eCommerce - Taking business a step forward

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 30 September, 2009

On Friday 25 September 2009 I was invited to speak at the above titled forum organised by the Malta Communications Authority. The aim of the forum was to highlight 3 local case studies and also launch e-commerce business guidelines for businesses in the Maltese Islands.

Having guidelines to assist local companies is a good initiative especially since a section on taxation and cross-border VAT implications for products and services for EU or Non-Eu clients was also addressed.

I was asked to speak about my business experience in setting up and launching ChooseMalta.com as our first website and eventually all of the other 'Choose' travel sites that we own and manage.

In sharing my experience I vividly recalled the obsession I had with three main areas:

1. How many people visited the site

2. If google had indexed us

3. Number of online orders

I'm writing this in this blog as anyone out there who launched a website can probably relate to these initial 'obsessions'. Reality is that years down the line, you still monitor the above 3 areas, yet not as frequently, as when you launch a new site! Nonetheless, what changes is that the analysis of these 3 areas becomes deeper and more complex.

 

Do you market online?

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 15 September, 2009

"Yes, I have a website", is what some people say.
Having a website is just the first of many steps of ensuring your brand is 'reachable' online.

A website should be supplemented by banners linking to the website, to help you reach as many new visitors as possible.  Unless your website is at the tip of everyone's tongue (EBay?), or unless you rank first on various search engines including the top ones, with all the keywords associated with your website content (which is practically impossible - and still, not a very safe bet, since you would probably like to entice new visitors who were not really looking at searching for your category of brand) - banner advertising is imperative.

Banners on the world wide web first appeared back in 1994, and since then, the banner industry has exploded.  Quite reasonable considering it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users, TV 13, and internet a mere 5!

There are two types of positive banner outcomes, the first and most obvious is a click-through, where the viewer clicks the banner and follows through to the linked website, and the second is viewing the banner.  Whilst the second choice might seem rather passive and almost like the user is 'ignoring' the banner, this is not the case.  The brand is still gaining it's rightful exposure, and the user might visit the website once he is interested or in need of the product.

To make it simpler - what is the probability of you visiting a shop you have seen advertised on print, after viewing the advert on paper?

You might be interested in the advert, but you have to:
a) remember
b) find the time to visit the shop
...to say the least!

Now let's say you are online, browsing in the comfort of your home...you spot a banner with a product that interests you...and bam...you click, and find yourself browsing the company's website.  Busy?  No excuses:  hit ctrl+d and bookmark the page, and view it later ;-)

Therefore I consider web advertising much more effective than print advertising, and this is only one of the thousands of reasons I can think of off the top of my head!

Standard advertising options

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 11 September, 2009

The most commonly sold advert type is the banner; of which we have two different types - Skyscraper Banners (appear on right of page) and Island Banners (appear on left of page).

Listings in various categories are also commonly sought after, according to relevance and our restaurant listings are especially popular, having excellent  statistics.

For clients who wish to advertise on ChooseMalta.com and are not sure what type of advertising would work for them, we offer customised advertising tailored to suit your needs.  This ensures your product/service is promoted where applicable on the site in the best manner possible.  Packages with great prices are tailor-made to give the clients a positive advertising experience; my aim is to have clients to come back year after year and renew their campaign after all!

I am constantly brainstorming to come up with novel ideas, more soon!

Working hard behind the scenes.

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 27 August, 2009

Over the course of the last few months we've been working hard in the background to enhance your overall experience whilst browsing our site. Searching for a hotel can be over-whelming at times, we believe these new features will assist you whilst choosing and booking your hotel.

 

 

Recomendations
Last month, we released our recomendation/profiling framework. Put simply, this framework allows you to see what other customers are searching for and what hotels they are looking and booking. There are now two new 'pods' to look out for...

• What other customers are viewing...
  Located on the hotels homepage, this displays the four most frequently viewed hotels.
   
• Customers who viewed this item also viewed...
  Located on the hotel information pages, this displays four hotels that other customers have viewed similar to your recent search history.

Hotel Reviews (By our customers)
Nice images and - if available - video walk-throughs help when choosing a hotel, however these are almost always provided by the hotel. Over the last year or so we've been collecting reviews from real customers and are pleased to now include these reviews along side the hotel information. These reviews are from genuine customers, catagorised by type of traveler and are not vetted.  These reviews allow you to get advice from real travelers.

