Entrepreneur | Professional Services | High Tech & Telecom

Got2Go Travel

Relax. Regroup. Reconnect.

Recent events such as 9/11, the economic slowdown, and the war in Iraq have taken a serious toll on the travel industry. The volume of passenger travel across the board has dropped at times by as much as 50% from historical levels. Several airlines have declared bankruptcy and are struggling to restructure their businesses to address the new realities of the market. The retail travel distribution segment, including traditional store-front travel agencies, have also taken a beating. With fewer travelers and airlines cutting commissions to zero, agencies with a strong dependency on booking air travel found themselves in trapped in a non-viable business model.

The leaders of Got2Go Travel were determined to find opportunities in the swirl of uncertainty and doubt. By carefully selecting market niches, they are navigating a space littered with travel agent casualties and looming threats from "all-things-to-all people" Internet travel portals to build a real viable business, where the customer is the winner.

Helping a travel company take flight...

The Situation:

This travel company was trying to identify new distribution opportunities in the face of several challenges to the industry: reduced passenger travel, the elimination of commissions by major airlines, and increased use of the Internet by consumers for trip planning. The leaders of Got2Go Travel were also convinced that the window of time to leverage these opportunities was short and that they needed to get established in the market quickly in order to be successful.

Problem:

The leaders of Got2Go Travel recognized that they needed help in identifying the best consumer segments to pursue and how to reach them. They needed strategic guidance on branding, positioning, and messaging issues. They also needed assistance in developing a web site and releasing it to the public.

Objective:

The company engaged Marketricity to help build their market strategy and overall marketing program. This was, in effect, the launch of the company as well.

Description:

Over the last 12 months, Marketricity has acted as the "virtual marketing department" for the company, to date providing:

Business plan review and input
Market research on key segments in the travel industry
Competitive research on key industry players
Development of key messages
Development of a detailed marketing plan
Development of content for the web site
Implementation and management of the web site

The key deliverable was launching the web site, as this was the major source of new business for the company under the business plan. This meant identifying sources of web content on travel destinations and suppliers, as well as developing company specific content and messaging that differentiated it from the competition.

Results:

The company launched its first web site in June 2002, a mere 3 weeks after engaging Marketricity. The company has also followed the business development program and has established key relationships with suppliers in the industry. The company is in the process of leveraging Marketricity to complete a major revision of the web site to include more functionality, based on customer feedback.

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