No matter what is your domain in the travel industry, there is always competition out there. There are other businesses out there that are keen to capture your target audience as well. The competition is simply cutthroat and the travel agents need to devote considerable time to competitive analysis. The advantages of competitor analysis are many but still, it is one of the neglected aspects in the travel industry.
Apart from offering critical insights into the ways and practices of the competitors, it also helps to briefly understand their behavior which enables the travel agents to anticipate their next moves and strategies. It will further help them to stand among the competition. Today, when we look at the internet, the place is full of e-commerce sites, but only those manage to remain on top which do extensive competitor research to develop their services and promotions.
It is important to analyze the competition at different stages of the travel business to ensure that it is providing the best possible services at remarkable prices. Competitive analysis can help the travel business to learn about the ins and outs of how the competition works and identify potential opportunities where you can out-perform them. For that, it is important to understand how to do competitive analysis in the travel industry.
Tips to Perform Effective Competitive Analysis
Competitive market research basically focuses on finding and comparing the key market metrics that help to identify the differences between the services and prices offered by the competitors. Comprehensive market research helps to establish an effective sales and marketing strategy and helps to analyze the tips to prepare a marketing plan for the travel business which further helps the travel business stand out from the crowd.
Competitive analysis helps the travel business size up the competition by identifying their strength and weaknesses. In order to know how the competitors are performing in the travel industry, it is important to know about the tips to conduct competitor research.
Determine the Competitors
If you want to know how to become a successful travel business owner, it is important for travel agents to know more about their competitors so that they can analyze and compare the data accurately. To do so, here are following things you can do.
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Divide the competitors into two categories: Direct and Indirect.
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Direct competitors are travel businesses and companies that offer services that could pass as a similar substitute and work in the same geographical areas.
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On the other hand, indirect competitors provide products and services that are not the same but could satisfy the same customer needs and requirements and solve the problem.
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When comparing the travel business, the travel agents should focus on both direct and indirect competitors.
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It is important for travel agents to frequently run the competitive analysis. The market can and will shift anytime and the trends can change, and if you are not constantly scoping it out, you won’t be aware of these changes until it’s too late.
Determine the Services Offered by Competitors
After analyzing the competitors, the next step is to determine the services they are going to provide and whether it is a good place to start. One of the best tips to introduce travel business services online is to analyze how the competitors are showcasing their business online.
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It is important to analyze the complete product line and the quality of the services the competitors are offering.
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It is also important to note how they are offering the price and discounts from time to time to the customers. It will help the travel agents to introduce the offers and remarkable costs accordingly and the business can attract potential customers as well.
Research about Competitors’ Sales Tactics and Output
Running a sales analysis on competitors is quite tricky but is one of the most effective parts of competitive analysis. It is a helpful piece of information that will give the travel agents an idea of how competitive the sales process is and analyze the effective sales tips to grow business in the travel industry.
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The travel agents can also take the feedback from their clients who mentioned they were considering the competitors before and analyze what made them choose you.
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When the travel company identifies the competitor, it becomes more important for them to know more about them and offer effective services.
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Asking open-ended questions to the prospects and getting honest feedback about what customers find appealing will lead your travel business to achieve remarkable growth.
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Once you have got the answer to these questions, you can start scoping out the competitors’ marketing efforts.
Take Note of Competitor’s Content and Graphics
It is important for the travel business to analyze the quality and quantity of the content and graphics they are using in social media marketing. Depending on the topics they are discussing, the content may help the travel business to hone in on their lead generation strategies. Also, don’t forget to evaluate the quality of the content and the visuals.
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Instead of going through everything in one go, just pick a small number of the latest samples and analyze how the competitors attract more customers with visuals and graphics as well as the content.
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When you have a solid understanding of how the competitors are using content and visuals to engage the customers, you can finally customize a well-organized social media marketing plan to grow your business by facing every obstacle proficiently.
When the travel business knows how to do competitive analysis in the travel industry, they can create a more informed and effective marketing plan to grow the business. Researching about the competitors in the travel industry can help the travel agents clearly evaluate the competitive scenarios and what your travel brand needs to stand out in the travel industry.