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Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Social Media Marketing: A Different Perspective

With the advent of internet, digital marketing has taken place the concept of physical marketing. While talking about online marketing strategies, the social media contributions come to the forefront. Today, approximately 9 out of 10 people have their accounts on social sites; thus, for marketers this medium is one of the most important platforms to reach their target group and market their respective products/services in the niche markets. Research shows that around 80% of consumers do research over internet and around 65% of them order products and services online. Moreover, it’s also been found that product/service recommendation on social sites influences the consumers to a large extent and increases the overall sales of the product/service.

While social media is gaining momentum as an important marketing channel, it’s also becoming critical for the experts to understand how this virtual world actually works. So how should marketing professionals approach the potential consumers – by adding fun in their approach? Speaking in everyday, colloquial language? Establishing a more relevant, yet intentionally non-corporate online presence?

All these are partially correct, but one aspect that experts need to understand is the nature of user behavior. There is a phenomenon in linguistics known as “code-switching”; it means to use multiple languages simultaneously in a single conversation. A recent research shows that code-switching has its prevalence and significance on a social and cultural level too.

Even in our everyday life, we use this technique. For example, when we speak to the management authorities or our colleagues, we use a corporate tone; and suddenly if we get a call from our friends or family members, we morph into an entirely different, perhaps seemingly complete different persona. The key here is that though we use different tone while speaking with different people both the tones are inherently ours. A study of code-switching reveals that we not only express different aspects of our personality at different times, these aspects play a great influence on our decision-making process, our preferences and our actions.

While using the social network as a marketing tool, we must consider this very nature of human beings. On social networks we must not assume that when a visitor visits our page, they would instantly react as a corporate person. We must consider that people not act, reach, respond and engage solely as a professional, but as nuanced human being.

However, to connect on a human level doesn’t imply to abandon the marketing objectives. Branding of your product/service and earning good revenue returns much depend on good marketing plans. Thus, creating content keeping in mind the needs, taste and preferences of the user group is the best way to market your product on social networks.

Evaluating the user behavior and creating content according to their taste is the fundamental rule to dominate the social media market. We never say that there is any sure shot formula to get overnight success on social networks; it requires patience and proper planning and of course, the advice of some experts.

via - Internet Booking Engine

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Must have Gadgets for Frequent Travelers

Whether or not, one has to agree that we cannot be completely free of our day-to-day life even during the vacation. Though we call this time a complete aloofness from all worries, office projects, clients etc. we cannot completely ignore it. We belong to a tech-dependent culture where gadgets like mobile phones, computers, e-readers and tablets have become a part and parcel of our everyday life. Thus, while packing for your holiday, don’t forget to carry some of the important gadgets that might serve you while in a critical situation. We have enlisted a few important items that have to be there in your must-to-pack list, especially when you are journeying to a place you haven’t been yet.

Smart Phones: A smart phone leads the list, certainly for its multi-functionality. Apart from voice calling and texting, which are the basic functions that a mobile device performs, a smart phone can function like a PC. With it one can check mails, get news updates, access social networking sites, share files etc. Some recently launched smart phone also have the feature of screen share which enables sharing of live images.

Mini Notebook: While travelling, you always want to carry less; mini notebooks are best for travelers as these consume less space, and are light and easy to carry. These can easily fit into your gadget bag and offers you the same advantages that a bulky laptop has to offer.

Camera: The second or I would say the most important gadget to carry during a trip is a camera with good resolution. An SLR or DSLR certainly best serves the purpose, but don’t lose your heart even if you don’t have one. If you aren’t passionate about photography and want some good clicks as a memorabilia of your trip, digital camera would sufficiently enough to serve your purpose.

Headphones: The journey hours often become exhaustive for most travelers; thus, listening music is a good idea to stay entertained, at least during long journeys. There are also noise-canceling earphones available in market today which prevents the disturbing noises to reach your ear, allowing you to enjoy a good sleep during a long-haul flight or train journey.

MP3 Player: For music lovers, an MP3 player may work as a rejuvenating dose. Listening to music is the best way to get entertained and kill the long journey hours. Moreover, music also helps relax your senses and gives you a refreshing feel.

Solar Power USB Charger: When you are journeying to some distant destinations, there is nothing worse than having your devices going flat, especially when you need them the most. A good way to escape such situation is to invest on a solar power charger that can charge your devices only with the solar energy.

