Running a small to a medium-sized travel agency is tough. With the economy, political strife, COVID, violence at home and abroad, and a myriad of other factors, it is becoming more and more difficult to run an agency of any size. Toss in some of the bigger online competitors with gigantic marketing budgets, and what’s a small agency to do? How do you compete with them?
SPOILER: You don’t. Face it, you can’t.
But that does not suggest you need to throw in the towel and upload that resume to Indeed.com. Quite the contrary. When you fly Southwest, you know exactly where you are in the boarding process. And that is the key to successfully running an agency today—know your place in the industry. And it is NOT competing with the big guys. Here are five strategies to make sure that you are the “big guy” within your place in the industry.
Prioritize Business Networking
First off, let me say I abhor networking groups. They work for some, but to me, they just feel like an AA meeting gone off the rails. If that is your thing, work it. Otherwise, get to know other businesses in your area. You would be surprised at the number of referrals you can get from a solid business relationship. Become part of your business community—join the chamber or business association. You may not get business from the other business owners, but as long as you are reciprocating, you will get referrals. In my town, the local hardware store just installed a solar system by another local business. A customer asked about it (he’s paying zero for electricity now), and now the customer has contacted the solar business. Make relationships!
Encourage Reviews
Customer reviews are crucial for any local business. People look at them. People act on the positive ones. And encourage your customers to place their reviews on Google as that will help with getting you closer to the top in any searches. Include a link to your Google profile in your email signature. As a follow-up to travel, ask customers to review their trip. Do NOT incentivize them to review you—if Google finds out, it’s a mess. Respond to all reviews even with a simple “thank you” if not more. And it should go without saying, if you are aware of an issue with a trip—get ahead of it before the client takes to the internet to blast you. But if they do get on Google, respond. Let them know you will work to resolve any issues and ask them to contact you by phone or a personal visit. Take it offline!
Make Your Website Responsive
We are all on our mobile phones today. Your customers are searching for you on their mobile phones, so your website needs to be responsive (shrinks or expands to the size of the screen). Most pre-packaged themes today are responsive, but you should check. As for some tips—keep the text minimal—no one is reading a full itinerary on their phone, use a link to a PDF they can download or print off at home. And check your site out on different devices. Look at it on the desktop, the laptop, the tablet, and the phone. Make adjustments as needed.
Use Local SEO Best Practices
SEO, or search engine optimization, is local. The search engines will know the location of your customer and of your business. Google is the gorilla in terms of search so it is critical to create a Google My Business account and fill it out completely with hours, types of travel sold, addresses, phone numbers, websites, etc. And a little tip—if you use customer testimonials on your website, you can mask the name (John F) but make sure you put their town and state (John F. Annapolis, MD) so the search engines can have another nugget to place you locally.
Invest in Social-Media
I have said this before, you MUST be on social media as a business today. However, you don’t need to be on EVERY platform. Pick the ones that you feel your clients will use the most frequently. Ask them!
And then use it. Post engaging content (video and images are kings), engage with your followers regularly, keep an eye on the competition (and even the big guys), and run ads if appropriate (best bang for your buck if targeted properly)
Customers, consider brand visibility as their prime source of credibility. As a local business owner, you need to make sure to own the local market. The big OTAs will always outspend and out-market you, focus your efforts locally and reap the rewards!
