How To Gain Client Loyalty – Client Retention
Client loyalty and retention is the key for any business to grow, especially in travel. Cost-effective marketing takes planning, understanding, research and time – it isn’t a case of just simply throwing money at marketing.
If you are cash poor but personality-rich you can grow your company with the most powerful marketing tool of all – word of mouth, recommendation and returning clients.
This is truly something money can’t buy but is more valuable than any marketing you will pay for.
Here are some tips from The Protected Trust Services Communications & Marketing Department to help you develop your Tour Operator or Travel Business
- Exclusive Offers – Exclusive offers can be reduced rates or the best rates in the industry for a certain trip, hotel, or experience. However, this route tends to be difficult to maintain and will negatively affect your profit margin. The cheap route is not generally the best route.
However, if your travel business has different ideas or different packages that are unique and exclusive to your company this too is an exclusive offer. Unique packages, services and experiences are an extremely strong tools to keep client’s coming back for more.
If you concentrate on a niche market within travel, or you have developed unique products this is something to keep developing and will truly become your Unique Selling Point (USP).
- Client Loyalty Offers – Membership schemes, loyalty points or exclusive returner offers are brilliant tools to keep your clients coming back for more. As an example – you could offer your returning clients an exclusive Early Bird Booking Discount. In travel, this is generally a win-win for both the company and the client. The client reserves a discounted rate and the travel company can secure reduced advanced rates. Or, you could offer a collective point system that the client can apply to a future booking of their choice – a little like air miles.
- Social Media and Communication – Never underestimate the power of just talking to your clients. Share ideas, create a community, share new products, ask for feedback. Today, social media allows us to speak to our clients with a click of the return key. Make sure your travel agent, or tour operator, company, host great social media accounts on Facebook & Twitter. Also, Instagram is hugely powerful – the power of images to influence consumer behaviour is incredible for the travel market.
Newsletters are a tool that allows you to reach out directly to your clients. There are many newsletter tools that are free so this does not need to become a large overhead for your business.
- Organisation and Efficiency – From the enquiry point to the return home feedback it is imperative the client feels their entire journey with you and your company is seamless.
To enable this a company needs a solid software system and client management tool behind them.
- Customer Service – The King/ Queen of ensuring your customer just adore you and speak fondly to everyone they meet. Treat your clients how you would like to be treated and times it by 100. How your client perceives you is the realistic measure of how well your company is doing, alongside profit of course.
Every client is important, and a travel company should treat each and every client as if they are their first. By making a consumer feel special you are enhancing their experience and they will develop a trust and a love of your travel company.
In essence, your clients are your value and client loyalty is priceless so treat them like gold and create a service level that is unbeatable.
If you’d like any further assistance with client loyalty, please get in contact with one of Protected Trust Services (PTS) lovely staff members by calling 0207 190 9988. Or, you can visit our member support and travel trust account pages to learn more about how we protect you.
