Pandooin: Rural Tourism Marketplace
This is my adventure in selling the unusual—a journey filled with challenges, creativity, and growth. Each step has pushed me to think differently, embrace the unexpected, and find beauty in the unconventional paths.

by Jibril M.

What's my role?
As the Co-Founder and Marketing Lead of Pandooin, I embarked on a journey to create a unique experience in the tourism industry. Working closely with a talented designer and a social media specialist, I set out to grow our customer base organically and lower our costs for acquiring new customers. My role goes beyond marketing; I also collaborate with our operations and tech teams to ensure that our business runs smoothly and maintains a positive cash flow.
What are the goals?
  • Customer Acquisition: Achieve organic customer growth (without paid ads)
  • Cost Efficiency: Reduce Cost Per Lead (CPL) and Cost Per Customer Acquisition (CPA)
  • Financial Performance: Attain net margin after EBITDA
  • Market Positioning: Identify and establish effective market positioning
What are the challenges?
  • Founding team lacks tourism industry experience
  • Targeting a niche market within a saturated "red ocean" environment
  • Competing against major players (e.g., Klook, Traveloka)
What are the solutions?
  • Integrated Marketing Channels: Utilize multiple marketing platforms for cohesive messaging
  • Website Development: Conduct three major revamps to enhance user experience
  • Community Engagement: Foster community-based marketing initiatives
  • Direct Outreach: Implement door-to-door and offline marketing strategies
  • SEO Strategies: Employ programmatic SEO to improve online visibility
  • Seasonal Campaigns: Launch campaigns tailored to seasonal trends
  • Targeted Campaigns: Focus on B2B, open trips, and private trips
How's the result?
  • Social Media Growth: Increased Instagram followers to 20,000
  • Cost Reduction: Decreased CPL from IDR 100,000 to IDR 15,000 (75% reduction)
  • Sales Conversion: Maintained a lead-to-sales conversion rate of 10% monthly
  • Revenue Growth: Raised Average Order Value to IDR 1,000,000
  • Return on Investment: Achieved ROI in the first year through B2B corporate trips
Lessons learned
  • Market Dynamics: Travel market is highly seasonal; limited supply during peak demand affects profitability
  • Cost Competitiveness: Domestic tours in Indonesia are often more expensive than trips to neighboring countries (e.g., Vietnam, Thailand)
  • Technology Gap: Significant technology gap between businesses and users complicates operations
  • Operational Margins: Thin margins in the travel industry due to high operational costs; price increases risk losing competitiveness
  • Market Specificity: One-size-fits-all strategies are ineffective; each tour package has its unique market dynamics, making customization essential
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