Resorting to e-commerce

To help analyze customer behavior and trends, Vail Resorts is using NetGenesis customer relationship management software from CustomerCentric Solutions.

Vail Resorts hosts Web sites for each of its four ski resorts, in addition to numerous sites for hotel and vacation resorts in and outside of Colorado. With Web integration growing rapidly, the need for a robust analytic product was identified by the company as a priority.

"The information about our guests' online behavior being obtained across each of our high-traffic Web sites is invaluable," says Corey Ryan, director of marketing technology at Vail Resorts. "Using NetGenesis, we can track what aspects of our sites are working and what aspects need improvement, allowing us to continually perfect the online experience for our most valuable guests. The information obtained is already changing the way we build and present our sites, as well as the way we communicate to our guests offline."

The use of the software drives four key business objectives for Vail Resorts, according to a recent press release:

• It quantifies business results by observing specific page views and visitor tracking, and learning the correlation between online visitors and actual bookings.

• It assists in Web site design and optimal navigation through close evaluation of a visitor's journey through the Web site.

• It measures marketing initiatives and refines campaigns based on results from the software's tracking capabilities.

• It plans for the future rollout of an e-commerce site by learning how many views it takes to complete a transaction, how to size the company servers, trouble-shooting and cookie strategy.

Vail Resorts operates Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek in Colorado, Heavenly in California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson, WY.