The travel industry was shattering records and beaming with health before the Covid-19 pandemic and just like it all went down.
From event cancellations, to travel bans, and lockdowns, it seemed, for a season, that picking up the pieces would be tougher than we’ve ever experienced.
Though by far the worst, this is not the first crisis to hit the travel industry. And in the same way, we rose with resilience, we can do this again. So, if you’re looking for ways to boost post-Covid-19 sales, we have several tactics you can use.
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Strengthen Your Social Media Presence
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest are some of the more popular social platforms that would-be travelers turn to for inspiration, tour destinations, and related information.
If you want to reach these audiences with your awesome tour packages, maintaining a strong online presence is absolutely necessary.
How can you leverage social platforms for your business?
- Toot offers and events. From unique packages to holiday or seasonal packages, early booking discounts, and last-minute bookings, talk about your offerings on social to maximize reach. Be sure to respond timely to all queries or comments that come your way.
- Encourage customers to share reviews. Request travelers returning from vacations to share their experiences with your company and their trip, including photos and all. By tagging you in the post, they will send good PR your way.
- Offer travel tips and advice. Share helpful tips like how to pick a good Airbnb, great sites, and restaurants in popular destinations, or how to handle safety protocols to build trust. This content says you care more about your clients than self-promoting content.
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Make Cold Calls
Say you’ve put together lucrative group packages for CEOs and senior employees, what would be the best way to share this news?
You can share them on social media and other communication channels (which is great) or you can prospect and make cold calls. The latter is likely to generate interest and feedback quicker.
Here are tips to help you sell your travel plans:
- Be persistent. Top executives are busy and even those who are interested in your offerings are likely to get caught up with work. Make follow-ups via phone calls and emails. They are bound to get back to you at some point.
- Personalize your offer. Do some groundwork. What package will be most appealing? Travel for work packages? Family vacations? What budgets are they comfortable with? Understanding their needs allows you to personalize your offer in a way that attracts them.
- Keep the conversation simple. It’s easy to get lost in the world of dream vacations, which can lengthen the call and overwhelm the listener. Ask leading questions to help you determine ideal travel packages and destinations and share at least three options to start.
- Measure your efforts. Dialing 20, 50, or 70 potential customers is easy, the hard part is deriving value from these calls. How can you know if your efforts are paying off? A cold-calling ROI calculator measures several metrics from monthly conversion rates to won contracts every month.
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Revamp Your Website
An eye-catching user-friendly design, high-resolution imagery, and engaging copy are a staple in a travel website. Naturally, these are elements that inspire visitors to both dream and engage you as they plan their next trip.
If you haven’t given your website a look over recently aka post-pandemic, then this is a great time to do so.
Consider the following:
- Make the design responsive. Consumers use smartphones, tablets, and PCs to browse destinations, compare travel packages, lodge queries, and make bookings. A website that seamlessly adapts to the dimensions of the device in use facilitates positive user experiences.
- It’s high-resolution or nothing. Superior quality photos and videos allow would-be travelers to experience their preferred destination in their minds. They are key selling points in tour packages.
- Incorporate interactive maps and guides. They showcase cities around the globe including major attractions to help travelers plan their next trip. You can add hiking trails, campsites, cruise ship routes, and other interests to increase their value.
- Introduce an online secure booking system. Use an easy-to-navigate booking system that allows customers to filter searches based on the accommodation type, star rating, budget, and amenities. Incorporate secure online payments to encourage immediate booking.
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Email Marketing
Consumers plan their holidays for weeks and months.
They look up travel agents, articles and blogs, destination websites, reviews, and occasionally walk into a brick and mortar travel company.
You can sit back and hope they find your website or physical office, or you can reach them in their inboxes with relevant travel information.
The first step in email marketing will be to build a list of subscribers.
You can achieve this by adding subscription forms on your website, creating lead magnets, offering promotional discounts, or partnering with an SDR service company
With a subscriber list on hand, here are examples of emails you can send:
- Welcome emails. These “first-impressions” emails are geared toward building a relationship with potential customers. They tell the reader what to expect and how often to expect it.
- Email newsletters. Perfect for staying in touch with subscribers and nurturing them. You can share travel promotions, travel tips, company news, and other travel information.
- Lead nurturing emails. These target prospects at the consideration stage to move them into deciding. Examples include, “Let’s book your dream holiday,” or “Winter sports destinations you’ll love”
- Reactivation emails. Here, you’re encouraging inactive subscribers or those who abandoned searches to re-engage i.e. “check out our promotions in (destination name)”
Influencer Marketing
Travel influencer marketing provides authentic insights into travel.
Through pictures, videos, and content, they give thrill-seekers, lone rangers, and families a glimpse into the experiences they can enjoy when they embark on trips.
This collaboration helps attract the influencer’s followers and other audiences to sample your offerings. You’ll also have tons of fascinating pics and videos that you can repurpose in other promotional content.
Best practices include:
- Set a budget. The cost depends on multiple factors, including number of followers, content type (pictures, videos, giveaways, etc), and engagement rate. With thousands of travel influencers on the market, knowing how much you can afford can help narrow down your search.
- Plan your campaign. Are you looking for an influencer to experience your company and services then write a review? Perhaps one who is up for a regular collaboration to write sponsored content and share it on their platforms? Or an influencer to giveaway tour packages to random users who meet certain criteria?
- Find the right influencer. With a budget on hand and a pretty good idea of the campaign you’re after, it’s time to find an influencer that meets your standards. Beware of fraudsters who add fake followers or have been involved in scandals.