Part 1: Unlocking Your Ideal Customer
Goldmine Using AI
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Creating Ideal Customer Avatars for Tour Operators
AI isn't just a shiny new tool, it’s a powerful partner in discovering exactly who your best customers are and what makes them book. In Part 1 of this AI workshop series, tour operators learned how to uncover deep insights from customer reviews, web behavior, and analytics to develop high-converting messaging that speaks directly to their ideal audience.
Let’s break down the key ideas.
Why ideal customers matter more than average ones
Your marketing shouldn't target everyone, it should target the people who book the most, rave about your experiences, and come back for more. As Brandon Lake emphasized, the right person is one of the timeless pillars of marketing. Everything else—from copywriting to campaigns—builds on this foundation.
Rather than guessing who this person is, tour operators can use AI to analyze customer reviews and web behavior to identify who actually drives the most value.
“We’re not just talking demographics—we’re talking who books the most, who’s easiest to work with, and who becomes your biggest promoter.”
Homework before the magic
To get the most out of this process, participants were asked to gather key data files ahead of time, including:
- 100–500 customer reviews (their own or from competitors)
- Google Analytics reports (user demographics, traffic, and behavior)
- Product and pricing information
- A sample of their own written content (e.g., a blog post or email)
This groundwork gives AI real context to generate meaningful insights, not just generic marketing fluff.
What makes a customer “ideal”?
This session helped tour operators define their ideal customer using three main lenses:
- Profitability – Which customers generate the most revenue per booking?
- Ease – Who is the most enjoyable to work with?
- Advocacy – Who leaves great reviews and promotes your brand?
The combination of these factors is far more powerful than relying on traditional demographics alone.
Setting up your AI project the smart way
The session walked through setting up a project in ChatGPT Plus using the new “projects” feature. This allows you to upload key files (like reviews and analytics data) and run multiple prompts while keeping the AI focused on your specific business.
Participants learned how to:
- Upload and structure their data properly (e.g., split large review files)
- Provide AI with a persona and task context
- Run prompts section-by-section for deeper analysis
Five data-backed insights you can generate with AI
Brandon shared a five-part prompt framework to uncover detailed audience insights:
- Customer demographics – Age, group type, family status, travel style, etc.
- Wants and needs – Activities and experiences guests are seeking
- Hesitations and concerns – Barriers to booking (like safety, cost, or clarity)
- Satisfaction drivers – What customers love most
- Emotional triggers and purchase motivators – The deeper “why” behind decisions
“You could read hundreds of reviews and still miss key patterns. AI sees what we can’t.”
Using the elements of value pyramid
Brandon introduced Harvard’s Elements of Value Pyramid, which helps businesses understand the emotional and functional value their products deliver. With AI’s help, participants mapped their services to values like:
- Fun and entertainment
- Reduced anxiety
- Sense of belonging
- Badge value (social sharing)
This gives operators a clear direction for messaging that resonates with what guests truly care about.
Matching your tone to your customer’s voice
Lastly, participants learned how to analyze their reviews and top-performing web content to determine tone and style. This allows AI-generated content to sound like something your customers would actually read—and trust.
“Your customers already told you how to sell to them. You just have to listen.”
A foundation for everything to come
This first session set the stage for everything else: from crafting high-converting homepage to writing better blogs and email campaigns. With a deep understanding of their ideal customer, tour operators can move forward with confidence, creating content that attracts the right people and drives more tour bookings.
FAQs: Marketing takeaways from this workshop
Topic: Customer Psychology
Q: How do I know who my “ideal” customer really is?
A: Your ideal customer isn’t just someone who books, it’s someone who books multiple times, is easy to work with, and actively promotes your brand. Use AI to analyze customer reviews and booking patterns to pinpoint who brings the most long-term value to your business.
Topic: Review Analysis
Q: What kind of reviews should I upload for analysis?
A: Upload 100–500 customer reviews in plain text format. If you don’t have enough, use reviews from a close competitor with similar offerings. Separate long reviews into smaller files so AI can read them fully without truncation.
Topic: Technology Tools for Tour Operators
Q: Why do I need ChatGPT Plus for this process?
A: ChatGPT Plus offers the “projects” feature, which allows you to upload files, maintain context, and work more effectively on multi-step tasks. The free version doesn’t offer the same depth or memory.
Topic: Marketing Strategy for Tour Operators
Q: What is the “right message to the right person at the right time”?
A: This marketing principle means your message should be crafted for your ideal customer, speak to their emotional drivers, and appear at key points in their journey—like during search, browsing, or booking.
Topic: SEO for Tour Operators
Q: How can I use this customer data for SEO for tour operators?
A: Use the language your customers actually use in their reviews to shape your keywords and phrases. It helps align your SEO content with real search intent and creates better resonance with your audience.
Topic: The Right Messaging
Q: What does it mean to “mirror customer language”?
A: This means using words and phrases that your customers already use to describe their experience. It builds trust and makes your marketing feel more relatable and authentic.
Topic: Content Creation for Tourism Companies
Q: How do I use this research to improve my website copy?
A: Identify the emotional triggers and value drivers from your reviews, then integrate them into your homepage headlines, FAQs, and tour descriptions. Use customer language to reinforce trust and connection.
Topic: Starting with Market Research
Q: Can I do this if I’m a new operator with few reviews?
A: Yes—use reviews from a direct competitor with similar products and customers. Be transparent with AI about the source so it can adjust its analysis accordingly.
Topic: Tour Operator Operations
Q: What can negative reviews teach me?
A: They reveal real customer hesitations and frustrations—information you can use to improve your service, adjust messaging, and clarify your website or policies to avoid confusion.
Topic: Growth and Expansion
Q: How does this help me grow bookings?
A: By deeply understanding what your best customers want and how they talk, you can create messaging that’s more persuasive and targeted. This leads to more qualified leads and higher conversion rates.
Topic: Branding for Tour Companies
Q: What’s the “Elements of Value Pyramid,” and why does it matter?
A: It’s a framework that identifies emotional and functional values (like entertainment, accomplishment, or connection). Aligning your brand messaging with these values can make your offer more compelling.