TOP 7 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING TRAVEL BRAND REPUTATION

With a big change in customers’ attitude towards travel brands, it is important for a travel company to understand that customers are now leaning more towards favorite brands that provide useful information on their services. In the past more focus was on best prices but it seems customers want more convincing than just a slash on the market price. Building a travel brand with the customer experience aspect in mind will give the company an edge over competition because of the customer loyalty created. Travel companies should develop detailed content for their websites and optimize the information for high rankings in search engines. The easier it becomes for a customer to get to your website, the bigger your chances of converting the visitor to a loyal client.

Airline travel companies have found themselves in a dilemma of how much they will need to increase their ticket sales to stay in business especially with the rising cost of fuel. Ancillary sales play a major role in maintaining customer satisfaction while building stronger brands. For example, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is known to champion the use of ancillary products to generate more revenue; even going to an extent of suggesting that ancillary success should be great enough to get rid of ticket charges.

Travel companies need to personalize their brands to fully address the customer experience while browsing through the travel website. For example, additional information that portrays the importance of the trip and the best offers available goes a long way in convincing the traveler to choose your services.

The relevant experience of a visitor on a travel website is crucial in their decisions to choose the company’s services. Most travel companies might not have realized that displaying the “no results” message on searches de-motivates the visitors and sometimes even drives them away from the site. It is better to have messages that are a little more explanatory and guiding to the visitor. Optimization of the website content is a key ingredient to developing your travel brand for better customer experience.

Over half of travel customers make their bookings based on reviews and ratings of different travel brands. Getting high ratings and good reviews is an advantage in any business operating online and the travel industry is no exception. This tip has been well utilized by luxury hotels who have successfully maintained larger numbers even when they hiked their prices all because they knew at that point in time they had the best ratings and reviews. In any case, reputation is everything in a travel brand image.

The impact of social media in growing business brands is unbeatable. Social media marketing through the leading networks like Facebook and Twitter has linked users of all markets to any relevant information they require. Travel companies should utilize social media to establish a closer relationship with customers by engaging in daily updates of important information. Social media has a major impact on website traffic and developing a travel brand via social media not only attracts the interested travelers, instead it reaches a whole new group of prospective customers. Use of interactive advertisements and video on social media platforms provides the travel company with more chances of getting good reviews and ratings; another plus in the development of travel brand reputation.

Mobile phones have proved to be the revolutionary technology gadgets that connect the entire universe faster than any other medium. The rise in mobile internet use around the world is outstanding and it is estimated that in 2014, over 80% of travel enquiries will be made via mobile sites and apps. This is where travel companies ought to maximize in by creating mobile compatible websites and applications that update the users on latest offers and continue to link them through social media marketing.

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