Since coronavirus put the brakes on the sale of all travel earlier this year, the industry has been through – and is still enduring – a dramatic transition period. It’s a good chance for agents to reconsider their customer journey for when the uptick returns. So what needs to be done differently? And what’s the best way to adapt to ensure you gain and retain customers?

It begins with learning how to entice a customer whose confidence has been shattered due to a heightened awareness of health risks and inconsistent government advice.

David Forder, head of marketing at Advantage Travel Partnership, says while sharing why it’s best to book with an agent and reinstating aspirational content is important, there are other messages that need to be communicated too.

“It’s no longer just about making a new booking – there are things to consider such as rebooking a cancelled trip, using vouchers and customers booking with uncertainty about whether they’ll actually be able to travel to the destination they’ve booked,” he says, adding it’s “important to underpin marketing efforts with messages that will reassure the customer, as trust, security, flexibility and confidence are all areas that will be defining factors as to whether a customer will book”.

He also recommends putting a focus on visual content to educate clients on the new travel experience, and being transparent with any changes from the outset to manage expectations.

“Video shooting and editing doesn’t necessarily mean a high investment because with a little know-how and an aptitude to learn, it’s relatively easy to produce decent content,” he explains.

Forder also highlights that marketing is moving towards digital, with printed direct mail being costly to produce while not always offering the speed needed to accommodate the currently fast-moving industry. Websites, social media and emails are wiser channel choices for marketing now, with creative thinking and trial and error part of the process.

CLINCHING SALES

In order to turn marketing into confirmed bookings, Jeremy Blake, sales and training director at Reality Training, advises knitting sales and marketing strategies together to discover what type of client is most likely to travel right now, and what their priority is.

“If you have a couple who are risk-averse then your entire sales pitch needs to be about security or safety,” says Blake.

He adds that the most likely clients to book now are those unencumbered by children or tight budgets, and that it’s important to decipher exactly what the customer requires from a hotel or resort and to centre the sale around that.

Blake also advises agents “sell with a sense of urgency” to inject much-needed cash flow. This could be implemented by a massive sales drive, he says.

“Look at your database to see who booked holidays with you in 2019 and call them – turn your agency into an outbound contact call centre and push this short window of opportunity.”

These calls might be met with widespread dismissals, but Blake says this doesn’t mark a dead-end opportunity. Instead, he suggests asking clients about the destinations they’re dreaming about and where they would choose for their first post-pandemic holiday, with the intent of following up.

“Say ‘Let me ring you back in few weeks – I’ll work ahead on your behalf so you can be the first to know when that hotel you want to visit is open’,” he says. “Take a strong sales approach.”

TALKING TECHNOLOGY

One of the few positives of the crisis is an improvement in our technological ability. Travel agents have had to host client meetings on platforms such as Zoom and seek out cost-effective digital solutions for sales processes.