If you read the analysts reports or follow Google’s announcements to the Street, you no doubt know that paid search is now a global industry worth around US$31 billion (according to ZenithOptimedia). In the Asia- Pacific market alone it is enjoying double digit growth annually and is worth somewhere in the region of $7.6 billion. But much of this wealth is generated through so-called marketing-savvy organizations that are paying to acquire the same customers over and over again, without a second thought. And those in the travel industry are as guilty as any.

On the other hand the global CRM industry is only a fraction of this in value as a market, but to those in the know the knowledge and services that are provided from within drive customer contact strategies that regularly deliver sales and a return on investment many multiples of that of your latest key words.

While there is no doubt that paid search and probably more importantly SEO have a place in the arsenal of any acquisition marketer, the level of investment that it enjoys from brands is at odds with the long term value it can bring to your business, particularly in the travel industry. With the end still not in sight to these times of economic uncertainty, and with the prices for popular keywords constantly moving upwards (up 24% over the last 12 months according to Efficient Frontier), the focus should most definitely be on retaining your existing customers and doing all you can to be front of mind when they are in research and purchasing mode.

Here are 5 tips to ensure you build profitable customer relationships that see customers returning over and over again without a trip to their nearest search engine.

1. Analyse what your customers do, and not what they say: While surveys and questionnaires can be useful in some situations and can most definitely give you deeper insight into your customers lifestyle, nothing compares to tracking and analyzing exactly what they do and using that to target offers and promotions. The power of real time web site analytics and email campaign monitoring cannot be underestimated when built into an overarching multi-channel CRM strategy.

2. Build personas for key customer groups: Within the travel vertical it is very easy for any data analyst worth their salt to build out models that readily identify your key consumer personas and help you identify the "who": the corporate business traveler, the SME business commuter, the school holiday travelers and the global jetsetters. Take the time to analyze the data and build the personas that best reflect the actions of your customers. These can help you build out the different life cycle communications that will anticipate behavior and allow you to interact and communicate with your customers before they "do the Google on you" and you pay to acquire them again.

3. Limit the options: Do not fall in to the trap that so many travel companies do by trying to be all things to all people. Complexity is a turn off, and can easily confuse a would-be repeat customer. Focus on refining your offer whether it is based on origin, destination, type of package or whatever. If you have done your ground work and thought hard about the "what" and "who", the value proposition of your offer should be clear and concise, with a clear call to action. I can guarantee you the take up will be strong.

4. Understand the value of your customer data and invest accordingly: Very few organizations go through an exercise of valuing their customer data as a corporate asset. If you do not know how, ask any of your finance team and or business analysts to help you value it as they would any revenue generating asset. I can assure you the results will be eye opening, and if as a marketer you are able to discuss your marketing goals and financial drivers in terms that a C-level executive or Finance director will understand, your budgets will only be going in one direction.

5. Test, Test and Test again: No two consumers are identical, even if they exhibit similar traits. Build control groups for all your personas and regularly test your contact strategy, offers and channels across these personas to ensure you are doing all you can to drive results. If you have to segment further and automate where possible within the lifecycles you build.

With the travel industry in Asia continuing to grow, and with the abundance of data available at the individual consumer level, the travel industry is destined to lead the way in driving rich and valuable anticipatory customer experiences to the consumer that drive profitable growth. The early adopters of search in the travel industry already understand its limitations and are rethinking their strategies at a global level to address this. If you are not fine tuning your strategy now, then get on board quickly because the flight CRM101 is leaving soon, and those left behind will have an uncertain future in this truly competitive industry.   

This article was Published in two parts at TTG Asia respectively at issues:

Jun 25 - Jul 1, 2010: Searching for CRM
Jul 9 - 15, 2010: Mining client data