How Travel Agents Can Compete with Online Booking Sites by Using SMS Messaging
![sms messaging for travel agents](https://dox4euoyzny9u.cloudfront.net/images/fastsms/How-Travel-Agents-Can-Compete-with-Online-Booking-Sites-by-Using-SMS-Messaging.png)
The lure of quick, easy and cheap travel arrangements online has revolutionised the way people find and book travel. Travel agents offer so much more than search, click and book, but still find themselves facing competition from online booking organisations. But none of the major online booking sites can offer the personalised service an agent does. But as a travel agent, you can take advantage of new technology to help your customers and their business.
The key is to demonstrate your added value to current and potential customers. Here are three ways you can use SMS messaging to differentiate yourself from the competition:
Offer helpful information to travelers before and during their trip. This can be last minute trip updates and notifications, warnings of late transportation or other delays, baggage or security restrictions, and reminders of important dates and times.
Keep in touch after the trip. Send a short text message saying thank you for using your services and you hope they had a wonderful time. You can even ask them to reply if they want to with comments or suggestions. Everyone loves getting goodies on their birthday. Send your clients a text message with a special incentive or coupons for future travel as a present, or even a small voucher for the local pub. Your customers will know you really care about them and will come back to you time after time.
Continue the conversation. Even when their trip is over, you can still send them special offers. These could be for travel or contests, sweepstakes, and other opportunities. If you can, tie the offers into the profile information you have for them based on their travel and other info they’ve authorised you to have. For example, if they like golf destinations, send them notification of a related event or travel opportunity sponsored by a golf resort or company.
New customers will appreciate all your attention and personal service. They just can’t get that at major online booking sites. For customer’s you’ve helped travel before, they will appreciate you even more. Their loyalty will only continue to grow as each text message can show how you can help and how you care.
These ideas and more are contained within our “Travel Agents’ Guide To SMS Messaging“. It’s specially written for Travel Agents with lots of business boosting tips … and it’s completely free!
Related Articles
Personalising Your SMS Marketing
Using people’s names in marketing is great. It does provide a certain level of personalisation that can get people more interested in what you’re sending them. Of course in text messaging, you don’t always have the room for a name, your message, and the required opt out information … usually there just isn’t enough room. So how can you make your marketing messages personal?
Travel Agencies Love SMS Messaging
For travel agencies, SMS messaging allows you to connect with travellers on a one-to-one, or one-to-many basis, yet still be personal. How can that be? People guard their mobile numbers and only share them with the people or businesses they really want to hear from. It's their personal number after all, and they won't hand it out to just anyone.
3 Examples of Using SMS Messaging for Hotel Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Even great hotels sometimes have a mix up or some sort of problem that can affect a guest. And with social media and hotel review sites, chances are a disgruntled guest isn’t going to keep their complaints to themselves. Here are three examples of how to use SMS messaging to gauge customer satisfaction.
Do hospitality trends in 2016 include SMS messaging?
Don’t Believe The Myth of The “Cashless Shopper”
Sometimes bloggers or journalists get a bit carried away. They see some data or fact, and run off to declare there’s a trend you need to know about. The latest one I’ve seen is all about how to reach the generation of “cashless shoppers”. The argument goes that you need to use SMS messaging to reach customers because they are all shopping online – where you obviously can’t pay in cash.
Hоw Cоасh Tоur Companies Can Use SMS Mаrkеtіng
How the Travel Industry can use A2P Messaging
The travel industry has made some inroads into using SMS messaging, but hasn’t yet taken real advantage of the potential of A2P messaging. Find out how it can be used to save time and provide the high-quality service today’s mobile travellers expect.
Can Travel Agents Use SMS Messaging to Stay in Business?
“European travel agents don’t like it”. That’s a statement made by one of the gentleman at my table during the mCommerce Summit earlier this month. He is from Cruise America, a successful RV (camper) vacation rental company based in Arizona, but with 123 locations around the US. We were talking about his company and their online and mobile reservation options.
5 Ways the Travel Industry can Make Use of SMS Marketing
In order to appeal to new customers and interact with existing ones, businesses are always looking for new marketing methods. Whilst many companies are using traditional and online marketing techniques, these aren’t always effective. Email filtering, for example, means that many recipients may not even be aware that they’ve received contact from your company. As many email hosts provide in-built spam filters, it’s easy for email marketing content to be overlooked or ignored completely. SMS marketing, however, overcomes many of the obstacles associated with online and email marketing. Whilst potential customers may not see your company emails, SMS messages aren’t filtered in the same way. The delivery rate is, therefore, far higher for SMS messages in comparison to marketing emails.