SMS Marketing for Travel Agents – the Key to a Sold Out Summer Season
In this article we explore how small and medium-sized independent companies in the travel and tourism sector can take advantage of the opportunities offered by SMS marketing to ensure a sold out summer season.
Getting seen in a competitive space
The travel and tourism sector features numerous small and medium-sized independent travel agents and tour operators operating alongside a number of large, established players. When it comes to the summer peak season, all are fighting for a cut of the pie in this highly competitive space. One thing that gives smaller players the edge is the very personal nature of their brand – and SMS marketing can be a major weapon in the arsenal for such companies.
Research conducted by various research groups within marketing has indicated that customers frequently rate SMS marketing as being much more personal than other forms of electronic communication. Evidence suggests that the fact you are able to send a message directly into the customer’s hand plays a huge role in this.
The law requires customers to consent to SMS marketing at the point they provide their data. As a result, there is also an element of trust and credibility that is all too often missing with emails. This is despite the law applying to these in the same way.
Enticing new customers with SMS marketing
When it comes to new customers, a great proportion of the UK population will be devoting a lot of thought over the coming weeks and months to ideas for the summer getaway. There is no better time than now to reach out and let them know what you’ve got to offer. Providing some great inspiration directly into their hand via a carefully timed SMS could be just what is needed to entice them into looking at what you have to offer and taking that next step.
Don’t forget, SMS marketing is also a great tool for following up on leads before the trail has gone cold. If a client has enquired but hasn’t come back to you with a booking, why not take the opportunity to remind them that they still matter?
Exceptional reach and response rates
SMS marketing offers unrivalled response rates in comparison to other forms of communication. Firstly, current statistics by Ofcom indicate that 93% of the UK’s adult population personally own or use a mobile phone – meaning that the potential reach of SMS marketing is vast.
Couple that up with an open rate of 100% – of which 95% is within the first three minutes – and it’s not hard to see how it can be used to great effect. The ease with which customers can read and reply to SMS messages wherever they are is also another key factor in their success.
Provided your respect the individuality of your customers and market to suit their preferences and tastes, the chances are that they will be happy to receive communications from you even if they are not of interest at that particular moment.
Encouraging return customers
It is said that returning customers can offer more value to a company than new customers – often providing in the region of 40% of revenue, without the cost of acquisition. When it comes to travel and tourism, VisitBritain reports that repeat holiday bookings are typically longer than first time bookings and see increased spend on both overnight accommodation and throughout the stay. With that in mind, SMS marketing is a great way to reach out to existing customers to provide them with tailor-made offers based on the information you already hold.
Maintaining a healthy balance of returning customers versus new helps businesses to remain robust and profitable, especially important in today’s turbulent economy. With knowledge of your customers’ preferences based on previous bookings, it makes sense to reach out early and help them with their holiday plans before they’ve had a chance to look elsewhere.
The SMS marketing cycle for travel agents
Successful SMS marketing for the travel and tourism industry is all about understanding the SMS cycle. One of the keys to successfully using SMS marketing as a travel agent or tour operator is to start early – literally, as soon as the customer has opted in. Even if you have not yet managed to close a sale, making the customer feel special by adding them to a ‘VIP list’ to receive special offers personalised to their taste is a great way to increase your chances of conversion.
Choosing the right time is key too. Mondays, for example, are known to be a great time to remind people of their holiday desires. After all, who doesn’t dream of escaping the office after the short-lived freedom of the weekend? Fridays are also great, with potential clients having the weekend available to follow up on an SMS and browse your offers online.
Be sure to use SMS marketing at every stage of the relationship – before they’ve booked, at the moment of booking and of course afterwards. Inviting feedback and responding to it in a personalised way is a great way to build rapport and foster loyalty. Above all else, be sure to keep all of your communication highly personalised for maximum results.
If you are interested in learning how travel agents can use SMS messaging to improve efficiency and customer relations, look out for our forthcoming article. We’ll be looking in more depth at a range of SMS applications including booking confirmations, payment reminders, itineraries and updates, weather updates, feedback/survey requests, and an inbound ‘textline’ for help/requests.
You may also wish to view our guides for Travel Agents and Hotels.
Here at Fastsms, the UK’s #1 business SMS platform, our friendly and approachable customer service experts know exactly how travel agents and tour operators can get the most out of SMS marketing. To learn more, call us now on 0800 954 5305 for a friendly, no-obligation chat.
Ready to see how it works? Why not try our free trial for 100 free texts with no subscription or credit card details required- simply click the link at the top of the page to sign up in just 30 seconds.
Related Articles
SMS Messaging for Cafes and Restaurants
With more and more people than ever before eating out and sampling food from around the world in eateries up and down the country, the restaurant sector is booming. But if you're operating a small business in the hospitality sector, you need to make sure that you keep your premises as full and thriving as possible in order to pay your bills and keep the enterprise sustainable. That's where SMS messaging comes in. In this blog post, we will look at ways you can use SMS messaging to make your business processes more efficient, boost your customer numbers and become the most popular place in town.
How Campsites Can Use SMS Messaging to Get New Business
The campervan and caravan industry grew 16% this past year. Campsite and holiday park owners can connect with the thousands of new travellers using SMS messaging. After all, 76% of travellers prefer to take their mobile on holiday rather than a friend.
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.
The Art of SMS Marketing for Bars, Pubs and Clubs
SMS marketing can be a double-edged sword, which is why it's crucial to ensure that each one of your campaigns is well thought out, immaculately spelt, financially accurate (i.e., the prices listed are correct), and, perhaps most importantly, the time and date is 100% accurate. Only once you have triple-checked each one of the components should you then consider sending out a batch.
Hotels Use Text Messaging to Help Improve Customer Experiences
Hotels constantly strive to improve customer experiences, but sometimes things go awry. Many problems could be fixed if the customer complains while at the hotel rather than later when they return home. By having a 'textline' you can give guests the opportunity to share their views directly with management without a direct confrontation.
SMS Marketing Ideas for Campsite and Touring Park Operators
Right now it is peak season for camping and caravan sites; it's the middle of summer and the school holidays have begun. Even the great British weather has been relatively kind this year so far. With what is the busiest time of the year for camping and caravanning parks, marketing strategies are often not priority, especially for the many small owner run businesses within the industry and those who are reliant on returning customers. SMS text message marketing, however, can benefit campsite and touring park operators by offering a simple, cost effective and time efficient way to reach both existing and new customers to promote your business by direct contact to their mobile phone. Read on for eight proven text message marketing and promotional ideas to help fill those final pitches.
SMS Marketing: Four Sectors Successfully Using Text Messaging
SMS marketing has seen a huge uplift in popularity in recent years, with big brands investing in the technology to better engage with their customers. There are so many benefits of SMS marketing, from the ability to directly to reach customers with your communications, to the fact that over 80% of SMS texts are read. With over approximately 90% of the world receiving mobile coverage, you’re highly likely to be able to reach your audience, regardless of where they are. SMS marketing is cost effective, and campaigns are quick to develop, in as short a time period as the time it takes to write a text message. This gives you the advantage of being able to communicate quickly, and effectively with customers, reacting to information almost instantaneously. With so many reasons to use SMS marketing, we’ve highlighted four sectors successfully using SMS messaging as case studies to highlight the advantages of investing in the technology.
Restaurants And Takeaway Businesses Increase Profits With SMS Marketing
Your customers are likely thinking about food at certain times of the day, and at those times their phone is almost certainly within arms reach. Using SMS marketing you can time your messages perfectly because you know that the time you send them is the time they get read, usually within 2 minutes.
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.