Organic Search and Email Marketing are the most effective channels for driving customer acquisition for Travel Brands

Chart of the Day: Travel Sector finds earned & owned media like organic search and email marketing the most effective for gaining new customers.

We all know customers don't like ads, and have got especially good at ignoring them or blocking them when they're online. Now this is really starting to filter through into the channels driving results online - Organic is rated as more effective than Paid Search or Affiliate marketing, at least when it comes to acquisition for travel brands.

The travel industry involves single big-ticket purchases - with customers only occasionally engaging in repeat business.  This makes it very different to many other industries, especially FMCG, where it's low margins and repeat purchases that are the name of the game. Therefore I'd be very wary about applying these findings outside of the travel industry. But the implications for travel brands are clear - invest in exceptional content to build organic visits, and develop an email marketing team with the ability to target customers with personalized content.

• Source: Report: Benchmarking Performance Marketing and Digital Strategy in the Travel Industry
• Sample: Executives working for major travel brands
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