Convention Special: You gotta have faith, delegates are told
During a year of high-profile travel industry failures, trust has become key to clinching sales, ABTA delegates heard in Malta.
At a master class in marketing, managing director of Conrad Advertising David Goodman said increasingly his customers within the travel industry were looking for ways to communicate their trustworthiness to their customers.
He told delegates: “People want some sort of kite mark sign that will give consumers confidence in their business and communicate that this is a business that can be trusted.”
Lowcostholidays managing director Paul Evans said now more than ever there was a need for customers to have faith in a brand and not see it denigrated.
He said: “Reputation management is key at the moment because the impact that a single person can have on your brand is massive.”
Lowcostholidays employs two people to work solely on reputation management, ensuring that when the brand is criticized by the public, the issue is dealt with, said Evans.
“Customers may say things that are or are not correct but we have to deal with that because the impact on your business can be huge. I would really advise people to take this issue seriously I don’t think we ever necessarily have enough people working on it.”
By Dinah Hatch
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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