Travel agencies need access to quick and direct communication with their clients. The travel industry is notorious for last-minute changes like travel delays and trip cancellations. As a result, customers should be informed immediately when these scenarios arise.
That’s where SMS marketing can help travel agencies. SMS is a great communication tool that allows travel agencies to communicate with customers in real time, promote their services, and send personalized messages for increased results.
In this article, we’ll describe how to use SMS marketing for travel agencies and improve business operations.
Jump to:
- Benefits of SMS for travel agencies
- How Travel agencies can use SMS
- Examples of SMS marketing for travel agencies
- How to get started with travel text message marketing
<h2 id="Benefits">Benefits of SMS for travel agencies</h2>
Texting is a powerful tool for instant communication. Travel agencies can benefit from the following qualities of SMS.
- Increased reach. 97 percent of Americans own a cell phone. With SMS, you have a higher chance of reaching your target audience, especially compared to other marketing channels.
- Higher open rates. SMS messages have a 98 percent open rate. This is almost five times the open rate of email. SMS marketing ensures that important messages are seen.
- Improved customer engagement. Customers must opt-in to receive SMS marketing messages. This provides travel agents with a list of highly engaged customers who want to hear from them. Text messages also have higher click-through and response rates than email.
- Instant communication. SMS messages are delivered instantly, and most texts are read within the first five minutes after being received. This is especially beneficial when notifying travelers of itinerary changes, delays, or emergencies.
- Boosted conversion rates. Customers are more likely to make purchases when they receive relevant and personalized messages through SMS. With concise messaging, you can also make it clear and easy for customers to take desired actions. One study shows that 47 percent of customers who engaged with SMS call-to-actions (CTAs) made a purchase.
- Cost-effective marketing. It only costs pennies to send SMS marketing messages. This is significantly cheaper than paid social media or advertising.
- Personalization at scale. SMS platforms provide travel professionals with an easy way to personalize marketing messages at scale. With features like custom variables, agents can reach many contacts at once with personalized content. These personal messages drive engagement and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Low competition. SMS is far less crowded than other marketing platforms, such as email and social media. With lower competition, SMS messages help travel agents stand out and capture the attention of their target clients.
<h2 id="How">How travel agencies can use SMS</h2>
Strong customer service is the key to a successful travel agency. Even though self-booking platforms are on the rise, they lack the conversational qualities and experiences that travel professionals provide. Travel agents can take advantage of SMS to communicate instantly with travelers through personalized messaging.
Here are seven common scenarios travel agencies experience, with examples of how SMS can overcome the challenges and improve the customer experience.
Last-minute cancellations and changes
Travel itineraries may need to be altered for many reasons, including weather, flight delays, or customer cancellations. These changes can be at the last minute, and travelers need to be informed immediately so they can plan accordingly.
SMS marketing for travel agencies lets agents instantly notify their travelers about last-minute travel changes. Keeping customers informed improves customer satisfaction. High customer satisfaction is crucial for travel agencies. It leads to more repeat clients, boosts customer revenue, and results in more referrals.
Customer retention
To develop long-lasting customer relationships, travel agencies must provide top-notch service and improve the travel planning and experience for their clients.
Travel agents can use SMS campaigns to help with this. For example, travel agencies can offer clients exclusive loyalty programs, discounts, and trip recommendations via SMS. Consider developing a loyalty program where travelers can collect points from trips and exchange them for discounts. These programs encourage customers to book more trips with your agency.
Additionally, staying in touch with past clients can help you stay top-of-mind, so when they’re ready to plan their next trip, they think of you.
Competition and distinction
Travel agencies need to offer unique value to stand out from online booking platforms and other travel professionals. SMS marketing allows travel agencies to stand out from a marketing standpoint. Personalized promotions, exclusive offers, and tailored travel packages provide deeper value and help cultivate an improved customer experience.
SMS also provides a two-way communication channel for personalized one-on-one messaging, which can help clients get in touch quicker, or travel agents reply to inquiries faster.
