How to win the travelers’ micro-moments

Today, time is no longer counted in days, hours, minutes or seconds. But we can talk about micro-moments. The unprecedented growth in our use of smartphones has created a new sense of time: a day now consists of alternating experiences and moments, which tend to be short. Some of these moments, which happen to be particularly short, are directly related to the smartphone user’s relationship with their device. We call these “micro-moments”.

Google published a number of articles on micro-moments, which are the times when we’re online and awaiting something specific from this digital device which we’ve adopted so wholeheartedly. These moments can be classified as different cases of “I want”. I want information, I want to buy a product or service, I want to have fun… and all instantaneously! The initial feedback from brands which have integrated these micro-moments into their strategy is particularly illuminating.

Credit: Think with Google

Within the tourism world, which is of particular interest to us, everything is technically ready for an advertiser to be present in real time and to respond to consumers’ overwhelming need for immediacy. But what about you? Are you ready to respond to these consumers? Do you know how to make the link between your business and their expectations, during these short periods of time? Do you know what to do to best make use of these moments in terms of your own objectives?

The prerequisites

To make the most of these micro-moments, you need to respond to two essential prerequisites:

• Immediacy: during these micro-moments, the mobile user is ready to make a decision straight away, to find out information, to find a service, to do or buy something.
• Suitability: To engage the mobile user, your service must be quickly understood and easily accessible or implemented.

Some examples

When it comes to travelers and tourism, we’ve highlighted some of these critical moments:

• “It’s been raining for the last 15 days, I’ve left the office and I’m on public transport. I want some sunshine. I’m going to see where I could spend a few days in the sun.” In this case, a presence on sites which list sunny winter destinations can be particularly effective. (click for example)
• “I’m on the plane, I’m watching a film and I’m starting to imagine myself on holiday. What do I want to begin with?” In this case, it’s important for a tourism company to be included in the interactive guides offered as part of passenger entertainment systems (click for example).
• “I’ve finished visiting a museum and I’m hungry!” In this case, nearby restaurants who have ensured that their online reputation is good will be quickly chosen.

The iterative approach

Despite the very high number of these micro-moments in a tourist’s day, whether before, during travel or once there, you must adopt a methodical and iterative approach:

• Start by developing a very simple mapping of the daily micro-moments of your target audience by putting yourself in their place.
• Clarify the expectations of your target audience for each identified micro-moments.
• Select a few micro-moments which seem most consistent with your services.
• Use contextual technology to ensure that you’re present, delivering the best possible message.
• Ensure that the experience that you’ll deliver on mobile or tablet is simple and efficient (in terms of information loading time, responsive design, etc.).
• Measure the ROI.

Draw conclusions: Do I need to improve my message or the way in which I deliver it? Should we abandon this touchpoint and remove it from the mapping? Imagine other micro-moments and start the process again. You’ll see, your mapping will quickly expand, and you’ll only retain the most effective options for your business!

One last tip: mobile users, especially millennials love social networking. Don’t forget about the “Share” option. It can have a very positive impact on your online reputation and can provide you with new customers.mobile micro-moment traveler engagement immediacy