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Cruise agents urged to embrace online developments
Saturday, 21 Sep, 2009
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Agents have been urged to make the best use of emerging technology such as online chat forums, blogs and web chats to stay abreast of cruise customer expectations.
The call came from Carnival UK sales and customer services director Giles Hawke during a cruise workshop which opened the Advantage Travel Centres conference at Heathrow.
He outlined the latest developments in technology, such as cruise lines moved towards ticketless travel, with e-ticketing to be introduced by P&O Cruises and Cunard in two months time.
Agents should “invest time and energy” exploring how the internet can assist in attracting cruise customers through methods including peer to peer marketing via chat forums and blogs, uploading cruise video content, creating real time dialogue through web chats and pay per click and search engine optimisation.
“You should view the web as another high street, the biggest shopping centre in the world,” he told agents. “There is absolute parity on the web. It is like every seller has the same sized shop.”
Hawke admitted that while there is not a lot of cruise bookings conducted online, levels will undoubtedly increase.
And he urged retailers to ensue they have live cruise holiday pricing on their websites to enable them to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Agents should also make use of the wealth of online information and training provided by cruise companies to deepen their knowledge and assist in securing sales.
“Technology will become even more important and it is changing all the time,” said Hawke. “Over 70% of cruisers use the web to research cruises before booking. The big risk is that customers will know more than you.”
Hurtigruten sales and marketing director Kathryn Beadle advised agents to follow the lead taken by cruise lines in using consumer profiling tools such as Mosaic and Acorn to help target customers in their area.
Agents should also create sales strategies and liaise with their local cruise company sales representatives on marketing.
She revealed that the big three cruise groups – Complete Cruise Solution, Royal Caribbean International and NCL – provide Advantage agents with more than £3 million a year in marketing support.
NCL UK general manager Stephen Park said: “One of the biggest opportunities in cruise is to sell to people who have never cruised before.”
The Passenger Shipping Association predicts that the number of UK cruise passengers will grow by 500,000 to two million in three years and around 35 news ships are due to enter service in te next 18 months, he told agents.
Park said customers were looking to brands they can trust while feeling in control of their expenditure in the current economic climate.
“The sales message should be kept simple and uncomplicated,” he added.
by Phil Davies
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