UK Ferry Tickets

Those who work on the cutting edge of technology love nothing more than a bit of jargon. In recent years we’ve had wap, wi-fi, blogs, portals, podcasts and taglines, to name just a few. The new buzz-phrase is 2.0.

At just about every press conference I attend, company executives are talking about how web 2.0 is powering a social revolution, which apparently is like an industrial revolution, but with people.

Behind the geek speak though, websites are changing. In layman’s terms, ‘2.0’ simply means that sites are becoming much more sophisticated at keeping in touch with people.

At UKferrytickets, we talk to people through this, and other, blogs and we use their testimonials on the site. Research shows that people value consumer opinions posted online more than statements from companies.

In future, you will see more websites with blogs from customers – basically online diaries from holidaymakers – and podcasts. Podcasts are currently all the rage and, basically, are a download of a person’s voice onto an ipod or MP3 player. They sound like amateur radio stations, but they can have their uses. For example, people download podcasts of particular walks, or guides around museums, and then listen to them on their ipod as they walk around.

Crucially, you will also see more sites making individual recommendations to people based on their tastes and preferences.

One of the reasons why amazon.com has been successful, is because it remembers your purchases and suggests other things that you might like.  For example, I once bought a book on an obscure Italian football team from the site and every time I log on it suggests 10 other football books that I might like to buy! Of course, this can be annoying and it assumes I have a very limited taste, but it’s still a good marketing tool.

A friend of mine loves American politics and has bought every series of ‘West Wing’ from amazon. The other day the company emailed him to say that a new series was coming out soon and did he want to order it? He paid on the spot. That’s superb marketing and the way many travel websites will go in the future.

Of course, it’s more difficult when you are selling holidays, for several reasons.

Often people want to travel to different places each year and their itineraries can be complicated. In addition, the margins on holidays are tight, because prices are so competitive, and it’s difficult to make a lot of money in the travel industry. The investment in technology required for some of these changes is expensive, so it’s likely to be seen in other industries first, but it will happen on holiday sites.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Tuesday, May 30th, 2006