ALL ABOUT YOU — BUSINESS ADVICE
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Nathan Deverell has been appointed general manager of Cambridge International airport. He will
oversee all aspects of the airport’s operations including management, resource planning, supplier services, organisational safety and compliance. He was previously head of airport operations at Southend airport.
Broadway Travel Group has appointed Debbie Watson as sales manager of the Cruise Division, a brand it launched earlier this year. Most recently, Watson worked at Hays Travel as branch manager and prior to that spent 16 years at Tui Travel.
Celebrity Cruises has promoted Claire Stirrup from account manager to the new role of head of sales,
overseeing four strategic account managers and a three-strong trade support team. The move is one of several promotions in the UK and Ireland sales team. Director of sales Nicki Tempest- Mitchell heads up the team.
KLM has promoted Pieter Elbers to president and chief executive, succeeding Camiel Eurlings. He started his career at KLM in 1992 and has held a variety of roles at the airline, including chief operating officer and deputy chief executive.
Events, anniversaries and celebrations are all great opportunities for travel agents to engage with clients and sell more holidays. The Grand Départ of
the Tour de France in Yorkshire or events to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War are just a couple of recent examples of events the trade has been able to capitalise on to increase sales. Here, Caroline Brown, commercial director at Shearings Holidays, shares her tips on how to capitalise on events to sell more to your customers.
Market events
Use events as a talking point with customers. By sending relevant information by email or post, you could help to drive customer engagement. Time your updates to tie into big media announcements to help increase response rates.
Think about your customers’ interests
Find out about their hobbies and interests and then use this knowledge to cross-sell.
HOW TO USE
Armed with a variety of relevant breaks
EVENTS TO SELLMORE BREAKS
Advice from
Caroline Brown commercial director, Shearings Holidays
shearings.com/agents
taking in special events or celebrations, you can get back in touch with them and sell them their perfect holiday.
Exploit events on your website and social media channels
By tapping into
conversations that are already taking place on
public forums or in the media using timely news updates, blogs, social media posts and relevant hashtags, you can benefit from the heightened interest around certain events. This is a great way to improve
your brand visibility and drive traffic to your website. Build on this by creating event-specific landing pages with lots of helpful tips and advice for customers.
Choose quality holidays
Make sure you’re working with a tour operator which you trust to
When providing recommendations to customers, don’t simply jump on the most popular or talked-about events, but consider what will appeal to each of your customers individually. Some may be interested in next year’s Rugby World Cup, while others might prefer a music-themed holiday or something like the Chelsea Flower Show. Whatever it is, highlight how the event you’re selling will enhance their travel experience.
Do your research
Take time to speak to your customers when they enquire about a holiday or make a booking.
provide quality holidays for your customers. Look for expert tour guides and excursions to key places of interest to provide added value for holidaymakers. For example, battlefields breaks that take in several key locations during one holiday give customers the perfect opportunity to benefit from the full experience.
Think about the knock-on effect
Lots of people prefer quieter places, avoiding the hustle and bustle of special events. Consider recommending a neighbouring destination where they might be able to soak up some of the atmosphere without being in the noisy heart of it.
4 December 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 41
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!
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