The travel market in China is vast – with 6 billion domestic trips made within China in 2019 alone! With a rapidly growing middle class, sophisticated travellers in China have the money and desire to see the world – and they’re prepared to pay for personalised, tailored experiences that meet their unique needs.

But although the Chinese travel market is hugely attractive, it’s also very competitive, with low conversion rates. It can also be very challenging for brands to distinguish themselves against a powerful array of incumbent brands, and to make themselves heard amongst the marketing ‘noise!’

However, with the right approach, it is possible to boost your conversions and maximise the results of your marketing campaigns and budget. The key to success lies in having a strong strategy, delivering it carefully and measuring the results of what you do to keep refining your approach. Here are five ways to see those conversions rise!

1. Optimize your website

Your potential customers will get their first impression of your brand via your website or app. So it’s vital to make sure your landing pages and homepage are tightly optimised for the best possible first experience. Generally speaking, you have just a few seconds to make this first impression, so every element must be considered, from functionality to imagery and design.

For the travel market, simplicity is critical. All good travel websites and apps must be simple and easy to navigate, with crisp copy, obvious functionality and easy, logical search functions. Mobile optimisation is key too, because most Chinese customers will view your digital assets on their smartphone.

Takeaway: Focus on simplicity. Your travel website and app should be simple, crisp and clear with logical user journeys. Use SEO-focused copy, targeted imagery and really focus on your USP. What makes your travel brand stand out? It’s also vital to continually test your website. A/B or split testing is the best way to boost your conversion rates, and you simply do it by comparing two slightly different versions of a landing page or app and seeing which has the best conversion rates. This can enhance your digital marketing learning journey by evidencing what your target customers want to see.

2. Work on the customer journey

When a customer comes onto your website or app, he or she has a desired intention in mind; and generally, this will relate to making a booking, or finding information about travel. This means that travel businesses should invest in customer journey mapping in five stages:

• The dreaming phase, when the customer is considering making a trip.
• The planning phase, where the customer is looking for information in order to make a travel decision.
• The booking phase, to physically secure the trip.
• The experience phase, which is the lived experience of the actual trip itself.
• The sharing phase, which can happen during or after the trip, which occurs when the customer shares their experiences of the travel – perhaps in videos or photos shared on social media, and reviews.

It’s important for travel businesses to think about how they might engage with their target audience through each stage, and to provide content that meets the needs of each stage. This could include information in a digital brochure format for planning, inspirational imagery for dreaming, simple online forms for booking and a reviews section for the sharing phase (perhaps with an incentive to share and tag content on social media.)

3. Create powerful calls-to-action

Your call to action will persuade your website visitors to make their bookings. To encourage this, always have a visible CTA which is highly visible, simple to understand, and ready to help the visitor make their desired action.

4. Use social proof

Travel brands tend to experience high levels of digital cart abandonment, which is where online visitors will go through the process of loading an online cart with a booking, and then abandoning it. Booking a travel experience tends to be a complex experience which can be both expensive and emotionally involving, and many customers will need time and encouragement to complete their booking.

Brands need to be able to show that they are reliable, trustworthy and able to meet their customers’ needs. Testimonials and reviews can be a good way to show your brand’s quality and legitimacy and grow trust. Show summary reviews on your website with key insights and points, and add comments and replies as required. If a customer leaves a negative review on a third-party site always seek to respond positively and show that you wish to solve the problem.

5. Remember to personalise your offer

Chinese customers want to enjoy highly personalised travel experiences, so the more that brands can customise their offers the better. This personalisation can include the offer itself – Chinese travel guides, welcome signs, customised tours, localised food – and the website or app. To personalise the digital assets your customers will use look at using unique landing pages and real-time deals that update using AI.

To help develop these assets, use AI tools and analytics to track customer behaviour. With this data, you can gain the insights you need to plan appropriate engagement methods. These could include unique landing pages, personalised email marketing messages and loyalty schemes to build brand loyalty and more conversions.

6. Make use of all digital channels

Chinese digital marketing is a complex and ever-evolving field so it’s vital to know where your customers spend their time online and then have a strong, consistent presence on those platforms. A Chinese marketing agency can help you identify the right platforms and create a powerful campaign that maximises your tactics for the best possible results.

Find out more

Market Me China is a one-stop shop for all of your Chinese digital marketing needs. Our digital marketing professionals have the skills and native Chinese language skills you need to succeed in this exciting, lucrative and rapidly growing market. Whether your brand is in travel, education or services space, we can help you win and convert customers, building your brand and a loyal audience for long-term gains. Please contact us to find out more about how we can help your business thrive in the China market.