o one ever said running a travel
agency was rocket science. But, as Sandy Cleary can confirm, a
background in the subject certainly doesn't hurt. Cleary, who
opened Boston-based CruCon Cruise Outlet in 1995, is, in fact, an
engineer who worked for a California aerospace company that
developed ballistic missiles for the U.S. government. She honed her
marketing skills as vice president of marketing for the company.
When Cleary made the decision to switch careers, she capitalized
on a tool that was instrumental in her work with the government:
the Internet.
"Internet technology was originally developed as a government
research project," Cleary said. "Even before the Internet was the
'in' thing, government agencies were using it every day in their
work. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time
when I changed careers."
So Cleary became a pioneer, using the Internet as a tool in 1995
-- way before most agencies became Web-proficient.
Cleary refined her Web strategy through the years. She uses it
now solely as a marketing tool. "If the CLIA reports are correct --
that only 8% of the population has cruised -- then [the other] 92%
are not going to be comfortable booking online without talking to
somebody," Cleary said. "They're going to want a little more
hand-holding than the more experienced cruisers. We're banking on
that."
CruCon goes after specific consumer targets with Internet
marketing. "We use various search engines and banner techniques to
drive people to our Web site [www.crucon.com]," Cleary said. "The
trick is to find out what will motivate each individual market --
what their hot buttons are, so that they click on our links.
"Once [prospective clients] have clicked through to the part of
the site tailored to their demographics, you need to have enough of
a 'call to action' that will make them pick up the phone and call
our 800 number for more information," she said.
That's when the customer-service aspect of the process begins.
"We'll hold their hand until they're ready to sail," Cleary said.
"It's using the new technologies to make the phone ring, but it's
keeping the traditional customer service ethics that were
responsible for growing the industry into what it is today. We've
seen that consumers don't want to take the personal touch out of
the equation. "
Because the clients that call are pre-qualified, CruCon agents
have high closure ratios. "We give our agents a maximum of 24 hours
to close the sale, and most do it by the end of business on the day
the consumer called," said Cleary. "We track every agent's closure
ratio, and if they fall below a specified number, they are removed
from the phones until their ratio is reestablished."
Cleary said she'd prefer to have an agent take 10 new quotes a
day and close seven sales, rather than take 100 quotes and still
close seven. "It's not about speed, it's about customer
satisfaction, which results in higher conversion ratios."
CruCon stresses competitive pricing but has also "found the
upsell [to be] very, very easy," said Cleary. "When you explain
that they can sail in an inside cabin for $499 per person, but can
have a balcony cabin for just $25 more per person, per day, it's an
easy sell."
One current challenge for both agencies and cruise lines is the
close-in booking trend. CruCon has been able to counter this trend
by offering promotions that convince the consumer to book earlier.
"We've been able to increase our standard booking window from 43 to
124 days," she said.
Cleary's business model clearly is working. The agency has
increased its volume by 70% each year since 1995. It booked $13.5
million in cruise sales in 2002 and is projecting $20 million by
year's end.
But why would someone make the switch from ballistic missiles to
cruise sales in the first place? Cleary fell in love with cruising
when she lived in California and decided to make it her
vocation.
Her love of family also played a part in her decision. Her
father and brother -- both based in Boston -- had recently died,
leading her to reevaluate her priorities. The move back to Boston
also enabled Cleary to be near her mother during the last three
years of her mother's life.
CruCon currently employs 25 people -- up from the original two,
Cleary and her sister, Patricia Takach, who started the business
from their mother's basement. Agents are paid by the hour and also
earn commissions.
"I'm convinced everything happens for a reason," Cleary said.
"Just as Pat and I were debating exactly how big we really wanted
to become, I had an unfortunate Pop-Tart incident in which I burned
down Mom's kitchen while I was on the phone making a sales call.
This forced us outside the basement and allowed us to expand
quickly."
Although the incident was far from funny at the time, Cleary and
her sister laugh about it now. "It allowed us to jump in with both
feet and hire the salespeople we needed."
The Perfect Itinerary
Five adventurous days in New Zealand
aureen Jones, owner of Palo
Alto, Calif.-based All Horizons Travel, is a certified specialist
in 29 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. She usually
recommends that clients spend three weeks discovering New Zealand,
strongly discouraging them from taking in both the North and South
Islands in a week. Here's her itinerary for South Island:
DAY 1
Jones recommends two nights at the five-star George Hotel in
Christchurch, "one of the best hotels in terms of service and
location." She strongly advises clients to take an excursion on the
Tranzalpine train that travels into the heart of the Southern Alps
-- "one of the top five train journeys in the world." The trip
includes lunch at a remote sheep station and a boat ride through
rapids and canyons.
DAY 2
"I automatically recommend a city tour of Christchurch. Then
clients can go back to whatever portion of the tour they like on
their own," Jones said. She said Christchurch has charming art
galleries and good shopping. Not be missed is the International
Antarctic Center, which provides visitors with a real feel for
Antarctic life.
Transfer to the airport for the flight to Queenstown, which
Jones called "the adventure capital of the world." It's situated on
the shores of Lake Wakatipu and overlooks the Southern Alps.
Check into the Blanket Bay hotel, located on the north end of
Lake Wakatipu. Blanket Bay is just one of several properties Jones
uses here; she said it's ideal for a range of outdoor activities.
All rooms offer sweeping views.
DAY 3
Jones would arrange a boat trip on the lake, with lunch at the
Walter Peak Sheep station for a sheep-sheering demonstration.
