Inbound marketing funnel for B2C tour operator / Case Elämysmatkat
Pippi, Alexander (2018)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018112918970
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018112918970
Tiivistelmä
The way businesses market their services and products have changed a lot in the past 20 years. The old method of pushing the information to as many people as possible through tv, radio, billboards, direct mail and newspapers etc. has lost its importance remarkably. Indeed, the internet and various digital devices have shifted the power from companies to consumers. The consumers are now capable of both to search valuable information and to shop online wherever and whenever they feel like. This has led companies to modernize their online marketing methods. A solution to excel online marketing is called inbound mar-keting where the purpose is to pull the customers to companies with compelling content and start a meaningful two-way relationship.
This product-based thesis is commissioned by Elämysmatkat, a Finnish tour operator or-ganizing sport and adventure travel packages principally for B2C sector. The purpose of the thesis is to construct an inbound marketing funnel that gives guidance and instructions for Elämysmatkat on what kind of marketing techniques and content should be utilized throughout the B2C customer’s online journey. The funnel takes one customer segment, downhill skiers, as focus point. Hence, a fictional buyer persona is formed to depict the customer segment more precisely. The persona is created and based on a semi-structured interview conducted with a person of this target group.
The product - the inbound marketing funnel - is constructed on the basis of HubSpot’s in-bound marketing methodology, theory of the buyer persona and the main elements of in-bound marketing, and the results of the research methods. Besides being a guideline for online marketing actions, the funnel aims to transform strangers of a company into promot-ers who refer the brand to their friends and family.
The theoretical framework together with the empirical part forms the final product. The em-pirical part constitutes of two different research methods. Firstly, an interview was con-ducted to form the buyer persona. Secondly, an online survey was created for Elämysmat-kat newsletter subscribers to discover which online and digital channels they preferably use and what type of content they prefer to consume.
On the basis of the combination of the theory and the empirical research, a functional in-bound marketing funnel was created. The complete funnel, which can be found from the appendices of the thesis, is applied together with the established buyer persona to demon-strate the applicability of the model. Both the commissioning company and the author were satisfied on the outcome of the thesis project i.e. the product. The future implementation of the funnel will tell if it is a success or not.
This product-based thesis is commissioned by Elämysmatkat, a Finnish tour operator or-ganizing sport and adventure travel packages principally for B2C sector. The purpose of the thesis is to construct an inbound marketing funnel that gives guidance and instructions for Elämysmatkat on what kind of marketing techniques and content should be utilized throughout the B2C customer’s online journey. The funnel takes one customer segment, downhill skiers, as focus point. Hence, a fictional buyer persona is formed to depict the customer segment more precisely. The persona is created and based on a semi-structured interview conducted with a person of this target group.
The product - the inbound marketing funnel - is constructed on the basis of HubSpot’s in-bound marketing methodology, theory of the buyer persona and the main elements of in-bound marketing, and the results of the research methods. Besides being a guideline for online marketing actions, the funnel aims to transform strangers of a company into promot-ers who refer the brand to their friends and family.
The theoretical framework together with the empirical part forms the final product. The em-pirical part constitutes of two different research methods. Firstly, an interview was con-ducted to form the buyer persona. Secondly, an online survey was created for Elämysmat-kat newsletter subscribers to discover which online and digital channels they preferably use and what type of content they prefer to consume.
On the basis of the combination of the theory and the empirical research, a functional in-bound marketing funnel was created. The complete funnel, which can be found from the appendices of the thesis, is applied together with the established buyer persona to demon-strate the applicability of the model. Both the commissioning company and the author were satisfied on the outcome of the thesis project i.e. the product. The future implementation of the funnel will tell if it is a success or not.