Why Consumers Book Elsewhere
To have an understanding of how to best engage clients in the buying process, we need to analyze other distribution channels and the reason a consumer might choose those channels over a travel professional. A consumer might choose to book directly with a supplier or through an online agency. But in each instance, the consumer booking other than through a travel agent does so convinced that it is their best interest.
Note that we are not discussing the client choosing to book with a traditional travel agent other than you. The choice between two agencies comes down to an entirely different set of criteria. If you are continually losing business to the travel agency down the street, the issues you face are somewhat other than the ones we will be investigating at this juncture. Your real competition is with the thousands of consumers who choose to book other than through a travel agency – the “do-it-yourselfers” that have yet to be won over from the dark side. |
Effective marketing is the way many consumers will decide to book through a travel agent. It is nevertheless important for you to make certain that all of your marketing efforts are authentic and properly represent your agency to the public. As we have discussed, the public mistrusts much marketing and advertising by travel agencies. But there are steps you can take during the actual buying process to cement your relationship with the client through the booking process and beyond.
Consumers who self-book:
During the process of your initial interviews with clients, you have a very short window of opportunity to address each of these issues. Openly dealing with possible objections early in the relationship is far preferable to addressing them later as an obstacle to closing a booking. The agent can provide the client with a sense of empowerment, demystify travel and encourage the client to participate fully in the research and booking process without fear of losing the client. All it takes is a bit of confidence and preparation.
Why Consumers Book Online
The most common reason, and one that overshadows all others for do-it-yourself booking, is “empowerment”. Consumers who book on their own like the feeling that they have full knowledge of the vacation planning process. The consumer feels “in charge” with so much information accessible on the other side of their keyboard. Whether the consumer is using Google to research a destination or using Travelocity to research and book the specific components of a trip, they have immediate access to hundreds, even thousands of options to even the most obscure destination.
Travel agents know well the counter-arguments. Having information is different from understanding information. The overload of possibilities, obscure tour operators and options can overwhelm a consumer who can then make disastrous choices based on price, the pictures used on the suppliers web site or any number of reasons having nothing to do with the reliability or quality of the supplier’s operation. The supplier may be inappropriate for the travel preferences of the client. Customer service is non-existent when using an online travel site for air and hotel reservations. An airline’s site deprives you of alternative.
But these are all counter-arguments and who wants to argue?
The client who chooses to book themselves wants to feel empowered. They view the travel agent through the retail paradigm that positions the travel agent as selling travel. Before the internet, travel agents had access to “hidden” resources like the GDS systems and access to travel specials not available direct to the public. The retail paradigm indicates that as a retailer, the travel agent’s mission is to sell the travel commodity for as high a price as the client will possibly pay to earn a higher commission. The self-booking consumer wants to cut through all of the mystery and to “see for themselves” what is out there, to shop around and compare values and prices. Is this a scenario for a trusting, long lasting relationship?
Maybe.
From the outset of your relationship with any client, seek to shift the paradigm away from retail to consultant. You are not going to sell anything. You are going to coach the client into making a good buying decision. Clients are going to research on the internet. Clients will see other opportunities to purchase travel. Your reaction? GREAT! Encourage them to bring you options if they care to research along with you. You and the client can work as a team, coach. If your job is to assist the client in making a smart buying decision, then why does the source of the information matter?
Demystify travel for your clients. Empower them. Tell them how travel works, but more importantly, tell them how YOU work. Explain your expertise and how it benefits them. Explain your consortia, supplier relationships, and professional resources and how it benefits them. Incorporate them fully in the process of travel planning.
Travelocity offering a package $300 less than you have found it? Good! That might be a viable option if you cannot get a price match from one of your suppliers who will provide superior customer service. Don't underestimate the expertise you bring to the table, the expertise that informs the client of the risks of using Travelocity, or the merits of using a supplier that you have dealt with for years and with which you have placed dozens of clients. It is your expertise that chose the destination, the resort, the nightlife and the excursions. It is your expertise that recommended a particular room in the resort. You provided the clients with the destination guides, the resort’s collateral and the comfort of having a professional sort through the information garnered in the research process. You now at least have the opportunity to explain your services rather than having the client "ghost you" and book elsewhere.
Why Consumers Book Direct
Consumers who self-book:
- Don’t clearly understand either the role of Travel Agent or the benefits of using an agent;
- Want to feel empowered;
- Fear that agents withhold information;
- Like the convenience of the internet;
- Fear they will pay more
During the process of your initial interviews with clients, you have a very short window of opportunity to address each of these issues. Openly dealing with possible objections early in the relationship is far preferable to addressing them later as an obstacle to closing a booking. The agent can provide the client with a sense of empowerment, demystify travel and encourage the client to participate fully in the research and booking process without fear of losing the client. All it takes is a bit of confidence and preparation.
