An important component of building a successful travel practice is the network of people with whom you come into contact. Although your own circle of influence may be small, it grows exponentially because your friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, teachers, and co-workers all have circles of influence into which you can market. These relationships provide opportunities to introduce your practice to people with whom you might otherwise not come into contact. Networking is an almost essential element for most traditional travel agents, and an important skill to undertake and develop. There may be no more basic, fundamental marketing skill than networking.
The 365 Guide has several articles on networking, and these are recommended reading . It is important to realize that we are speaking here of face-to-face contact with people in your community. Social networking we will leave to another column.
Analyze the various ways you have at your disposal to gather a network and expand your circle of influence. Certainly there are the professional associations in your hometown such as the chamber of commerce. There is your active involvement in schools, at church and in the hobbies in which you participate. Finally, there are the opportunities you have connecting with family, friends and personal acquaintances to expand the scope of your circle of influence.
At this point, distinguish between networking and public relations. When we think of public relations we refer to opportunities to speak or write about travel. We also want to separate asking for references and referrals from networking. When we network, our goal is to expand the number of people with whom we come into contact and who know us as individuals outside of our day to day professional context.
Almost all marketing activity has the goal of brand building and networking is no exception. In this instance, YOU are the brand, so networking is a perfect media for growing your business. The more people you know, and the better you are at communicating your story, the more benefit you will receive from networking.
There is one very important point to make at this juncture. The key to successful networking is simply that you get from it what you put into it, or better put, you get by giving. The more you give to the other individuals and organizations in your network, the more you will get in return. The more you expose your “self” to others, the better they get to know you and your travel practice. Not because you are overtly selling anything, but because they are seeing you in a context in which your personality and a wider range of personal characteristics are on display. As you network in your community, seek to build genuine relationships with the people with which you come into contact. If you are genuinely passionate about travel, that passion will infuse itself into your casual and social conversations and those you come into contact with will begin to know you as “that travel person.”
Exercise – In preparation for building a systematic networking strategy into your business plan, read the past articles on the topic in the 365 Guide. How will you build on and expand your network? Sit down with a sheet of paper and write down every civic and social group to which you belong. Decide which of those you could give more of your time to in a context that would allow you to come more into contact with potential clients.
Next, write down your hobbies and avocations. Are there groups that center around these activities with which you would enjoy socializing? What opportunities do you have for volunteer work? Are you participating fully in the opportunities that surround you? How can you give to each of the opportunities around you in such a way that you can truly expand your circle of influence?
Narrow down your choices to be efficient. In which of your opportunities can you build the most genuine relationships? Commit to being more “out there” in your community. Your business will grow as a result, and so will you.
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3 thoughts on “A 2012 Marketing Plan – Networking”
Great article! Networking also works, not just with potential clients but also with suppliers and people who can help us that are in the industry. An example is we met the national sales manager for U.S. Airways Vacations. we had a great chat and went over our foucus and business and discussed how we could do business togther. A month later she send us an email with a copy of a 1/2 page ad they were running in the Phoenix newspaper’s travel section that Sunday and at the bottom was contact U.S. Airways vacations at XXX number or contact Ultimate All-Inclusive Travel and XXX number. What is interesting is that U.S. Airways Vacations was not even one of our preferred vendors. Networking works both for potential clients and with our suppliers.
Geoff:
Absolutely! In our search for sophisticated marketing tactics, the familiar basics can get overlooked, but they are vital to a successful travel practice.
Richard
Increasing your business by helping others is the best definition I have heard of Networking. The travel business is relationship-based, just like all networking. It is about farming and not hunting. And if you belong to a referral group, please spend time educating them about the type of business you are lookikng for. And, of course, about the busines or contacts they are looking for.