Near by Images
So many hotels focus on providing you with images of the hotel and its facilities that they forget to include images of the area. In collaboration with Panaromia (by Google) we now show area photos along side the hotel information to give you a 'feel' for the area.

We hope that these improvements will help you find the information you need to choose the right hotel for you more easily.

Chris

P.S. Last week, we also released some more destinations...

Why you should ChooseMalta.com for your advertising campaign!

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 24 June, 2009

A quick recap - in my last blog I mentioned the various advantages that web advertising has over any other media.  Once you decide that you want to advertise online, the next step is where to advertise.

With millions of websites around, finding the right one for you is a bit of a dilemma.
 
ChooseMalta.com is right for you if your business fits into one of the following categories:

• You own a business based in Malta in which your clientele, or potential clientele, is incoming tourism (for example restaurant, tourist attraction, typically local)
   
• You own a Malta-based business and would like to promote your brand to educate that it is available in Malta (for example, a local drink/international brand)
   
• You have a Malta-based business which could benefit from our 1.2 million unique yearly visits, regardless of what type of business it is.
• You have a business based anywhere else in the world (typically the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia - as these are countries from which the bulk of our visitors originate from), which would benefit from being promoted to the incoming tourism for Malta (for example credit card companies)
   
• You own an online shop, especially if you deliver to major countries/UK/Italy/Malta/Worldwide
   
• You own a local business which is not mainly targeted to foreigners, however would like to entice foreigners to use your service/brand

Every type of advertising we sell on ChooseMalta.com links to the particular advertised website, hence the client's site will benefit from the countless views and exposure.

More destinations, more choice...

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 8 June, 2009

Eastern Europe is steadily becoming a popular choice among European travellers. With an abundance of architecture and unspoilt country sides these destinations are a perfect choice for the more adventurous traveller.

ChooseToTravel.com has recently launched Slovenia, Romania and Latvia.  Each site contains essential Travel Guides and a vast array of hotels to choose from.

Remember - Take advantage of our price guarantee and our Book now - pay at the hotel policy!

Staycastions

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 8 June, 2009

According to Wikipedia a staycation is defined as "A staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions"  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staycation.

With the current economic crisis still in swing, we decided to launch a number of sites dedicated to UK travel.  You may not choose to stay at home but prefer to take a break locally; allowing you to 'switch off' and take the family away, whilst not incurring the full costs of a holiday overseas.  Ever been to Bristol or Brighton?  Fantastic places!

So if you're considering a holiday in England (locally or from abroad), then check out our new sites and take advantage of our price guarantee and our Book now - pay at the hotel policy.

 

New Search

Lincoln Grixti (Web Developer) | 28 May, 2009
The new search pod released yesterday is as easy to use as 1 2 3.  All you have to do is type the name of the city, region, or hotel you wish to visit, fill in your travel dates, how many people will be travelling and hit search. 

If more than one destination is found matching your query, or you misspelled it, no worries.  An intermediate page will suggest a list of results and allow you to choose the right one.

If you wish to search for a particular hotel, just type ‘hotel: hotel name’ in the search box and the list of matching hotels with that name will be returned.

We hope you like it and as always all feedback would be appreciated.

ChooseMalta.com Launches Tree Planting Programme

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 12 May, 2009

Should you choose to book a 4 or 5 star Hotel with ChooseMalta.com (Min. Stay Apply), we offer you a choice between a complimentary Airport-Hotel Transfer or the option of planting a Tree on your behalf in Malta.

We strongly believe that with such small initiatives we can make a difference and big changes are possible. By deciding to plant a tree, you as a traveller and us as the company, will together contribute to Malta's environment. There is no cost whatsover to you or fellow travellers yet we will be compensating for carbon emissions that will be expended from travelling to Malta!

Our Tree Planting Initiative is in partnership with the 34U campaign coordinated by the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment in Malta. Alternatively, should you simply wish to plant a tree for yourself or a friend please fill in the form here and we'll be in touch!

More destinations...

