Marketing of Digital Travel Platform

The article discusses the marketing tasks related to the development and launch of a digital aggregator platform in the field of travel services. The created platform offers consumers a specific product - locations of interesting natural places, objects and attractions of a certain region with a description of the unique characteristics and features that make them attractive to visit.

It is shown that the specifics of marketing in relation to the company – owner of such a platform are due to the two-way weakly structured links of the platform with suppliers and consumers of services, the mobile involvement of customers, the uniqueness of the accumulated digital traces of platform participants, the processing of which using artificial intelligence technologies allows to personalize the platform's offers to customers.

Since the platform is formed on the basis of a previously created digital search service for interesting places in the Novosibirsk region and relies on the existing customer base of this service, the proposed J.R.R. Tolkien is used to attract users to the platform. Parker's strategy is «follow the rabbit» and subsequently the strategy of attracting customers.

Important specific marketing tasks are the formation of a network community of a digital platform, the analysis of interactions between platform participants based on customer digital footprints and experience of using the platform, as well as the development of self-service processes for customers.   

Based on the analysis of scientific publications on the activities of platform companies and the practical experience of the authors with the digital platform «WHERETOGO», marketing tasks that reflect the specifics of the platform business model are systematized. The importance of the highlighted marketing tasks for all participants is described: customers, suppliers of the platform and the company itself.  This contributes to the theory and practice of marketing in relation to platform companies.

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