Most importantly, TotalScope solidified its place in the internet tour generation business by meeting face to face with its very important clients. Thank you Paul Carney with InnSeason Resorts, Rene DeGre and Mauricio Carreon with Fiesta American Vacation Club, Perry Williams and Jeff Buckwalter with New England Marketing Promotions, Leah Mussachio with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and all of our friends around town. We enjoyed our time and look forward to continued success in the coming year.

Right at home
So much of the discussions in the breakout sessions and in conversations in the busy hallways was on the topic of tour generation. This is no surprise as it has always been the hot topic of every convention. The difference this year was the focus on the internet as a vehicle to facilitate this process. We heard in one of the sessions that “there is yet to be true internet tour generation without telemarketing.” When we heard this, we looked at each other in disbelief because we have been doing this, granted on a very small scale, for several years. ResortScope.com sold its first purely internet generated tour 2 years ago and has continued to improve on the process. Now, TotalScope is taking the process vertical by creating and marketing micro-sites to hone in on this skill.

ARDA this year has helped TotalScope to re-define its “cause.”
TotalScope is committed to bringing the vacation ownership industry into the next generation of marketing by creating intuitive and compelling web-based consumer centric marketing models. Simply put, we are driven to change the way that timeshare is brought to the public and the way the public is brought to timeshare. We will strive to change the timeshare marketing paradigm by putting the consumers in control. Transparency and integrity are the keys to success and TotalScope will continue to champion these ideas throughout the industry.

Again, a big THANK YOU goes out to everyone for a great few days in the sun. Orlando continues to impress.

Our strategy was to launch targeted email campaigns to these leads with links to offer landing pages on a small website. However, one of the requirements was that the website had to know about the lead, and have access to the lead data. Further, all bookings had to be processed on the client’s systems, not on the website.

Traditionally, the process of sharing data from one system to another involved exporting data in the source system in comma-separated format (CSV) and uploading that file to a process on the target system for import. Some systems had automated procedures for this, and others were very manual. TotalScope Marketing decided to take a different approach: web services.

Web services is a way to expose business processes to other disparate systems using the Internet as the communication layer for the purpose of sharing data. What this means is that two separate and distinct systems can share data securely over the internet, regardless of what operating system, database, and web server is being used on either end. Further, web services are dynamic, giving you up-to-date access to data on other systems on demand.

To this end, we implemented a web service to accept batches of lead records to import into the website’s database and the client implemented a web service to handle booking requests.

In practice, the process works like this: targeted emails are sent to pre-qualified leads, containing links to offer landing pages on the website. Unique lead identifiers are embedded within the link, so that when the link is clicked and the landing page is displayed, the website retrieves the lead’s information from its database. When the lead completes a booking request form, the website sends the booking request data securely over the Internet to the client’s web service, which then processes the booking request within its existing system.

Phase 2 of this project will extend the web services model to eliminate the import of leads. Lead retrieval can occur on demand via web services on the client system. In practice, when a link to a landing page is clicked on in the email, the landing page will retrieve the lead’s information dynamically through a web service.

This method allows us to build any number of small websites for the client that are essentially shells. The real business data and processes already exist on the client’s system, and there is no need to reproduce that data in multiple locations, which saves time and money for the client.

What we are seeing as an upward trend, are affiliates that are using those same tracking URL’s from their host site, though not necessarily referring the the traffic to those URL’s from their own websites. They are taking those tracking URL’s and utilizing them in their advertising. Rather than bring the visitor to their own site first, they are bringing visitors directly to the host sites using the tracking URL’s. Here is an example of what I am referring to:

Website xyztennisshoes.com is an e-commerce website selling tennis shoes and other tennis paraphanalia. They have an affiliate program, where other related websites refer traffic to them and get credit for any sales. They also have a “virtual affiliate” that doesn’t even have a website. The virtual affiliate uses the tracking code embedded in the URL of the xyztennisshoes.com website.

The URL might look something like this: http://www.xyztennisshoes.com?affiliate_id=12345

A virtual affiliate will take this URL and use it in a Google AdWords campaign. The click is taken directly to xyztennisshoes.com and the affiliate would get credit for any sale made. Obviously the host site does not care that the affiliate is doing this sort of marketing because they are still reaching their objective…more traffic, more sales.

I am keeping an eye on this trend to discern if affiliates will be able to earn a return on their advertising investment. My guess is that affiliates with large databases of email addresses will be able to use direct marketing as a means to keep their costs down enough to make Virtual Affiliate Marketing a viable alternative to the traditional

Of course we will be there. Though this year will be different than years past. Michael Petrasko and Mark LaClair will be attending, as usual, to network with the industry’s VIP’s and to share in the celebration of another successful year. The 2 principals of TotalScope Marketing and timeshare website, ResortScope.com, will be attending all of the meetings and convention gala that ARDA has grown to be.

The goal this year, however, has changed from the casting of a wide net, to the laser spearing of the best fish in the timeshare pond. The founders are participating in this year’s convention to seek partners for long term vertical marketing relationships. TotalScope has pioneered a mousetrap that works, to bring leads to marketers and tours to development projects around the globe. The Internet is where its at, and TotalScope is there, leading the way.

The ARDA convention alternates annually between Orlando and Las Vegas, where 4000+ attendees gather to share ideas and business cards with their colleagues. Highlights of the show include the vast array of educational sessions, the exhibit hall, and general sessions with profound speakers who educate and entertain. However, the reason we all go…is to network. The vacation ownership industry’s most important people will all be within a 1/2 mile radius at the same time. The atmosphere is professional, yet casual and the people are all fantastic. Everyone is there for the same reason…to continue the growth of the timeshare industry and to have a little fun with their peers.

A successful show for the TotalScope staff will be to make connections with other vendors who can provide traffic to its resort industry clients websites. TotalScope is looking for partners that can produce qualified leads to the various microsites that are generating tours, such as CMSGetaways.com. TotalScope is also looking for marketing and developer partners in new destinations and markets not already covered.

The convention kicks off on Sunday, March 25th and concludes on Thursday, the 29th. If you are interested in meeting with us while in Orlando, please do not hesitate to Contact Us. See you there!

Long term goals (1 year +) typically include brand development, brand awareness, and customer retention. Obviously, tactics to deploy for these goals are much different than those of the short term. We may employ an affiliate marketing strategy, SEO, and email communications, all of which need time to gain traction. Some of these campaigns can be a more cost-effective means of generating traffic, leads, and sales because they have been developed over time, not overnight.

When consulting with any new client, I am always interested in what the marketing goals are. For each, their definition of short term and long term differ greatly. Some know exactly what they are trying to establish, and others are looking for guidance. Yet, for all, understanding the value of short term and long term strategies helps to determine the best course of action.