Millions of people across the United States book vacations on their own each year, and you can harness the power of Pay Per Call for travel agents with just a few smart adjustments to your marketing efforts.
With the rise of Internet travel sites and mobile booking apps, everyone considers themselves a general travel agent. Don’t be discouraged, though, as there is research that suggests people are returning to travel agents as a source of knowledge when scheduling a vacation.
Analysis from Forrester Research found that consumer interest in consulting traditional travel agents is growing. In 2010, 28% of leisure travelers stated a desire to work with a travel agent. This figure was up five percentage points from two years earlier. As consumers return to travel agents, are you ready to capture their attention?
Mobile and Pay Per Call
Consumers are returning to traditional travel agents because the tools used to book vacations online are becoming increasingly complex to use. This puts your travel agency in the perfect position to capitalize on changing trends. Consumers are still using mobile devices to research vacations and search for potential travel agents to work with. Additionally, travel has been identified as one of the upcoming verticals that will experience an increased appetite for Pay Per Call marketing.
Read More: Mobile Marketing Drives Pay Per Call
Pay Per Call and Your Business
As a travel agency, your ads need to appear in front of the eyeballs of consumers looking to book vacations online. There is no evidence that suggests consumers are first searching for travel agents, but rather, the evidence suggests that consumers see advertisements for travel agents while trying to book vacations online.
Your business needs a multi-channel approach to marketing that gets your Pay Per Call campaign in front of consumers in a variety of ways. The best channels for travel agents are through ads in mobile apps, desktop web, and mobile web. These are the primary channels consumers are using to research vacations, and your phone number needs to appear here to drive leads through Pay Per Call.
Another major reason that Pay Per Call can benefit your travel agency is lead quality. Consumers are returning to travel agents because they are frustrated with online submission forms and generic web content. When your number appears in a Pay Per Call campaign online or as a click-to-call feature on mobile web and app ads, you drive quality leads to call in.
Consumers want to speak with you to learn more about package options, in a manner that is quicker than a form submission.
Avoid the Pitfalls
Pay Per Call isn’t perfect. You’ll need to watch out for the pitfalls in order to maximize your marketing dollars spent on Pay Per Call.
Pay attention to the details regarding lead generation and call duration.
When you know where the leads come from, you know where to direct your future advertising dollars. Was the phone number associated to Pay Per Call on a mobile app or desktop web? Call duration is also important. You need to keep people on the phone long enough to convert calls to sales, while avoiding long calls that waste your marketing dollars.