Semi- Extended Outline

As of right now, I do not have any concerns to address. If there are any other key topics I could add to my paper that would make it more interesting, I would love your feedback.

I. Introduction

a. Thesis- My objective for this research is to understand how online marketing creates the customer experience for travelers.

i. Background on my personal experience traveling to Vietnam and how it changed my life. This sparked my desire to travel the world.

ii. There are many tools you must know in order to understand the customer experience

1)Common research techniques
2)Current travel trends
3)Email marketing sector
4)Online businesses targeting online customers in the travel industry
5)Customer databases
6)The online travel industry and the recession
7)Key takeaways

II. The Body

1) Common research techniques

i. Many people type in key words in search engines like Google. Travel blogs came to my attention. People post blogs in detail. It can create an emotion for the reader and gives great advice to travelers going to certain destinations.

ii. The Internet has been the major source that travelers have used when getting information on tourism

iii. I found a blog title: When Places Don't Live Up to Your Expectations- Stories like these help the reader relate and can discourage them from booking a trip to destinations that give them a bad vibe.

2) Current Traveling Trends

i. Understanding the current traveling trends will help marketers understand the consumer. Understanding your consumer is vital if you want to gain a competitive advantage.

ii. One of the consumer trends is that consumers travel in order to discover themselves and seek to change their lives. Traveling is a way to escape into a new way of life and change their outlook on life.

iii. Another trend is that consumers travel to become educated. International tours have become very popular among travelers This is one of the trends I fall into.

iv. Another trend among travelers is that they like to have the option of customizing their vacations and in their own convenience. The goal is to have a user friendly website that would give travelers a good experience while booking their vacations.

v. Another trend is that people are starting to look at environmentally friendly trips. There are even "green hotels" that conserve energy

vi. The last trend is people go on trips to volunteer nowadays. It is a way for people to experience what other countries are facing.

3) Email marketing

i. Travel companies have been using email marketing to promote their products and services to consumers

ii. It is a great way to promote good deals for vacation packages. Customers have a great experience online when they feel like they are finding the best deals and saving money.

iii. Consumers feel more loyal towards companies that use email marketing because they feel that the travel companies want to maintain a strong relationship with them

4) Online Businesses Targeting Consumers

i. Online businesses can target consumers successfully only if they fully understand the consumer and how they think

ii. When consumers are looking at future travel destinations, they do not want to be bombarded with ads

iii. I will talk about the paradox of choice in this section because many websites have an overhwelming amount of choices that create difficult choices for consumers.

5) Customer Databases

i. Many online travel businesses have created customer databases to organize their client data information. This is importnat on categorizing individual customers' wants and needs.

ii. Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas is a great example of a business that has created customer databases in order to organize customer data and categorize customers into different sectors. By having this database, Harrah's has maintained relationships with many of its customers and have differentiated themselves from their competitors.

6) Online Travel Indsutry During the Recession

i. Profits have definitely plummeted since the recession

ii. Businesses have to reduce costs and a lot of businesses have had to offer extremely low prices just to stay in the game.

III. The Conclusion

7) Key Takeaways

i. Understanding the consumer is key to a successful business

ii. Differentiating your business is important to have a competitive adviantage over other businesses

iii. Being up to date with current travel trends is important when marketing to your consumer

iv. Creating a customer database is great for organizing clients into categories. This will help businesses market to individual consumers and fullfil their wants and needs.

v. User friendly websites give consumers a positive experience when booking their vacations