The ABCs of Selling Group Travel
单独追逐每个旅行线索并不是成功的好策略。这太耗时了,经常会随着回报而降低。取而代之的是,许多旅行顾问发现,销售集团旅行是一个有利可图的市场领域,为投资时间带来了更多的收入,以及稳定的重复业务。
为什么销售小组旅行工作
旅途旅行公司总裁兼旅行顾问金·戈德斯坦(Kim Goldstein)告诉旅行市场报告,为什么销售集团旅行是旅行顾问的明智之举:“集团旅行是专注于旅行业beplay客服务的一部分并完善您的流程的好方法。如果您有一种为所有预订服务并最大限度地提高时间的有效方法,这也可能是非常有利可图的。”
此外,她说:“除了随着数量的增加而获得更高的佣金百分比,您还可以在增加与您的酒店合作伙伴的情况下与您的酒店合作伙伴建立更牢固的关系。”
For those who are new to the industry, it can be daunting to imagine how they will manage a large number of group reservations all at any one time. However, “that notion couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Will Medina, president, Destination Weddings Expert, LLC.
“With the proper systems and strategy, group travel can be a smooth and seamless process. Identifying the perfect property for the group, negotiating the contract, and communicating the terms are the basis of each group. From there, you can trust your systems to keep those reservations coming in, keep the guests informed, and keep you ahead of your deadlines. Groups are the easiest way to work smarter, not harder.”
同样,总裁詹姆斯·伯格利(James Berglie)包含在内,评论说:“我当然有偏见,但我相信选择专业的团体实际上比我的同事出售合适要简单得多。虽然是的,我的责任要高得多,但我能够专注于帮助我们的客户找到他们的活动的理想度假胜地,并与一名小组负责人合作,一旦我们缩小了他们的活动的最佳选择,则保留所有人都流动了此后,很容易使其成为一个平稳有效的过程,而不是试图与每个合适的客人一起浏览整个资格过程。”
生活方式营销培养前景
销售团体的营销策略通常与促进个人旅行时使用的营销策略不同。
伯格利解释说:“我们在目的地婚礼市场中的营销策略与适合空间的同事大不相同。”“我们不专注于产品营销,而是专注于生活方式营销。意识到我们需要在客户订婚之前就需要与我们的客户保持良好的关注,我们的重点是找到在订婚之前热爱海滩生活方式的追随者,然后培养这种关系,让他们知道我们对婚礼的工作,但不要用不间断的婚礼内容压倒了他们,因为他们可能还没有处于生命的那个阶段。
“Heck, they may not even be able to afford a vacation yet, so we don’t focus our marketing on ‘selling’ them, but instead we focus it on capturing them as followers/fans. As we appear in their feeds throughout the years, and eventually they get engaged, we will already be positioned in their network as the experts on destination weddings. So it's just a natural transition for them to reach out when they are ready.”
Following suit, Medina’s advice for successfully selling groups is to “nurture, nurture, nurture! We believe in staying top of my mind in our ideal client and group’s minds by ensuring we are nurturing them with all of the necessary information to make an informed decision before the sale and then to stay engaged with us all the way through their travel.”
他继续解释说:“团体旅行不是'设定并忘记它'的策略。无论是手动还是通过自动化,部署营销策略都非常重要,以使转换从漏斗的顶部,经过渠道的底部以及旅行。”
麦地那的顶级营销策略围绕社交媒体参与,尤其是在Facebook和Instagram上的利基组中;并通过Zoom进行每次互动进行虚拟咨询,以使客户符合客户的资格并讨论旅行报价和过程。
Tips from the experts
Here are some tips to keep in mind when selling group travel, straight from the travel advisors quoted here, all of whom have achieved impressive success in this niche.
- 在开始与准小组交谈之前,请花一些时间真正了解小组合同。设置您的条款以保护您,以免由于错误而面临巨大的罚款。
- Do not waive from the terms of the group contract that you created. Take what the tour operator sends and add to it, in order to protect your agency.
- Make payment dates earlier than needed as a buffer to ensure that you do not get too close to a cancellation/attrition deadline.
- Don’t try to do it all yourself. Use your systems. Use your tools. Use the strategies that agents before you have used for years to ensure that deadlines don’t get missed and all guests feel that they are the one-and-only.
- Don’t bog yourself down with the minutiae of the day-to-day. Rather, keep your eye on the larger picture of all the moving pieces within your business.
- Get really cozy with the needs of your ideal clients, instead of focusing on posting and promoting deals. Explain your value and help them see how you are the right person to manage the logistics, which will save them time and money.
- 与导师或旅行社合作,可以教您正确的管理小组的方式。
- Use your preferred tour operator to help guide you through the process, most of which offer training to teach you the group process.
如果不是现在,那是什么时候?
Group travel is back in a big way. Weddings are booked two and three years out again. Families are traveling in groups to make up for time lost during the pandemic. Even Corporate America has returned to running in-person events. This is a good time to enter this lucrative segment of the travel industry.
“大胆试试吧!”麦地那说。“团体旅行是旅行行业中最有利可图的利基市场之一,它是一种极为扩展的商业模式。我们喜欢销售小组旅行。无论是出于盈利能力方面,都因为看到家人在一起旅行而获得的快乐,通常是第一次,以及创造那些永恒的回忆。因此,如果您有知识,并且有适当的系统来保护您的业务,则团体将帮助您通过推荐人来建立一家出色的业务,并将在未来几年内一直回到您身边。”
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