Name of your website?African Odyssey Safaris
Your name?
Brian Kemp
Your Location (city, etc)
Merrivale
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We specialize in creating tailor made luxury safaris or tours to Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. The website endeavours to provide a taste of what our services can offer.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
Out target market is the consumer and we felt that this was the most cost efficient way of reaching our potential clients.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
The first site was an older version of the present one and was launched in 2003
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I thought the word Odyssey aptly describes the experience we want to create for guests - a long eventful journey.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
I believe that it conveys more of a personal, warm experience for visitors.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
To grow it and eventually be recognized as a highly respected medium sized player in the tourism industry. I would like to create employment and investment opportunities for experienced people who shared the same values as we do.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Only now - after four or five years - are we starting to enjoy the fruits of incredibly hard work and significant capital input.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would invest in experienced consultants and an admin assistant to assist me and I would also seek to appoint sales agents in the US and UK. I would focus on steady growth without compromising our extremely high standards of service which we set ourselves.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes. Its a question of managing growth and not being afraid of creating a dynamic team to assist with handling the growth and - for the right people - a share in equity.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Working capital and lack of capacity to handle large growth spikes on a temporary basis.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Depending on our website for business to reach our target market effectively. Sufficient capital to enable an effective advertising/marketing campaign to complement the website.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Good linking strategy and content. Google Adwords.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Very hard work!
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I have run this new site for eight months now and it showing steasdy growth. I will do whatever is necessary to make it increasingly effective.
What is your website address?
African Odyssey Safaris
