Can a single Web site increase the number of visitors to a destination by 10 percent in just a year? Sounds almost too good to be true, but that’s essentially what Bob Wilke, the CEO of Baltimore-based circle.com, is claiming.
His interactive design company conceived, designed and implemented Bermuda’s official tourism Web site last year, using an innovative and proprietary application called a “weblet,” which Bermuda is using for customization through the Web.
Supported by the Bermuda government and a stateside public relations and advertising agency, the weblets are responsible for part, if not most, of the increase in visitors.
“The goal is to add 250,000 visitors from North America per year over the next four years, and we’re on track to do that,” Wilke says. Gary Phillips, the Bermuda Department of Tourism’s director, says the weblets have reached 5,000 people during “just a few months.”
“We anticipate that this figure will continue to grow as we use this personalized tool to cater quickly and directly to our guests’ individual preferences in order to create an ideal Bermuda vacation,” he adds.
As circle.com prepares to re-launch the Bermuda Web site this fall with a new look and more interactive tools, it is time to review how circle.com accomplished what for any other destination site is a lofty goal.
When a prospective visitor to Bermuda phones the island’s toll-free visitor information number, an operator asks for the caller’s e-mail address and for a list of his or her interests. Within seconds, the operator can issue a customized URL that contains information about Bermuda’s offerings in those areas of interest.
The page also contains a personalized greeting.
“For example, if they’re interested in diving and shopping, then the Web site will be built around that,” says Wilke. “They will perceive Bermuda as the best destination in the world for that particular interest.”
That’s only the beginning. A database tracks how often that prospect calls back and modifies the Web profile. That information then gets sent to a printing center where a fulfillment kit is printed-again, with the specific goal of making Bermuda look as if it’s got the best of the potential visitor’s interests.
The database is smart. It can e-mail invitations to return to the Bermuda Web site or it can follow up with a prospect. All told, the island’s weblet project can build more than 11,000 different permutations of personalized URLs based on information about the island. As more destination information is added, the number of permutations likely will increase.
“We literally have every restaurant and every property on the island listed on the site at the moment,” says Wilke.
The big question is, why hasn’t this been done elsewhere?
Well, it has. IBM is using weblets for some of its business-to-business customer sites. Circle.com also is in discussions with an airline, although it won’t say which one, and it’s working with the British Tourist Authority to handle that organization’s interactive marketing.
Part of the consideration is cost. Depending on the application and how rich it is with information, a weblet site could cost anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million. That may not be much for a large airline or travel retailer, but it can be a big chunk of a destination’s marketing budget. Circle.com handles all the dynamic Web applications and content development.
Another factor is the proprietary nature of weblets. Wilke refers to weblets as part of circle.com’s “dynamic marketing environment” — an entire marketing practice oriented around the technology. He declined to say whether the company had patented the weblets, but it’s a safe bet that reverse engineering the technology would be no small task.
It’s a shame, really. This is the kind of innovative use of the Web that destinations or travel suppliers could benefit from but that only a few seem to be taking advantage of. Circle.com’s methods deserve a closer look for those of us who want to innovate online.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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