Tip – Read these ideas with an open mind, if they aren’t perfect for your business think about how you could modify them to made them fit.
Do you have any newsworthy stories under your nose ? An old couple returning to their homeland for their 50th wedding aniversary ? A young sporting team travelling overseas to compete ? Do you see a sudden increase in clients going to a particular country ? All of these stories could merit reporting in local newspapers and media. Find the email address of the journalist who covers local interest stories and email them. The best way to get PR is to become a source, journalists need sources, quotes and tips.
Look at things from the clients point of view, what additional information could you be providing that would help your clients ? Can you offer clients a list of local dog/cat sitters who can feed their pets when they are away ? Do you know where the best place is for them to leave their car when they are away for a short trip ? The more you solve the clients problems, especially the ones unrelated to selling them travel, the more likely they are to recommend you to their friends and family.
If you’re asking for referrals make sure you reassure people. One reason people don’t refer their friends and family to businesses is that they worry about the business under delivering, which of course reflects badly on them. Don’t just say “if you’ve enjoyed our service please tell your friends about us”, provide some reassurance that if they do refer people these new clients will be well taken care of. ”If you’ve enjoyed our service please tell your friends about us. We want to give your friends and family the best service we can so make sure they tell us you referred them!”.
It’s all about smoothing out the wrinkles. There are hundreds of interaction points where a client or potential client can decide to stop, turn around and go elsewhere. There are hundreds of little wrinkles in the process of dealing with your agency that make things a little bit harder for your clients. Every time you can identify and remove one of these wrinkles your business become a little bit more efficient at turning prospects into clients.
There are some process wrinkles that we are all aware of, and should have already addressed :
- Are your contact details easy to find on your website ?
- Are your opening hours clearly displayed on your shop front so that passers by know when they can visit ?
- Are your staff greeting people with a smile soon after they step into your premises ?
Once you have removed all of the obvious defects in your business interactions it’s time to look more closely for some of the more subtle wrinkles that may be deterring clients. It’s very difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a client who has just walked in to your agency because you are so intimately familiar with it but if you can do that and walk through the process as they would you will find lots of moments of uncertainty that you need to remove.
Every time a potential client is uncertain or is forced to make a decision is a moment when they may turn away.
For you ideal client dealing with your business should be as smooth a process as possible, from the moment they find your website or pass your shop front to the moment they make their final payment for their travel.
