All marketing is about relationships and no relationship survives without conversation. The two way nature of company and client communication really became most evident, however, in the context of social media marketing. All client communications will ideally be a back and forth exchange between the travel consultant and the client. An engaged client is a part of the process and thereby again gains confidence through repeated interaction with the travel agent.
Look carefully at each of your outbound client communications. Does each look professionally produced? Is your brand message clear and well articulated consistently in each? Is your client receiving communications frequently enough to feel engaged but not so frequently as to feel spammed or harassed? There is always a fine line to walk in determining the right frequency with communicating with clients, but part of an intelligent communication strategy is precisely the effort to determine the necessary frequency which may well differ with each individual client!
Most importantly, good marketing will always solicit feedback from clients. Do you have a method in place for in-take of comments, criticisms and suggestions? If not, you could be way off the mark on your outbound communications and not know it.
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Key #3
Carry on a two way conversation. Here is where social media has best highlighted fundamental marketing principles. With social media input from customers is immediate, public and thereby amplified. Far from avoiding criticism, the company must actually develop a culture of soliciting feedback. Moreover, merely going through the motions of taking in complaints is not enough. Your travel company must live an ethic of continual adjustment to client needs and input. This can only be accomplished by developing a system taking in commentary, responding to the clients for clarification, internal improvement and adjustment and then responding to the reaction to your adjustments. It’s a continual process of refinement and care – just as any relationship might be!
