如何选择利基市场
by多里·萨尔茨曼(Dori Saltzman)/Borrowing from entrepreneur Seth Godin, Patty Noonan, CTC, director of sales at The Travel Institute, encouraged travel advisor attendees at last week’s Travel Market Place East conference to discover their purple cow identity.
“是什么让你紫色牛在田野with all the other cows?”
The easiest way to do that, she said, is through specialization.
她对顾问说:“这是一个大世界。”“如果您不专注于世界的特定领域,一种特定的产品或您热衷的特定爱好,那么您将挣扎。”
In fact, specialization is so important that when advisors approach Noonan at trade shows complaining about how they’re struggling, the first things she does is ask, “Are you specializing?” Invariably, the answer is always no. And, that, she added, is an inefficient way of doing business.
On the other hand, when you’re a specialist in something, you can communicate confidence and excitement at a much higher level, both of which go a long way in helping convince people to book a trip.
“你们都知道这个,” she said. “When you come back from a trip and you’re excited about it and you’re talking to your friends and suddenly they’re like ‘I want to go!’”
成为专家还可以使您为客户提供更大的价值。例如,一位通才不会知道在多瑙河上访问的所有秘密景点,或者在孟买的Spice Shop提供免费茶。但是,河流巡航或印度旅行的专家将会。
专门研究可以通过为客户提供全面访问您的知识和带来的价值来帮助您不将钱留在桌子上,这反过来又使您最大程度地利用了自己的资金。
Not sure how to select which niche you won’t to focus on? Noonan provided a five-step process:
1. Find Your Passion and/or Confidence
Two things should lead your search for a niche to specialize in, Noonan said: passion and confidence.
您对可以建立旅行业务的热情是什么?您已经有信心谈论的是什么?
迪士尼是她说的一个完美榜样。许多迪士尼专家都因为他们是球迷而销售迪士尼。他们去过公园10次或更多次。他们在迪士尼巡游。他们的家人和朋友打电话给他们寻求建议。为什么不继续做同样的事情,而是要为此报酬呢?
“We’re in this business because we love to travel so why not focus in on what it is that you’re passionate about. What is it thatyoulove? If you love it, know it and you’ve experienced it, it’s going to be that much easier to sell and get your clients excited about.”
Disney is a great example, she said, because not only is it something people are passionate about. But it requires little to no marketing, there are multiple product options under one brand (parks, hotels, cruise, etc.), it brings repeat clientele, and it’s expensive, making it a profitable niche.
以另一种旅行风格进行巡游,通常是成为旅行顾问的门户,尽管Noonan警告说成为一名邮轮合身者还不够。
“这是大型船只,小型船,豪华船吗?是冒险还是家庭?钻下来,”她说。
But there are many others. Do you love food and travel? Combine them into a specialization, especially if you have in-depth knowledge of a particular food and destination, like Mexican or Italian cuisine.
爱巧克力?将巧克力之旅放在一起。爱运动?组合以体育赛事为中心的旅行小组。爱葡萄酒,堂兄是侍酒师吗?您充满了激情,表弟有专业知识来进行旅行andan audience to be marketed to.
她说:“您几乎可以深入研究并专门研究任何东西。”
While Noonan emphasized being specific about your niche, she also said you don’t want to get too narrow.
“给自己一些成长的空间。这并不意味着您不能出售其他东西,而是让人们知道这是您的专业领域。这至少使您充满信心,并将您带入一个适合您的驾驶室。”
Noonan offered some suggestions for how to narrow down the areas you have passion and/or confidence in:
- 你的爱好是什么?
- 您是哪些俱乐部或组织的成员?
- What fitness or outdoor activities do you participate in?
- Where are your favorite places to visit?
- 您最喜欢的书,作者,杂志是什么?
- 您有多次旅行的最喜欢的旅行供应商吗?
- What are your favorite retailer stores or specialty stores?
- What local connections do you have that you can use to help develop leads? What are their special interests?
- Do you already have clients? What are their special interests?
2.评估市场
缩小了利基选择范围后,您将需要评估市场。想要专门研究迪士尼是很好的,但是在市场上有足够的空间让另一位迪士尼专家。(Noonan在演讲中说的那个特定问题的答案是肯定的。)
Similarly, do you have access to an audience that is interested in that niche?
“It’s great to say I love India, I love all things about India, I want to do tours to India and then you go ‘I don’t know anyone who wants to go to India.’ … You have to have an audience, some place to market to, so be thinking about that as you’re putting together your ideas.”
例如,也许您的父母退休并生活在一个积极的退休社区中。也许,通过他们的朋友和社会熟人网络可以进行某种团体旅行的机会。
Here are eight questions to ask yourself when assessing the market:
- Is this specialty adequately served?
- How will my product or services differ from those already offered?
- How much will it cost to penetrate the market?
- 我可以取决于当前的联系和口口相传?
- 需要多少广告和营销资金?
- How easy will it be to reach my target audience?
- 我会重复做生意吗?
- 我需要接受什么培训?
Wnat to know more about the benefits of specializing? ReadWhy Finding a Travel Niche Is Key to Success as an Advisor
3. Pick Your Partners
One type of specialization is focusing on just one or two suppliers, like with Disney. But for those who choose to focus on a destination or travel style niche, choosing which partners you work with is particularly important.
“Those partners are a reflection on you. They’re an extension of you and if you don’t have the right partner it’s going to come back to bite you… If something goes wrong and it’s not handled right, they don’t know Gianni in Italy, they know you. You’re the face of the booking and you’re going to lose the client.”
Shop around, Noonan advises. Look at reviews. Talk to other advisors. “You’ve got choices and you want to make sure that you’re aligning yourself with the right partners.”
选择合适的合作伙伴的一部分是在您的利基市场中教育自己。
“如果我在欧洲进行河流巡游,我要做的第一件事就是看所有河船公司。他们在做什么?进行并排分析。”
If you’ve already got a client base – or know which type of client you plan to work with – chose the companies that align with your clients’ desires. Do they want something basic or do they want over-the-top luxury? Do they like food or are they more interested in getting out and being active?
This not only helps you make an informed decision about which partners you want to work with. It also allows you to make better recommendations and explain your recommendations so clients see your expertise at work.
“That’s the value you bring. They can look at a brochure. They can look online. But only you can read between the lines because you’ve been there or sent people on that particular product.”
4. Create a Marketing Plan
Noonan说,没有营销,任何业务都无法成功,但是您不必为此而疯狂。
“Keep it simple. You don’t need to be spending a lot of money.”
Mostly it’s about outreach, whatever that means for you, whether that be email, social media, or in-person events. The key is to communicate your excitement over the niche you’re selling. Because, as mentioned above, excitement is contagious.
Though you’re marketing plan doesn’t have to be elaborate, Noonan did suggest that advisors get specific about who their target audience is, what their goals and objectives are, what action tasks they need to take to achieve their goals, and what their promotional strategies are.
It’d hard to know if your marketing plan is working if you haven’t first spelled it out and given yourself a set of results to measure the plan by.
5.不要忘记团体
Not technically essential to picking your niche, Noonan said that building groups around your expertise is one of the best ways to grow your business.
“我不知道有人只能一对一地维持[他们的业务]。”
小组观众旅行顾问可以考虑(但绝不限于):
- University alumni
- Golf country clubs
- 高档住宅社区
- Symphony and museum associations
- Food and wine clubs
- Philanthropic events and organizations