How to Boost Sales When Business is Slow

Even with the best booking software in the world, it’s perfectly normal for particularly hectic periods of the year to be followed by sleepier ones. And in the tours and activities industry, this seasonal ebb and flow of customer demand is an important part of how you manage your business. But just because your customers aren’t up to much during certain parts of the year doesn’t mean you have to be too. This is an excellent opportunity to learn the ins and outs of your chosen booking solution, to get the word out about your tours and activities and to prep for next season!

Market Yourself

When business is booming, who’s got time for anything else? During the high season, marketing tends to be low on the list of priorities for tour and activity providers. This is why the off season is the perfect time to leverage the power of marketing to boost sales and acquire new customers:

Use Your Booking Software to Get Customer Ratings and Reviews

Customer reviews and ratings are an extremely important part of any marketing strategy. For this reason, you should send all your customers an email directly after the tour, activity or event they participated in asking them to rate you on tripadvisor and other platforms. It’s also important to get feedback as soon as possible — indeed, within 24 hours! — while your customers still have the experience fresh in their minds. The more they can remember, the more time and energy they’ll be willing to put into leaving a helpful review.

Get Creative with Your Content

Just because it might not be the right season for your tours and activities — sometimes its just too cold for that city tour, or there’s not enough powder on the ground for those ski lessons — doesn’t mean your website’s content is falling on deaf ears. Consumers are always on the lookout for great deals and exciting opportunities, and you should make use of any downtime in the year to update your website and create attractive content. Who knows — maybe you’ll even find the time to dust off the ol’ blog and write a few entries.

Market to Specific Target Groups

The off season is the perfect time to start marketing to specific (new) target groups with special offers.

The Locals

Marketing to customers who live near the tours and activities you offer is a good way to generate customer loyalty and bring in new business. Not only is your local customer base willing and able to pay for your services year round, but they’re also likely to recommend your services to their friends, family and coworkers. Here are just a few ideas for special offers tailored to locals:

• Off season discounts
• Early-bird specials
• 2-for-1 deals
• Discounts for families and senior citizens

Don’t forget to adjust the prices you have listed in your booking system to reflect the current season or target group!

Companies and Other Groups

Another way to bring in extra cash during the off season is to modify your services and pricing to attract companies and other groups. Big group bookings make it easy to fill up your calendar when business is slow. Contacting corporate travel agencies is a good place to start if you want to reel in some big fish.

Establish New Marketing Partnerships through Your Booking System

New distribution channels — online and off — can help put your tours and activities on the map for a new group of potential customers and give sales a considerable boost. However, it’s important to ask a few questions before entering into a marketing or distribution agreement with a new partner:

• How much traffic can this partner generate for me?
• Which markets does the partner have access to?
• What products does he or she sell?
• 
  What marketing strategy is being used?

bookingkit makes it easy to find new marketing partners — a single click is all it takes to start a profitable new partnership. Visit our website for a full list of the benefits of using bookingkit to manage your tours and activities business.