Agency Builds Loyalty via Facebook
by Dori Saltzman /Agency owner Susie Lieb considers herself a bit conservative when it comes to running Ambassador Travel, a MAST member in Oshkosh, Wisc. But she’s still open to new ideas. So last year, when a 23-year employee suggested Ambassador Travel get on Facebook, she was willing to discuss it.
A little more than a year later, Lieb doubts her agency’s Facebook presence will bring in loads of bookings. But she believes the interactions that she and her agents have with clients on Facebook help build loyalty. And loyalty is priceless, especially today.
Initial Reaction: “The financial investment isn’t huge. It’s more the creativity and the time that you have to put into it. The risk mainly is, let’s make sure that we do it right, so that it’s representing our company and our business well.”
Doing It Right: “Let’s not just say, ‘Let’s do a Facebook page,’ and boom bam Ambassador Travel is on Facebook. So what? What are we going to do with it? What’s our goal? I didn’t want there to be no substance or mission behind it. That mission can change, but at least there was some intention to start.”
The Approach: “We aren’t using it to try and sell a product. We mainly want people to visit it for fun, to get some interaction, to build a rapport with our clients. It’s more of an interactive relationship tool, not a marketing tool.”
Modern Marketing: “Every business wants to grow their sales; that’s the whole purpose of marketing. Underneath that one layer of marketing, we focus on the relationship, because we believe that if you develop the relationship we increase our chance of loyalty. And loyalty is extremely difficult in this day, because people are so price-driven.”
Modern Loyalty: “We’re trying to establish a deep relationship with people so their loyalty goes above price. They might look elsewhere but then say, ‘I found this deal for $300; let me check with Ambassador Travel to see if they can also offer this to me.’ That’s the result I’m looking for with Facebook – to have our name out there, so when they’re thinking about travel, our name comes to mind. So indirectly, it’s going to increase our sales in that way.”
Hidden Agenda: “I want it there for marketing. But I don’t want anyone else to know that I want it there for marketing.”
Strategy: “I don’t want the consumer to look at our Facebook page and think this is a big advertisement. We try to come up with ideas for interaction. We feel that interaction gives us the rapport and the trust, so that when we do put up a promotion we have some validity.”
Patience Required: “Maybe they’ve come to our Facebook page once and seen something they like, but maybe they need to come back three or four or five times before they buy into staying in touch with Ambassador Travel. I didn’t expect everybody to just latch on. But we’re definitely committed. I have all the patience in the world for something like this. Anything good takes time.”
Self-Assessment: “We get a low to moderate response [to interactive questions]. I don’t think we’ve done it long enough or put out something that’s good enough. I would give ourselves an average grade right now.”
Fan Philosophy: “We’re a family-owned small travel agency and we’re very intimate. I want people [Facebook fans] that want to participate and interact. I’d rather have 200 people that are really into it, than 1,000 that are kind of there, who clicked on the button but really don’t care what’s going on.”
Targeting Youth: “Being on Facebook gives you some validity with the younger generation. They want to know their agency is up to par with technology. If they feel like an agency doesn’t even know what Facebook is, they also feel, ‘Why am I going to trust them with my vacation?’”
Feel-Good Success: “Somebody coming back from their trip posted on Facebook something like, ‘Just returning from a trip planned by Mike at Ambassador Travel. What a blast. Thanks so much. Can’t wait for the next.’ That was awesome. They’re using Facebook to let us know and let their friends know what a great time they had. That referral goes further than a lot of things.”
Insight and Advice: “Think about what you want to do with Facebook and what result you want. Go into it saying, ‘I’m going to increase my loyalty and my relationships; I’m going to stay in front of people. It’s not really costing anything, and as an end result my business is going to grow.’”
Hire a Teen: “It helps to have someone younger on staff. Seek out a high school student, pay them minimum wage, and have them come in for two hours a week; they’ll love it. You don’t have to be in travel to run a Facebook travel agency page. Plus then you get their friends.”
Final Word: “I wasn't a big believer in Facebook, but I am definitely seeing how our presence on Facebook can help retain current clients as well as give us a foot in the door with new clients.”