Are you planning on touching your clients today? Huh? What? No, it’s a holiday—we’re closed!
Well, give it some thought as we celebrate Memorial Day. If your client base is like mine, you probably have clients whose parents have fought in World War II, Korea, or Vietnam. They may have lost a loved one. Even if they didn’t, it’s a perfect opportunity to touch your clients (I am a fan of a minimum of ten non-soliciting touches each year) and express your thoughts about Memorial Day. No pitch for a trip. No cheerleading about your great service. No links to your blog. Just a simple message. Today, we pause from our busy lives and reflect on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our right to be a free country.
That was my email broadcast message. Simple. Sincere. And it placed our agency back in the minds of people who may (or may not) be thinking of traveling.
Yesterday, I saw a spike of traffic to my site. It did result in a booking—not much but definitely worth it. And it all happened because of a touch—not a pitch. But more important than a $300 commission, I extended my good will to the 15,000 folks who have signed up for my newsletter.
This result is typical. I realize that people do not wake up and think about Single Parent Travel each day like I do. I know it is my job to reach out to them and make sure that when they do think of traveling with their kids, they think of Single Parent Travel.
Creating newsletters is a hassle for me. And judging from conversations on the TRO Community, they are a hassle for you too. I wish I had a magic wand for content creation—I don’t. But I do suggest that you contact your clients and prospects when they are least expecting it; you will reap the rewards. I have ten days every year when my list receives my “no pressure, we were just thinking of you” messages. Here they are:
- New Years. Who does not like to receive well wishes?
- Happy Easter/Passover. Depending on how well you know your clients or how close the holidays fall on the calendar, you might want to opt out of this, or change it to a “Welcome To Spring” message.
- Mother’s Day. I specialize in single parent travel, so this is a no-brainer, and I am able to segregate my moms and dads.
- Memorial Day. Perfect for a feel-good patriotic message to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free.
- Father’s Day. See above.
- Independence Day. Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. Hip hip hooray to America!
- Labor Day. Welcome to fall. Back to school and reality.
- Halloween. Boo!
- Election Day. Remind them to vote and give them a link to find a polling place.
- Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa or just Happy Holidays.
By touching base with your audience close to every month, you are giving them a reason to remember you. And as long as they remember you (and you haven’t ticked them off) they are likely to come to you first when they are ready to buy their travel!
How often are you touching your clients without pitching them? Is it working?
