
Many business travel experts have been wondering, why so many SMBs are playing the know-it-all card, when it comes to plan and spending money on their business travels. The truth might surprise you.
The History of Disruptive Behavior in Business Sectors
Through the years many sectors have felt this disruptive behavior. In 90's it was the IT sector, in the 2000's it was the Marketing Sector. And through all these years you could hear the same old sentence: "I don't need your advice on how to spend my money!". It took years, before SMBs shifted their view from "No way!" to "Yes, please!" and only after the service providers changed their business models.
When we talk about business travel, many small and medium-sized businesses still do not have a clear answer why B2B travel agencies exist. Surely the only explanation can't be for these same agencies to become yet another middle man between the businesses and air/ground transportation and accommodation providers, as well as accommodation options for business travel. So what does put SMBs at unease when having to delegate their budget to agencies?
The answer is simple: the business travel sector still has too many unresolved trust issues with its customers. It’s not the clients’ fault—it's the agencies’. This is a tough truth, but one that needs to be addressed immediately. Many agencies, including large online booking portals, are simply focused on selling their best margin offers, often neglecting critical aspects like customer experience, lifetime customer value, and retention metrics. The business travel sector must wake up from its "20 years in the past" slumber and begin offering services that align with client expectations, including seamless business travel accommodation solutions.
Stop thinking about revenue, think about profit! And in 2015 the most profitable thing is keeping your clients happy.
Changes Business Travel Agencies Need To Make
In 2015 your company must be driven by customer experience and expectation. Our company is built on the human-to-human business relations model and we are achieving stellar results in the past three years, following few simple rules:
Planning and monitoring - You can't offer a good service without knowing the world around you. Monitor your service/product, compare it and A/B test it with your customers! Being lazy and dwelling in the business practices of the past will ultimately push you out of the market.
Offer your clients the same service as you would offer to yourself - That means realizing that if you are "playing cheap", you will act the same way towards your customers. Strive to provide the best possible service, even if you go below the margin, sometimes even if you have to go in the red. One happy client in 2015 often weighs way more than your 2% net loss on the deal.
Human to Human approach - If you can, add account manager for each of type service you offer and strive for better customer support. The customers evolved and are now actively using social and mobile channels to communicate with your company. Many leading companies in the sector already employed things like mobile messenger apps, to be sure they can be in touch and provide the customer service possible.
The world is becoming smaller, busier and more mobile than ever and providing excellent non-intrusive service with a smile is the only sure way to success.
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