We take an in depth look at what the best CRM solutions for tour operators offer.
To grow the customer experience - start with the customer relationship
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems are essential to keep track of your customers' data. A CRM is a system that helps you collect, store, and use customer data. For tour operators, this means putting all the data from booking to post-trip evaluation in one database. This then acts as your single source of truth that drives all your customer interactions.
Must-Haves in your Tour Operator CRM
The best CRM for travel tour operators contains the following:
● A single centralised database of customer information tailored to the travel industry
● A seamless flow from your travel booking software through to the CRM.
● Best of breed customer communication through email, SMS and a mobile app.
● Templated communications with hotel and lodging providers.
● Sophisticated logistics management to take care of gear allocation, transportation and luggage transfers.
● Automated emails that simplify repeated processes.
● Links to your finance system for payments management.
● Methods for capturing customer feedback and ratings.
The Communication Hub
Managing customer communication from your travel CRM is one of the key features your contact management system must have. This allows you to send tailored messages before, during, and after a trip.
Using email templates is the best way to build efficiency. This is not to say that everyone receives the same communication. Merging your customer data with the template provides near automated, yet tailored, communication.
During the trip provide all the essential information your customer needs through a branded app. The itinerary, hotel bookings, places of interest and daily updates are all pushed from the centralised CRM. The best CRM software for tour operators can also send emergency SMS messages in real time. These might be for detours on cycling or hiking routes, or changes to the weather conditions.
You can build your sales pipeline using post trip data from the CRM. For example, if your customer rented a standard bike on a past trip, you can suggest an E-Bike. You can do this with a timely, personalised, and automated message for a multi-day product.
To deliver great customer service, think about sending an automated email on their birthday. CRMs are effective systems that use customer data to create meaningful interactions that add value to their experience.
Getting the Most from your Tourism CRM System
Create a customer journey map
A customer journey map identifies all the interactions or touch points your customer has along their journey. This goes from first knowing about your product or service, right through to when they act as your brand ambassadors.
For tour operators, a customer journey map shows the steps of a customer's experience with your company. It includes interactions with your staff and the services you provide. Knowing how your customers react at these touch points will help strengthen and add value to the customer experience.
Customers today expect these interactions to be seamless and highly tailored. You need data to be able to create this experience. Using the best travel CRM for tour operators and good processes will help you with customer engagement. This improves the customer journey at key moments.
Listen to your customer, then capture the data
The best way to align your customer experience with your customer expectations is to listen to your customer. The best way to align your customer experience with your customer expectations is to listen to your customer.
When your reservation staff take a booking there’s often a lot of information provided by the customer. You need to make sure this gets from your reservation team to the operational delivery team.
Often this is where your management processes fall down. Reservations gather all the information about the customer but often dilute it or fail to pass it on. The operational staff who deliver the service in person need these valuable insights.
A streamlined CRM for travel tour operators will break down barriers between departments. This will help capture data accurately. It also prevents anyone from making assumptions about the data. Everyone will have easy access to this information.
Encourage your staff to be curious
One thing that humans inherently value is attention. On the day of departure look for one thing that you can do, say or create that engages personally with your customer e.g. like something about where they are from, are they a returning customer, find some way of teasing out their interests or their vocation.
Your aim is to create a conversation piece to show you care and are genuinely interested in them as your customer. If you have this data at your finger tips in your CRM and summarised in a client manifest you’re half way there.
The Magic - understanding what your customers want without asking
Using the data in your CRM, you can build strong emotional connections with your customers and anticipate their needs. The data you collected from your customer journey can help you to suggest activities, destinations, promotions, and new products. Communicating these ‘options’ to your customer through your marketing campaigns shows you care for their interests.
Send a reflection email on the anniversary of their last trip. Remind them of the quote they shared from their experience. Hopefully, it is positive and inspires them to consider another trip with your company.
Remind them how that experience felt. It could be relaxing, energizing, or refreshing. Many people travel to improve their well-being. However, some of us need reminders to take care of ourselves and to take action.
AI technology is now in the tourism industry and soon it will impact your travel business. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is gather data about your customers. This will help you communicate with them effectively.
Later on you can use this data to predict behaviour. This will help you connect better with each customer.
How to bring this together so it’s efficient, timely and magical
Building a relationship with a customer is not difficult. Having tourism management CRM software like Odyssey that supports both personalised and automated approaches makes it easier.
If you have a system that collects and stores important customer information, you can effectively communicate with your customers. Showing them you care puts you on the right path to delighting them.
Al Check is the co-founder of Odyssey – Active Tourism Management Software.
Al is also the Operations Manager for Cycle Journeys on the Great Taste Cycle Trail in Nelson, New Zealand. Cycle Journeys use Odyssey to deliver their customer experiences with ease and have an NPS of 90 (Average NPS Score NZ Travel & Leisure = 49)
Odyssey Tour Management Software Solution by Creative Technology NZ Ltd Nelson, New Zealand
