People love exploring new places and millions throng the popular as well as lesser-known travel destinations yearlong. The growth of transport network in such travel destinations has also resulted in the number of travelers growing over the years. This is good for the global tourism industry and the travel agencies are raking in the profits.
The reality is the tourists have become more demanding and choosier. They want comfort, amenities along with best of sightseeing in the tour packages. So, the travel agencies need to offer more than just a travel package- they need to offer enhanced and customized travel experience to the new generation customers! This is not possible without using the latest digital technologies.
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Need to use specialized travel software applications
For a travel agency, it is important to retain existing customers while wooing new ones-to sustain and grow in a competitive market.
To serve the customer better, understand changing needs and remain ahead of competitors, the travel agencies need to use specialized software solutions. It is not just adequate to have a stunning website with a promotional page or social media accounts with a discount coupon! These entities also need to use suitable CRM solutions to enhance service quality in many aspects.
Using a feature-packed Travel Agency CRM can help these agencies in fulfilling the objectives.
The major benefits of using a travel agency CRM solution
Using a CRM tool tailor-made for the tourism sector can fetch a travel agency a number of benefits. These include:
Customer data collection
A Travel CRM tool will enable a travel agency to gather customer data easily. This can be done using multiple sources such as social media profiles, email, and instant messaging applications, etc.
Additionally, customer data can be captured using telephonic conversation sessions, previous bookings of existing customers and their feedbacks. For the agency, collecting such huge amounts of data manually can be both tedious and time-consuming. However, suitable travel agency CRM tools can gather a labyrinth of customer data very fast.
Customer data analysis
It is not enough to just gather customer data for a travel agency. If it cannot analyze the collected data and get an understanding of customer preferences- the data collection cuts no ice. The top-notch Travel Agency CRM Software can be used to analyze huge amounts of customer data fast and help the agents understand the preferences of individual clients. This plays a pivotal role in retaining loyal and existing customers of such agencies.
Effective service promotion
By using a travel CRM solution, a travel agency can offer customized promotions and offers to its customers. This is helpful in boosting relationships with loyal customers of the company.
The agency can send personalized offers and promotions to loyal customers, based on data analysis. These offers can be sent through email, apps like Whatsapp and mobile messaging services, etc. Of course, mainstream social media tools can be used for the same purpose.
Automation
Every day the travel agents need to deal with a huge amount of work pressure, even though they have to work at their desks. By using suitable CRM tools, their workload can be reduced to a large extent. Top notch Travel CRM solutions can be tweaked to automate a lot of daily tasks that the agents have to do. This frees them to focus on pending and complex tasks.
Time-saving
Beyond doubt, the major benefit of using a Travel CRM tool for a travel agency is time-saving! The CRM tool can be linked to existing software solutions including accounting tools, database and so on. So, fetching customer records and updating them can be done fast. Getting access to customer information using manual methods is time-consuming but with CRM tool in place, a lot of time can be saved.
How to pick the best Travel Agency CRM solution?
In recent years, the number of Travel CRM solutions has increased significantly. For a travel agency, picking the right CRM tool may not be easy. Analyzing the below listed factors can be helpful in picking the right CRM software for such agencies –
Easy to use and access
The CRM tool needs to be used a lot by the agents on a daily basis. So, the software has to be quite user-friendly and it has to be easily accessible. In this context, a cloud-based CRM tool is the best option. It ensures the agency staff can use the tool using a myriad of web access devices including smartphones. A cloud-based tool can also run on any OS which makes things more flexible for the agencies.
The CRM tool should have an excellent and customizable UI navigation system in place. The agents have to check various sections of the app to cope with client needs frequently. So, a tool with fast and easy navigation is required.
Solid integration
Like many other sectors, the travel industry has also become increasingly dependent on the web and related technologies. In most travel agencies, a lot of software solutions are used. These include database, accounting software, trip planner and more. The CRM solution has to be compatible with the existing software applications. Otherwise, it will lead to cost overrun and operational complications.
Robust security
A CRM tool in a travel agency is often linked with the customer database and internal apps of the company. So, it is linked with vital company data and customer details. Such a tool should have robust security measures in place. The safety measures like password based access, multi-level access should be in place.
Support and updates
CRM is a crucial tool for a travel agency that needs to be used almost on a 24×7 basis. So, the vendor offering the tool should be able to provide robust, round the clock support. A travel agency can lose a significant chunk of revenue if the CRM tool conks off even for a few hours. Periodic updates to such tools also mean the addition of new features and enhanced functionality. Multi-channel support is preferable in this regard.
Alerts and notifications
A Travel CRM solution should be equipped with the required alert and notification features. This will help the agents accomplish pending tasks in time and send offers and reminders to the customers without fail. The alerts can be in the form of emails and mobile message alerts.
Embedded price checker and cost calculators
Using online tools, the travel agents can find out information on travel expenses like flight cost in specific routes, accommodation charges in specific hotels, pricing for customized travel plans, etc. However, it is way better if such cost calculator tools are embedded in a travel CRM solution. That way the agents can find out the expected cost as per customer queries without leaving the software UI.
Where it all leads to?
Choosing the right CRM tool can be crucial for the sustenance and growth of a travel agency. By using such solutions, travel agencies can enhance productivity, serve the clients better and faster and reduce operational glitches. However, the travel agencies should assess and compare such CRM solutions in depth before licensing one. It would be good to try out some such tools to figure out which one is the best suited for their needs.
Author Bio – Siddhata is a professional writer who has a keen interest in generating offbeat content at CompanyHub.
