So Many Ways to WOW Your Clients!

While you are helping your clients look ahead, you also should be thinking of how you will take your service to another level and set yourself apart. This translates into special touches for your customers and is known as the WOW factor.

First, we want to share some amazing tips you can put to immediate use with your clients taken from the Planning Itineraries module of the Certified Travel Associate (CTA®) course:

Creating the WOW effect after you have confirmed your clients’ itinerary is the opportunity to enhance their travel experience with perks, surprises, and other above-and-beyond treats. Even little touches can translate into enormous satisfaction and create a lasting impression. These enhancements will help set you and your services apart from other products, suppliers, and agents.

And not only is offering little surprises or creating special experiences satisfying for you, they need not be expensive. However, you may consider spending more and increasing the creativity level for luxury itineraries. Making this extra effort is one way to help ensure that all of your clients return to you for their future needs, so plan ahead and budget for client appreciation expenditures.

You can vary the WOW based on your clients, their special interests, wants, intentions, and individual needs. Here are just a few examples to go above and beyond the expected and to stay top-of-mind:

Pre-departure

• Reach out to your clients to make sure they have everything they need for the trip and to ask if they have any last-minute questions.
• Email the clients a link to an online video of their destination or the resort they will be visiting. Or inspire your travelers with virtual reality videos and keep them dreaming about their trip. These things will help clients get even more excited about the travel experience you created for them.
• Mail a package with their printed travel materials, including an itinerary and your agency contact information. Or offer your clients all their amazing trip details—including travel documents, maps, destination content, and any other information needed—on a flash drive for easy use. Alternatively, you can invite your clients to download your travel itinerary mobile app (like Umapped or Travefy) before departure for easy travel updates, consolidated documents, destination content, and much more.
• Send your clients, based on their destination, some sunblock, bug repellent, luggage tags, a headband, an aromatic candle, emergency numbers, activity books for kids, or anything else that might make their trip more enjoyable or stress-free.
• Show how much you care about your clients’ safety and wellbeing by including a care packet, containing hand sanitizer, masks, disinfecting wipes, and more.
• Provide a gift card to a local coffee shop, tearoom, or juice shop at their upcoming destination.

During Travel

• Contact hotels for complimentary room upgrades or other personal touches.
• Arrange for breakfast in bed, a special venue for a celebratory dinner, or other surprise experiences.
• Have welcoming gifts—like local food treats or regional wine—waiting in the room.
• Partner with the concierge to secure hard-to-get dinner reservations or tickets to a show, a local attraction, or a special event your clients might not be anticipating that will match their interests and intentions.
• Plan a guided outing for clients who love to hike, cycle or participate in walking tours.
• Schedule private meditation sessions, a yoga class, or cooking demonstrations.
• Hire a professional photographer for one of your clients’ special moments.

Post-travel

• Extend your clients’ vacation with special treats, like offering a laundry service gift card upon their return.
• Save your clients from having to cook upon returning home by having a thank you note with a restaurant gift card waiting for them.
• Locate one of your clients’ travel photos on social media to print, frame and mail to their home with a note.
• Consider donating to your volunteer-tourism clients’ organization of choice as a special thank you.
• Call your clients to discuss their travel experience and future travel bucket-list items.
• Regularly send greeting cards for birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebratory events.
• Explore countless other small considerations that show a client you care.

Thinking about each client individually will inspire you to tailor your special touches and build rapport and trust. Be creative and have fun! Your passion and enthusiasm should shine through.

Source: thetravelinstitute.com