Breaking through the noise to meaningfully connect with your travel brand’s target consumers has never been more difficult. Daily, we’re bombarded with ads, LinkedIn messages, package deliveries, email threads, social media notifications, and last-minute homework projects… it’s hard enough to get a word in. It’s even harder to make that word stick, spur engagement, and spark loyalty with your brand.
At the same time, it’s more vital than ever. After all, one-time transactions don’t cut it for establishing relationships that foster financial success. But in an era of messaging overload and fleeting attention spans, what’s a loyalty seeking destination to do?
The answer: Live and breathe the core values of your brand. It’s no longer enough to talk about what your brand believes in or exists to do. You must ensure every touchpoint aligns with your values, purpose, and mission if you want to earn initial consumer attention, sustain their interest post-purchase, and inspire re-engagement again and again.
In today’s do-it-all, see-it-all, tell-it-all consumer landscape, cultivating a loyal customer relationship with your brand takes a holistically authentic, totally you approach.
Your Brand’s Purpose is a Loyalty Generating Superpower
It can be easy to get distracted with newfangled tools like AI or trends to inform your brand’s strategy. But getting distracted by the new shiny thing (that seems like a good idea at the moment) won’t help your brand cultivate much-needed long-term relationships with your customers. So what will? Your values and purpose.
Purpose is a superpower that steers a brand into the forefront of their target consumers’ minds. When invested in and established, your brand’s purpose attracts customers who believe what you believe, establishing a deeply personal connection that fosters immense loyalty and repeat business over the long term.
Whether your tourism brand promotes eco-conscious travel destinations, designs sustainable activewear that eliminates environmentally harmful sourcing, or supports the growth potential of their own employees and provides a better living wage, that purpose inspires. It inspires a higher calling for consumers to be part of something greater.
It’s more than spending money. It’s who they’re spending it with and what they’re spending it on. 96% of U.S. consumers report trying to behave in ways that protect the planet, its people, and its resources, with no significant difference in behavior across socio-economic, geographic or gender divides. Purpose establishes an affinity that transcends the transactional.
Your Brand’s Purpose in an Increasingly AI-Driven World
While innovations like ChatGPT and Midjourney have demonstrated AI’s potential to transform how we work, it can’t replace your brand’s underlying purpose and reason for being. A clearly defined why remains central to creating meaningful human connections and sustaining a competitive edge.
This means spotlighting your brand’s guiding values, central mission, and approach to ethical business. When these foundational beliefs shine through, consumers forge emotional bonds that hold more weight against considerations like pricing or convenience, even in economically uncertain times.
Locking in this loyalty is worth it: According to Acquia, 59 percent of U.S. consumers report that once they are loyal to a brand, the brand has their loyalty for life. How you live out your brand’s authentic purpose today has the potential to pay dividends for decades down the road.
Embrace Authenticity If Your Brand Doesn’t Have a Deep Purpose
Authenticity was the Merriam-Webster word of 2023. There’s a reason for that. Authenticity is nothing new, but thanks to advancements in tech (Hi, OpenAI!), the real deal carries more weight than whatever new shiny object is taking center stage. If the goal is to bring your consumers back, drive repeat purchases, and keep them actively engaged with a brand, practicing human authenticity is paramount.
Let’s look at the master of authenticity: Disney. It’s not just a universally beloved immersive theme park that guests love. It isn’t just far-off lands, thrilling rides, dancing music, and household name characters that have earned the brand its vast legion of ambassadors. It’s the seamless service and organization, the nostalgia and continued pop culture relevance, and the inclusive experiences outside the park’s gates that have kept generations coming back for more. Ask anyone who owns a pair of Mickey Mouse ears why they’re a fan of the brand, and they’ll likely answer with positive attributes like imagination, optimism, or childhood wonder.
Of course, Disney is a for-profit company. But it upholds positive values and leads with authenticity. True, it’s taken decades for Disney to build its brand to be the behemoth it is today. But it will be a long time before it is dethroned as the case study on how to build brand loyalty. And for good reason.
Authenticity isn’t intangible. And with today’s savvy consumers, it’s not hard to spot. It’s throughout your customer experience. It’s in the ways you approach customer service issues. It’s baked into who you partner with, where you source your products, and how you communicate internally and externally. It’s in the personalization details that take a ho-hum experience and make it memorable. Every detail and touchpoint of your brand is an opportunity to tie itself back to your brand’s identity to offer one holistic experience that is yours to own.
Data-Driven Touches Spark Emotional Connections
You don’t have to be a mind reader to create personalized moments and enhanced experiences for your guests. Dive into data to inspire your interactions and leave the guesswork out of it.
There are two ways to use the power of data to inform how you elevate your guests’ experiences. The first is using external third-party data for targeted marketing. Media partners provide psychographic and behavioral data to help you identify and reach your ideal audience segments through customized messaging. This goes beyond surface level demographic data to uncover details like consumer behaviors, unique interests, and the motivations and needs of your ideal guests. Knowing details like this open the door to crafting specific messaging that resonates with those who are already looking to visit, spend, and become loyal guests.
The second strategy is collecting first-party data directly from your guests. You already do it when they book, but take it one step further. If you don’t ask already, find out more information about the reason for their visit, or any special needs or preferences. Don’t ignore it — dig in and highlight how to provide personalized touches.
While third-party data offers useful marketing insights, directly collecting opt-in data from guests enables hyper-relevant personalization during the experience itself. A strategic two-pronged approach can help drive revenue through elevated experiences and emotional connections.
For hoteliers, this could look like offering:
- A free drink at the hotel bar in celebration of a birthday
- A handwritten note and bottle of Champagne for an anniversary
- Assistance with luggage for guests with disabilities, in a room equipped to accommodate their unique needs
- A special kids’ kit containing activities to keep children entertained
- Automatic late checkout for the girls’ or guys’ trip
There are many options for attractions as well, like:
- Highlighting milestone celebrations on welcome signage
- Giving each child a special gift or sticker on their first visit to remember you by
- Offering a free coffee from the cafe or 10% discount in the gift shop on their 2nd visit
Dream big and be as creative as you wish. The goal is to trigger moments of surprise and delight throughout your guests’ time with you to foster an enduring connection and trigger return bookings. The more relevant data points you can gather (consensually!) to anticipate your guests’ needs, the more meaningful moments you can deliver.
Surprise and Delight for Customer Retention, Not Just Acquisition
No matter what the economic outlook is, the emotional connection you establish with your guests lasts well beyond when they walk out the door. And when done well, that connection gives way to a word-of-mouth referral, an annual tradition, and a no-brainer to re-book. This connection is crucial for generating revenue, maintaining efficiency, and building brand loyalty.
True, creating captivating moments for guests isn’t free, but these memorable moments don’t have to be a big line item. Freebies can be as simple as a color-changing pencil with your destination’s name on it given to the kids on their way out the door.
The payoff goes beyond warm fuzzies. It’s more cost-effective to focus on providing your existing guests with an exceptional experience rather than constantly pursuing new ones. And, who knows? A complimentary guest portrait (Banksy style) from your contemporary art museum could morph into a membership.
As you exceed expectations, guests become fans, ambassadors, and repeat customers. By doubling down on joy-sparking moments in tough times, you secure not just survival but the chance to thrive — emerging stronger with brand advocates who say yes to the upgrade and come back for more.
The best results come from working together.
Ready for more? Let’s talk.