During the great recession of 2008 and 2009, UK based sunshinetravel.co.uk was floundering just like everyone else. Thousands of people were losing jobs. Consumers were canceling travel plans. Airlines were going bankrupt.
The UK travel industry lost £2.1 billion in profit in 2010 alone.
Amidst this turmoil, Sunshine Travel with help from Conversion Rate Experts, made changes to their site and ended up making an extra £14 million dollar. Here’s how they did it.
They began by surveying their customers. They asked customers what they liked and disliked. Anyone who filled out the survey got a chance to win the cost of their last vacation. They asked open-ended questions like “How would you describe us to a friend?” The customer survey yielded gold.
They learned that their prices were confusing. The prices were so low that customers found it hard to believe. So they made prices more clear by adding details like price per night and price per person.
They learned what their best customers liked and then highlighted those points on the site. Talking to their customers is how Sunshine Travel survived and thrived.
But which customers should you talk to?
There are two types of customers that are the best for surveying:
1. Your current best customers – these are customers who are buying frequently from you. They love what you are doing.
2. Your lost best customers – these are your best customers that you have lost. These customers used to order frequently but then they stopped. Talking to them will help you learn what needs to be fixed.
RewardCamp’s analytics shows you both, your current best customers and the ones you have lost. Sign up for a free trial of RewardCamp and make more money.