Looking for the best marketing tools for your experience-based business? Here's a breakdown of seven tools that can help you attract customers, manage bookings, and boost revenue. These tools are tailored for tour operators, activity providers, and adventure companies, addressing challenges like seasonal demand, complex booking systems, and customer engagement.
Key Tools to Consider:
- Directoury: A marketplace connecting businesses with 200+ software vendors tailored to the experience industry. Free to use.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub: All-in-one marketing platform for email campaigns, CRM, and analytics. Starts at $45/month.
- Hootsuite: Social media management for scheduling posts, analytics, and team collaboration. Starts at $99/month.
- ActiveCampaign: Email marketing with automation and customer segmentation. Starts at $29/month.
- Jasper AI: AI-powered content creation for social media, blogs, and more. Starts at $49/month.
- AgencyAnalytics: Reporting platform for tracking multi-channel marketing performance. Starts at $149/month.
- Zapier: Workflow automation tool connecting apps like booking platforms, CRMs, and marketing software. Free plan available, paid plans from $19.99/month.
These tools address critical needs like automation, customer engagement, and analytics. Whether you're a small operator or a large company, selecting the right mix can streamline your processes and improve your marketing outcomes.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Primary Function | Starting Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directoury | Software discovery marketplace | Free | Finding tailored tools for your business |
| HubSpot | All-in-one marketing + CRM | $45/month | Email campaigns and CRM integration |
| Hootsuite | Social media management | $99/month | Scheduling and analytics for social media |
| ActiveCampaign | Email marketing + automation | $29/month | Personalized email campaigns |
| Jasper AI | AI-powered content creation | $49/month | Quick content generation |
| AgencyAnalytics | Multi-channel performance reporting | $149/month | Consolidating marketing data |
| Zapier | Workflow automation | Free/$19.99+ | Automating repetitive tasks |
Start small with free or affordable tools like Directoury, ActiveCampaign, and Zapier. For larger operations, consider combining HubSpot and AgencyAnalytics for more advanced needs.
7 Essential Digital Marketing Tools to Grow your Business with
1. Directoury
Directoury tackles the distinct needs of the experience economy with a focused approach. It serves as a niche marketplace designed specifically for tour operators, activity providers, and adventure companies. What makes it stand out? It connects these businesses with more than 200 verified software vendors, all offering tools tailored to the industry - something generic directories just can't match.
With its AI-powered vendor recommendations, Directoury simplifies the process of finding the right tools for your technology stack. Plus, its personalized matches, detailed buyer's guides, and verified reviews give you the insights you need to make smart, growth-focused decisions.
2. HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot Marketing Hub is a powerful marketing automation platform that brings together email marketing, social media management, content creation, and lead nurturing - all within a single, user-friendly dashboard. It’s designed to seamlessly integrate with your existing tools, making it a versatile choice for businesses.
Integration Capabilities with Booking and CRM Systems
HubSpot makes connecting with booking and CRM systems effortless. Its native App Marketplace and two-way data sync ensure customer profiles stay up-to-date without the need for manual input. For businesses with unique booking processes, the platform’s API allows for custom integrations, giving you the flexibility to tailor it to your needs.
Automation and Efficiency for Marketing Tasks
Repetitive tasks become a thing of the past with HubSpot’s workflow automation. For example, you can set up email sequences that trigger automatically based on actions like new bookings or post-experience feedback requests. Lead scoring further enhances efficiency by prioritizing prospects who show the most engagement.
The platform also offers smart content features, which adapt website experiences to individual visitors. Whether it’s suggesting specific activities or packages based on browsing behavior or demographics, personalization becomes simple and effective.
Analytics and Reporting Features for Campaign Performance
HubSpot’s analytics tools provide valuable insights into your campaign performance. With attribution reporting and a real-time dashboard, you can track everything from email open rates to conversion stats. Need something more specific? The drag-and-drop report builder allows teams to focus on metrics that matter most, like booking volumes or lead generation trends.
Scalability and Suitability for Experience Businesses
HubSpot’s tiered pricing structure makes it easy to scale as your business grows. Whether you’re looking for basic functionality or advanced features, there’s an option to fit your needs. Its contact management and segmentation tools make targeted marketing campaigns a breeze, while seasonal campaign planning ensures you’re ready to meet tourism demands at the right time.
3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a powerhouse for managing social media, tailored to meet the needs of experience-driven businesses. With its centralized dashboard, it simplifies managing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all in one place. This is a game-changer for tour operators and activity providers who rely heavily on visually showcasing their experiences. By keeping everything in one spot, it also makes syncing social media efforts with booking data a breeze.
