Travel consultants who build a successful and thriving clientele base think nearly constantly about marketing, often without labeling it “marketing.” It is important, however, to place marketing in its proper context. Marketing is not a hunger for client acquisition, a desperate rush of activity designed to make consumers notice your business. Rather, marketing is client-centric. It begins with assessing the needs of clients, designing ways to meet the need, and finally making sure that prospective clients know and believe that you can meet those needs. Over time, marketing raises the brand awareness of the travel agency with both existing and potential clients.
But understanding marketing requires reflection and study. Our culture offers many, many ways to study marketing. Smart travel consultants do well to become students. The experienced marketer is always thinking about marketing opportunities. The more overtly and consciously you effect your marketing, the more you develop a marketing mindset. Ironically, marketing is not difficult, nor hard to understand. At its most basic, marketing is really quite simple. Marketing is the process of building relationships in a business context. For that reason, marketing can be as simple as speaking to someone each and every day about travel. Marketing can be no more than reaching out to your existing clients to ensure that you are meeting their needs. Good marketing is done systematically, with a plan. It is done with intention.
Marketing has goals centered around the two fundamental objectives of i) client acquisition and ii) client retention. A passion for travel is a good place to start a travel business, but marketing is essential to the establishment and growth of a top-notch travel practice. Now may be a good time to begin reorienting yourself and seeking to develop a fundamental awareness of the role in marketing plays in your business. Marketing is every bit as important as product knowledge in a travel practice
