To succeed in the travel industry, you must have clients, correct? To have clients, you first must identify who your ideal potential client is. Therefore, you need a proper marketing plan.
Now is the time to work on your marketing strategy because, on February 24 at 1 pm (EST), marketing expert Andy Ogg, CTIE, co-owner of TravelProfessionalNEWS.com, will present the webinar Increase Your Digital Footprint, Find New Leads and Increase Marketing Success. This power session will fill up fast, so sign up TODAY!
The importance of marketing is the reason we added a new course, titled Marketing and Promoting Your Business, to the NEW CTA 10th edition, which launched last week!
This five-lesson module will immerse you in a variety of practical tips and strategies to help you increase your brand awareness and your leads.
Curious? Here’s a sneak peek:
Over the years, the term marketing mix has been associated with the Four Ps of Marketing: Product, Promotion, Place, and Price. More recently, many marketing experts have added a few more Ps: People, Process, and Physical Evidence to create the Seven Ps of Marketing. The true combination of this mix, while keeping the customer at the center of it all, is what will provide you with the most effective marketing strategy available.
- Product: What travel products will you focus on? Will you have a niche or specialty, e.g., family travel, cruises only, adventure travel, etc.? What level of service and value will you bring to the client? Will you be more of a concierge level—in which you make show and dinner reservations or create FIT (customized) travel experiences—or will you focus only on lodging, transportation, cruise, tours and packages, or other reservations?
- Promotion: What image are you promoting? What is the brand you want to build that is based on your targeted audience’s needs and wants? How and where will you advertise and share your message using the different types of tools available to you, such as social media, vlogs, websites, travel nights, community events, etc.?
- Place: Have you decided on the distribution channels? Where do you want to promote? Will your geographical reach be local or national? Brick and mortar or independent contractor? Website or online? Will you pay another travel professional a commission? Will you have other retail partners?
- Price: What price range of travel will you sell? For example, will you focus on luxury travel or something else? What service fees will you charge? Have you thought about a service fee menu? For instance, a service fee for booking an airline ticket or making
- People: The travel industry is all about relationships and people. How much effort are you putting behind the people who deliver your brand and product? What culture do you instill in your organization? Fredi Helton, CTIE, makes this recommendation: “Always give back. It will come back to you time and time again.” Invest in your internal resources because they will have a direct impact on your marketing and service delivery.
- Process: What processes will you put in place that will help the efficient delivery of your services? Will you use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool? Will you have a dedicated concierge desk? Will you have automated phone service? What will be your response time? There are many processes to think about. While it may not seem that it relates to marketing, this P is integral to your success. These types of processes will help with your messaging and, more importantly, the delivery of your services as promoted through your marketing.
- Physical Evidence: All marketing experts will tell you that the best marketing is word of mouth. Gathering your clients’ experiences, feedback, quotes, endorsements, etc. will give you some of the best marketing materials you can use in your promotions through all your marketing platforms. As your organization grows, consider asking your current clients to offer accolades for your services. This concept is known as social proof. Social proof is the idea that, because so many people behave or feel a certain way, it must be the correct behavior or feeling. In marketing, this means that comments, testimonials, and reviews affect the buying behavior of consumers—both positively and negatively. How will you gather this information from your clients? Will you be calling them after their trip? Will you send out surveys or conduct focus groups? Will you consider offering an incentive for clients to comment socially about their experience with you?
Marketing is fascinating, fun, and hard. Understanding the basics and using proven techniques will be critical in your success. The question is… Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level?
To learn more, enroll in the Certified Travel Associate Program today.
