Sell More Travel Using FAM Trips Gamification

Aug 29, 2019 | Traveler’s Q

Sell More Travel Using FAM Trips Gamification

Sell More Travel Using FAM Trips Gamification

HOW TO SELL MORE TRAVEL USING FAM TRIPS & GAMIFICATION

As a travel agent, you’re always looking for ways to sell more travel. Keeping your sales process fresh by using things like FAM trips and gamification can be just what you need to take your sales up a notch.

In this article, we’ll explore these innovative sales techniques more so you can start using them to sell more travel and even improve brand loyalty.

Let’s dive in!

Sell More Travel Using FAM Trips Gamification

FAM TRIPS 101

A FAM trip, also known as a “Familiarization Trip,” is a trip for travel agents that’s organized by suppliers or tour operators. It’s a chance for agents to experience the activities they sell to their clients. It’s also a more affordable way to explore a new location.

During FAM trips, travel agents are often treated to special meals, given tours of local facilities, and partake in special experiences such as boat trips, cooking classes, dance performances and more. It’s a way to experience everything the location has to offer, just as a client would.

HOW FAM TRIPS HELP YOU SELL MORE TRAVEL

When you’ve seen a resort, cruise or tour experience for yourself, it build credibility. You can better describe to your clients what they can expect. This first-hand experience allows you to answer questions and recommend better travel experiences based on their wants and needs.

Just like taking a continuing education course, FAM trips allow travel agents to become more familiar with the tour experiences they are selling. It’s an educational experience that will look great on the resume of any travel agency. The more first-hand experience you have with top locations you sell to, the more effective you’ll be at selling them.

Also, when you go on a FAM trip you can take photos and post them on your own social media accounts. This is a great promotional tactic. You can also email them to your clients as a way to get them excited about specific destinations of interest to them.

FAM trips are also great for networking. They’ll help you form lasting relationships with suppliers and other agents, as well as locals who are able to give you travel tips to share with your clients. Just make sure the destinations you choose to visit are ones your clients will want to travel to as well. Your experience means more when it’s with popular or emerging destinations.

GAMIFICATION 101

Another strategy you can use to sell more travel is the concept of gamification.

Gamification is the art of applying the typical elements of a game to another type of activity. For example, you could create competitions where “players” score points or win challenges. This is a huge motivator and highly engaging – especially on social media.

Some of the aspects of gamification include goals, badges, leveling up, collaboration, community, points and more. It’s important to note that gamification isn’t about creating a new and original game. Instead, it’s about applying the motivational techniques that make games so engaging to an already existing experience.

GAMIFICATION HELPS YOU SELL MORE TRAVEL

Gamification can be used to sell pretty much anything.

Check out this fascinating example of gamification and travel from New York City. Visitors to the city used their phones to take part in a “gamified city tour.” They answered questions on their phones, earning points for every puzzle and riddle they solved. The tour included photo challenges and questions such as “How many glass windows are in the public artwork by Richard Haas on Greene Street?” As they saw more New York sights and learned more about the city, they were encouraged by the interactive game elements of the app.

The tour was developed by Stray Boots and it has sold more than 85,000 tours since the company started in 2009! This is just one example of how gamification can help those in the travel industry sell more travel.

Think about how to include some of these interactive elements into the travel experiences you offer. There are many aspects of gamification you can include, such as opportunity for higher status, digital points, badges, leader boards and more. All of these features can make your customers more likely to book a trip. Or, at the very least, share your social media pages with their network to expand your reach.

Many aspects of travel are already tied to gamification. Habitual travelers tend to like to keep score of the places they have been, how many miles they have traveled, how many passport stamps they have, etc. For these passionate, competitive types of travelers – gamification will be very appealing.

You could even create an app or a website where travelers can log their experiences and record their travel. Make it interactive, so that they can share their progress with others and be inspired.

HOW WILL YOU USE FAM TRIPS AND GAMIFICATION TO SELL MORE TRAVEL?

Now that you know the benefits of FAM trips and gamification for selling more travel, how do you plan to incorporate them into your strategy for the remainder of 2019 and beyond? If you want to bounce ideas off our team, book an intro call or contact us today to learn about the FAM trips we offer!

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