Travel industry is the fastest growing industry of the world that includes many direct and indirect businesses like transportation and accommodation. According to estimations, the global contribution of the tour and travel industry is more than 7.6 trillion USD. Well, the number says it all. There is a huge scope for your startup to grow in online travel business since the demand for the services is always increasing from the tourists and travellers.
So if you also want to start an online travel agency then go ahead but prepare yourself to face the fierce competition of this giant industry. However, starting a travel business is easy but difficulty lies in tackling many established businesses who are already there as your direct competitors. So to achieve a successful position in the field, you have to meet all the important aspects of running a business successfully. Straight from finding a perfect location to getting all the legal permissions and acknowledging partners, there are many steps one need to take care of. And by following a well-thought marketing plan, you can give your business a great start. Here are some steps to help you run your new business agency successfully.
Pick a niche:
As we have mentioned earlier, the travel industry is very huge. So having a step into everything from transportation to accommodation can be a bit costly and also you would invite a great competition to your doors. So first decide where you want to go ahead and then pick a singular niche. It can be a Hotel reservation website, flight booking site or a local minibus hire service. When you pinpoint a particular segment, you’ll filter out the competition coming in your way.
Plan everything in advance:
You need an effective business plan to keep things right on track. But it should not be a rough idea of what you’ll be doing rather it should have some definitive goals. You business plan must contain all the details of what you want to achieve. It should be based upon your market analysis and sales strategies. It should also include a strategy of removing all the possible hurdles coming in your way.
Implement some branding exercises:
In the digital space, branding is important for all type of businesses including your travel agency. It is all about creating awareness of your company and the services you are offering. Developing a creative web design for your business is one of the most effective ways to build a positive perception in the market. You can also create other high quality design items like a business logo,a brochure or a business card etc. But make sure whatever you are doing for branding remains constant.
Follow all the legal aspects:
Before even you go online, make sure you fulfill all the legal requirements of your new business. Get license for all the things and display them on your website. If you have a transport business or a taxi company then also make sure all your vehicles and drivers are well qualified and have their driving licenses. Make a thorough research of the laws for travel agencies in your state and find out about their registration process and licensing. Another thing to consider here is that you must obtain a business trademark also. Your logo can work as a trademark for your business but you need to get it legally registered with the concerned authority.
Pick a right location:
Your physical location plays a huge role in the success of your agency. The success of any business highly depends upon your foot traffic so pick your physical location wisely. So pick a location which is always crowded and your sign board is visible to the crowds from a good distance. It also impose a good impression on your visitors if your business is located in a good area.
Plan a promotion strategy:
For a successful business, one should have an aggressive promotional strategy for different platforms. Here you can consider all means of marketing including both paid and free to let people know about the existence of your little business. As an initiation you can begin with the advertisements in local newspapers and distributing leaf papers to people. Social media is your another way to generate awareness and promoting your services.
Build customer relationships:
A loyal customer is more beneficial than a new customer. A business can’t succeed without building a good reputation among its customers. Hence make sure your staff takes proper steps to interact with your customer who have used your services or would like to use it near future. Your local staff, tour guides, drivers and all the other staff members should be properly trained to treat customers well. When someone comes up with a complaint online or offline then address them and resolve the issues right away.
Optimize your online presence:
So you’ve build up a website and made all the social media pages for better exposure but are you getting enough traffic? What if when visitors type your business keywords in search bar but find your visitors but not you. Sounds bad, isn’t it? Chances are you probably are not in front of your target audience. Search engine optimization can do wonders here for your business. SEO guarantees your presence in top of the search results and responsible for bringing traffic to your website. Therefore, well optimize your website for better rankings and build your audience in the market.
Invite reviews:
There are plenty of reviews site on the Internet today. With people having access to these online review site, they can make or break your potential sale. People search for your brand on these review sites to know the experience of previous customers before making a purchase decision. So it’s a good way to engage your potential customers there. But if you provide a space to review your business on your website itself, it is even better.
Final Words:
Before starting a travel business, make a thorough research of market and your niche to find out what will attract your customers more. Then use your website, social media and develop your marketing strategies accordingly. At the end it’s all about how well you treat your customers and how good they found your services.