Why Consumers Book Online
The most common reason, and one that overshadows all others for do-it-yourself booking, is “empowerment”. Consumers who book on their own like the feeling that they have full knowledge of the vacation planning process. The consumer feels “in charge” with so much information accessible on the other side of their keyboard. Whether the consumer is using Google to research a destination or using Travelocity to research and book the specific components of a trip, they have immediate access to hundreds, even thousands of options to even the most obscure destination.
Travel agents know well the counter-arguments. Having information is different from understanding information. The overload of possibilities, obscure tour operators and options can overwhelm a consumer who can then make disastrous choices based on price, the pictures used on the suppliers web site or any number of reasons having nothing to do with the reliability or quality of the supplier’s operation. The supplier may be inappropriate for the travel preferences of the client. Customer service is non-existent when using an online travel site for air and hotel reservations. An airline’s site deprives you of alternative.
But these are all counter-arguments and who wants to argue?
The client who chooses to book themselves wants to feel empowered. They view the travel agent through the retail paradigm that positions the travel agent as selling travel. Before the internet, travel agents had access to “hidden” resources like the GDS systems and access to travel specials not available direct to the public. The retail paradigm indicates that as a retailer, the travel agent’s mission is to sell the travel commodity for as high a price as the client will possibly pay to earn a higher commission. The self-booking consumer wants to cut through all of the mystery and to “see for themselves” what is out there, to shop around and compare values and prices. Is this a scenario for a trusting, long lasting relationship?
Maybe.
From the outset of your relationship with any client, seek to shift the paradigm away from retail to consultant. You are not going to sell anything. You are going to coach the client into making a good buying decision. Clients are going to research on the internet. Clients will see other opportunities to purchase travel. Your reaction? GREAT! Encourage them to bring you options if they care to research along with you. You and the client can work as a team, coach. If your job is to assist the client in making a smart buying decision, then why does the source of the information matter?
Demystify travel for your clients. Empower them. Tell them how travel works, but more importantly, tell them how YOU work. Explain your expertise and how it benefits them. Explain your consortia, supplier relationships, and professional resources and how it benefits them. Incorporate them fully in the process of travel planning.
Travelocity offering a package $300 less than you have found it? Good! That might be a viable option if you cannot get a price match from one of your suppliers who will provide superior customer service. Don't underestimate the expertise you bring to the table, the expertise that informs the client of the risks of using Travelocity, or the merits of using a supplier that you have dealt with for years and with which you have placed dozens of clients. It is your expertise that chose the destination, the resort, the nightlife and the excursions. It is your expertise that recommended a particular room in the resort. You provided the clients with the destination guides, the resort’s collateral and the comfort of having a professional sort through the information garnered in the research process. You now at least have the opportunity to explain your services rather than having the client "ghost you" and book elsewhere.
Why Consumers Book Direct
Most clients understand the possibility of a direct purchase from the tour operator, cruise line or other supplier as an alternative distribution channel. Understanding why clients sometimes purchase directly from a supplier can assist you in broadening your market reach.
Consumers are driven to book directly with suppliers by two key motivators: the perception of expertise and the perception of greater value. Look at a supplier’s web site – most are a wealth of information on a niche area of travel. If a client already knows, for example, that they want to go on a safari, the depth of resources on many safari tour operator’s web sites is impressive. The site has personality and confidently speaks to exactly what the consumer is looking for in their travel experience. In addition, many consumers operate under the incorrect assumption that using a travel agent will cost them more as a result of the supplier covering the cost of the travel agent’s commission. Both factors, niche expertise and and expectation of higher costs, may serve to drive the consumer direct to a supplier. |
What we have here is a failure to communicate the travel agent’s value proposition. In both your marketing materials and your one-on-one interviews with clients, explain how the travel industry works. Because perception is reality, if your clients do not understand how they benefit from your services, they do not believe there is a benefit.
Travel professionals offer something no supplier offers: choice. Suppliers are not consultants and will not recommend their competitors. The supplier will not assist the consumer in shopping around for the best value. Explain to the client they will not be precluded from the niche expertise of any tour operator by working with you as their consultant. Instead of being limited to one tour operator’s products, the entire array of options and possible tour operators is now open. By utilizing the professional tools at your disposal, your supplier relationships, peer communities, consortia and other industry resources, you can assist the client with evaluating which supplier is the best match for their needs and desires. Explain suppliers do not charge additional costs when an agent is involved and there is no discount for not using an agent. Again, your marketing and sales hurdle is two fold – disabuse the client of misperceptions and explain how the industry is structured. Do so without heavy use of industry jargon. Carry your expertise with grace and confidence.
Why Consumers Book Elsewhere – It’s Convenient
Travel professionals offer something no supplier offers: choice. Suppliers are not consultants and will not recommend their competitors. The supplier will not assist the consumer in shopping around for the best value. Explain to the client they will not be precluded from the niche expertise of any tour operator by working with you as their consultant. Instead of being limited to one tour operator’s products, the entire array of options and possible tour operators is now open. By utilizing the professional tools at your disposal, your supplier relationships, peer communities, consortia and other industry resources, you can assist the client with evaluating which supplier is the best match for their needs and desires. Explain suppliers do not charge additional costs when an agent is involved and there is no discount for not using an agent. Again, your marketing and sales hurdle is two fold – disabuse the client of misperceptions and explain how the industry is structured. Do so without heavy use of industry jargon. Carry your expertise with grace and confidence.