Booking abandonment
One of the main issues travel agencies face is abandoned bookings. While travelers browse itineraries and package deals, many of them don’t get around to booking trips with the agency. To solve this problem, travel agencies can use SMS to send follow-up reminders about bookings. Offering incentives like limited-time deals or free consultations about a trip can encourage travelers to complete their purchases.
Real-time engagement
In addition to last-minute cancellations, there are many other scenarios when travel agencies need to get in touch with their clients quickly. This can include reaching out to them after they submit a lead form or replying to customer questions. SMS offers fast, two-way communication that lets travel agents communicate instantly with customers and answer their questions.
Promotions
Many travel agencies fight to attract new clients and improve the ROI of marketing efforts. Since text message marketing requires opt-ins, travel agencies can ensure that customers want to receive their promotional messages. This can help travel professionals improve marketing campaigns and drive ROI. Travel agencies can use SMS to offer time-sensitive promotions, share seasonal discounts, or promote new package offerings.
Building customer trust
Travel agencies need to build trust with their customers to foster loyalty and continuously improve the experience. SMS confirmation messages or travel reminders can increase customer confidence and trust in your services.
Plus, sending post-trip feedback surveys via SMS can help you identify ways to improve the customer experience.
SMS customer surveys help travel agencies:
- Evaluate customer satisfaction
- Understand what customers want and need
- Determine areas of improvement
- Improve customer loyalty
<h2 id="Examples">Examples of SMS marketing for travel agencies</h2>
Here are six text message templates for travel agencies to use. These SMS marketing examples help travel agencies communicate directly with customers through personalized messages.
Limited-time offers
In the text example below, a travel agent promotes a limited-time deal to her client.
Flight cancellation
In the following text example, a travel agent notifies his client about a flight cancellation and also sends a booking confirmation for the new flight.
Abandoned bookings
In the text example below, a travel agent reminds her client about her abandoned booking.
Loyalty programs
In this text example, a travel agent gives her client loyalty points.
Real-time customer service
In the following text example, a travel agent responds to his client’s inquiry in real time.
Feedback surveys
In the text example below, a travel agent sends a feedback survey to his client.
Notice how these text templates for travel agencies include a way for customers to unsubscribe. It’s important to provide your customers with the option to opt out if they no longer want to receive text messages.
<h2 id="Started">How to get started with travel text message marketing</h2>
Now that you know how your business can use SMS to improve the experience and grow business, it’s time to learn how to get started with travel SMS marketing. Follow these steps to launch your travel agency SMS campaign.
- Build your SMS marketing strategy. The first step is to create your text marketing strategy. This involves setting up your use case, deciding campaign goals, and defining your target audience.
Get our complete 12-step guide to creating a winning SMS marketing strategy below.
- Choose your SMS marketing platform. The next step is to decide which SMS marketing platform to use. Determine your budget and which features are most important to your travel agency. Research SMS platforms to identify which offerings align best with your business and check reviews. SMS platforms like Textline include mass texting, two-way messaging, and automation features for streamlined communication.
- Develop your SMS contact list. The third step is to develop your SMS subscriber list. It’s crucial that your recipients explicitly opt-in to receive messages. There are many ways to grow your contact list, including collecting opt-ins on your website or asking permission verbally over the phone.
- Create your marketing messages. Next, it’s time to craft your SMS messages. Be sure to proofread your texts for spelling and grammar, and don’t forget to include your call-to-action (CTA).
- Send texts. Finally, it’s time to send out your marketing messages. Moving forward, you can use the data from the campaign to improve your content.
Use Textline to help your travel agency take off
SMS marketing for travel agencies enhances the customer experience and drives sales. Take advantage of SMS features like personalized messaging and instant mass communication to help your travel agency stand out and secure loyal customers.
Textline’s SMS marketing software includes mass texting and two-way texting features that make it easy for travel agents to reach customers in real time.
Test out Textline with a free 14-day trial and watch your customer satisfaction soar.