DAY 4
Plan an all-day, one-way cruise to the Fjord region of Milford
Sound with a flight back to Queenstown.
DAY 5
Reserve today for the "triple challenge," an all-day excursion
that explores the Shotover River by jet boat, helicopter and raft,
combining "stunning scenery with challenging rapids," she said.
This excursion is a personal favorite for Jones; the vistas put her
fondly in mind of her native Scotland.
Hand in Hand
A fateful e-mail
on Horne, a cruise rep, and
Susan Zoller, a travel agent, have something in common. They're not
complacent. When the going got rough post 9/11, they got going.
Together. To date, the result -- and it's certainly not the end
result -- is $400,000 in new cruise business.
Horne, Carnival Cruise Lines' Florida West Coast area business
development director, and Zoller, owner of Cruise World in Tampa,
Fla., knew they had to recoup -- and grow -- their businesses after
9/11. "That was the time to react," said Horne. "You have to fight
for the business."
He sent out e-mail and blast faxes to his entire territory
alerting retailers that he wanted to cooperatively develop
corporate business. "Only two or three agents out of 500
responded," said Horne. "Susan was one of them."
Zoller was enthusiastic. The agency had already had some success
booking meetings at sea, but on a small scale. "Everybody is
looking for something different now," she said, "and we knew we had
to take a different approach post 9/11. You can't just sit around.
Chances are they're not going to call you."
Together, Horne and Zoller devised a business plan. "We made a
commitment to make 10 sales calls a day," Zoller said. They decided
to focus on organizations that included corporations, nonprofits
and hospitals. Zoller made the initial phone calls, and once
contact was made with the firm's decision-maker, the two would make
in-person sales calls.
The reception that greeted them was so positive that a lunch for
prospects was planned onboard the Carnival Sensation in Tampa. One
hundred invitations were sent out and 28 firms sent
representatives. "By getting those bodies on the ship, you've got
their undivided attention," said Horne.
The plan worked. "Out of the 28 companies, we generated $400,000
worth of new business, and it's still growing strong," said Zoller.
"Now it's repeat business. These companies are planning events for
2005 -- and that business is coming in now."
"Hand in Hand" highlights successful examples of agents and
suppliers working together. Send suggestions to Agent Life editor
Claudette Covey at [email protected].
Marc my words
Learn from airlines' mistakes
recently took a
three-and-a-half-hour flight on a major full-service airline. I was
in first class. Here's a checklist of exactly what I received for
my $1,200 fare:
• The
flight boarded late. Nobody at the gate explained why.
• My meal was a box of cornflakes, milk and a small Danish. That's
it. Coach got nothing.
• The entertainment programming was an old rerun of "Friends." The
image kept jumping on the monitor.
• My seat barely reclined. Behind it was jammed a newly
repositioned bulkhead separating first from coach.
• As I exited, I noted that the paint job on the plane's nose was
half-peeled off.
As satirist Dave Barry would put it, folks, I'm not making this
up.
OK, I know that things are tough in aviation. But this
experience triggered a whole spectrum of thoughts that, in turn,
evoked marketing lessons that I believe are relevant to us all:
First, an old dictum that needs fresh attention: You have to
spend money to make money. Start getting cheap on customers, and
you'll eventually drive away the serious ones and attract the cheap
ones, those who don't make you money and have no sense of loyalty
to you.
Second, treat your best customers extra well. They're the ones
who'll support you in both good times and bad.
Third, don't let your image slip. There's nothing consumers
avoid more than the air of inattentiveness or desperation.
Fourth, promote honestly. Fancy advertising, peppy music and
cute slogans mean nothing if you don't deliver. In fact, by
inflating expectations, it may make matters worse.
Fifth, be thoughtful. The travelers who give you money should be
treated not as things to be processed, but as friends.
Marc Mancini is an industry speaker and consultant who
teaches at West Los Angeles College.
5 Things
he five most important things
to keep in mind when choosing a consortium or agency network:
1. Make a list of exactly what your agency
requires from an agency group: for example, an ideal roster of
preferred suppliers; marketing, training and technological support;
and cooperative buying benefits. Compare and grade consortia
against this list.
2. Compare the expected benefits with the cost
of membership -- and keep in mind the true cost may be more than
just membership dues. Some agency groups have a moderately low
front-end fee but require agency members to make substantial
financial contributions in marketing investments. "It could cost
$1,000 to join, but you have to spend $20,000 a year to function as
a member," according to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based industry consultant
Robert Joselyn.
3. Consider how your agency matches up in size,
business mix, customer base profile, geographic location and market
image with other members. Would your agency be a good fit with the
positioning and personality of the existing membership?
4. Determine what kind of advantages the group
offers and/or negotiates from travel industry suppliers: advantages
that go beyond commissions, overrides and promotional dollars.
"Increasingly, we're seeing organizations negotiating with
suppliers on a number of different issues," said Joselyn. For
instance, some preferred suppliers provide consortium members with
special client perks that will differentiate your agency in the
eyes of the client.
5. Evaluate the quality and stability of the
consortium and its management. Is the consortium financially sound?
What is the quality of its management team -- and is it large
enough to make good on its promises? Is it a group with a strategic
plan for the future, or is it a prime candidate for a takeover? Has
there been excessive personnel turnover? What has been the pattern
of membership growth or decline? Which agencies have recently left
the consortium -- and why?