TravelMole Interview: Steve Martin, brochurebank.co.uk
It may have been a good Christmas for online brochure ordering service www.brochurebank.co.uk, but director of sales and business development Steve Martin knows things could be better still if one or all of the big four could be persuaded to sign up. The service, part of BP Travel Marketing, mails up to five brochures to consumers home addresses free of charge within 48 hours. It currently has around 150 operators on its books including Mark Warner, Club Med, Cunard, Inghams and Wallace Arnold. But while orders from members of the public were up 200% year-on-year over the festive period, Mr Martin believes there is room for improvement. Brochurebank makes its money from charging operators 60pence for each brochure they send out. But operators also have to pay postage. This is divided between them if more than one brochure is sent out , but still works out far more expensive than the eight or nine pence per brochure operators pay BP to get their brochure to agents when they are dispatched in blocks of 25 or 50. Mr Martin is working hard to persuade operators that the extra expense is worth it. “What I would love is to have one of the big four. We are speaking to them. The 60pence isn’t the issue – it’s the postage. If you look at some of the brochures – like Airtours Summer Sun – some of them weigh a kilo and the postage is £2.50.” He added: “A lot of it is about trying to get through the right person. The direct marketing person would maybe look at the costs compared to an ad in the Mail on Sunday rather than compare the price to the cost of sending brochures to agents.” And he believes that rather than competing with agents, agents could benefit from the service too. He explains that if a copy wants a brochure that an agent does not have in stock brochurebank is a good way of getting one, without having to order a whole batch. “The agent can say we’re sorry we don’t have it but we can get it for you and either deliver it to your home or you can pick it up from the office.” He believes that many homeworkers in particular are already using the service to get brochures to clients.
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