After we’re done taking that last bag of trash from a wonderful Thanksgiving meal is a perfect time to clean up our travel businesses. Kids are back in school, and the holiday stress is kicking in. Who has time to think about planning a vacation? It’s the nature of the travel industry. Don’t waste this time; clean up!
Now is the best time to organize your travel house, including the marketing and financial aspects. Without a solid plan, how can you expect to make money? Take advantage of the slower times to clean up and tidy your agency’s marketing and financial plans. Evaluate preferred suppliers, adjust them as needed, and allocate your advertising budget wisely. Unearth those ever-elusive co-op funds. And in the spirit of cleaning, consider trimming your client list.
Yes, it’s hard but necessary. We all have clients who are more trouble than they’re worth—those tire-kickers who never commit, the excessively needy, or simply not the clients you want. Instead of a massive purge, look at your existing database hard. Identify and discard unprofitable clients. Why spend four hours on a $25 airline ticket fee? That’s $6.25 per hour!
Define what makes a bad client for you. It might be someone who can never commit in a reasonable time, requires excessive handholding, or doesn’t respect your time by not returning calls. Use your CRM to tag these clients as “MOID” (Maybe, Only If Desperate). Assess your desperation threshold—whether you’re slow, far below sales projections, or close to a supplier incentive.
Consider the profitability of your clients. Calculate the true cost of a booking, factoring in the sales process and post-sale follow-up. You might discover that a $75 commission from a “cheap of the week supplier” costs you more. Identify and let go of consistently unprofitable clients, especially those who demand extensive time only to book the cheapest option due to a tight budget. Tag them in your database with a “¢” sign to avoid surprises when working for peanuts—or less!
While every client has some value, something needs to change if their value diminishes to the point of losing money. In today’s travel landscape, being a generalist is no longer enough. Find your niche, specialize, and target your audience.
Speaking of targeting. Prune your email list as well. Why even bother sending an email broadcast to a “client” that never sees your message? Use your program to find subscribers who have not opened an email in 3 or 6 months (depending on your frequency) and send them a goodbye message—hey there, we noticed you have not checked us out lately; if you still want to receive our emails, let us know by clicking here. And then prune those who did not click. And the bonus is that if you are approaching a price increase tier with your email provider, you gain some wiggle room!
So, after finalizing your marketing and financial plans and tossing out that outdated 1997 Tauck brochure, consider pruning your clients—just a little! It’s the key to a more profitable and streamlined year ahead.
