How Can My Travel Business Benefit From a Database?
by Darla Graber - President, ClientEase/ITAMS Ltd.

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ClientEase allows you to organize your clients and have the information available to you from any Internet connection. ClientEase is an electronic database containing your client data, including historical reservations and marketing criteria, which will keep you a step ahead of your competition. It's easy for your clients to surf the Internet and find travel deals, but it's a comfort for to them to know that their personal travel agent (YOU) knows them and their preferences. Using ClientEase, you become their personalized service provider by doing their travel research and getting the best deals for them to make their travel choice. Keep your existing clients happy and earn new clients by proving yourself as an efficient and effective travel service provider.

With all of the new affordable and technologically advanced product offerings out there to assist you in organizing your agency, how do you become more attractive than your competitors? As a service provider, you need to be customer-oriented. You must arm yourself with a Customer Relations Management (CRM) database, such as ClientEase, to assist in maintaining or even improving your customer satisfaction level. It is a proven fact that it will cost you 10 times more to bring in a new client than it does to retain an existing one.

In addition, your competition is not only other travel agencies, but also the Internet as a whole with all the so-called "travel deals" advertised everyday. So, to be successful, you must make the most of every chance you have to contact your clients and let them know that you will do all the legwork for them. Information becomes your key to success. This information is readily at hand if stored in ClientEase.

What should be stored in a database? By storing as much client information as possible, you allow for a better customer focus. Maintaining data on how to contact the client is one thing, but taking it a step further will improve your client satisfaction. Keep data that tells you the client's travel interests, favorite destinations, future travel plans, historical travel, birthdays and special occasions. ClientEase stores all of this data, plus more. These types of data will allow you to quickly market specialized travel deals to your clients. For example, you should be able to efficiently pull up all clients in specific age groups interested in Alaskan cruises. This narrows your focus and allows you to target market to those most likely interested in a specific travel deal and not waste your time sending to those not interested. A good database will allow quick and easy access to this data within a matter of a few keystrokes.

ClientEase has many different choices available to market to your clients. Your database of choice should be user-friendly enough to have an email list or mailing label file ready to go without wasting time trying to figure out "how" to use the software. Another advantage is portability of your data. An Internet database will allow you to work from both home and office without having to install software in several different locations. Enter your data once, and access it from anywhere. ClientEase is a 100% Internet database accessible from any Internet connection.

Really get to know your clients with a database. Record as much information about them as possible. Client retention is key to your business. Keep the following in mind: The cost of keeping an existing client is less than replacing them.

Marketing and selling to them creates loyalty and therefore more business. The analysis of client information allows for target marketing, better service and support, which creates lower overhead. And, a satisfied client will tell three or four potential clients, thus creating new business.

A good database not only works for the clients, but it also performs other tasks for your office as well. You should be able to pull sales volume reports efficiently to see which suppliers you sell the most. You should be able to track your commissions and see those paid vs. unpaid. You should be able to quickly organize group travel with rooming lists and sales volume/commission reports. You should be able to send an itinerary to your clients via email. Give yourself the edge whether you are a home-based agent or multiple agent/location agency. An electronic database can be a major factor on your path to success. ClientEase very quickly gives you all the above features (in addition to many not mentioned) that can assist in overall office organization.

With all of the travel service options out there today, you can't just sit back and wait for the clients to come to you. You need to reach out and touch your clients. ClientEase can help you to become a true customer service agency by allowing you to really know your clients and have access to them with a touch of a couple buttons. You may not realize that, even though your client data remains on a computer, you can give more efficient and effective personalized service to your clients by using a client database. Don't be fooled by the concept of "electronic" data -- it's your answer to organizing your office and maintaining high client satisfaction levels!

Give ClientEase a peek by previewing the online demo at www.ClientEase.com or give us a call at 419.282.6484.