Integration Capabilities with Booking and CRM Systems
Hootsuite’s App Directory offers seamless integration with popular CRM and booking systems. This means businesses can sync customer data effortlessly, creating targeted social campaigns based on booking history or customer preferences.
The platform also connects with Google My Business, which is especially helpful for location-based businesses. From the Hootsuite dashboard, you can respond to reviews, update business details, and post updates, ensuring your local presence remains strong and active.
Automation and Efficiency for Marketing Tasks
One of Hootsuite's standout features is its social media automation. Tools like bulk scheduling via CSV uploads and AutoSchedule take the hassle out of planning posts, helping you publish content during peak engagement times.
Its content curation tools are another big plus. You can easily discover and share relevant posts - whether it’s travel inspiration, local events, or user-generated content. And with smart scheduling, your posts go live when your audience is most likely to interact.
Analytics and Reporting Features for Campaign Performance
Hootsuite goes beyond just scheduling posts; it provides robust analytics to help you fine-tune your social strategy. Customizable reports let you track key metrics like engagement, reach, and conversions, ensuring your campaigns are driving results.
The competitive analysis feature is another valuable tool. It allows you to compare your social performance against competitors and generate automated reports to keep stakeholders in the loop.
Scalability and Suitability for Experience Businesses
Hootsuite’s pricing plans are designed to fit businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a small tour operator or a multi-destination company, there’s a plan for you. Larger businesses can opt for Enterprise solutions that come with advanced features and additional support.
For seasonal businesses, Hootsuite offers flexibility. You can pause campaigns during off-seasons and resume them when things pick up again. Plus, its tools for team collaboration make it easier to keep everyone aligned, no matter the size of your operation.
4. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an email marketing and automation tool designed to help businesses build stronger connections with their customers. For tour operators and activity providers, it offers the tools to craft personalized campaigns that not only drive bookings but also encourage repeat business and long-term loyalty. From the first inquiry to post-tour follow-ups, this platform keeps customer engagement seamless and effective.
What sets ActiveCampaign apart is its ability to blend email marketing with in-depth customer behavior tracking. You can monitor how customers interact with your emails, website, and booking pages, then use this data to create campaigns tailored to their preferences and booking journey.
Integration Capabilities with Booking and CRM Systems
ActiveCampaign connects with over 870 apps, including popular booking systems like Rezdy, FareHarbor, and Checkfront. This means customer and booking data syncs automatically. For example, when someone books a zip-lining adventure or a wine tasting tour, their details flow directly into ActiveCampaign. This triggers personalized email sequences specific to their booking, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring no customer is overlooked.
It also works seamlessly with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, keeping customer profiles updated in real time. These integrations lay the groundwork for efficient, behavior-driven automation.
Automation and Efficiency for Marketing Tasks
With its visual automation builder, ActiveCampaign makes creating detailed customer journeys simple - even for those without technical expertise. Automations can be triggered by specific customer actions, dates, or behaviors.
For instance, you can set up a sequence that sends a welcome email series to new subscribers, followed by targeted emails highlighting your most popular tours or activities. The platform’s behavioral triggers respond to actions like website visits, email opens, link clicks, or abandoned bookings, allowing you to re-engage customers who showed interest but didn’t follow through.
Analytics and Reporting Features for Campaign Performance
ActiveCampaign delivers comprehensive analytics that go beyond basic metrics like open and click rates. You can track the entire customer journey, identifying which emails lead to the most bookings, which subject lines perform best, and how different segments respond to your campaigns.
Its revenue reporting feature ties email campaigns directly to bookings, showing exactly how much revenue each campaign generates. This helps you focus on the strategies that bring in the most profit.
The platform also offers split testing, letting you experiment with different email versions. You can test subject lines, content, send times, and call-to-action buttons. Once the best-performing version is identified, it’s automatically sent to the rest of your list, ensuring your campaigns are as effective as possible.
Scalability and Suitability for Experience Businesses
ActiveCampaign’s pricing is designed to be accessible for smaller operators while still offering scalability for larger businesses. Plans start at $15 per month for up to 500 contacts, making it a great choice for those just beginning their email marketing efforts.
As your business grows, the platform grows with you. Higher-tier plans include features like predictive sending, which uses machine learning to determine the best time to send emails to each subscriber. This is especially useful for businesses catering to customers across various time zones or with different booking habits.
Additionally, the platform supports multi-user collaboration, allowing teams to work together efficiently. Marketing managers can handle templates and workflows, while front-line staff manage follow-ups or update customer information as needed.
For seasonal businesses, ActiveCampaign offers pause and resume features, which help manage costs during slower periods while maintaining connections with your audience year-round.
