Three Cs En Francaise

Content, community or commerce?

If you’re in the online travel business, the question needs no introduction, no context, no explanation. These are the three infamous “Cs” of our industry. It’s a problem we mull almost every day in our effort to strike a balance between making our travel sites compelling and, at the same time, commercial.

Instead of recycling the same old arguments for and against — and rather than weighing in on the merits of a commerce-heavy model (the prevailing trend in today’s travel business) — let me introduce Bonjour Paris, a site that’s managed to achieve a contrarian combination of all three elements.

Bonjour Paris is an online community for Francophiles. This January it migrated from its home on AOL to the Web, although it continues to maintain a presence on the proprietary online service. Interestingly, Bonjour Paris doesn’t take ads or collect membership data (it claims 8,500 “subscribers”): it’s subsisting (at least initially) on affiliate relationships.

Moreover, the site appears to be resonating with its audience: users spend an average of 18.5 minutes at Bonjour Paris, which is well above the average.

I spoke with Karen Fawcett, the site’s president, about how the project has evolved — and how she’s managed the three Cs in the process.

Here are some lessons from the Left Bank:

One size doesn’t fit all. Fawcett believes that the value of content varies between sites. For example, some users only want the cheapest fare. “But others want to know where they are going — and what to expect,” she says. It is these more sophisticated travelers that Bonjour Paris has courted, and their content demands tend to be more rigorous than, say, a discount cruise Web site.

Bottom-line: Don’t try to impose your own content model on your site. Let your users do it for you.

No substitute for the personal touch. “We answer each and every e-mail,” says Fawcett. “It takes an enormous amount of time and energy, but builds fidelity. People don’t necessarily just come to [our site] only when they are planning a trip to France. They come because they identify with the site and the many contributors, hosts and other users.” In other words, it’s impossible to automate everything.

Bottom-line: Your customers probably already make demands on your content that your technology is incapable of meeting. Slip behind and you risk losing them.

Commerce may be an unnecessary evil — for now. You read correct. A long-term strategy to put moneymaking schemes on the backburner may be the most appropriate strategy, particularly if your users are sensitive to a site that’s overly commercial. “Economic sense says that commerce is the way to go,” Fawcett admits. “But it is not our way. In the long run, we hope that we will be proven successful. But for me, content is a joy. Community gives me pleasure. And our strategy is that as our numbers grow — and they are — that Bonjour Paris’ readers will become dedicated buyers when we add what will be a very active e-commerce department.”

Bottom-line: Users know when they see an advertisement, and if you don’t treat them as the intelligent consumers they are, they’re liable to bolt.

Don’t forget the fourth ‘C’ — customization. While you’re working on building irresistible information for users, remember that people want data that’s directly relevant to them. That’s a model that The iion network is working to perfect and one which Bonjour Paris’ users are particularly fond of. “They’re interested in the newest — or oldest — restaurants and how that year’s chef is dishing out the food,” says Fawcett. What’s more, they want the information delivered to them in a timely, user-friendly fashion.

Bottom-line: Don’t look to technology to solve all of your content-related problems. I don’t pretend that the experiences of one site can apply to an entire industry. I do, however, think that the Bonjour Paris strategy is somewhat refreshing on an Internet that idolizes e-commerce.

Perhaps there’s something to be learned from the French after all.

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.

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