You have a big story to tell. It’s the story of who you are as a travel consultant, of the company you work for, the people you work with. Why you are in the travel business and how it has changed your life and affected those around you. It’s the story of the professional resources you have at your disposal and the associations to which you belong. You tell the story in a lot of different ways, in your marketing literature, on your business cards, in your advertisements and your one-on-one encounters with clients. Most importantly, it is the story of how your clients benefit from your experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday we established that your brand is the total sum of people’s perceptions about your company (or about you personally as a travel agent). Too often, branding happens without any intentional thought or direction – the company’s brand simply evolves from customer experience. If the travel agent is very good at what he or she does, excellent at communication and customer service, an unconscious approach to branding will work, but never as well as a directed, focused branding strategy. The goal of a branding strategy is to create an association in the mind of the public with you and travel – when clients think of travel, they think of you in the positive light you intend. In fact, they would not think of traveling without thinking of contacting you. It is possible to build this sort of strong, emotional connection with your clients and the public but it requires a concerted and consistent effort on your part. Read the rest of this entry »