Diane Clarkson's Blog

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

A recent analysis by PR firm Burson-Marsteller and Proof Digital Media found that more than half of Fortune 100 companies are using Twitter with two thirds of these companies using Twitter for some kind of customer service function.

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

When I speak with travel eBusiness professionals, it is clear that they value their customers and want this to be reflected throughout their online research to their travel experience.

Why then do travelers overwhelmingly feel that travel companies are failing to make them feel valued? Only 29% of online travelers believe travel companies are making strong efforts to make them feel valued.

I’ve wondered if there is simply a disconnection – that the best efforts of a dedicated marketing team can be thwarted by a weather delay, bad traffic, or a grumpy desk clerk.

We will be publishing a report shortly on making travelers feel valued. In the course of researching this report, I’ve paid a lot of attention to the how travel companies communicate. There is an old expression that the “devil is in the details”. I disagree. Sometimes the big picture is the accumulation of details.

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

I had the opportunity to attend Canada e-Connect last week in Toronto. This is Canada's e-Tourism Strategy Conference presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Mobile marketing and social media were two of the most popular topics both on the agenda and in conversations among delegates.

Certainly the most repeated conversation I had was about how the economic environment in the US will impact Canadian tourism. Beneath gloomy economy clouds, there may be some optimism for Canadian tourism with the possibility of Americans heading above the 49th parallel to seek the beauty of the Great White North and its' favourable exchange rate.

American travelers will not, however, be a "if you build it, they will come" situation. Canadian destination marketing organizations should consider the following to attract American travelers: