We know how valuable your business is for you, and needing to be in control of everything is reasonable and understandable. However, don't forget that it takes two to tango and strategic partnerships are fundamental for your growth in the competitive world of tour and experiences. Your partners not only provide you with numerous benefits, while covering every lacking aspect of your company but can also are the key to your success! So, yes, you need to make partnerships!
Who might be my partners?
First of all, there are three different types of co-workers that your tour operator company needs to work with:
Suppliers - External Activity Providers
Firstly, you collaborate with other activity providers. Supposingly ,you are a scuba diving operator, the diving point needs a boat in order to be accessible and so, you have a deal with the company that organizes boat tours in your area.When someone makes a reservation for a scuba diving lesson, he also books and pays his route to the diving spot.This collaboration is an essential one for you to solve your transportation problem and both clients and companies are benefited.
Resellers - Travel Agents, Hotels, etc...
With no doubt, there is a strong relationship between a tour operator and a reseller. It is considered a primary partnership when you realize that this is a partner that is going to help you increase your bookings and grow your business. For your resellers, you can start making your services known to local travel agents, and following that, you can invite local hotels and resorts to share your services with their customers. This strategy increases your traffic and gives added value to your resellers, having your unique products in their brochures!
Personnel - Internal and External Staff
As we mentioned, you should not do everything on your own; operators, guides, a bookings manager, a hostess, or the person at your front-desk might be your total internal staff partners. You would say that these are your most susceptible collaborations since they reflect your business representation, so organizing them is a primary concern. Avoid any chance of error or mistake by using a resource (equipment/personnel) management tool, and your team will make you proud. You will be relieved of the stress that there may be misunderstandings on assignments or customer service.
5 benefits for your business
Yes, we are talking about partners, but have you yet realized why a strong partnership is so helpful?
- Grow your customer base and gain access to new products. Especially, if you own a small business and you are struggling to attract more customers, but at the same time your goal is to gain a competitive advantage, then partners are the means for your purpose. A good partnership can work as a free advertisement; would you ever say no? In addition to this, if you and your partner have the same goal, sharing customers is easy. Every traveler wants to try more experiences!
- Increase customer trust! How will you boost your bookings if you are not a trustable company? Strong partnerships inspirit trustworthiness make clients believe they can rely on your products. For example, when you cooperate with a leading, high-quality equipment company, it means that your activities are safe, and as a result, you gain loyal customers that will share this with their friends.
- Build local brand awareness! You can grow organically with recommendations and referrals from local partners, and as a consequence, your logo and your brand name will be familiar in the eyes and ears of your customers, who will end up hearing about your site more and more. Don't forget that everyone can be your reseller!
- Convey value to your customers. It is crucial for a new company to be seen as more prominent and more established, mainly when it is in its baby steps. Try to gain from offers and packages that include your services. Your qualified resellers can create these new products and create a valuable link between your brand and your target audience.
- Exchange knowledge. Τhe positive effects of having access to other people's skills and resources are insuperable. You and your whole team can grow your capabilities and expand your horizons by coming in contact with new ideas and diverse work environments.
You need happy partners to keep them on your side, long-time. It is reasonable that a frequent change of associates leads to the impression of an unstable company. Therefore you should aim at creating long-lasting relationships. Show them your appreciation through your practices, and they will be there for you. How can you do this? Connect them to make them work collectively in a systematic way and they will love you. This is one of the advantages that resource management can provide.
Collaborations need a win-win scenario and when only one gain then they are not going to last. If you are happy with a strategic partnership, make sure that the other side is pleased too. Set the goal together to offer to your fellows and watch both businesses grow faster.
Team work makes the dream work
To sum up, never forget that to do everything by yourself is a big no-no. The most important things for a successful strategic partnership is to base it on similar values and goals, honesty, and trust!
Keep in mind that kleesto can be your first partner to this change, allowing you to organize and synchronize all your partners just from one dashboard!
