SMS Marketing for Travel Agencies and Winning Over More Clients
In the not-so-distant past, SMS marketing and bulk texting were nearly non-existent. For much of the first decade of the 21st Century, texting between mobile devices seldom occurred, and doing so came at a premium from the wireless carriers.
Today, however, texting is the preferred form of personal and business communication for most mobile phone users.
SMS Marketing Advantages:
- Increased bookings
- Increased lead conversion
- Customer loyalty
- Streamlined customer services
- Data collection
What is SMS marketing?
SMS marketing is a marketing tool that utilizes the convenience and power behind text messaging to communicate with your company’s current and prospective customers. This contrasts with email marketing which, while not useless, only has an open rate of 30.35% — seven out of ten emails you send to customers are either left unopened or immediately deleted.
In reality, the tempting “15% off coupon if you sign up now” coupons only add more annoying emails to be left unread and deleted from our inboxes.
While there are certain marketing advantages to using the traditional email format, most consumers prefer to communicate through text versus phone calls or emails; therefore, SMS marketing is a marketing strategy you can’t afford to put off. Unlike group texting, mass texting allows recipients to respond individually and not collectively. Therefore, a response in a mass text will only go to you and not the entire group.
The customer experience is greatly enhanced when businesses use SMS marketing rather than email, primarily because of the simplicity of texting. Texting allows us to communicate quickly and directly. It offers businesses the same efficiency when communicating with clients, customers, and prospects.
Why your travel agency needs to use SMS marketing
- SMS marketing helps you get more trips booked
- SMS marketing helps with lead conversion
- SMS marketing builds customer loyalty
More and more customers prefer the efficiency and ease of SMS communications between them and the companies they do business with. Less than half of all marketing emails are read due to the volume in their inboxes. Some users even create dummy emails for this reason.
SMS marketing campaigns reach your target audience more effectively than email because consumers generally only have one phone and phone number, unlike email. Customers are less likely to provide a phone number to a business they don’t intend to interact with.
For travel companies specifically, this means receiving accurate customer information because customers are actually serious about doing business with you.
SMS marketing helps you get more trips booked
Book more trips by using SMS marketing with TextSanity. Our technology gives you multiple options, features, and resources designed to make mass communication with your customers and clients simple and fast.
Using the broadcast calendar tool, scheduling SMS marketing campaigns ahead of time is a synch! Develop and implement your marketing and sales goals for the entire year in one fail swoop. If you need to send out an urgent message about a last-minute deal or adjust your marketing strategy, quickly make the change and send a broadcast message immediately.
Text message keyword campaigns deliver single or multiple automated messages. These offer the additional benefit of assigning opted-in contacts to specific groups based on customizable tags.
It’s simple. Clients text the keyword you choose to your TextSanity phone number. Then, your campaign automatically engages them with the message flow you’ve designed.
TextSanity’s SMS marketing tools make the process as easy as possible. It helps your business develop and quickly execute a marketing campaign. Increase productivity and sales while improving your bookings each year.
SMS marketing helps with lead conversion
In the sales world, leads are either cold or hot; when they are hot, you know to move with urgency. When a new lead shows an interest in booking a trip, engage with them quickly with a text message. This increases your chances of converting that hot lead into a sale.
When a customer texts a keyword to your TextSanity phone number, a fully customizable auto-response is sent providing the customer with trip links, information, coupon codes, information forms, etc.
SMS marketing builds customer loyalty
Customers want to know they’re valued. Plus, happy customers tell their friends about their experiences. This leads to more leads and subsequent travel bookings.
SMS marketing with TextSanity comes with many tools designed to increase brand loyalty. One such feature is WordPress integration with your website, which prompts customers who visit your site to enter their phone numbers when they arrive.
This feature allows you to set up banners, chats, and inline widgets on your website to engage customers. The WordPress integration is a simple way to engage customers and expand your contact network without becoming pushy. Thereby building trust and loyalty among your customers.
SMS marketing allows you to set up customer loyalty campaigns designed to illustrate to your clients how important they are to you. For example, with the broadcast tool, you send scheduled messages to groups of contacts filtered by tags.
For example, filter a group of contacts by their birthday month. Then, schedule a message to that group for that day, including a celebratory coupon gift or voucher.
Small gestures like this go a long way in showing you value their business.
How TextSanity helps you win over more clients
There is power in the word “no” in sales. It may seem counterproductive, but if you don’t hear “no,” you also don’t hear “yes.”
With SMS marketing from TextSanity, quickly increase the number of people you reach with your marketing campaigns. Use text marketing tools such as webforms. Link to these on your social media, where customers quickly input contact information and opt-in to campaigns. This allows you to expand your reach naturally, without harassing customers.
We also offer tools like SMS templates. These save you time by writing a text once and then simply selecting it when you need to send the message. Time-saving tools like this help you focus on managing what’s important: outreach and essential services.
Send out trip confirmation texts for convenience
Because customers prefer texting over other forms of communication, receiving vital information for trips they book via texting significantly enhances the customer experience. No one leaves home without their phone. Doubly true for those who travel domestically or internationally.
Our SMS marketing tools provide a simple solution to offer your clients real-time updates on their trips. For example, by creating specific tags for the different trips you offer, you can select contact groups for each trip and deliver them a predetermined drip campaign.
Beneficial for booking confirmations and check-in links, text message drip campaigns send selected contacts messages at times you determine in advance. This allows you to send out messages following their itineraries.
Additionally, set up a tag to filter contacts into groups by their specific trip. Then, send mass texts in real-time. It’s perfect for unexpected events like cancellations or last-minute changes. Plus, scheduling mass texts in advance is simple. With TextSanity, there’s plenty of text marketing tools to keep your clients informed.
Keep all your client contact information in one place
Data collection is as valuable as its weight in gold to businesses. TextSanity allows your travel company to securely and conveniently collect data on real customers who are serious about doing business with you. Our services allow you to direct your resources towards actionable leads that are most likely to result in more booked trips.
Surprise frequent clients with rewards texts
The efficiency of SMS marketing affords you the opportunity to surprise existing clients with offers, discounts, and vouchers. Thus incentivizing customers to book new trips. Plus, it gives prospective clients a look at how you value their loyalty.
Brand loyalty is priceless. That’s why TextSanity is essential to growing your travel agency business.
What to do next
Text, chat, call, or visit our website to connect with our team to discover the many ways TextSanity can assist you in developing your SMS marketing strategy. Our tools and resources help travel agencies succeed in finding new customers, building customer and brand loyalty, and providing your customers with trips they cherish for a lifetime.
