There’s nothing more frustrating than clients who price shop, waste your precious time getting quotes and then go and book online. While some people are driven to buy only by price, others who seem to be price shopping aren’t aware of what you offer and the benefits you provide.
The best way to avoid those who really are after the cheap deals, and attract and educate those who aren’t, is to recognize that people don’t buy products, they buy solutions. When you market the product, you get bargain hunters. When you market solutions, you get ideal clients.
Your marketing message needs to convey that you are a solution provider. Yes, even in the travel business, there are solutions you provide for your clients. Your marketing message should include what solutions you provide and to whom you provide them.
For example, instead of:
I am a travel agent with 16 years experience and I have traveled all over the world, blah, blah, blah….
Try something more like:
I work with busy, stressed out moms and dads who want to create rich moments with their children so they learn the value of treasured moments instead of treasured possessions.
One of the big differences between these two examples (there are many) is that the first one is all about you, and the second one is all about THEM. Remember, everyone is tuned into the station WIIFM: “What’s In It For Me?”
The language you use is vital. Your materials need to be well written with language that talks of the solutions you proved and appeals to your target audience you’re trying to reach. For example, you would speak to executives differently than you would to construction workers. For best results, consider using a professional copywriter to create your materials.
If your materials are written in a way that the focus is on the potential client, not on you, and are clear about the benefits, solutions and transformations your services provide, your target audience will be pulled towards you, while price shoppers will not—because the language you use won’t speak to them. In fact, they will know just by your language that you’re not the lowest priced travel consultant.
The design of your materials also plays a role in attracting the right clients. If your brochures, videos, and websites are professionally created to look and feel upscale, they will draw upscale clients. Using thin, inexpensive paper, relying on your cousin Susie to design your website, and asking your teenager to shoot videos with his new camera will bring in clients who want cheap rates. Pay for the best, look the best, and you’ll attract the best.
You can set yourself apart from the crowd with one simple technique. You offer intangible experiences and transformations that go above and beyond your tangible services, and your marketing materials need to paint that picture for prospects. How will they feel during and after the trip? What will they experience and how will their lives change? Show them the value, and the price shoppers will become fewer and farther between.
Avoiding price shoppers is a simple matter of elevating yourself and the benefits you provide to the highest level you can through careful creation and use of your marketing materials. The caliber of your clientele will follow suit.
Did you find this post helpful?
Twitter can serve as a great FREE list-building strategy for any travel consultant. Why is list-building important? Because you always want to “Acquire Contacts Consistently” (Step 2 in the SAFARI System) to increase your client base. This is a fundamental step in any marketing strategy.
Amidst the continued growing popularity and reign in the social sphere of Facebook, Twitter has come onto the online scene to change how people communicate with one another. Not just a fad, it doesn’t look as if Twitter is disappearing the same way that Myspace did. Travel has taken off on Twitter, with many travelers going to Twitter to help plan their trips. As such, it offers a great opportunity for travel professionals. Today we discuss some of the dos and don’ts for travel professionals using Twitter.
Do be an expert.
You’re a travel professional; therefore, establish yourself as an authority on your niche. Use Twitter to talk about statistics, trends, and other relevant information. This will make you a go-to person whom other travelers will depend on, while being a reference that other travel professionals will use.
Do share information.
Nobody on Twitter likes following people who just talk about their own business. Use Twitter to share information from other travel professionals and users. Use the retweet feature to share relevant information about others that your readers will be interested in. This will continue to establish yourself as an authority, while developing a relationship with other users.
Twitter Interface
Do talk with others.
Twitter is only as powerful as the real-world relationships that are a result of it. Twitter is more of a two-way radio than a megaphone. Ask and answer the questions of other users to make it a more personal connection and make yourself someone others can trust.
Do “Send the Love”.
One of the most refreshing things about Twitter is the lack of criticism and judgment and the abundance of support for each other. Retweet often, promote your colleagues freely, and you will get back what you deliver, while watching your followers increase. Check out “Travel Tuesday” #TT, and “Follow Friday” #FF as a way to begin this practice.
Don’t tweet only about yourself.
Many people tweet only their own blog posts and content, without any interaction or personalization behind it. As such, other Twitter users don’t connect with them, and they aren’t seen as the same authority as professionals who use it to connect and interact with their readers.
Don’t get in shouting matches.
Plenty of case studies demonstrate social media disasters that have come as a result of how a brand has used Twitter. Because everything is public, you have to be careful what you say and how you respond to people. If someone says something negative, never get into an argument with them and risk a chance of it blowing up into a social media disaster.
Now that we’ve shared with you our dos and don’ts of Twitter, are there ones you’ve learned firsthand that you can share?
