Every business needs a CRM to make things ten times better than they already are. The need is even more when you are running a business in the travel and tourism industry. The million-dollar question now is why you need a travel CRM.
Why Your Business and You Need a Travel CRM
Knowing the problems currently facing the travel and tourism industry helps you determine why you need a travel CRM. There are so many problems ranging from different categories both internal and external that travel agencies face.
Most times, it is the startups that have these issues but they can also be seen in the established ones too. Some of these problems include;
1. Why you Need a Travel CRM -Database
Data is one of the most important aspects of any business whether travel or not. Collection of data and maintaining this data in an orderly fashion is more often than not an issue with most travel agencies. Data needed by a travel agency would include customer information, received requests after interactions with customers, rejection reasons, tour information, etc.
When there is no proper storage of this information, it might get missing or lost in the haystack of information you might have collected. This causes time wastage and affects the company’s results positively. For most people, collecting this data is not a problem, doing it manually is.
When you collect data manually, it is always easy for it to get lost or damaged and this answers the question ‘Is a travel CRM important?’.
2. Grouping Of Your Audience
Another problem and reason why you need the best CRM for travel is to help with the issue of grouping. This problem is a follow-through of the first problem which is proper collection and storage of data. Most travel agencies lose customers every year because of the amount of irrelevant information they receive. We talk about received requests as one of the data that needs to be collected.
You cannot be sending a customer who wants to visit Zanzibar about the wonders of Prague. Without grouping is quite difficult to serve your customers better.
3. Adverts And Promotions – Preparation And Analysis
This is mainly an issue that is common with startups in the travel and tourism industry. For some people, the passion to help people experience the amazing things they wish to is what pushes them. most times, these people do not have experience when it comes to how to market their agency to the public.
Even in cases where one aspect of marketing is gotten right, what to do with the result is confusing. How to best convert results to positive customer interaction becomes an issue.
4. Why you need a travel CRM -Tasking And Effective Teamwork
Especially when it comes to startups, getting your team in sync is usually going to be the hardest task. Knowing what to do and when to do it sometimes will require a reminder and this is where it becomes an issue when you are looking at things from the manual viewpoint.
You cannot be reminding others about their job when you also need to be reminded about your role.
5. Active Tracking Of Activities And Events
Getting your business going is one thing and sometimes might even be the easy part. Maintaining it is usually where the problem is – how do you track everything going on in real-time? For example, you cannot be at the headquarters of your agency and know what is happening to your customers on tour at Santorini, Greece unless you go there with them.
Now, the question is, when your business expands and caters for multiple tours, how many places can you be at the same time? Stop asking why you need a travel CRM when tracking is already a problem for your agency.
6. Why you need a travel CRM -Handling Of Finances
We have established the fact that when things are done manually, we tend to lose data or make mistakes. One of the biggest issues, when any industry or business is looked at, is how finances are handled. Once there is an issue here, the whole business sees a lot of negative results.
There are so many issues as we have mentioned currently that have invaded the travel and tourism industry and this is why you need a travel CRM today.
Travel CRM – What it is? Why do you need a travel CRM?
We have talked about the main issues of startups in the travel and tourism industry and now we are talking about the solution. The big question is what is a CRM and the answer is that CRM stands for customer relationship management. This is a process in which a business manages its interactions with customers through the use of data analysis. This data analysis is more often than not used in the study of large amounts of information.
Now, there is the conventional CRM ideology which is general to different businesses. That being said, a CRM can be tailor-made for a specific business sector. For example, we have the sports CRM which is used in the sports industry to manage customer interactions.
For a travel CRM, you are talking about software that helps travel agencies manage their customer relationship from a single cloud suite. This customer relationship management software will help you develop good customer relationships, manage leads, respond to queries, and streamline follow-ups.
Increased sales and improved customer retention are some of the many key advantages of CRM in the travel sector.
For the conventional CRM, you get the generic services of a CRM but the travel CRM brings something extra. With it, you get specialization as it is specifically designed to focus on serving the travel and tourism industry.
Types Of Travel CRM
Before you answer the question of why you need a travel CRM, you must first understand your business. Depending on the type of business you run, there are two types of travel customer relationship management software you can pick from. There is the B2B travel CRM and then we have the B2S travel CRM.
The fundamental difference between these two CRMs is their target audience. The B2B is for travel agencies that focus on selling their services to other businesses and travel agencies. On the other hand, the B2S travel CRM is meant for those who interact directly with customers. You see a difference in features and the type of data collected when you look at these two travel CRM formats.
Some travel CRM software comes with both features as some agencies offer both services. You can check out this list of top 5 travel CRM software.
Benefits of a Travel CRM
Your question is ‘Do I need a travel CRM and our answer is yes. However, things are not that simple, so here is a list of some of the benefits you stand to get when you incorporate a travel CRM into your business.
- You get to manage your customers better and this management helps you retain existing ones and add new customers
- The customer relationship is better as interactions are better
- Tracking of customer inquiries after interactions and purchases is effective here
- There is a high conversion rate when it comes to turning your target audience into customers
- You will collect payments and manage invoices all in one place
- Proper handling of finances will increase revenue
- You will enjoy the best of marketing when you use a CRM
- Team collaboration and work rate is improved as the work is faster and easier
- Reduces the time spent on data collection
What a Travel CRM Should Have
We understand now why you need a travel CRM for your business but which do you go for? The importance of a travel CRM is undebatable but getting the right one is what makes it work. There are 3 core activities a travel CRM should be focused on, they include.
- Acquire and qualify sales leads
- Market it to new and existing customers
- Making business plans and forecasting
Aside from these core activities, there are also features that a good travel CRM should carry and they include.
- Itinerary management
- Cancellation policy integration
- Travel quotation
- On-trip experience management
- Voucher management
- Lead management
- Booking calendar
- Payment collection reminder
- Booking management
- Advanced Reporting
- Alerts and notification
- Email management
- Automatic lead suggestions
- User management.
Conclusion
Research from October 2018 shows that only 23% of U.S. small business owners are enjoying the amazing benefits that come with using a CRM. What this means is that you are still early and can be amongst those who get the full result before your competitors do so. That being said, to be part of the early adopters, you have to act now. More on this research can be seen here.
There are 3 things you should consider – simplicity, relevance, and price. When travel CRM software passes these three tests, they are made for you. As we have said, there are more than one million reasons why you need a travel CRM for your business. So choose today and you can check out our article on the 10 Ways To Create Effective Marketing Strategies For Hotel Managers.
