Marketing Your Travel Business

Creating the Marketing Plan for Creating the Marketing Plan for Your Home-Based Travel Agency Your Home-Based Travel Agency

Creating the Marketing Plan for Creating the Marketing Plan for Your Home-Based Travel AgencyYour Home-Based Travel Agency

1. Prepare a mission statement

2. List and describe target or niche markets within the travel field

3. Establish an Objective

4. Describe your Services

5. Spell out your marketing & Strategies

6. Determine Distribution

7. Test Your Plan

8. Identify & Understand the Competition

9. Establish Market Goals

10. Monitor your Results

1.1. Prepare a mission statement.Prepare a mission statement.

List your expectations and desires in a company mission statement.

2.2. List and describe target List and describe target or niche markets.or niche markets.

List and describe potential clients

3. Establish an Objective3. Establish an Objective

Getting there will take several incremental steps.

1. The first goal might be to introduce your services to your target niche by conducting a direct mailing to potential new clients in the senior community.

2. A second goal could be to develop relationships with at least 3 senior leaders in your community.

3. Your third goal might be to find a “pied piper” in the top three community senior groups.

No matter what goals you set, achieving them in what matters.

4.4. Describe your services. Describe your services.

What services are you going to offer?

Will you delivery brochures to clients?

Will you charge for service fees?

Will you charge for these services?

Will you be a full service agent,

or will you only do what you specialize in?

5.5. Spell out marketing and Spell out marketing and promotional strategies.promotional strategies.

SERVICE + PLACE +PRICE + PROMOTION

= YOUR TARGET

7. Basic marketing strategies 7. Basic marketing strategies include the following:include the following:

Network,

Direct marketing

Advertise in print media or directories

Devise travel training programs that increase awarenessabout your services.

Write travel articles for local media or professional journals and newsletters

Direct or personal selling

Send out publicity and press releases

Participate in travel trade shows at the local or regional level.

7.7. Determine DistributionDetermine Distribution

8.8. Test the PlanTest the Plan

9.9. Identify and understand the competition.Identify and understand the competition.

10.10. Establish marketing goals that are Establish marketing goals that are quantifiable. quantifiable.

11.11. Monitor your results carefully. Monitor your results carefully.

Hints and Tips for Beginners Hints and Tips for Beginners

Concentrate your efforts on finding customers who provide you with ongoing or repeat business.

Create a customer profile based on interviews as a way to understand existing clients. When you know why a customer comes back, you will be able to identify more of the same.

Stay focused on your target markets.

Don’t scatter your efforts. This is especially important for directing a particular marketing strategy to a specific group.

Be persistent. Marketing projects are the sorts of things that often need to be repeated over and over before permanent change is achieved.

Be prepared to revise your plan as you learn what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t be afraid of failure. When a strategy fails, view it as part of trial-and-error that you can learn from, and as a natural part of the process.

This Is Really a Plan for Success

Marketing Plan Marketing Plan

1. List your expectations

2. Make up a company mission statement

3. Answer this question---

What kind of travel do you intend to promote?

4. Why do you want to promote this kind of travel?

5. Make an outline of what kind of specialize travel you want to do.

6. What goals can you set to reach this?

1 yr. 5 yrs 10 yrs

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7. Develop a travel product strategy.

8. How are you going to reach your goals? Are you going to do direct mail or will you take advertising out in

the newspaper?

Will you sit at Farmers Market every week to promote yourself?

Will you get enough referrals from friends and family?

9. What is the motivation behind your type of travel you are promoting?

Is it near and dear to your heart?

Have you been to your particular destination?

Do you know enough about it to promote it?

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10. Does your specialty make sense?

Is anyone else doing that kind?

11. Make a specific market definition:

such as Caribbean cruises or European custom tours.

12. Create a marketing plan.

13. Will you do a newsletter?

14. Will you do direct mail?

15. Will you issue press releases?

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