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5. Jasper AI
Jasper AI is a platform powered by artificial intelligence, designed to help businesses create marketing materials quickly and consistently. For tour operators and activity providers, it solves a common problem: crafting engaging content for multiple channels without investing hours of effort. Whether you’re looking to promote your latest adventure tours on social media or send out email newsletters featuring seasonal activities, Jasper AI simplifies the process while keeping your brand’s voice intact.
Simplifying Marketing Tasks with Automation
Forget staring at blank pages. With Jasper AI, you just input key details - like the type of experience, your target audience, and the desired tone - and it generates multiple content options in seconds. You can then pick the one that fits best or tweak it further to suit your needs.
The platform comes with pre-built templates tailored to various marketing needs. For example, you can use templates for tour descriptions or social media captions to boost bookings. Jasper's Brand Voice feature ensures your unique tone shines through in every piece of content, whether it’s a Facebook post about a sunset kayak tour or a new section for your website. This combination of automation and customized templates makes creating content faster and easier.
If you’re managing a packed marketing calendar, Jasper AI’s batch content creation feature is a game-changer. It allows you to produce a whole month’s worth of social media posts at once, which you can then plan and schedule using your favorite tools.
Growing with Your Business
Jasper AI isn’t just about efficiency - it’s built to grow alongside your business. Its flexible pricing options make it accessible for both small operators and larger teams, helping you create content for a variety of tours and seasonal campaigns without breaking a sweat.
For businesses with multiple locations or a wide range of activities, Jasper AI makes it easy to create tailored content. You can set up templates for different types of tours - like adventure outings, family-friendly activities, or cultural experiences - and generate unique content for each while maintaining a consistent brand voice.
Jasper AI also supports multilingual content creation, which is a huge plus for businesses catering to international travelers. Need to repurpose content? Not a problem. A blog post about a wine tasting tour can easily be transformed into social media updates, email campaigns, or website copy. This feature ensures you get the most out of every piece of content, maximizing your reach across all channels.
6. AgencyAnalytics
AgencyAnalytics is a reporting platform designed to simplify the tracking of marketing performance across multiple channels. It’s particularly helpful for tour operators and activity providers managing campaigns on social media, Google Ads, email marketing, and website analytics. The tool consolidates these metrics into clear, actionable reports tailored for business owners.
Instead of jumping between dashboards for Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, and email campaigns, AgencyAnalytics brings all your data together. This makes it easier to identify which channels are driving bookings and assess your return on ad spend. You can also spot seasonal trends impacting your business and make smarter decisions based on unified insights.
Analytics and Reporting Features for Campaign Performance
AgencyAnalytics specializes in turning complex marketing data into insights that experience-based businesses can actually use. The platform automatically generates reports highlighting critical metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and ad performance.
Rather than overwhelming you with endless charts and figures, it zeroes in on the metrics that matter most. For example, you can track which blog posts generate the most inquiries, find out which social media platforms drive bookings, and evaluate how your email campaigns perform during peak and off-seasons.
One standout feature is white-label reporting, which is especially useful if you work with marketing agencies or consultants. You can customize reports with your branding and easily share performance updates with stakeholders. Plus, automated report delivery sends summaries - weekly or monthly - directly to your inbox. This simplifies the reporting process and helps you stay focused on your goals.
Integration Capabilities with CRM Systems
For businesses juggling multiple marketing channels, integration is essential. AgencyAnalytics connects with more than 60 marketing tools and platforms, including Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, Instagram, Google My Business, and email marketing platforms. This means all your data is pulled into a single, unified dashboard.
This integration is particularly valuable for experience-based businesses, as it tracks the entire customer journey across multiple touchpoints. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of which interactions lead to conversions, helping you fine-tune your marketing strategy.
Scalability and Suitability for Experience Businesses
Whether you’re a small adventure company or a large tour operator with multiple locations, AgencyAnalytics adapts to your needs. Its pricing structure is flexible, allowing you to add or remove data sources as your marketing strategy evolves.
Seasonal businesses can benefit from year-over-year comparisons, helping to refine budgets and strategies. You can identify which marketing channels perform best during specific seasons and allocate resources accordingly.
The platform also supports multi-level user access, so team members - from social media managers to general managers - can receive insights tailored to their specific roles. This ensures everyone stays informed and aligned with your marketing objectives.
7. Zapier
Zapier is an automation tool that connects different software applications, enabling them to work together without requiring manual input. For experience-based businesses managing multiple tools - like marketing platforms, customer databases, and booking systems - Zapier acts as the glue that keeps everything in sync and running smoothly.
