7 Tips To Drive More Repeat Business To Your Travel Company

August 19, 2022
Jen Corley (she/her)
5 min read

Did you know that acquiring a new customer for your business can be up to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one?

Repeat business can transform the way your business operates. This is because it’s easier to sell to existing customers that already trust your business as opposed to trying to sell to new prospects.

To make this happen, you need to understand and implement the right strategies for acquiring repeat business.

Here are seven high-impact tips that will help you bring your existing customers back for more.

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Seven Ways To Increase Repeat Business 

1. Understand Your Client & Offer Something Special 

Creating meaningful relationships with your clients is essential for generating repeat business. Instead of simply selling people packages, your aim should be to turn your business into your clients’ go-to travel partner every time they want to travel locally or explore the world.

These days, travelers can easily book all of their experiences online and independently. They don’t necessarily need to use your travel business to book flights, arrange transfers, book accommodation, find adventures, and so on. Yet, they may choose to use your travel company because they expect a particular service or unique offerings.

This shows how vital it is that you offer more than simply arranging bookings. It is recommended that you spend time listening to your clients, grasp what kind of travel experiences they are after, and make sure that you match all of their expectations. This involves understanding their travel preferences, learning about their travel wishlist (beyond their basic travel requirements), and understanding their future travel plans.

An important part of this is organizing travel experiences that go beyond clients' expectations. There are many travel businesses out there, so it's important to distinguish yourself from the competition and add a personal touch.

2. Use Your CRM 

Integrating your business tools with your CRM lets you access a broader overview of the interactions your client has had with your business. You can then use this data to understand clients' travel histories and preferences to ensure that you offer them more personalized, relevant experiences.

repeat business

You can also use your CRM to access data like client birthdays, family information, and interests. All of this will help you develop a more effective and personalized communication strategy.

You can also target these clients with more relevant marketing content. For example, you might be running a special promotion on an upcoming wellness retreat. You could use your CRM to identify customers with similar wellness retreat travel histories and target them with this promotion.

Or, you might have clients that travel at the same time of year every year. I this is the case, you can reach out to them long before with relevant travel suggestions.

3. Run Referral Campaigns 

A referral campaign can be administered by issuing personalized discount codes to your clients for them to share with their friends and family.

Each time they share the code and someone uses it to book, you can offer your client a reward. This will give your clients more reason to book another trip with you, and prospective new clients are more likely to use your services due to the positive reviews received from existing clients.

There are two major benefits to running referral campaigns. First of all, it adds an incentive for your existing clients to return. Second, it helps you attract more new customers and spread positive brand awareness.

Referral campaigns also offer an excellent ROI, as you only offer discounts on successful referrals - ie new business.

One of the main reasons why referral campaigns are so successful is because people tend to trust the opinions of their friends and family members a lot more than they would brands.

4. Provide A Personalized Travel Experience 

We’ve touched on this idea already, but one of the best ways to get repeat business is to offer remarkable and personalized service to each and every client you work with. Go the extra mile to add touches that make your clients feel like they are being well taken care of.

For example, if you are planning a travel experience for a family with children, arrange some child-friendly activities or experiences for them. This could include booking them into accommodation with special child facilities.

Or, you could make a request with the accommodation company to leave a card if it's the client's birthday, or know what airplane seats the client prefers and book these in advance.

Small personal touches go a long way. This is what makes the difference between a client using your travel services, as opposed to a competitor or even planning trips themselves.

5. Check In With Your Client During Their Trip 

Strong and effective communication skills are part and parcel of a great customer experience, and a great customer experience is essential for repeat business.

Taking extra care by checking in with them during their travels is an excellent way to make them feel like they are more than just a customer. It is also a useful way to identify any issues or areas of concern that you may have arisen and that you can fix during their trip.

repeat business

One of the main reasons why clients work with travel companies is to access convenient support when they need it. If a flight is changed, for example, you can quickly organize a redirect and update your clients. If the client booked the flight independently, this is an unnecessary administrative task that they may not want to deal with whilst on holiday.

6. Bonus: Make Your Booking & Payment Process Easier 

Making your booking and payment process easier and more intuitive can make an enormous difference to the overall customer experience.

By streamlining the client experience, they can enjoy their interactions with the travel business a whole lot more. And nothing is more important for earning repeat business than providing a seamless client experience.

As a travel company, you need to make sure that you give your clients the confidence they need to safely book a travel experience on your platform.

You also need to make this booking process as convenient as possible, by facilitating different payment options and offering choices like paying in installations, etc.

Including the option for add-ons can also improve the customer experience, while also boosting your revenue. Of course, you need to be able to accept effortless bookings and payments from your website.

Using an efficient payment solution for travel can make the booking process incredibly fast, easy, and convenient for your customers.

Using an efficient tool can make all the difference in the world, clients remember seamless booking experiences, and this could be the reason why they make your company their primary travel solution for their future travels.

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7. Follow Up After Their Trip 

Lastly, the post-experience check-in service is a method that can set you apart from the competition, but more importantly, it can leave a lasting impression of your travel company that could almost guarantee repeat business from your customers.

This final touch can make your clients feel as though their interaction with your company was not only transactional but will also make them feel valued. It is no secret that great customer service goes a long way.

Conclusion 

One of the pivotal areas of running a successful travel business is high customer retention and obtaining repeat business from your client database.

In order to succeed, it is essential that you form strong relationships with your clients and provide excellent customer service and exceptional travel experiences.

A key focus to making the customer journey as streamlined as possible is to utilize and integrate your CMS to have a wider overview of the interactions they have with your business.

The aim of acquiring repeat business is to create meaningful relationships with your clients and go the extra mile to deliver an impeccable service that will guarantee that they not only return but also write positive reviews/testimonials and share your business with friends and family.

That is why you should do more than just sell them packages. Create a real connection with your clients, and watch your business flourish as they return each time they want to book a travel experience.