Your love of travel, people,
and places brought you into the travel business.
Your curiosity about other
cultures, traditions, and ways of life around the world motivates you to share
your experience with others.
Your sense of adventure —
sampling regional cuisine, both popular and strange, and living like a local —
enriches your life. Other people can feel that, and they want it for
themselves.
All of this creates your
worldly personality.
I “googled” the definition of
worldly. Among the definitions returned, I found this one fits the travel
industry.
Experienced and Wise
- Smart and well-traveled: knowing a lot about
life, culture, and people through experience
- Sophisticated: having good taste or practical
insight into human nature and society
Make this the foundation for creating your brand.
LinkedIn offers articles from
numerous sources on creating a personal brand. I'll use this one:
“Creating a personal brand means defining your unique
value, skills, and story, then sharing them with the world. It helps you stand
out in your career, build trust, and attract new opportunities by showing
people who you are and what you stand for.”
Brand attributes include visual
elements such as logos, color schemes, taglines, your website, and social
media.
Your personality, confidence,
friendliness, care, and communication style are also brand attributes, or brand
voice. They allow you to stand out from other travel advisors. They are
uniquely you. When you deliver them consistently, honestly, and naturally, you
become trustworthy, valued, and reliable. These attributes build a brand.
You should believe your brand
is a promise you make to your customers. You promise to deliver the experience
your brand defines continuously. You promise to meet expectations consistently.
You promise to build relationships and create emotional connections. Ask
yourself this question: How do I want my clients to feel when doing business
with me?
Companies and individuals fail
when they break promises. You start to lose business because you've violated
your customers' trust, and your value is diminished.
Here are the tools you need to
help you consistently deliver on your brand promise:
- Client interview process: articulating and
demonstrating your value
- Client waivers and statement of services
- Organizational flow of trip planning
- Client journey process: communications and touchpoints
— injecting fun and excitement
Templates or sample forms are available from ASTA, your
consortia, travel attorneys, and also from outside the industry, such as Canva,
Cognito Forms, Jotform, and others.
But you need more than a form.
You need a process that fits your business model and clientele, your style and,
most importantly, your brand. You need a business coach — someone who helps
with accountability, refines your approach, and offers objective feedback.
Every trip you plan, every
detail you handle, and every follow-up and touchpoint you make is a chance to
reinforce your brand and deliver on your promise.
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