Wednesday 3 July 2013

Vacation Rental Website Design - Identify your Customer

The goal of your vacation rental website design is to attract prospective travelers and convert their web visit into bookings. Fill your site with content that informs your customers.

Flesh out your Buyer Personas

vacation rental marketingSo who are these customers? Although the answer might seem obvious, you might be surprised about how much you can learn by developing a buyer persona.
Personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on analyzed data. The more data you have about your customers and prospects, the more useful your personas can be.*
Examine your customer’s demographics and online behavior. Invent personal histories, motivations, and concerns and then put the down on paper and maybe even name her.

"Valerie" the Vacation Rental Booker

As a vacation rental company owner or manager, the goal of your website is to increase bookings for your homeowners. Who do you want to attract?
Research your existing customer base to identify the most common booker. For example, let’s say you want to begin by developing a specific persona: a mother planning a family vacation. Here are questions* to help flesh out one of your ideal customers:
  1. What is Valerie’s demographic information? Based on your data, decide how old Valerie is, the number of childern in her care, her employment status, and where she lives. In this example, Valerie is 32 years old, has two kids, is employed, and owns a home in New Jersey.
  2. What is her job and level of seniority? Does Valerie have a demanding job? If yes, she doesn't have much time to research vacation rental companies. Therefore, your vacation rental company must achieve top search engine ranking to get found. Studies show that most web visitors never go to page two of an internet search.
  3. What does a day in her life look like? Valerie might wake up every day and take care of her school-age children, work eight hours, and then return home to feed her family or escort her children to after-school activities. So she needs a rental company whose website contains a large, sharp photos of the homes and a full-service booking system.
  4. What are her pain points? What problem will you help her solve? Valerie wants to see every corner of the home and property that she rents. Therefore, your website should include at least twenty clear photographs or a video tour of each property to supplement its list of amenity details, rental availability, and prices for every season.
  5. What does she value most? What are her goals? Valerie wants to make a memory that will last a lifetime and that starts with being able to entertain her family in a comfortable home. She wants easy access to activities for her kids. She also wants suggestions for dining and shopping. Make sure that your website contains a page that details your area’s main attractions.
  6. Where does she go for information? Valerie goes to the internet for information. She will search for vacation rental companies in your area so the quality and regularity of your content must surpasses that of your competiors. Because she is busy, Valerie also connects with her Facebook™ friends to find out what companies they recommend to book rental homes in your area.
  7. What experience is she looking for when seeking out your products or services? Valerie requires one-stop shopping: she wants to search your homes with defined parameters such as the number of bedrooms, pool availability, accessibility to local attractions, and region or town; she wants to ask questions so an immediate response from your company is crucial; and she also wants to book online and make a secure payment.
  8. What are her most common objections to your product or service? Valerie wants a pool table but doen't find one when she arrives at her rental home. Make sure all your rental information is current, including the photos.
Explore all your personas. Develop others such as a business manager arranging a company retreat, a couple searching for a reception venue, or an event planner looking for the perfect spot for a reunion. These details can help you discover the strengths and weakens of your internet marketing efforts.

Paveya is the only HubSpot partner who is a member of the Vacation Rental Management Association and specializes in vacation rental website design. Contact us to learn how to increase your web traffic and convert those visitors into bookings!

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