How Travelshift Helps Counter the Challenges Faced by Travel Agencies
Recently we outlined what we reckon are some of the toughest challenges facing travel industry operators at the moment. Conveniently left out though, was exactly how our Travelshift software can assist you in dealing with those challenges. You only have to read one of our expert content marketing articles to understand why we'd need a separate blog post for that! Here’s a quick recap of some of the challenges discussed, and what we think we can do to help...
- A Few Players Dominate the Market
It's true that huge operators dominate search engine traffic and bookings, but the simple truth is that it doesn't have to be this way. Travellers aren't necessarily choosing to book via these routes because they believe they are the best. With Travelshift you can shout louder and attract more attention by building a thriving marketplace of services and products. Our software has been specially developed to help smaller operators join together and eclipse the traditional big hitters. Experience in the Icelandic travel industry allowed us to realise very quickly that encouraging operators to band together is a fantastic way to cut through the noise, gain traffic and radiate authenticity. With built-in SEO optimisation and no coding required, all you need to do is get together a network of operators under your roof.
- Greater Traveller Independence
It’s true: Travellers no longer need their hands held through the process of booking trips, tours and accommodation. What they do need though, and what they will always appreciate, are reputable operators whose quality can be vouched for by their peers. Travelshift doesn’t just allow you to congregate a host of service operators together, within its functionality you can build an entire community of local experts and bloggers, providing accurate reviews on your destinations and services, whilst giving marketplace visitors a genuine, authoritative view of what’s on offer. Marketing of this kind is the best way to tap into independent travellers - why focus on the hard sell when you can inspire?...
- Decreased Customer Loyalty
Perhaps as a result of a highly competitive marketplace, often what is promised to travellers is far from what they eventually experience. This, combined with the huge amount of choice available online, means that agencies need to do something special to keep customers coming back. Luckily, the ability to incorporate a local community and customer reviews within our Travelshift software means that you’ll have a level of authenticity your rivals can only dream of. Ultimately the loyalty of your customers will depend on the quality of the service and products you provide. Having said that, our platform is the best way to put you in as positive a position as possible.
- People know what they want & travel isn’t as mysterious as it used to be
This is true. Times have changed and travellers are more savvy than ever before. They often want a tailored trip specific to their exact requirements, rather than simple inspiration and guidance. Whilst our software has the capacity to offer bundles of destination information and inspirational content, naturally, you could use it to dominate niche markets by reducing your offering down to a single sector. Want to build the world’s first travel marketplace dedicated exclusively to offering trips involving penguins? With Travelshift you can. Whether you should is another matter (although that’s definitely a site we would visit).
It's true that travellers know what they want these days; with our help you can give it to them.
- The Rise of the Sharing Economy
The industry has changed, with sites such as AirBnB thriving as the Sharing Economy becomes more and more popular. While many see this as a threat to the traditional powerbase of travel operators, it also represents an opportunity. Because of Travelshift’s unique community features and customisable shopfronts, you can invite a host of independent operators to come and do business under your roof. Why fight the Sharing Economy when you can be a part of it?
- There is more choice than ever
It's true that travellers have more potential avenues through which to book trips and activities than ever before. But at the same time you have to appreciate that more people are travelling than at any point in human history. And in a world where almost every taste is catered for, both in and out of the travel industry, this unrelenting demand means that you can develop your own niche marketplace to exploit any gap you think exists. Whether that niche is Scuba Diving, Horse riding, Food Tours, or trips to Mozambique, our platform could have you up and running in days.
- Travellers from emerging markets want to book and search in their own language
Emerging market travellers present both a challenge and an opportunity to modern travel operators. In order to connect with them, the very first thing you need to do is speak the language. Second, you need to ensure that bookings and payments are effectively translated as well. Third and finally, marketplaces need to be localised depending on who is searching through them. Google and Facebook, for example, are blocked in China, and so marketplaces hoping to do business there need to adapt to local users and search engines. Travelshift software features full translation compatibility, so you can communicate with customers in their own language.
We have also developed full localisation capabilities, allowing your marketplace to transcend traditional boundaries and score sales from China to South America and Japan.