How Engaged Are Your Clients?

As travel agents, we share a lot of great information with our clients. Most of the time, we receive minimal feedback, which can be very frustrating. But we need to realize that most of the recipients of our communications won’t respond until they are ready to plan their next vacation. In fact, they will probably delete your email or throw away your brochures with barely a glance. Some may save them but forget where.

People are busy doing multiple things all the time. Building a business, getting projects done, caring for families, just staying afloat – these things take up a lot of time and space. People’s lives get so hectic with all the daily activities they have that they need to weed out the chaff. Not to say that the information you send them is junk; it’s just not pertinent to them at the time. They delete it to make room for pressing issues and tasks du jour.

That’s why it is so important to continue sending information to all your clients until they are ready for it. When they are at the point of thinking about planning their next trip, then they will take the time to read it and react to it. It is now a priority for them.

Take advantage of those times when your clients are ready to plan a trip. Don’t expect them to drag out your email or dust off your brochure from last year. People best remember the most recent information that they receive. It’s more likely that clients will reference the email, post or mailing you sent them last week than dig out something your sent them last year, even if they can find it, which is a long shot.

So, how do you go about sending and resending the information without seeming like a nag or being redundant? It’s a moot point; not many will notice your repetitiveness. They haven’t been paying attention because they weren’t really interested at the time. They likely just scan it and delete it. When they’re ready to travel, your material will catch their eye and be top of mind.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel either to get your information in front of them. Use social media, email campaigns and direct mail to share your information. There are ways to automate the process, as well, so that you can repeat it as often as desired. Your message can say the same thing as long as it’s consistent. Different methods and platforms will reach different target groups.

Take advantage of slow travel periods to create your marketing campaigns. Research the web for ideas; there’s a treasure trove of applicable information out there.

The bottom line is, don’t give up because you think no one is listening. They’ll pay attention when it matters to them. And when they do, it will make all your persistence pay off!