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 7 April, 2009

Yesterday we added more destinations for you to choose from:

Well done everyone,
Chris

KISS -- Keep it Simple Stupid

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 1 April, 2009

This morning we went live with a new look and feel!  We've been meaning to do this for a while and finally we were able to allocate some time to it.

The new look takes it back to basics and as the title of the post states "keeps it simple". 

We hope you like it; all feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks to all involved,
Chris

 

More destinations...

Chris Knights (Co-Founder) | 9 March, 2009

Last week we launched ChooseQatar.com, ChooseBahrain.com and ChooseBeirut.com.  Thanks to all involved.

More soon!

Latest news, in real time.

() | 16 February, 2009

We are well into the Web 2.0 era and as a company, we strive to keep ourselves and our websites up to date with the latest trends. We launched the NewsFeed last Friday and hope to continually improve it to bring you updates in real time, as they happen.

We believe it is important for our customers to know that we are a very active company and are constantly searching for ways to make online travel easier for you.

As always, should you have any suggestions, do not hesistate to contact us.

More pros for web advertising

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 2 February, 2009

Over the past weekend a friend of mine who works as a web developer was reading our ChooseToTravelcom blog posts and after reading mine pointed out that another important pro for online advertising.

Let's say one has a car equipment shop, so to say, and advertises on TV - chances are that out of 1,000 viewers, only a small percentage is actually interested and purchases vehicle equipment. 

On the web, the stats are different.  Should the same product be advertised on a car website, out of those 1,000 users the probability is that the bulk, not to say all - are people who are into car modifications and the lot and therefore purchase the products.

Seeing it from the point of view of the customer, or potential customer – as a car fanatic I probably wouldn’t be watching much generic TV but I would certainly be checking out car websites!

Web surfers have millions of options and ultimately will view the sites which are parallel to their respective interests and needs – leading to the fact that advertising online is not only the most cost effective, but also the most targeted media around.

Print advertising vs. web advertising and the latter

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 29 January, 2009

Prior to selling online advertising I used to sell print advertising.   Web advertising is so much more effective than print; let’s face it – where are you spending more time…on the web, or reading magazines?

Whilst print and TV advertising may not be as effective because an advert may be easily’ ignored’, there is no such thing as background internet.  The internet users are affixed to the screen whilst TV may be switched on but ignored and magazines may be thrown away…web adverts cannot be recycled…and are always online!

Web advertising is also the most cost effective medium around, allowing you to reach your target audience at the lowest cost-per-thousand.   Having said this, with web advertising you can reach thousands…and expand your potential target market to many times its current size.

Something important to mention is that advertisers must go where their customers are to reach them – and more and more than ever…customers are online.  The simplicity and ease of communication on the internet is of advantage to those advertising online – customers and potential customers can get in touch easily by email and get any query answered without the need of a telephone call/visit.

Web advertising can be easily measured – one can know how many people have seen the advert, or clicked on it – giving one accurate results.

Recently web advertising has secured itself as the preferred advertising method.  Considering web advertising has gained popularity only in the last decade or so, advertising online has gained a very quick popularity rise.

Why kill a tree when you can advertise online? :-)

Hi, my name is Nakita and I'm a talkaholic...

Nakita Vassallo (Advertising Manager) | 27 January, 2009

Have you ever heard of a brilliant salesperson who doesn’t like to talk for hours on end?

My very first word popped out at a mere 6 months old and I could speak in sentences aged one year.  Yes, I learnt to talk before I could walk – your tongue can take you places your feet can never walk to...

It was my gift of the gab, as I like to call it, which landed me my present job at ChooseMalta.com, part of the ChoosetoTravel.com network.  One of my now current bosses, Jonathan (who doesn’t like to be called ‘boss’, but well he’s got to be introduced…) tells me that I had sold him an advert which he didn’t even need…and hey presto…welcome to ChooseMalta.com…

Getting the basics right!

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 26 January, 2009

It’s easy to create and launch a website. It’s actually easier than many people think it is. Yet, creating the right platform to suit multiple users with varying internet skills is another story. My background is management consultancy and I have limited IT knowledge.  My partner heads the IT team yet they have a consumer centric approach. This in my opinion is key to any online business. The consumer’s web experience is crucial and this is in my opinion achieved by getting the basics right!

