A Phone Call a Day Keeps Competitors at Bay

Combating tough times, veteran agents reported that they increasingly taking aggressive actions to ensure that existing clients stay with them when planning their next vacation. 

“We’re much more aggressive in the frequency with which we interact with our customers,” reported Ed Mass, Anchors Away Cruises and Tours, Clearwater, Fl.

Mass reported the stepping up of such actions runs throughout all aspects of the agency business. As one example, front-line agents are now required to reach out and contact clients.  “We’ve changed our methodology in maintaining client ownership,” he said. “If our front-line seller doesn’t have a recorded contact with a client within a certain designated time period, that client becomes open to anybody in the agency if they call in.”

The point is to get the agents to regularly make outbound calls to invite customers to seminars and other activities. “Some agents believe they have clients, but in reality they don’t,” maintained Mass. “These so-called customers will book once, but they’ll move elsewhere unless the agent establishes a real one-on-one relationship. You’ve got to let them know you care, even if it’s seemingly little things like a call or card on their birthday.”

There’s also more written communications to both targeted clients and the general client base. “As an example of targeted clients, we now have more specialized information regularly going out to a select audience on the corporate side,” he reported. “And with our general client base, we used to send our big publication five times a year. That is now being sent out with more regularity.”

When planning seminars on a destination, around a tour operator, or with a cruise line, the invitations now go out in multiple forms. “We put them in the vacation planner, the catalog we mail out, the e-mail we send out and also have front-line agents personally contact the clients,” Mass noted.

About the only area where they’ve decreased communications is e-mail blasts. “We used to do an e-mail blast every week, but we’ve shifted back to every other week,” reported Mass. “If you inundate clients, they stop looking at it. Since we’ve made this change, our open rate has improved.”

It all fits into a bigger picture: “When it comes to sales, first, hold what you’ve got,” said Mass. “Second, expand what you’ve got by getting customers to travel more often and by getting referrals. The third thing is to look for new business. If you’re not doing the first two, you’ll never get enough new business to succeed.”

Relationship Marketing

Similar sentiments are expressed by another successful agent, Carol Lekki, Carol’s Travel Service & Cruise Center, Tinley Park, Il. “We’re keeping the tried and true marketing practices up — direct mail, e-mail consumer promotions, etc.,” she reported. “But we’re also more aggressively using a personal approach to touch our customers.”

One example can be found in written communications. “Our vice president, Dan, and I recently sent out very personal letters to our top 500 customers,” reported Lekki. “We thanked them for allowing us to share in their vacations. We told them how they make our job a pleasure, because they’re great people to deal with. Nothing about selling–no product mention, no coupons.”

This personalized approach extends to front-line agents, who also sent out a note at the end of 2009. “Our front-line agents sent personal notes to their top 15 clients,” reported Lekki. “Essentially, their message said, ‘At the end of the year, I’m reflecting back what fun I had planning your Cancun trip. Thank you for allowing me to be part of that; for allowing me to be your travel agent.’”

Early results indicate the approach is very effective. “The notes stimulated people into thinking about travel,” said Lekki. “We just had a Europe night with Trafalgar Tours, and 160 people attended. Normally we would get 40 or 50.”