Marketing is what you do in your travel agency business to get and keep clients. If you don’t have a good marketing program, you will not have enough people to sell to and your revenue from commissions and fees will be less than it could be.

There are as many ways to have a successful marketing program as there are travel agencies. However, all good marketing programs tend to have some similar characteristics – no matter what their differences.

One caveat: The following list is by no means exhaustive. I might cover a few more in a future issue but here are some things to think about today as you look at your own marketing program.

A Good Marketing Program:

 1. Produces Real Results – Not Just Activity

Marketing activity sans results is more common than you might think. A lot of marketing activity is generated because ... well, it’s the thing to do. As travel agents, we may think we are supposed to run ads or send out promotions, sales material, deals of the month, etc. Sometimes, we get just enough response to reinforce our behavior, even though it may be far from the most productive or profitable activity we could spend our time and money on.

In a good marketing program, each strategy or activity is undertaken with specific goals. These could be related to number of new prospects, amount of revenue, number of bookings, etc. Of course, one of the most important is profitability. Then the results are evaluated against the established goals and a decision is made to either fine-tune, continue, or discontinue the activity. Don’t keep doing things that don’t meet specific objectives, or which are only marginally successful, just because that’s what it seems like we’re supposed to do.

2. Generates Critical Information

Good marketing programs “spin off” information continuously. Three kinds of information should be a high priority:

•   contact information so you can continue to market to prospects and clients. 

•   profile information (plans, preferences, interests, special dates, etc.) so you can communicate about the right things at the right time. 

•   market information (characteristics of your marketplace, perceptions of your business/brand, what drives what kind of travel buying in your area, etc.) so you can target your messages, articles, seminars, etc. appropriately.

Without information like this, you’ll be spinning your wheels in your own little world.

3. Never Stops

The temptation is to think about marketing only when business slows down or when it becomes apparent that we need more prospects and clients. Otherwise, it’s hard to find the time (and it does take time) to do much marketing.

Also, success today has a way of making us complacent about the things that we should be doing to ensure success in the future. I have made this mistake myself and, trust me, you will always pay for it down the road.

I have never run into a business that met all its marketing goals (either the ones they had or the ones they should have had). The pipeline always needs to be fed, clients need to be nurtured between trips, low-value prospects and clients need to be replaced with those that have higher value. You can’t let it go, no matter how busy or successful you are today. 

4. Is Driven by a Plan

I wrote a whole article about this awhile back so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice it to say, any good marketing program is purpose-driven, focused, goal-oriented (see #1), written down, and is always being improved.

A written marketing plan is one of the first things any consultant or banker/investor looks at to evaluate a business. For more information on this subject, go to:

 http://www.TravelAgentSuccess.com/9_predictions.htm

5. Consistently Reinforces a Strong Brand Identity

What do you want people in your marketplace – suspects, prospects, clients – to think about you? Everything you do and communicate shapes those perceptions. Make sure that the perceptions you shape are consistent with how you want to be known.

For example, if you are trying to cultivate a brand identity strongly associated with luxury travel and value-added service, don’t keep running ads or sending out emails and flyers where the primary feature is price.

Also, if you want to be known as the “go-to expert” for South American travel, then make sure everything you communicate to the marketplace reinforces perceptions of expertise, creativity, knowledge, experience, etc. Don’t bombard people with run-of-the-mill promotional packages that everyone else sells. 

6. Nurtures Relationships Throughout the Client Lifecycle

A lot of travel agents focus only on the buying/selling part of the cycle. Some may also pay attention to servicing the client who has make a booking or who is on a trip. However, very few understand the value of marketing throughout the entire client lifecycle or the strategies for doing so. Yet, that is how you generate more revenue, increase profitability, and keep from burning out.

A good marketing program isn’t just directed toward those who might be ready to buy today. It is focused on creating mutually-profitable relationships that endure over time. 

7. “Connects” With People at a Level That Matters

Travel is one of the most exciting products on the face of the earth. We are marketing experiences not goods. The potential for connecting to people’s needs, hopes, and dreams at the deepest level is unlimited. Yet, you’d never know it by looking at most advertising, promotional material, or agency websites.

Your future success will depend more and more on your ability to use marketing strategies and materials that connect to people at the deeper levels of their experience. Then you will be in a position to form relationships as their trusted advisor that will last.

8. Doesn’t Annoy People

In a way, this summarizes some of the items above. Here’s the kind of marketing that annoys me (and most other people):

•   Getting sales stuff that isn’t related to what I want or need.

•   Someone who acts like we have a personal relationship but who only calls when they want to sell something.

•   Sales people trying to sell something without really understanding me, my problems, or what I want or need.

You may be able to think of more examples of annoying marketing. The point is, in your enthusiasm to sell more travel, don’t annoy people with your marketing efforts. Add value to their life.

How does your marketing program look?

Do you even have one?

Create your own marketing plan using:

It comes with a 100% Money Back Guarantee and will help you:

Get more clients
Make more money
Beat your competition and,
Have more personal time

Click here to get a Brief Summary (PDF) of specific things that are covered: http://www.TravelAgentSuccess.com/tarmr_summary.pdf

 For More Information or To Order:

http://TravelAgentSuccess.com/tarmr2.htm

Carl Bennink is the President of TravelAgentSuccess.com and one of the leading relational marketing experts in the travel industry.

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