Our travel sites are not perfect and we constantly work to innovate and improve. Key elements are:

   1. Timeliness in product offerings
   2. Fast page download times
   3. Advanced search facilities
   4. Concise and relevant information
   5. Secure and no hidden cost element
   6. Easy to use and navigate

The elements listed above are not rocket science yet we all browse the net and encounter sites which break most of the basic rules. More important, the elements listed above are not just an IT wish list. Like traditional ‘brick & mortar’ companies, these key elements are a constant balance or work between inter-company departments. At Inspire we sincerely inspire to meet and deliver these elements so that consumers and suppliers like you have a great web experience with us. Enjoy!

The Double-C

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 3 January, 2009

The first time that the credit crunch (I call it the Double-C) really hit home was in London last November. I was attending the World Travel Market in London with Caroline and the whole mood combined with the slowdown in travel bookings got me thinking. Whilst I believe that the uncertainty element and the extreme media negative exposure does not help this recession will be tough yet not insurmountable. Travel is nowadays a necessity and not a luxury. We all need to escape and get out of our environment and we will still do so, yet with more attention. Some destinations and travel operators will hurt and these are the ones either targeting high yield customers or operators with high costs and exposure. For others it will be an opportunity to embrace this period and become more efficient. For online companies like ours we must now take the opportunity to promote the wide variety of better deals whilst giving better value to the consumer. It’s not easy but it’s not impossible! Within the next 4 months we will all learn how to live with this situation. We cannot control most external factors yet we must learn how to contain them. Basically, learn to live with and around it!

Another move...another office!

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 26 October, 2008

We have again taken over new offices at Msida to house our growing operation. The ChooseToTravel.com portfolio and team is growing at the rate of one new memb er of staff a month across the operation which now manages various travel sites including ChooseItaly.com, ChooseDubai.com and ChooseSouthAfrica.com.

The new 463 square metre office space gives us room to grow the business whilst also providing a more inspiring working environment for our dynamic team. We have 3 open pl an floors with operations and IT having one each. The third floor penthouse is a super comfy, Google style canteen with table soccer, Nintendo Wii, large shower/ wet room and a state of the art kitchen. We spend a large chunk of our life at work and a great e nvironment for a ll is crucial! Hopefully we will not move for a couple of years!

 

ChooseMalta.com Triathlon

Jonathan Shaw (Co-Founder) | 6 October, 2008

The 2008 ChooseMalta.com Triathlon Championsip was held yesterday Sunday 5th October in Salina Bay. Being event title sponsors for the second year running I had the honour to present the trophies to the winning athletes. Below is a summarised race report as written by Georgie Rutherford for Tri247.com.

The race, which is organised by the Malta Triathlon Association in partnership with ChooseMalta.com was based on the North coast of the island in Salina Bay and after a few stormy days leading up to the event, competitors woke on race morning to see the usual Malta sunshine had returned. At the 8am start, air temperature was already reaching 20C – bliss for the British competitors who had accepted the invite to take part but cooler for the Maltese who are used to daily temperatures of 40°C during the summer months.

The swim was in the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea and with water temperatures of 24C there certainly was no need for wetsuits. Sprint competitors did a 750m one-lap swim, standard athletes competing for the title of 2008 ChooseMalta.com Triathlon Champion, did a two-lap swim.

The title race for the males was a fierce battle from start to finish between brothers Dermot Galea, chasing his 8th consecutive title, and his younger sibling, Keith Galea (U23). The two lead out the swim, with Luke Bonnici hot on their heels through T1. Bonnici dug deep to try and close the gap on the bike, posting the fastest bike split of the day (1.03.57), and making it an exciting T2 with the three heading out on to the run. The race for the title was not going to be an easy victory with all three pushing the pace over the two lap, 10km run. Bonnici, suffering after his efforts on the bike dropped off the pace leaving the two brothers to fight it out for first and second. Neither Galea brother was going to give up and over the last 500m, with the finish line in site, Dermot gave one last kick to sprint away from his younger brother and retain his title for the 8th consecutive year.

The race for third was still on as Brian Magri stormed his way out of T2 to try and claim the final medal position, catching Bonnici after 6kms.

The women's race saw Danica Spiteri returning to try and also reclaim her title as Malta National Champion.