How to make your travel agency stand out in the digital age
It is crucial for travel agencies to stand out in our current digital age, as the travel industry continues to expand faster than ever before. With the right travel agency marketing, agencies can digitise and adapt their products and services to fit the needs of a new era of tech-savvy consumers. The success waiting for travel agencies is limitless and can be achieved by proving their uniqueness through the combination of digital marketing and personalised communication.
Are travel agencies still relevant in this digital age?
The services offered by travel agents are still useful and important in the 21st century’s current digital age. Since travellers have more options and information now than ever before, the digital age has presented numerous possibilities to travel agencies to apply the advantages of information communication technologies. The internet, social media, and digital marketing strategies have become vital to the travel industry and serve as the ideal tool for meeting client needs. Travel agencies that are adapting to digitisation and leaning towards online platforms and automation are relevant and increasingly needed for success.
OTAs vs TAs
Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and Travel Agents (TAs) are increasingly becoming more integrated. Online booking agents have the benefits of significant data and automation capabilities, which can increase the number of customers that a travel company can take on and the revenue they can incur. However, the travel industry relies highly on human communication and personalisation is extremely important when booking travel. Travel agents can automate certain features such as promotional emails and hotel reservations, but the most important element to many customers is having a reliable person listen, give advice, and propose expert recommendations for their travel questions and needs. The demands of the travel industry are increasing and travel agencies will continue to increase their relevance through digitisation.
How to make your travel agency stand out in the digital age
In the vast and expanding travel field, it is important to stay ahead and informed about your industry. Here are six ways you can build an excellent and expert reputation for your agency to stand out in the digital age.
1: Be a travel expert
Gain awareness of airlines, flight paths, and airports. Read travel publications and articles, and stay up to date on industry trends. If you show and convey to your clients that you know how to give them an amazing travel experience, you will gain their customer loyalty for years to come.
2: Find or Refine Your Niche.
Before the internet, travel agencies were usually fairly broad in scope. Appeal to your customers by narrowing down to separate criteria such as destination, type of traveller, budget, interest, or focus. This will allow you to maximise your marketing efforts and creative energy.
3: Listen
Know what the right questions are to ask a client when they are unsure about their travel wants and needs. Consider what your client is expressing or concerned about. By patiently listening and taking the time to truly hear your customers, you will stand out as a caring and professional agency.
4: Be Honest About Fares, Rules and Regulations
This is one place where your travel agency can outperform and outshine large travel companies. By clearly communicating the rules and
intricacies of the products you are selling, you are being honest with your clients and helping them to avoid unforeseen frustrations.
5: Social media
Social media is a cost-effective and simple way to market your business. Through social media, you can engage and build trust with your customers, demonstrate your expertise, and implement fast and useful customer service.
6: Respond to Criticism
Do not ignore criticism or get defensive when a customer has a complaint or problem. The most important thing for a travel agency to do when this happens is to listen carefully to what your clients are saying. Demonstrate empathy and do what you can to remedy a client’s negative problem into a positive outcome. By attempting to make the situation right and enact changes to keep it from happening again, you will stand out positively to your clients.
The traditional travel agency marketing strategy
Marketing is a key component of any successful business, and it is especially important for travel agencies. Marketing strategies are a business’s comprehensive intention for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers. A traditional but winning travel agency marketing strategy centres around comprehensible objectives and achievable goals. A travel agency should preemptively and consistently conduct market research and maintain a current awareness of the latest travel trends. A marketing strategy must be able to adapt to the changing industry and reflect new ideas and improvements within the company and about their services. There are several different types of marketing that a travel agency can implement into their strategy to attract possible customers such as
- Social Media
Social media is one of the most powerful tourism marketing tools and allows you to engage and communicate with a wide audience with little investment.
- Paid Marketing
Offers a high return on investment and guarantees that your company’s message will be seen by its target audience.
- Email Marketing
One of the most effective ways to promote your business and develop a relationship with customers to increase brand loyalty.
- Word of Mouth
Word of mouth marketing is a wonderful tool in the tourism industry, and you can leverage this by encouraging your customers to leave ratings on trusted sites.
- Content
Involves the creation of relevant, valuable and inspiring content such as photos and videos as well as articles, blog posts and detination guides in order to attract and engage your target audience.
Travel agency marketing plan
A marketing plan consists of the actual steps and implementations that the company will use from their marketing strategy to achieve their competitive advantage. The travel industry has a vast market, making it vital for travel agencies to have a steady, unique, and relevant marketing plan in order to stand out from their competitors. The marketing plan will help determine who the travel agency’s target market is, how to reach them, the price that products and services should be, and the hope the travel agency will evaluate their efforts.
- Target Customers
The travel agency market is a competitive industry, but with the right segmentation and customer targeting, small and mid-sized travel agencies have the opportunity to become extremely successful by winning the trust of loyal travellers. It is important to be aware of what type of category your travel agency falls under so that you can target the most fitting customers. A travel agency should consider their destination specificity so that a particular destination or a region can be targeted to provide customers with the best deals or unique products. An agency should also consider their prices, since almost 60 percent of travellers name lack of money as a factor that holds back travel decisions. Additionally, travel agencies should study demographics that incorporate selected geographic areas, budget expectations, travel styles, age, and family or single tours. Target customers can then easily be segmented and targeted by considering these questions:
- Who are your travellers?
Recognize and understand how people interact with similar products in regards to their gender, age, ethnicity, income, qualification, and marital status. Decide a general target audience based on the motivations of travellers who match what your company offers.
- Where do they go?
Understanding traveller demographics will help you narrow down the number of strategic destinations and service providers that operate there.
- How do they look for tours and tickets and how do they book?
Hold preliminary research on users’ behavioural patterns. Find out what channels they use to find a ticket or a tour.
- How price-sensitive are they?
As we mentioned above, price sensitivity is an extremely powerful factor in travel.
- How do you market a travel agency?
It can be challenging to narrow down specific ways in which your travel agency can be marketed, especially once your target customers and market have been defined. Luckily, there are several effective and easy ways to put your marketing plan into action.
- Advertising is a great way to let your target customers know about your services and can be a great way to boost your company image. Start local if needed and expand as your client base and reach grows.
- Send direct mail to your customers. Receiving something with a personal touch in the mail from their favourite travel agent will remind target consumers about the services, offers, and rates that your company offers.
- Add variety to your social media posts. Do themed posts or giveaways, share interesting content, and remind your clients of the unique services you offer. An exciting and diverse social media account will attract customer attention.
- Plan travel education events. Hosting events in different areas where your target customers give people a chance to connect with your company, learn about your travel services, and learn more about their desired destinations.
- How can I promote my travel agency online?
Along with marketing a travel agency through tangible aspects, it is also important to incorporate digital marketing efforts as well. According to Travel Quest Network, there are important tips on how you can promote your travel agency online, which can further assist your marketing efforts and help your travel agency to stand out.
- Make the Most of Social Media
- Use pictures, geotags, and hashtags. Answer questions and communicate with your audience through comments or direct messaging, and enable shareable posts.
- Reap the Benefits of a Host Agency
- Host agencies have established marketing tools and expert support, along with lower startup costs and higher commissions.
- Offer Add-on Services and Packages
- Connect your customers with local services and rates. The more you customize offers to your customer’s needs, the better.
- Optimize Your Website
- Use images, be informative, create and use a blog, and connect your website to social media such as your company’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Build an Email List
- Stay in touch with customers during, before, and after their trips. Provide information and content that is mobile-friendly and promote your offers and services.
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