity for brands to shape our decisions and preferences.”
- thinkwithgoogle
The Mobile Landscape
1.4billionSmartphones were sold in 2015
-7%Time Spent per session on Mobile Travel sites
Only 10%Book the 1st Brand that
comes to mind
88%Increase in Mobile Conversion Rates
49%Growth in Mobile Hotel Queries
Cross Platform46% of Mobile Travel researchers move to desktop to book
The Mobile Landscape
Jan – Jun 2014 July – Dec 2014 Jan – Jun 2015 Jul – Dec 2015
% of Traffic 24% 31% 35% 41%
Conv Rate 0.19% 0.40% 0.46% 0.53%
% of Revenue 8% 10% 12% 17%
Mobile Landscape - Sample Results
• New responsive website & Convert 6 went live on 21st July• Website conversion rate has increased from an average of
35% to 55%.
Mobile Landscape - Sample Results
Device Conversion Rate –Old Site
Conversion Rate –New Site
% Variance
Desktop 1.92% 2.20% +7%
Tablet 1.80% 2.13% +18%
Mobile 0.71% 1.00% +40%
Importance of Mobile Strategies
• Mobile specific behaviours are creating a new consumer journey. There is no doubt that mobile bookings are growing worldwide but that is only part of the online story.
• Travellers are increasingly likely to use their mobile for research and sharing. Google’s VP of Marketing, Lisa Gevelber, attributes the various paths and interactions along the customers journey to what are now being termed as ‘micro-moments’. When it comes to travel these moments happen in 4 stages:
ExperiencingBookingPlanningDreaming
Importance of Mobile Strategies
When these moments occur your customers reach for the device nearest for answers — you guessed it, the smartphone. Will you be there?
Percentage of people who use a smartphone. Source: The Connected Consumer Survey 2014 / 2015
Importance of Mobile Strategies
Case Study: Google, in conjunction with Luth Research, analysed a purchase in reallife (Amy who planned a trip to Disney Land), highlighting the various touchpointsalong the 2 month road to the final booking.
Importance of Mobile Strategies
If your hotel brand is not reacting to these moments, you’re missing out onthe vital chance to connect…
•Dreaming – ‘I want to get away’ moments
•Planning – ‘I want this trip to be perfect’ moments
•Booking – ‘I want to book it now’ moments
•Experiencing – ‘I want to make the most of it’ moments
Importance of Mobile Strategies
Dreaming: I want to get away moments
- Provide the Inspiration
Importance of Mobile Strategies
Planning: I want this trip to be perfect moments
- Give the guest every opportunity
Importance of Mobile Strategies
Booking: I want to book it moment
- Don’t give your customer an excuse not to.
Importance of Mobile Strategies
Experiencing - I want to make the most of it moments
When your customer is in the moment - be of service.
Case Study: Families booking into Cheval Three Quays receive a ‘Things ToDo List’ along with George the Unicorn Teddy to accompany the smallest ofthe family on any sightseeing trips.
Happy family = shared images = hotel brand growth
Top Mobile Strategies
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke (Author)
1. Be Mobile Responsive
Simply put your website and booking engine platform must be mobileresponsive. Otherwise the magic can never happen!
Top Mobile Strategies
Top Mobile Strategies
2. Incorporate Mobile Video
Video content will tell your brand story in a truly engaging way…
Online video now accounts for 50% of all content viewed on mobile.Expected to rise to 80% by 2018.
Top Mobile Strategies
2. Incorporate Mobile Video
Top Mobile Strategies
3. Adapt your Mobile Ads
Ad Campaigns should adapt in line with the device used; decide what yourpitch is based on who your audience are.
Ads should carry a tailored message asopposed to the ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Open up new options, targets and sales via:
• Call forwarding• Location extensions• App promotion• Image ads• YouTube• Display• Remarketing
Top Mobile Strategies
Top Mobile Strategies
4. Have a dedicated SEO Strategy
From April the 21st 2015, “Mobilegeddon” affected Google's rankingalgorithm to include mobile-friendly usability factors…
• A mobile responsive site is a must.
Whatever the configuration now (Responsive, Dynamic or Separate URL’s)the main points to remember are:
• Signal to Google when a page is formatted for mobile.
• Ensure resources are crawlable.
• Avoid anything that may frustrate mobile visitors! A poor searchexperience can result in a demotion in rankings (Flash video, faulty re-directs, slow pages, unplayable videos).
Top Mobile Strategies
4.1 Have a dedicated SEO Strategy – Measurement & Attribution
Top Mobile Strategies
5. Be There When It Matters
72% of mobile hotel bookings on OTA’s are made within one day of travel. Source: Phocurights Parsing Shop & Book
A study by Criteo and PhocusWright (The Mobile Effect) suggest that OTAshave an advantage over Brand.com in the mobile space, but that is changing.
Increasingly travellers trust branded sites and, combined with a compellingmobile experience, there is huge value in aggressively targeting these shortlead-time users who ordinarily book through OTA’s. How?
Always onMulti
ChannelIncentivise
Top Mobile Strategies
5. Be There When It Matters
Are you visible via the Metasearch channels?
Always onMulti
ChannelIncentivise
Top Mobile Strategies
5. Be There When It Matters
Tailor your ad messages. What does your Basket Abandoner see? Do yourin-market audience have an affinity to sports?
Always onMulti
ChannelIncentivise
Communicate the Book Direct Message
The Journey’s End
Today we have stated that mobile bookings are only part of the online journey – but ultimately they are our goal.
Communicate the Book Direct Message
The Journeys End. . . is only the Beginning
Not only in the ‘Booking Moment’ but your brand has to consider theLifetime Value of a Customer…
If you build it they will book.
If you build a mobile responsive site they will book.
If you build a mobile responsive site and have an all encompassing mobile strategy they will book.
If you build a mobile responsive site and have an all encompassing mobile strategy they will book…again and again.
Dynamic Design Principles
1. Ensure your website is fully responsive and adapts to be viewed on mobile devices of various resolutions and platforms.
1. The ‘on-the-go mind set’ of the mobile user means they will not interact with your mobile site as they would on a desktop.
2. Ensure all call-to-action buttons are of a suitable size and spacing and all text is legible as outlined by Googles Mobile-Friendly test.
3. Include call-to-action icons for pages most commonly accessed on mobile devices such as Location, Contact and Reservations.
4. Minimise the amount of images and heavy code being used to ensure fast load times.
5. Ensure all input elements such as forms and reservation queries are mobile friendly.
Key Takeaways
Tools
Screenfly - Check how your site displays across a multitude of screen sizes.
Pingdom – Website Speed Test
PageSpeed Insights – website speed test and highlights any issues slowing
site down.
Kraken.io - If your site is sluggish, optimise images (with minimal loss of
quality) with
W3 Mobile friendliness checker
Mobiletest.me – See how your site appears on mobile