Are Travel Advisors Ready for what is Next?
Travel advisors are more important than ever, but are they ready?
“Travel advisors will be more important than ever.” so says the Boston Globe in a recent article. They say that, and all travel advisors should believe them. Your value is more obvious than before, and such publicity will attract new customers. But are travel advisors ready?
For the past few months my articles have been focused on encouraging travel advisors to prepare for the post Covid19 travel world. And I have probably mentioned the words relaunch and innovation more times than considered normal. But it is necessary as it is clear that what made travel advisors successful in the past, will not be exactly the same as what will make them successful in the post Covid-19 future.
So, of travel advisors, I ask, are you ready for what is next?
1. Are you ready to promote yourselves based on knowledge? Let every client and potential client know your business, specifically what you can do, and how useful you can be right now given the situation. Promote what you know and how current your information is as it relates to new developments with flights, and travel requirements to specific destinations. Right now, things are changing fast, so staying current is a competitive advantage. Use it.
2. Are you ready to service apprehensive customers? You are a real-life human being, which means that you can be empathetic and flexible in the service you provide. This is exactly the type of service customers who are on the fence with their travel decisions will need. Share and use the experience you gained a few months ago at the start of the pandemic when you saved the day for your clients. Communicate how you successfully negotiated refunds and cancellations. This will help you build the confidence of any hesitant customers.
3. Are you ready to deliver innovation? Innovation will prove to be critical at this time, and travel advisors must be ready to deliver. Being innovative does not necessarily mean inventing something brand new; innovation can come in the simplest of ways. It is as simple as recognizing your customers’ major pain points and coming up with a way to specifically ease the collective pain. Realize that innovation here may call for reengineering a relationship with a supplier, or a new collaboration which seems out of left field, but it fits perfectly because it solves the problem. To qualify as innovative, your initiative simply has to be new and useful.
Do these three things and you will be ready for what’s next.
