NEWS — CONFERENCE REPORT
About GoCruise
GoCruise franchisees and key suppliers
GoCruise is a cruise specialist franchise agency made up of 60 franchisees across the country. It was established in 2001 and is a subsidiary of Fred Olsen Travel, after being bought 10 years ago. GoCruise is also a member of the British Franchise Association. The head-office support team, based in Ipswich, has increased from two members of staff in 2005 to 20 today.
Fred Olsen Travel’s Geoff Ridgeon (left) and Steve Williams flank David Chidley (second left) and Ben Bouldin, both Royal Caribbean
LOGO ust avoid discounting trap’
“However, the potential challenge is that there could be a glut of cabins that each cruise line wants to sell, and there is an air of nervousness that discounting could come back in the mix because of that extra capacity. “We have to be mindful not to
get caught in the discount trap. We have been there and we have felt the pinch in the past, but we have come out stronger with a very good business model. “The cruise lines need to be
sittings, dress codes and gratuities,” he said. “If I get a call now, I pick up a brochure and go through it while speaking to a customer. It is a simple resource at your fingertips. “Knowledge is power. Do ship visits and get to know your product. If someone takes their car to a mechanic, they expect them to know about cars. If someone books a cruise through a specialist, they expect you to know everything about cruise.” Jones said his successes had come through being honest with customers, going the extra mile and using his common sense.
strong enough not to enter a price war and other agents need to be mindful of not creating a discount market.” His comments were supported by Royal Caribbean International sales director Ben Bouldin, who said cruises were worth a higher value and that discounting shouldn’t need to be an option. He said educating consumers was part of the battle to avert the need to knock down prices.
“Our clients are our number one,” he added. “They get what they want and we act on what we promise to them. “They don’t book because we
are part of GoCruise. They book because of Roy and Margaret. “I believe a customer always books because of the person they are dealing with, not the company they work for.” Jones said specialists selling cruises to new-to-cruise customers should not “talk down to people”, but should walk people through the process of booking a cruise.
Strategy: ‘Don’t neglect your existing client base’
STATIONERY STYLE
Go Go
with Mark Rickwood 01905 795232 eMail:
rickwood@gocruise.co.uk Website:
www.gocruiseinstyle.co.uk A4 CALL TO ACTION
GoCruise boss Geoff Ridgeon said he believed too much focus was put on agents getting new customers and not enough on retaining existing clients. Ridgeon, head of cruise at Fred
Olsen Travel, the parent company of franchise agency GoCruise, said customer service would “win the day” for his franchisees as long as they satisfied the needs of their existing client base.
He said that although more new-to-cruise customers were needed to help expand the UK cruise market, existing customers were equally important. His comments came as GoCruise
reported a 25% increase in bookings in 2014 compared with 2013. Ridgeon described 2014 as a “record year”. When asked whether the company was missing out on any opportunities, Ridgeon said: “There are not any fundamental routes to market that we are missing out on, but there is always the danger in any business that there is more focus put on obtaining a new customer than there is on an existing one. “Like all agents, we need to be mindful of the hard work and
expense it took to get a customer in the first place, and of how important existing customers are – they remain key for us, while others may be focused on getting new business.” Ridgeon encouraged delegates
Go BRANDING WITH TAG LINE Go e r
to grasp the opportunities arising with new capacity coming online. He said GoCruise would
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continue to produce marketing materials in 2015, after successful campaigns last year. He added that franchisees should not feel the need to reinvent the wheel for the sake of it. “If something is working for you, stick with it and do more of it. Don’t just feel you have to try something new because others are,” said Ridgeon.
i
with Mark Rickwood 01905 795232 eMail:
rickwood@gocruise.co.uk Website:
www.gocruiseinstyle.co.uk
Geoff Ridgeon 15 January 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 13
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