While this last year and a half introduced us to new obstacles, there are lessons that can be learned to incorporate into a successful strategic business plan moving forward. As we welcome the return of travel, full of promises and hope, it's more important than ever to focus on adapting your business and preparing for growth.
Here are five tips to help you build a better business and make your mark with the return of travel:
1. Be open and communicative with your clients.
With travel returning as reality for many, travelers are eager to get back to exploring the world. As a trusted source of knowledge, here's where you step in to balance their expectations with current realities, while also continuing to inspire for what's to come.
It can be hard for travelers to know what information is accurate as they navigate the day-to-day unknowns. Vacation planners are uniquely qualified to provide honest information to their clients directly from the supplier sources, so travelers can feel secure with where they put their trust.
Smart Solution: Using an all-in-one solution such as Avoya's Agent Power™ technology, you'll have a knowledge base of industry and supplier resources, as well as effective communication resources to assist you with staying connected with your clients. Looking to reach customers in a new, efficient way? Avoya Conversations™ allows you to communicate with clients via SMS messaging directly within Agent Power.
2. Keep clients connected and engaged.
Even if your business operations needed to temporarily change to survive, don't let your client engagement strategy completely go off grid long-term. Having no presence with your clients now is an easy way to miss out on bookings made when booking patterns change later.
An easy and effective way to stand out among digital clutter and keep clients engaged is to elevate your marketing with social media updates, inspiring travel imagery, personalized email campaigns and more. It’s a simple and cost-effective way to create positive, memorable interactions with your clients.
Smart Solution: Avoya's Marketing Resource Center™ is filled with highly effective resources (available at no additional cost) to continue building your client relationships.
3. Keep your selling skills strong.
Though the stakes to close sales may seem higher than ever before right now, taking the time to go back and master the basics of selling and customer service will help you solidify your foundation of future sales success.
Now is the perfect time to focus on fine-tuning your skills to help you be more successful moving forward in the new travel landscape, and the best way to do so is through ongoing education and professional development.
Smart Solution: Avoya's award-winning professional development programs are constantly adapting to meet current industry needs, including increasing our recent virtual event roster to ensure you can still access the education you need, no matter what.
4. Be prepared to help your customers explore again.
While some travelers are starting to explore again, bookings may still be coming in slower than pre-pandemic levels. The time you spend preparing now can help strategically position you when those bookings start to come in again.
Make sure flexibility is a key component of your business moving forward, for every trip you help design and every client conversation you have. Even the most carefully laid plans must be flexible, as these challenges have proved to be unpredictable.
Smart Solution: Reaching out when you need help can save time and money in running your independent travel business, as well as help you feel less alone in times of crisis. At Avoya, we're always here to help with live support available seven days a week.
5. Diversify your product specialties.
If there's anything these times have taught us, it's the importance of branching out and not having all your eggs in one basket. Being able to adapt and adopt new product specialties can help solidify your future groundwork.
When planning for the future, ask yourself what you can do to ensure your business is covered from all angles. Maybe that's learning to sell land products until normal cruise booking behavior returns – you might be surprised what opportunities await.
Smart Solution: Our educational offerings create opportunities for you to explore other niches, so you can stay ahead of the competition and create a surge in sales when travel returns.
Throughout the past year and a half, we've rallied to make sure vacation planners continue to have the additional support they need to overcome these unpredictable times. Our products and services are designed to help you, so you in turn can be ready to help your clients and have a successful future ahead. Reach out today to find out how we can help your business prepare for the future.