The platform operates through "Zaps", which are automated workflows triggered by specific actions. For example, when a customer books a tour on your website, Zapier can automatically add their details to your email marketing list, send them a confirmation message, and create a follow-up task in your CRM. This eliminates tedious manual data entry and ensures you don’t miss out on important opportunities.
Integration Capabilities with Booking and CRM Systems
Zapier shines when it comes to connecting various systems. It integrates with over 6,000 apps, making it essential for experience-based businesses relying on diverse software. Common integrations include booking platforms like FareHarbor and Peek, CRMs such as HubSpot and Salesforce, email marketing tools like Mailchimp and Constant Contact, and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
What sets Zapier apart is its ability to bridge systems that don’t naturally communicate. For instance, it can sync customer data from your booking platform to your CRM, ensuring every interaction is logged and no leads slip through the cracks. When a booking is made, customer data can seamlessly flow into your email marketing system.
With multi-step workflows, you can create complex sequences of actions. A single booking might trigger updates to your database, personalized email campaigns, calendar events, and internal notifications. This level of automation ensures your team stays informed while customers enjoy consistent communication.
Automation and Efficiency for Marketing Tasks
Zapier simplifies repetitive marketing tasks, letting you focus on strategy. For instance, you can set up Zaps to share new blog posts across multiple social media platforms or save user-generated content featuring your business into a specific folder. These automations streamline everything from content sharing to social media management.
You can also create workflows to segment customers based on booking history, send tailored offers, or schedule follow-up calls for those who download travel guides. These actions ensure that every lead receives timely and relevant communication.
Zapier even handles behind-the-scenes tasks that support your marketing. For example, reviews on TripAdvisor or Google can trigger notifications so you can respond quickly. Positive reviews can be shared on social media, while negative feedback can create tasks for your customer service team to address issues promptly.
Scalability and Suitability for Experience Businesses
Zapier adapts as your business grows. Its pricing plans cater to businesses of all sizes, from small tour operators to larger companies with complex workflows. The free plan covers basic automation needs, while paid plans unlock advanced features like multi-step Zaps, premium app integrations, and priority support.
For seasonal businesses, Zapier is especially useful. During busy times, automated workflows handle increased bookings without requiring extra staff. You can set up Zaps to adjust marketing campaigns based on booking capacity, pause ads when tours are fully booked, or activate waitlist management systems.
As your business evolves - whether you’re adding tools or entering new markets - Zapier keeps up. You can start with simple email automations and gradually expand to include SMS marketing, social media scheduling, and customer feedback collection.
Zapier also enhances team collaboration. For example, when a high-value customer books multiple experiences, Zapier can notify your customer success team to provide personalized service. Similarly, marketing-qualified leads can automatically generate tasks for your sales team, complete with customer details and interaction history.
In the fast-paced experience economy, reliability is crucial. Zapier ensures that automated confirmations, reminder emails, and pre-arrival instructions reach customers on time, even when your team is busy with on-site operations. This consistency builds trust and minimizes last-minute issues that could impact the customer experience.
Tool Comparison Chart
The chart below provides a side-by-side comparison of seven marketing tools, highlighting their main features, advantages, pricing, and potential drawbacks for businesses in the experience industry.
| Tool | Primary Function | Benefits | Starting Price (USD/month) | Main Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directoury | Technology marketplace and resource platform | Free access to 200+ verified software vendors, AI-powered recommendations, specialized focus on experience economy | Free | Limited to technology discovery and vendor connections |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | All-in-one marketing automation and CRM | Tracks the entire customer journey, integrates with built-in CRM, offers robust email personalization | $45/month (Starter) | Can get expensive as your business grows; requires time to master advanced features |
| Hootsuite | Social media management | Schedules posts across platforms, enables team collaboration, includes social listening tools | $99/month (Professional) | Analytics are limited on lower-tier plans; interface can be overwhelming |
| ActiveCampaign | Email marketing and automation | Offers advanced behavioral triggers, detailed customer segmentation, and strong integrations | $29/month (Lite) | Automation tools can be complex; fewer design templates compared to competitors |
| Jasper AI | AI-powered content creation | Quickly generates content for various formats, maintains brand voice, includes SEO optimization | $49/month (Creator) | Needs human review for accuracy; generic content possible without refined prompts |
| AgencyAnalytics | Marketing analytics and reporting | Provides white-label reporting, consolidates multi-channel data, creates client dashboards | $149/month (Freelancer) | High cost for small businesses; primarily targets agencies |
| Zapier | Workflow automation and app integration | Connects over 6,000 apps, automates data transfers, adapts as your business scales | Free (limited), $19.99/month (Starter) | Complex workflows may require technical expertise; troubleshooting can be tricky |
This table highlights each tool's standout features and areas to watch, offering a quick guide to help you make informed decisions.
