A philosophical discussion one evening last fall regarding “What does a ski area really need in a website?” turned into a six-month nxtConcepts research study of over 600 ski area and travel sites in North America. Our challenge was to find out what attracts visitors to a ski area website and what keeps them coming back in a “Web 2.0” atmosphere.

The phrase Web 2.0 was first coined in 2005 by Tim O’Reilly, a web pioneer, as a way to mark a turning point for web development. It takes into account a fundamentally different point of view, where a website is built around a rich user experience, not a product or service. Customer-centric 2.0 websites require that you put yourself in the shoes of a website visitor and see your organization as it appears through the website.


Ski Web 2.0
Our focus was to find out how many ski areas have embraced the Web 2.0 customer-centric design and answer the question, “What does a ski area really need in a website?” We invited six study participants to visit more than 300 ski area websites and 300 travel sites to evaluate and rate them based on 17 customer-centric questions, including:

• How clearly does the Home page indicate the site content?

• How quickly do the pages load?

• How quickly can you find the following information: prices, trail map, directions, snow report, and hours of operation?

• How sufficient is the content/information on the site? How up to date is it?

• How attractive is the overall presentation?

• Are there any technical issues? Does the site do what it’s supposed to?

• Is it easy to ask questions or find contact information?

• How much can you trust them with your personal information?

• How much incentive is there to visit the site again?

• Is there anything you find unique or outstanding about the site?


What Customers Want
When customers visit ski area websites, they want information and they want it now. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they can get frustrated quickly and leave, or worse—they could wind up looking to one of your competitors for what they need.

The most user-friendly ski area websites had four things in common:

1. They provided current information in a simple, clear, and attractive way.

2. They gave visitors a good reason to come back again (in technical web terms, they have “stickiness”).

3. They involved the visitor. Not only did they provide interactive tools, they openly encouraged guests to contribute comments, content, or images to the sites.

4. They made sure the website matched other branding materials such as brochures and ads. This not only reassured visitors they were on the correct website, but also contributed to a better overall experience.

Above all, we learned that unlike other industries, the majority of ski websites seem to be created in silo-type atmospheres. There was no overall standard to design, foundation software, or offerings. Not a big deal when it comes to branding, but critical when applied to web design standards such as site speed, clear (not clever) names for site sections, and the importance of good content. This means ski areas must find a balance between the need to promote the ski area and the customers’ need to get the information they want.


Putting It to Work
So just what are customers looking for when they come to a ski area website? Most times, something simple and inexpensive. Here, in no particular order, are the top 10 things guests want:

1. Superb site content
Words are the most powerful elements on your website. Great design enhances your image, but words are what attracts visitors and turns them into customers. A traditional writing style does not work online—content needs to be formatted for a web audience. Web-experienced copywriters can edit and write text to appeal to both search engines and people. The benefits of professionally-edited and -written content translate directly into customer conversions or sales.

Who’s doing it: Mammoth Mountain, www.mammothmountain.com.

2. Contact and privacy information, front and center
Your visitors need to be able to reach you, and the first place many look to is your website. They also want to know what you are going to do with their information. This means you need your contact and privacy policy information (or a prominent, easy-to-find link to it) on your website’s Home page. Your contact information should include:

• Address (mailing as well as physical, if different)
• Phone number (off-season and department numbers, if different)
• E-mail address

This information should be “above the fold,” meaning it should be visible when the Home page first loads, so someone visiting your website does not have to scroll down to find it. Your privacy policy and terms and conditions of site use can be below the fold, but should be spelled out in simple terms on the same domain as the website.

Who’s doing it: Crystal Mountain, Mich., www.crystalmountain.com.

3. A deal
People are more likely to visit and return to your website when you give them a reason—preferably a time-dependent, financially-attractive reason. Anyone who has sat through a Marketing 101 class knows that a sales event will generate business. This rule holds true online, too. Add e-commerce so they can seal the deal and save time and you’ll score a hole in one.

Who’s doing it: Mountain High, Calif. (Contest for a Toyota 4Runner)www.mthigh.com.

4. Pictures
The web is visual. Don’t just tell people why they want to go to your area. Show them. Nothing reassures guests like the smiling faces of their friends and family staring back at them.

Depending on the resources you have available, this section can be as basic as a static page with pictures and text or an elaborate “virtual tour” with streaming web-cam scenes. There’s no excuse to skip displaying area photos—even a simple yet artfully done photo layout can go a long way.

Who’s doing it: Sugarbowl, Calif. (Submit Your Photo of the Week), www.sugarbowl.com.

5. Keep in touch via message boards and blogs
Snow sports don’t have to end just because winter is over. Let your skiers, riders, tubers (and staff) stay in touch using message boards or blogs. The tighter you keep your ski area community together, the more likely they are to return year after year.

