Travel Agent of the Future: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
TOP DO's
1.) Focus on a Niche and Specialize
This is an area where travel agents can truly shine. Your connections and know-how combined with your ability to give each trip a personal touch will make you stand out. A recent study showed that 42% of discretionary travelers in the US are frustrated when booking online. So it makes sense that the small cost add-on of an experienced agent is more than worth it for many customers.
So how do you find your perfect niche? During my research for this article, I came across agents specializing in occupations (doctors, architects, etc.), themes (luxury, camping, honeymoon, etc.), demographics, interests and more.
Steve Olenski recently wrote in a Forbes article: "Luxury travelers, for instance, are armed with larger budgets and more apt to value a relationship with an agent than a cheap flight."
You name it, and there is an area for a specialist out there! So make sure your service is unique, you are an expert in your niche, you can give superior advice, and your experience will make a difference to the customer.
2.) Make it Personal
Show your customers who you are and what your company is all about. Offer an online chat function on your website, engage with prospects on social media and start a blog to establish yourself as an influencer in the industry.
Make sure your customers trust you and your professional opinion long before they think about booking a trip- you need to establish a personal connection with them ahead of the sales process.
Create a company video in which you introduce your team members, business culture and areas of expertise.
3.) Make Your Customers Feel Special
Don't just sell transportation and lodging- there is too much competition in that field.
Make sure to add something special: a local experience, dinner at a one of a kind place, a tasty welcome drink.
How will your customers get to/from the airport?
If, for example, they get picked up by a luxury Mercedes Sprinter van, they will be sure to remember that experience.
Spoil your customers and they will remember you and your company!
4.) Make Their Dream Vacation Come Alive
Experiential tourism is now a global movement, and travelers want to explore destinations through direct experience. You should not only increase the number of experience offerings but also improve the quality and ensure consistency across the board.
Make sure your customers feel that you are helping them make each part of their trip special.
Ask yourself: What makes my company special? What services do we offer that no one else does?
Think about branding: if you offer the same bland flight and hotel as everyone else, why would they want to book with you? Instead, add special perks and quirky details into every itinerary- it will make you stand out from the competition!
5.) Speed
These days we all are used to getting immediate answers to our queries and the travel industry is no different.
Clients expect an immediate quote and trip confirmation.
While it might be tough at times to give a final quote on the spot, make sure to respond to an online request immediately. Give the customer a time line as to when to expect a final quote and itinerary for the trip. Follow up daily and keep your client updated in regards to where you are in the process. Once again, making it personal and having the complete trust of the customer is of immense importance.
6.) Excellent Service
Be open to special requests. Remember that might be one of the main reasons your customer uses a travel agent in the first place. If it takes time to get an answer, make sure to keep your client in the loop. Show that you are working hard to get them exactly what they are looking for or something even better.
Make sure your customer feels special and sees that you are going the extra mile. Remember, they are paying a (slight) premium for your services.
7.) Get Busy on Social Media
You and your company need a strong online presence. Having a professional profile on all major social platforms is a must. Encourage your employees to be active on social media as well. Great profile pics, a bio plus a link to your company are a good start.
Make sure to post interesting content regularly and engage with your current and future customers. Invite them to share pics, videos, etc. Create contests and giveaways! Start a weekly blog and establish yourself as a thought leader in the travel industry.
The more engagement you have online, the higher you will rank in search engines and the easier it will be for your costumers to find your company.
In a recent interview Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso underlined the importance of social media in the travel industry and called it one of the "most powerful technologies that have rocket boosted our profession."
8.) Be Reachable
After clients booked the trip, your business relationship is far from over. Things can go wrong- especially on international trips. A flight might be overbooked, hotels go through renovations and the room booked is now facing a construction site instead of the beach as promised. Do everything in your power to make things right. Monitor social media for positive and negative feedback- sometimes travelers post negative sentiments on Facebook or Twitter instead of contacting you.
Make sure you are reachable by phone, email, and social media. Show your customers that you care about them and the success of their trip.
TOP DON'Ts
9.) Whatever you do, DON'T COMPETE ON PRICE!
Why? There is absolutely no chance that you can offer lower rates (without making shortcuts) than online budget sites.
They can afford to make smaller margins of profit and force tourism suppliers into exclusive (read "lower") rates because of their enormous booking volume.
10.) Don't Offer What Others Offer
Remember, focus on what makes you special and that no one else offers. Customization of a trip is where travel agents can shine- unique experiences and tailor made trips is where you add the most value to a customer.
Following up with your customers after a trip is another great advice from Matthew Upchurch:
"What happens is during that conversation, you start to build this collaboration, and the advisor becomes more and more an expert in you, and what you like and what you don’t. (...) as technology continues to get better and better, people will have more and more craving for authentic human connection."
Thanks for reading- now go and connect with your current and future customers!