Universal Power Adapter: Since various countries have different designs and standards for electrical outlets, people travelling from one country to another must have a universal power adapter to their list of gadgets. Such adapters are not only compatible to different wall electric outlets, these also work as a converter that converts the sort of current available within the country to some type which is compatible with your device.

Whether you are travelling for pleasure or for business purpose, the mentioned list of gadgets help you stay updated, entertained and in touch with the world. Travelling to your dream destination becomes a real fun with these trendy yet useful travel gadgets.

Monday, 15 April 2013

Internet Booking Engine: A potent tool to survive market competition

In our last blog, we have talked about how technology has bridged the gap between merchandisers and customers. With the ever emerging market competition, it has become crucial for the organizations to become technically sound, as it is the only key that can make them survive the competition. Among the list of technical tools, internet booking engines are the industry’s newest and most important software implementations that simplify the entire task of reservation both for the consumers and for the merchandisers. Internet booking engine is a type of online reservation system where the customers can easily check availability and make their reservations by sitting at the comfort of their office or home, or wherever they want.

Internet booking engines are of various types and come with their share of benefits. Let’s discuss how different organizations can benefit from this advanced technological tool that brought a renaissance in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

Airline Booking Engine: Airline industry was the first to introduce this revolutionary tool in the mid 20th century. It was a great transition period for the industry; the introduction of this tool not only simplified the entire reservation process, but made it almost error free as well. Over the years, it has developed immensely where modern airline booking engines come with multiple other functions such as flexible fare selection, forward and backward date search, customer registration and profile, real-time credit card verification and charge, internal fare database, confirmation of reservation and a host of others. The online reservation systems let the airline companies to configure all the functionality they need to manage their revenue while allowing them to quickly adapt their sales model to changing market conditions.

Hotel Booking Engine: The hospitality industry is one of the fastest growing sectors where ever-increasing market competition pursuing the hoteliers to search for alternative sources to attract more and more customers. To cope up with the situation, most hotels are taking help of the digital media. The introduction of hotel booking engines made the entire hotel reservation system easy and convenient both for the guests and for the management. One of the most important aspects of such software is the reduction of mistakes made during the booking process. It is vital to address these mistakes as these may lead to serious monetary losses. However, while setting up a booking engine for hotels, the hoteliers should consider making it both user-friendly and intuitive so that every section of customers can use it without any hassle.

Cruise Booking Engine: While booking a journey on-board a cruise, passengers always want to get comprehensive information about the journey, the journey hours, the cruise facilities and the deck arrangements etc. An advanced cruise booking engine can show all these details along with performing other tasks such as making transactions and reservations. With the help of such software, the cruise liners can show all the detail of their cruise ship when a customer visits their website for reservation.

Booking Engines for Mobiles: Over the years, we have noticed communication media undergoing several phases where advanced technological innovations constantly upgrading the means of communication. The mobile reservation applications work similarly like that of a booking engine in your website. By downloading these applications, the customers can easily search for availability, get rates and also can make booking on the go. Along with convenience, it offers full security to the users.

Technology has empowered us in various ways and simplified our lives than ever before. Other than hotels, cruises and airlines, the car rentals, bus service providers and several other organizations are taking advantage of this advanced tool to serve their customers in a better way. With the constant innovation in the field of travel technology, it is expected to offer various other tools and products to simplify the working of the organizations worldwide.

Monday, 18 March 2013

Travel Technologies: Bridging the Gap between Merchandiser and Consumer

In this globalized world, technology has enabled us to travel beyond time and space, but still there are people who love to be challenged by the new and thus sets on for expeditions every time they get a chance. For some, vacationing might be another way of spending some leisurely days, but for a majority of others holidays give a chance to know the unknown and explore the unexplored. Earlier, travelling was much of a struggle as it was a great deal to find a reliable tour operator who actually can offer them some lucrative travel deals. However, the scenario has changed to a large extent and all thanks to the present development in the technology field; now it all comes down to personal control and convenience.

Travel technology has formed a two-way bridge between the customers and the tour operators; now both the parties can reach each-other within a few clicks. Let us consider some of the aspects that have contributed towards this communication system:

Websites: In the virtual space of online media, website is one of the most effective ways to reach the targeted group of customers. A website contains every detail about a particular organization, its products, services and offerings. Today, most of the recognized tour operators have their websites from where the customers not only can know about the organization, but can directly contact them for any query or information.

