Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After-sales service
Rapport is established and the benefi ts of a selection
of products are highlighted. However, none of these
actions commits the customer to buying the product
or service, or do anything at all. Helping the customer
to move from 'I'd like' to 'I'll buy' is what this part of
the sales process is all about. It may also be possible
to 'switch sell' at this point - this involves getting
customers to buy extra products in addition to their
main purchase, e.g. buying travel insurance and foreign
currency when booking their overseas holiday. Staff are
sometimes encouraged to 'sell up' when closing the
sale, i.e. persuading customers to buy a higher priced
product than the one they originally intended, e.g.
booking a more expensive outside cabin on a cruise
holiday.
It is important for all organisations and staff involved
in selling to remember that the process doesn't end
when the customer has parted with his or her money!
Just as we expect an after-sales service for household
items we buy, the sellers of travel and tourism products
too must offer this service to their customers. Adding a
new customer's details to an existing database should
be the fi rst step in developing a long-term relationship
that will hopefully benefi t both the organisation and
the customer.
Providing an after-sales service can be either:
1.
Pre-departure - e.g. when a customer makes an
initial booking, but then decides to buy 'extras'
such as car hire, airport parking or an airport
shuttle service. Customers may also make changes
to their original booking, for example requesting
an upgrade on a fl ight, cruise or hotel room, or
perhaps cancel their booking altogether;
Staff should be continually looking for buying signals
from the customer to trigger the process of closing the
sale. Statements such as 'that sounds fi ne' or 'yes, I
like that' clearly indicate a desire on the part of the
customer to buy. When such signals are evident, the
member of staff should begin to fi nalise the deal,
remembering that clients should never be forced into
making a decision that they may later regret.
2.
Post-departure - once they return home after their
holiday, customers may wish to contact their travel
agent, airline or holiday company for a variety of
reasons, e.g. to complain or give praise, to report
luggage delays, to request a refund or inform the
company about poor facilities.
Not every sales conversation will necessarily end in a
sale - what is important from the organisation's point
of view is to end up with the best possible outcome to
the process. For large purchases, customers may wish
to consider the benefi ts in greater detail or discuss the
sale with other people, before making a commitment
to buy. In this situation, all sales staff can do is to ensure
that the customer has been given excellent customer
service throughout, thus increasing the chances of an
eventual positive sales outcome.
Whatever the reason for this pre- or post-departure
contact, the sales staff should handle the situation
with the same skill, professionalism and courtesy they
used when making the original booking. From the
company's perspective, after-sales service not only has
the potential to generate extra revenue, but is also a
good source of customer feedback, which can be used
for future sales activities.
Completing documentation
Having successfully closed a sale, a sales person will
need to complete appropriate documentation to ensure
that all the administration relating to the booking runs
smoothly. This could involve fi lling in a booking form,
either manually or on a computer, taking payment and
issuing a receipt, or issuing tickets or vouchers to the
customers.