Why Consumers Book Elsewhere – It’s Convenient
We are a society that puts a high value on convenience. The pace of life, frenetic as it can be, means consumers looking for travel cannot always do so in a 9 to 5 time slot. Online booking portals offer a 24X7 opportunity to research travel and book. A consumer can choose their own time for research, can educate themselves and do so without encountering any pressure to make an immediate decision. It would benefit travel professionals looking to establish long term relationships to find ways of creating a sense of convenience and accessibility that clients will find equally attractive.
With others in the marketplace vying for the attention of the same potential clients, it is important for travel professionals to consider exactly how accessible they are. Accessibility is sum of the characteristics that make you easy to remember, easy to find, approachable, likable and worthy of trust. Each of these elements are wrapped up in your approach to the market and should be given fair consideration as you position your company in your community. |
Most importantly to the buying process, your language and demeanor need to be friendly and approachable. Be flexible in your meeting times and make a real effort to accommodate the clients’ schedule. Give your clients multiple ways of reaching you: telephone, cell number and email or texting. Let your clients know when you are available and be prompt in returning their messages. Keep your meetings friendly and relaxed. Overly formal settings may be uncomfortable for your non-luxury clients.
Use appropriate language and vocabulary when explaining travel to your clients. If you couch your discussions in travel jargon, or if you fail to intuit your clients’ emotional needs or financial concerns, they may perceive you as aloof or out of touch with their sensibilities.
Avoid putting pressure on the client to make a decision. Consumers do not want to feel that the purchasing decision is more important to their travel agent than it is to them. An overly aggressive “sales” approach is completely counter-productive to building a long-term relationship. Explain the fleeting nature of pricing, but allow that in and of itself be the only urgency you place on the decision making process.
Finally, know that many of your clients will do some of their own research. If you seek to discourage a client’s curiosity or propensity to do their own research, your client may interpret it as an attempt to withhold information or to keep them at a disadvantage. Instead, adopt a very open demeanor in your discussions with the client and encourage them to bring any information they find to you for clarification or discussion.
The more open and friendly you are, the more clients will see you as a part of their team. If a client perceives you as accessible and approachable, you will find them at your door more often.
After Thought
Regardless of the reason a consumer uses for self-booking, the root cause most often comes down to the travel agency community’s failure to consistently and clearly demonstrate it’s value proposition. For every reason not to use an agent, relatively simple to understand counters are available to present a strong argument for using a travel professional. However, what is clear is that the traveling public by-and-large does not fully understand what a travel agent does for them.
It is tempting to blame the consumer for this lack of knowledge, but the responsibility is 100% at the feet of the travel industry for failing to properly explain the value and role of the travel agent to the process of purchasing travel. Simply put, the retail paradigm is not only not conducive to the establishment of a long-term consultative relationship, it is simply no longer viable. Those that continue to cling to it will be replaced not by the internet, but by more adept travel consultants. It’s time to re-align our public image.
Use appropriate language and vocabulary when explaining travel to your clients. If you couch your discussions in travel jargon, or if you fail to intuit your clients’ emotional needs or financial concerns, they may perceive you as aloof or out of touch with their sensibilities.
Avoid putting pressure on the client to make a decision. Consumers do not want to feel that the purchasing decision is more important to their travel agent than it is to them. An overly aggressive “sales” approach is completely counter-productive to building a long-term relationship. Explain the fleeting nature of pricing, but allow that in and of itself be the only urgency you place on the decision making process.
Finally, know that many of your clients will do some of their own research. If you seek to discourage a client’s curiosity or propensity to do their own research, your client may interpret it as an attempt to withhold information or to keep them at a disadvantage. Instead, adopt a very open demeanor in your discussions with the client and encourage them to bring any information they find to you for clarification or discussion.
The more open and friendly you are, the more clients will see you as a part of their team. If a client perceives you as accessible and approachable, you will find them at your door more often.
After Thought
Regardless of the reason a consumer uses for self-booking, the root cause most often comes down to the travel agency community’s failure to consistently and clearly demonstrate it’s value proposition. For every reason not to use an agent, relatively simple to understand counters are available to present a strong argument for using a travel professional. However, what is clear is that the traveling public by-and-large does not fully understand what a travel agent does for them.
It is tempting to blame the consumer for this lack of knowledge, but the responsibility is 100% at the feet of the travel industry for failing to properly explain the value and role of the travel agent to the process of purchasing travel. Simply put, the retail paradigm is not only not conducive to the establishment of a long-term consultative relationship, it is simply no longer viable. Those that continue to cling to it will be replaced not by the internet, but by more adept travel consultants. It’s time to re-align our public image.