As a travel agent in today’s market, finding clients can be difficult and sometimes confusing… especially when you work from home. The process of generating new clients is the lifeblood of your business. You can’t grow unless you have leads flowing in. Today we’re talking about how to find clients for your travel business so you can stop depending on friends and family as a lead source.
Before we dive in, here’s a quick question for you…
In your travel business right now, how many unique leads do you have coming in every week that are not friends and family? The answer to this is your lead flow source.
If your answer is zero, don’t worry. That’s why you’re here. If you are looking to dive more into this, you can watch our free masterclass to figure out if the travel industry is right for you.
The first thing you need to get clear on is who your ideal clients are. Consider what you sell, what your niches are, who you reach, and who you envision buying trips from you.
If you’re a Disney-specific agent, your ideal customers are likely families or empty nesters that have a special place for all things Disney in their hearts. On the other hand, if you specialize in African safari trips, your customers are going to look a lot different.
Once you get clear on your ideal client, it’s important to consider all the ways you can reach them through marketing.
Targeted marketing is extremely effective and spreads out your marketing dollars to really amplify the process of finding and converting clients. The more money you put towards your marketing, the more return you’ll see on your investment.
Most social platforms allow you to target who you’re marketing toward. For example, with Facebook, you can build a custom audience to get your posts in front of people that will be gravitated toward your offering. Google also allows you to target specific areas and zip codes to reach particular people.
You may also want to try out pay-per-click ads. These ads use search terms to run ads based on the things that your audience is searching.
Even if you’re just starting out, grab a table and attend an event to meet people and generate leads.
You’ll also learn how to optimize online ads for social platforms, best SEO practices, sales funnel setups, and more. If these are new strategies for you, don’t worry! We’ll go over all of this in the program.
Having a video strategy is not only fun, but it’s also free. Creating a video strategy can allow you to position yourself as an expert, share your love of travel, and connect with people across different platforms. Plus, it can be as simple as picking up your phone and chatting for a couple of minutes.
When it comes to promoting your business on social media, don’t feel like you have to do them all. It’s better to pick two or three platforms to focus on.
Keep in mind that being a user of the platform is not the same as having a strategy for success on that platform.
All of the pre-mentioned tips are just the first phase of marketing your travel business. The next step in the marketing process is to put your leads through marketing to build relationships, warm your leads, and convert your audience into sales.
On average, people need to see your brand 7 times before they become more familiar with it. Even then, people’s attention spans are shorter than ever. To really ensure you’re converting leads, you need to ensure you have marketing systems and processes in place to further convert those leads into sales.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or someone looking to turn their passion into a career, the travel industry in 2024 offers exciting possibilities!
Ready to be a travel agent? Dive in to what it really takes – from the allure of ‘free’ corporate gigs to the nitty-gritty of running your own show.
Fortify your travel business against cyber threats with these practical cybersecurity strategies, ensuring your clients’ trust and your business’s resilience in the digital era.
