Travel Sellers Mastermind Group
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Mickey Smith
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February 6, 2018
The Critical Times for Your Marketing Messages*
Google has identified “micro-moments” that have reshaped the travel industry:
They are:
The I want to get away moments, The Time to make a plan moments, The Let’s book it moments and The Can’t wait to explore moments.
These are the micro-moments that make up the travel decision-making process.
1. The Day Dreaming
2. The Planning
3. The Booking
4. The Experiencing
1. The Day Dreaming
This doesn’t always happen during the day. It is best if you can put your post out twice during the day…Once right after lunch on the east coast, and once right after dinner on the west coast. This way, you can catch your day-dreamers while they are dreaming. It is best if you can get to them while they are wanting to get away from where they currently are. Great if it is a blizzard in part of the country, or if it is a long stretch of work, about a week after a holiday.
At the dreaming moment, people are looking through pictures and reading articles about places they could go. They are watching all of those travel videos and looking at maps about what kind of fish there are in a snorkel dive, or when the turtles come back, or if Uber works in that part of the world.
As a travel seller, your info should direct them at this point to your niche specialties.
- Some people never thought they would want to take an organized tour.
- Some people don’t know if they want a hotel with concierge, or a fully loaded Airbnb.
- Most people want a way to make sure their dreams can come true and this trip is a way of doing that.
- As a travel agent, you can be their gateway for making dream come true.
2. The Planning
People move from dreaming to planning once they start thinking about the dates and the cost. If you have a travel planning form or other planning device to help them cost their trip, this is what they want to know. Is it available, and what is the budget? Travelers with the exception of close friends and family of agents, are more loyal to their experience than their brand. They want what they want when they want. If you aren’t there to deliver it, they will find someone else.
- Some people didn’t know that planning a successful overseas trip could be so complicated.
- Some people didn’t understand that they would miss viewing the wales by just a few days by cooking it by themselves.
- Some people didn’t understand that using a specific company would almost guarantee them entry into all of the places they want to go.
- Some people didn’t realize that the cost of using a travel agent is eaten up with the supplier, and for the same cost if they use you, they can sometimes get extras and freebies.
- from: think with Google (See Below)*
3. The Booking
Users move to clients at this point. They are done dreaming and planning and are trying to find the best deal possible. Their cards are out of their wallets and are sitting beside them. They are either on their third cup of coffee, or their second glass of wine. If they are not surprising someone with the trip, they are talking to that person as well. They are nervous about the decision they are making, but that nervousness is overridden by the excitement for the trip. They pull the trigger and make it happen.
- Some people don’t know that they should be purchasing travel insurance.
- Some people don’t actually pull the trigger on the trip because it is just too much and there is too much to worry about.
- Some people don’t make it through the process because something blocks them with an unanswerable question in the process.
- Some people needed to find you as a travel agent in order to carry them confidently through this critical moment.
4. The Experiencing
Clients are actually on their trip. The trip itself is an amazing point of opportunity for the sale. Imagine if you are dating someone and every date seems perfect. Every moment is a point of seeing how much care is taken to make you feel like a queen or a king. These moments are happening all the time for a client during the trip. How are they feeling during the trip will dictate their looking forward to the next trip as a client of yours. Likewise, if on your last trip, they were treated like royalty, but on this one they ventured out on their own, they are likely to come back to you because of their experience.
- Some people will take pictures and share their experience with others.
- Some people will gripe about the service they get on their trip.
- Some people will have the best time of their lives, escaping reality for a short while and come back with refilled batteries, and looking forward to the next opportunity.
- Did you do everything you could with each client?4
Ideas for Improvement
- Non-committal create-a-trip form on your website and linked directly from your Facebook page
- Easy instructions on booking especially if you don’t have a booking engine on your site.
- Can users chat directly with you on your website, on your social media?
- Do you have a quick response to inquiries? Response within an hour is a long time in this game. Response within a minute is ideal.
Are you aware that up to 40% of U.S. Travel site visits come from mobile?*
Well, that brings up an idea for the next article.
*This is adapted, abbreviated and updated from another article you should also read:
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/micro-moments/micro-moments-travel-customer-journey/
Find us at the TravelAgentForum 2018 Event. I look forward to meeting you in person
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April 8-11, 2018
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