Get started: Create a plan to engage travelers

How to make travelers want to stay in your corporate program.

Corporate travel programs get the best results when their travelers behave in a particular way because they want to, not because they have to. The key is to show travelers how their interests align with company interests when they make decisions on the road. That’s traveler engagement.

BCD Travel’s latest white paper, Get Engaged: Empowering Travelers to Make Smart Buying Choices, offers advice for making travel engagement a reality. The aim is to encourage travelers and to make cost-efficient choices that boost their experience and safety. The result: Companies save on travel and employees feel good about helping the company while also helping themselves. For successful traveler engagement, travel managers need the right plan:

Define the goals

Start by asking: What traveler behavior needs changing, and why? The answers will guide you to the key messages you need to communicate. Some examples: Is this trip necessary? Can you save time and stress by taking advantage of non-travel meeting options? Did you book flights and hotel together? How can we contact you if you need help?

Audit your current marketing and communications

Start by asking: What messages do we communicate to our travelers today? Are they clear? How often and at what points in the trip lifecycle do we reach out to travelers? Which channels do we use to communicate? It’s worthwhile to poll and interview travelers to understand whether they think current communications are clear, timely and helpful to them.

Secure a budget

Creating a professional integrated communications campaign to improve traveler behavior requires some investment. And you’ll need to show why its an expenditure that’s worth the investment. One solution is to find relatively small amounts in existing budgets to create a business case. Bring in professional help to design a strategic communications roadmap that outlines what it will take to achieve the objective and how it bridges the gap between existing traveler behavior and desired behavior. This will help you make your case to senior management, marketing or other relevant departments.

Brand the travel program

Many travel managers are surprised to learn the benefits of branding their travel programs. Giving the program a name and a visual identity is not a cosmetic exercise. It gives the department visibility and credibility. It also creates a bond with travelers—an identifiable service they trust to look after them when they need it.

Build a communication schedule

Schedule a series of campaigns to avoid too much marketing all at once. For each campaign, decide which channels and tools are appropriate for those messages. Travel managers need to use a balance of push and pull communications so they don’t inundate travelers with information and create an adverse reaction.

Listen

Communication is always a two-way street. Listening to travelers’ messages is as important as delivering the company’s messages to them. If travelers are confident that their needs are listened to and accounted for, they’re more likely to warm to the travel program brand and be receptive to your messages. Listening to travelers is also essential to learn what’s good and bad about their booking and travel experiences. Travel managers can then make adjustments to better meet travelers’ needs. And, remember, the closer the travel program goals fit travelers’ needs, the more successful your program and travelers will be. That’s traveler engagement.

Measure communications return on investment

Data analysis using tools like BCD Travel’s DecisionSource lets travel managers place a value on the effectiveness of traveler engagement marketing campaigns. Measure employee response, for instance, by looking at the average number of days travelers booked in advance before and after launching a campaign designed to get them to buy earlier. And it’s easy to estimate the cost savings achieved by that early-booking campaign. For example, calculate the cost of tickets booked 21 days in advance, compared with tickets booked seven days in advance. If more travelers booked in advance more often—and spent less money in the process—the data will prove the cost-saving results of your campaign.

Want to know more about how communication strategies can boost traveler satisfaction and travel program savings? Download Get Engaged: Empowering Travelers to Make Smart Buying Choices, and ask your BCD Travel account manager for details.

 

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