What is rearview mirror syndrome you ask ?

Fundamentally for travel professionals, its the mere fact some of us are incapable of understanding the impact new media and the online sphere is having on our industry.  We are like drivers whose gaze is fixed not on where we are going but on where we came from. 

What do I mean exactly, I often speak to travel professionals that tell me how great the industry was before the advent of the internet.  Free trips from suppliers, airlines that paid commission, no discounting, loyalty of consumers, no big OTA's Etc. This is rearview mirror syndrome a focus on the past and not the present and the future. 

I suffer from rearview mirror syndrome every week. My syndrome rears its ugly head in the form of cold calling.  I used to cold call like a crazy man, in fact if we didn't, we would be in the dog house with the boss.  My personal belief is that cold calling is a thing of the past, something that should stay in my rearview mirror.  Cold calling is what they call interruption marketing, just like TV commercials. I call someone out of the blue and interrupt their day, then spit some sales jargon  in hopes they are listening closely enough to allow me to follow up , send info or meet them in person. 

This is not productive. No wonder my business partner scolds me for falling back into this routine. Content marketing is the new cold calling.  As travel professionals we need to use new media to educate our prospects and get them to engage with the content we produce.  Trust me, if your target audience sees value in your content, they will bite and contact you about your service as they have been shown value. 

So what type of content should travel agents be producing, sharing, evangelizing ? 

Stay tuned as our next few articles will tackle content, inbound marketing and online lead generation.  In the meantime don't forget to join our newsletter ( Button above ) and get information on the travel valet by clicking here. 

Don't let your past get a strangle-hold on your future