4 Mistakes to Avoid As a Travel Agent
Look, we all know that very few kids want to grow up to be travel agents. It simply doesn’t have the same appeal as a doctor or a pilot in the eyes of children. As adults, our expectations and goals shift drastically. It is no longer about the glamour of the position but rather how well it suits you.
In this respect, becoming a travel agent can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life and help you make good money while you’re at it. Travel is one of those industries that aren’t going anywhere soon; also there are plenty of growth opportunities.
Many people think that with the advent of the internet, and the host of trip booking sites now available, the need for a travel agent is decreasing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The demand for travel agents is increasing because people need the personal touch and expertise that only a travel agent can provide, and no app or website can replicate.
Whether you’re already in the business or thinking of getting started there are some common travel agent mistakes you should look out for. Many of these mistakes by travel agents hurt the client’s experience and hence the bottom line. It is especially frustrating because they are so easily avoidable.
So let’s take a look at four mistakes by travel agents that you should avoid.
Lack of Differentiation
Allow us to use a rather simple example to illustrate this point. Have you ever been grocery shopping? Well, of course, you have! Think of a common product that you often shop for. Let’s say detergent. Now, when you go grocery shopping and see rows full of detergents from hundreds of brands, how do you decide which one to buy?
Most of them have the same properties, and pretty much all of them do the same thing. The answer to your question is why differentiation matters so much. This is the first pillar of building a brand. In the age of the internet, potential clients can simply perform a Google search and find a travel agent near them.
More often than not, they will get hundreds of travel agents in their vicinity. This is your competition, or in other words: these agents are the other detergents. One of the most common mistakes by travel agents is that they don’t spend enough time differentiating themselves.
Anyone can book a flight to Cancun, find a hotel, and book a taxi. You must ask yourself: what do I do differently? Why should people come to me instead of the competition? Is it the low prices? Is it a personalised service?
Find one or several differentiating factors and stress them as a part of your brand, so people know just why they should come to you.
No Focus on Digital Marketing
This is a slight extension of the previous point in some ways. We’ve already spoken about how all it takes to find every travel agent is a web search. This means that you need to work on getting on top of those results.
The best way to do this is to maintain a great website where you regularly post useful content for your potential clients. Not only that, but you will also have to learn about search engine optimization and build your digital marketing strategy in mind.
Furthermore, you need to maintain an active presence online, especially on social media. Post testimonials, special packages, helpful infographics, anything really as long as you’re active. This is one of the easiest travel agent mistakes to avoid because chances are you already use the internet a lot. Now you simply have to use it to build and maintain your online business persona.
Operating in Unfamiliar Territory
Have you ever gone around looking for advice on something technical? You run into someone who should, by all means, have the answers to your questions. Yet, when you inquire about whatever it is you wished to know, they can’t give you a satisfactory answer.
When you know something and care about it deeply, it translates over to the listener. A common mistake that many travel agents make is to operate in areas where they have no experience. A lot goes into travelling. Clients can Google where to go, how to get there, and the popular things they can do there.
If that’s all you can give them, then why do they need you? No! You must deliver something unique that isn’t commonly known. This doesn’t have to be life-changing information, simply knowledge that only someone who is experienced with something would know.
To avoid this common travel agent mistake, try to choose territories that you are intimately familiar with. Of course, this won’t always be possible, so at the very least, you should conduct thorough research into the location from several sources so you can present a fair opinion when asked by a potential client.
Lethargic Operations
This is not only limited to travel agents, of course. There is something magnetic about determined individuals. When clients come to travel agents, they want to know that they’ll be well taken care of throughout the trip.
Nobody wants to leave every detail of their stay in a foreign land in the hands of someone who can’t even answer the phone on time or doesn’t follow up after promising. To avoid this common mistake by travel agents, you must take a proactive and enthusiastic approach to your business.
This energy will be naturally transmitted over to the clients, who will feel their hesitancy evaporate when they speak to you.
Final Word
These have been the four biggest and most common mistakes by travel agents in our view. If you wish to attain long-term success in this field, we hope that you will avoid them. Good luck!