If you're on a tight budget, Directoury is the only completely free tool. Among paid options, ActiveCampaign starts at just $29 per month, making it the most affordable. On the other end, AgencyAnalytics begins at $149 per month, catering more to agencies or larger operations.
For businesses aiming to keep costs low, a combination of Directoury, ActiveCampaign, and Zapier's free plan can handle essential marketing tasks for under $50 per month. This setup covers basic software discovery, email marketing, and workflow automation.
If you're a growing business with more complex needs, pairing HubSpot and Hootsuite can manage CRM, email campaigns, and social media for around $144 monthly. Adding Jasper AI for content creation increases the total to about $193 per month but can save significant time on writing tasks.
Larger operations or businesses managing multiple locations often benefit from a comprehensive toolset. Using HubSpot's higher-tier plans with AgencyAnalytics for detailed reporting and Zapier for advanced automation creates a powerful system. However, this setup can exceed $500 per month.
For seamless integration, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Zapier work well together, ensuring smooth data flow between marketing and customer management. Hootsuite integrates easily with most analytics tools, while Jasper AI operates independently but requires manual content transfers.
Seasonal businesses should look for tools that scale with demand. Both Zapier and HubSpot allow flexible usage based on peak and off-season needs, while fixed-price tools like AgencyAnalytics maintain steady costs regardless of activity levels.
This breakdown offers practical insights into each tool's strengths, helping you identify the right mix for your business goals.
Conclusion
Marketing tools designed for the experience economy are game-changers for improving customer engagement and increasing bookings. Each tool mentioned in this guide plays a unique role, whether it's Directoury's free platform for discovering technology, HubSpot's powerful CRM, or Jasper AI's content creation capabilities.
To make the most of these tools, focus on what fits your current stage of growth. For smaller operators, starting with Directoury, ActiveCampaign, and Zapier's free plan is a smart move. These tools cover the basics like technology discovery, email automation, and system integration. For businesses managing multiple channels, pairing HubSpot with Hootsuite can streamline customer relationships, email campaigns, and social media scheduling - all while providing detailed analytics. Larger businesses often require more advanced solutions, such as combining AgencyAnalytics with HubSpot's higher-tier plans for deeper insights and scalability.
One thing to remember: integration is critical. Tools like Zapier can connect your booking systems, CRM, and marketing platforms to ensure smooth communication and data flow across all channels.
The best approach? Start with the tool that addresses your biggest challenge, get comfortable using it, and then gradually expand your toolkit as your business grows. The experience economy is evolving quickly, and businesses that invest in the right tools today will be best positioned to seize tomorrow's opportunities.
FAQs
What’s the best way to choose marketing tools for my experience-based business?
To find the best marketing tools for your experience-based business, start by pinpointing your main goals. Are you aiming to strengthen customer engagement, streamline bookings, or keep a close eye on performance metrics? Once you’re clear on your priorities, look for tools that easily integrate with your existing systems and are tailored to the unique needs of the tourism and activity industry.
Consider tools that handle key areas like social media management, email marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), and content creation. It’s also worth exploring platforms that help manage customer reviews and improve your online visibility - these can have a big impact on attracting new customers. Choose tools that match your business size, future plans, and specific industry needs to set yourself up for lasting success.
What are the benefits of integrating HubSpot with Zapier for experience-based businesses?
Integrating HubSpot with Zapier offers a game-changing way for experience-driven businesses to handle their operations. This dynamic duo takes care of repetitive tasks, keeps data in sync across various apps, and simplifies workflows - all while cutting down on time and minimizing manual mistakes.
With these tools working together, businesses can maintain accurate data, increase team efficiency, and build personalized automation workflows without needing advanced technical skills. From automating email follow-ups to updating customer records or managing bookings, this integration makes complex processes easier to handle and boosts overall productivity.
How can seasonal businesses use marketing tools to stay successful during busy and slow periods?
Seasonal businesses can make the most of their peak periods by leveraging targeted advertising, social media campaigns, and email marketing. These strategies not only boost visibility but also drive customer engagement and bookings when demand is at its highest.
When business slows down, staying connected with customers is key. Offering early-bird discounts, special promotions, or sharing engaging content can help maintain interest and loyalty. Tools like marketing automation and analytics come in handy here - they help track performance, fine-tune campaigns, and prepare for the next busy season. This way, even the quieter months can lay the groundwork for future growth.