Mobile Applications: Though it’s new to the market, the mobile application has caught the limelight within a short span of time. It helps airlines, hotels and travel agents to maintain a constant communication with their customers and on the other hand enable the user to get latest updates on deals and offerings even while on the go. Moreover, you can also book your travel package through these applications only.

Booking Engines: For the airline industry, booking engines proved to be an advantageous factor that made them increase their profit margin. Booking engines are applications that help travel and tourism industry support reservation through the internet. The invention of this tool has digitized the entire booking procedure, and ensured a lesser scope for errors or factual mistakes.

Social Media: In the field of digital marketing, social media has become one of the potent tools to reach a large group of consumers within a lesser time span. Being one of the largest industries worldwide, travel and tourism sector is offering their products and services in a lucrative way through different social media networks. It not only helps to increase the bottom line of any company or organization, but creates interest and brand awareness among the customers as well.

Technological inventions have opened new doors for the travel and tourism industry. It has minimized the distance and brought people closer than ever before. What you need to do is to choose the right technology that can make your journey pleasurable and memorable.


Monday, 25 February 2013

Mobile Applications: Adding More to Tour Travel Experience

It won’t be wrong to name the present world a ‘digitized globe’ where communication technologies have reached the doorsteps of millions of people. With the increasing popularity of smart phones, the demand for mobile applications (apps) has also been increased. Along with various other industries, the tourism sector is also reaping its fruits. Having a mobile application for the organization such as airlines, trains, hotels and tour operators is a great way to stay in touch with the targeted group of customers round the clock.

The history of mobile applications does not take us to a primitive era. It was in the end of the 20th century that mobile manufacturing companies started developing apps to resist the market competition. Small arcade games, calendars, ringtone editors and calculator etc. are some of the first known apps that captured millions of hearts. The beginning of the new millennium saw a rapid market evolution of mobile content and applications. Development of mobile operating systems, such as Windows Mobile, Symbian, RIM, Android and Mac iOS opened up new business opportunities for the organizations.

From having fun to do some serious works, these applications actually take us to a completely different world. But what actually made the tourism industry to opt this new trend? Let us have a glimpse of some of the key factors behind this:
  • Through the mobile app, the airlines, hotels and travel agents can keep a constant communication with their customers, which in turn help them getting more business.
  • It is also a hassle free and convenient process for the customers to get latest offerings, updates and travel deals on their phones while on the move.
  • Some mobile apps need no internet connection to operate; though they won’t give you an updated news, it sometime works magically when you are in a remote area where the internet connectivity is not available.
  • Sometime apps also help to create a brand image. Now a days, it is considered an inevitable part of branding and brand promotion phase.
  • Some mobile apps enable the users to find details about hotels or other services, read reviews and make bookings using their smart phones only. This is one of the prime reasons for the increasing popularity of the travel mobile apps.
Whether you are a frequent traveler, a leisure seeker or an occasional voyager, these apps would surely make your journeying experience all the more ease, joyful and exciting.

Wednesday, 13 February 2013

Travel Technology: Revolutionizing The Way You Travel

Over the last few years, the tourism industry has experienced a rapid boom worldwide. This vast change in the entire tourism scenario has given birth to a relatively new phenomenon, the travel technology market. It is also anticipated that over the next two or three years, the IT technology would fuel major changes in the way people travel from one place to another.

In the general terms, Travel Technology is defined as the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Earlier, the term was majorly associated with Computer Reservation System (CRS) of the airlines, but now it incorporates a broader tourism sector as well as the hospitality industry.

The tourism industry has been vastly changed with the emergence of globalization. But now the question is how this concept emerged? Many thinkers consider technological developments as the main facilitator and driving force behind most of the globalization processes. From getting the information about different destinations, booking travel packages to receiving the directions to the place, everything have been made so easy, thanks to the developments in the digital communication systems.

Even the travel, tourism and hospitality industries are also reaping the benefits of the technological development and reaching a vast community of people in a shorter period of time. Now, no one is out of reach and all thanks to the Internet facilities. The discovery of smart phones revolutionized the way people used to interact with each other; electronic mails, messaging and sharing tools have made it easy to communicate with others and to get an instant feedback.

In this blogging site, we would try to cover the diverse aspects of travel technology that contribute towards making the travelling experience all the more easy and enjoyable. Keep your eyes on our blog to get yourself updated about the technology market along with knowing the latest travel trends that the world adheres to.