Below are some questions and guidelines that can help you
evaluate which of six key Internet roles might be beneficial to
your agency. In general, if you answer "yes" to even one of the
questions below, you should start thinking about the Internet
because it is destined to be as much a part of your future as the
fax machine is today.
However, in each section I have set a "decision point" to help
you determine if you have an immediate opportunity -- or even need
-- to integrate the Internet into your existing business. As with
any set of guidelines, one size does not fit all, so you must
consider your own situation carefully before making any commitments
or investments in the Internet.
Communications. For e-mail, ask these
questions:
Do you have branches with which you need to frequently exchange
information?Do you have multiple outside agents with whom you need to
frequently exchange information?Do customers often ask for your e-mail address?Do you carry on a lot of "conversations" with customers,
branches or outside agents by exchanging voice-mail messages or
faxes?Are any of the customers/branches/outside agents with whom you
communicate located outside of North and South America?If you answered "yes" to four or more of the above questions,
you have high communications needs and you do a lot of
communicating where you do not speak directly to the other party.
E-mail should be an immediate benefit to you.
For virtual offices, wide-area network and other collaboration
tools, consider these:
Do you frequently courier disks to other branches or outside
agents?Do you rekey a lot of documents you receive by fax?Do you pay for dedicated lines or hourly dial-up services for
CRS access at one or more small inplant, satellite or outside agent
locations?If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you may
have opportunities to tie your operations together over the
Internet. Check out options that will enable you to start small and
use the Internet to share files or connect computers in different
locations.
Customer marketing.
Does your agency have a well-defined specialty, such as a
destination or type of travel?Are your agency's services or products useful to prospects who
live in other regions or countries?Do your prospective customers match the profile of Internet
users: 35-plus years old, predominantly male, well-educated,
high-income, early adopter?Can you effectively present the key selling points of your
agency's products or services visually (as you would in a
brochure)?If you answered "yes" to two or more of the above questions, you
are a good candidate for Internet marketing: Your products and
services can benefit from the reach and richness the Internet can
deliver. Waste no time in planning how you will market your agency
on line.
Customer services.
Do your customers live in or travel frequently to distant time
zones?Are your customers the "do-it-yourself" type rather than the
type who expect a personal relationship with an agent?Do your agents spend a lot of time answering simple customer
service calls, such as reservations confirmation, payment
confirmation or flight status?Do you now have a Web site for marketing purposes?Is the customer service information you provide available in,
or convertible to, an electronic format, such as a database, a file
or a scanned image?A "yes" answer to three or more of the above questions indicates
that you might be able to profitably use the Internet to service
your customers. Identify solutions that are cost-justified for the
kind of service you provide and the cost savings you expect.
Information resource.
Do you currently provide or plan to provide your customers with
supplemental information, such as maps, city guides or lists of
local events?Do you have a Web site for your agency that you could
supplement with links to useful information sources?Do you regularly need intelligence on your competitors or
information about potential corporate customers?Do you assess fees for value-added services?Do you have compensation and personnel monitoring systems in
place to minimize the impact of nonbusiness-related browsing by
your staff during office hours?If you answered "yes" to three or more of these questions, you
should look seriously at using the Internet as a resource for
information that you can provide to your customers, or use
yourself. Start small by focusing on a narrow range of topics, and
broaden your usage once you have proved the benefits.
Purchasing products .
Do you purchase products from (or plan to purchase products
from) wholesalers or consolidators that are bookable only by phone
or fax?Do you routinely spend a lot of time using the telephone or fax
locating and booking products such as B&Bs, inns or packages
for your customers?Are you trying to diversify your supplier mix and/or reduce
your reliance on your CRS?Can your business processes accommodate on-line bookings from
non-CRS sources?Will on-line purchasing via the Internet maintain or improve
the commissions you earn selling a product?Answering "yes" to three or more of these questions is an
indicator that purchasing products via the Internet may be good for
you. Identify and study the services that can provide you with
access to new inventory or increased commissions.
Product sales.
Do you have your own product inventory that you sell to other
travel agencies or directly to the public?Do you handle reservations for your products by phone or
fax?Does your product appeal to typical Internet users, even if
they live in another region or country?Is your product simple enough and at a low enough price point
to be feasibly booked on line without speaking to a reservations
agent?Is the traditional CRS method of selling your product too
expensive to justify?Three or more "yes" answers mean that you may have the right
kind of product and/or customer for successful on-line Net
bookings. If so, identify and evaluate options for adding sales
features to your own Web site or partner with a vendor that offers
Internet-based inventory management and distribution software and
services.
Greg Merkley, based in Evanston, Ill., is the founder of
Travel Technology & Magic and the North American marketing
director for Spy Travel Internet, an on-line wholesale travel
supplier.