Tip: These absolutely must be password-protected on the user level. It’s the law. COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, is very strict about the steps you need to take to make sure visitors do not inadvertently reveal personally identifiable information to strangers. (information: www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline /pubs/online/kidsprivacy.htm)

Who’s doing it: Holiday Valley, N.Y., www.holidayvalley.com.

6. Search friendly
Your visitors are doing a lot of searching on the web. Make their lives easier by providing them with the ability to do a search for content on your website in addition to what they will find with search engines. At a minimum, provide a site map of web pages.

Although you may not actively court search engines, think long and hard before spurning them. Your website should be built to be search-engine friendly. At least make sure your meta tags and description are filled-in and up to date. Why turn away potential free marketing or frustrate a guest for no reason?

Who’s doing it: Copper Mountain, www.coppercolorado.com.

7. Instant help
Even if you’re not selling online, you should be serving your customers online, at least by providing them with information. Recent news from Pew researchers shows 63 percent of all Americans expect to find information about a product they may want to purchase at a store’s website.

Even if they couldn’t buy the product at the website, about half of all Americans (46 percent) said the presence of that website would make it more likely they would go to the physical store to make the purchase.

A simple FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page will go a long way to keeping your site visitors and staff happy. Make a list of the top 10 (or 20 or 30) questions visitors or first-timers ask you, and put those questions (along with their answers, of course) on your website. You’d be surprised what a difference this makes.

Want to go the next step and provide web-based support? Consider Live Chat, a form of instant message communication you can have in real time with your website visitors.

Who’s doing it (FAQ Area): Snow Trails, Ohio, www.snowtrails.com

Who’s doing it (Live Chat/Help): Aspen/Snowmass, www.aspensnowmass.com.

8. How are we doing?
At the end of the day, your website is not about you. It’s about your ski area community. So how do you know if your website is meeting your customers’ needs if you don’t ask? Get feedback specifically about the website. At a bare minimum, add some text such as, “Comments or suggestions about this website? Email feedback@areaname.com.”

Better yet, think about what questions you’d like to ask visitors about the website (e.g., Was the site ever down? Were the pages loading slowly? What features did you especially like or dislike?). These questions become the basis for a survey that you can make into a webform. Put the survey on your website and monitor it regularly.

Who’s doing it: Bear Creek Mountain, Pa., www.skibearcreek.com.

9. It’s not all about sales
Unless you have no problem staffing your area, you need an employment section. Few ski areas take advantage of this simple and easy resource to announce open positions, highlight benefits, and accept applications online.

Tip: An employment area should list the jobs you want to fill, a short description, requirements (e.g. age), salary (at least a range) and a clearly marked “Click here to apply” link. Also, if you have a lot of jobs, organize this section well so visitors do not give up before finding the job they want.

Who’s doing it: Killington, /www.killington.com/jobs.html.

10. Emphasize e-mail—correctly
E-mail is by far the best way to draw repeat traffic to your website. Use e-mail to help people remember you exist. Do this with e-newsletters, customized snow reports, announcements, and special loyalty offers.

Tip: Customer-centric sites follow three important rules about e-mail:

1. Make it easy for people to subscribe or unsubscribe.

2. Tell people what they are getting into. Be upfront with the details of your privacy policy.

3. Let them know how often you will send e-mails.

Who’s doing it: The Canyons, Utah, www.thecanyons.com.


What Does a Ski Area Really Need in a Website?
Our research highlights what larger research firms have been publishing for the last few years. Web 2.0 marks an enormous shift in how companies must approach the web. The days of building websites that had every bell and whistle are over.

Today’s ski area website guest demands more than tools, they want personalization, information, interaction, and more attentive service. Those ski areas that take the time to design their website with the needs of their customers as the primary focus will not only be rewarded with more visitors on the web, but on the slopes too.


Samantha Rufo is president of nxtConcepts, an Interactive Marketing and Media Company. For more information on the points in this article or the study, please contact her at 1-888-215-0820 or e-mail her at sam@nxtconcepts.com.

Going For The Gold

Being online is vital in today’s economy, but the Internet is highly competitive. There are many of ski areas similar to yours, and millions of web pages, vying for attention. That’s why ski areas looking to set themselves apart from their competition are adding the following to their websites:

1. Another language
Snow Valley, Calif., www.snow-valley.com/index_spanish.html

2. Joint marketing programs
Schweitzer Ski Resort, Ida., www.schweitzer.com/content_main.php?id=197

3. Wireless (as in phones)
Text messaging has yet to dramatically take off, but we’ll likely see more travel- and entertainment-oriented marketers using it to build excitement around their brands this year. From sending snowfall or powder alerts to creating an instant sales promotion, text messaging offers another low-cost and easy way to “get personal” with your guests.

Cranmore Mountain Resort, N.H., www.cranmore.com/info/winter/howitworks.asp

4. Fun & Games
Vail, The Desktop Snow Report, www.vail.com —SR