How to Achieve CRM in Tourism

It takes more than a sign to be known to tourists.

CRM stands for customer relations management. The goal of CRM is to make all customers repeat business. If done well, CRM can also turn repeat customers into an army of marketers via word-of-mouth marketing. Given the high competition and discretionary cost of tourism, CRM is essential.

Things You'll Need

• Social networking accounts
• A loyalty rewards program

Instructions

Finding Potential Tourists

1. Create a presence on the major social networks and then sponsor groups that live nearby. This will raise awareness of your tourist destination for those who will be in the area. If a positive opinion is generated, the social network will also promote your business.

2. Join the social network for tourists. Then market on them. User communities based on tourism have several purposes. They provide an open forum to companies that offer products and services related to the user community. TourNCare, Tripatini and GoAbroad are examples of social networks exclusively for tourists and travelers. Marketing in these user communities reaches consumers who have already identified themselves as interested in tourism.

3. Use self-directed contact forms. Internet users rarely part with their personal information for marketing purposes. Thus, self-directed user contact forms require an exchange or appearance of one. This can include the customer signing up for mailing lists in return for discounts or entering his contact information in return for a chance at a prize. These mailing lists can then be used for targeted marketing campaigns.

4. Improve CRM using personalization. Personalization lets customers create a personalized, if not customized, tourist experience. This can be done by letting customers set their own price on a trip. It may also be allowing customers to tailor their vacations to their desire instead of buying a standard package. Personalization increases the customer's emotional investment in the experience, frequently enhancing their opinion of it and the service provider.

Creating Repeat Business

1. Offer loyalty rewards. Rewarding loyalty means giving customers extras, perks or rewards for repeat business. The most common loyalty rewards in tourism are hotel points and frequent flier miles. Loyalty rewards increase repeat business.

2. Reward referrals. Referrals by friends and family have more impact than an ad. Rewarding referrals helps bring in new customers at a low cost. If the referrals are tied to loyalty programs, it also helps bring back the referring customer.

3. Invest in a long-term relationship via passes. If buying a two-day pass is only a fraction more than a single visit, potential repeat customers will buy them. Season or annual passes drive customers to repeat their business to get more value for their money. Encourage sales of season passes with discounts on merchandise or complimentary single tickets.

Tips & Warnings

• Discounts attract customers. It isn't wise, however, to discount services so much that it isn't profitable.

• Without exposure, your business isn't seen. Overexposure, however, turns off potential customers.

References

• "Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2009"; Wolfram Höpken, Ulrike Gretzel and Rob Law; 2009
• "Tourism Management Dynamics: Trends, Management and Tools"; Dimitrios Buhalis and Carlos Costa; 2005
• "Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Industry"; Sudhir Andrews; 2007
• "Knowledge Sharing and Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism"; Noel Scott and Eric Laws; 2006

Resources

• "The CRM Handbook: A Business Guide to Customer Relationship Management"; Jill Dyché; 2001