Be Careful What (Who!) You Ask for

Clients who shop-around can be very frustrating. You put a lot of time and effort in searching for what they say they want, you probably gave them a lot of free advice along the way and then you discover that they booked with someone else or even booked it all themselves online. Aaaagh!

But wait. Those customers are probably you and me in any other situation. Think about how you go about buying things. My guess is that in certain circumstances you shop in a similar way.

You can think of customers as two types: relational and transactional. And you and I can be divided into those types according to what it is we are buying. I’ll be transactional when buying say a phone but relational in purchasing car maintenance.

The relational customer is looking for a ‘relationship’. Here is how you can recognise them:

  1. Relational shoppers consider today’s transaction to be one in a long series of many future purchases. They are looking less for a particular holiday than a place where they can buy it.
  2. Their only fear is of making a poor choice. Relational shoppers will purchase as soon as they have confidence.
  3. They don’t enjoy the process of shopping and negotiating.
  4. Relational shoppers are looking principally for an expert they can trust.
  5. They consider their time to be part of the purchase price.
  6. Confident that they have found “the right place to buy,” relational shoppers are very likely to become repeat customers.

The transactional customer is the complete opposite:

  1. Transactional shoppers are focused only on today’s transaction and give little thought to the possibility of future purchases.
  2. Their only fear is of paying more than they have to pay. Transactional shoppers are looking for price and value.
  3. They enjoy the process of comparing and negotiating and will likely shop at several places before making their decision to purchase. And of course the internet makes that so easy.
  4. Transactional shoppers do their own research so they don’t need the help of an expert.
  5. Because they enjoy the process, transactional shoppers don’t consider their time spent shopping to be part of the purchase price.

This way of viewing customers has been around for a number of years but I believe it is worth remembering because your marketing message will be attracting one type of customer or the other. Of course you could be attracting both and that is fine provided you can serve them both equally well.

If you are promoting low prices and special deals you will attract the transactional customer and you will be one of many suppliers that they contact. If you promise added-value qualities such as superior customer service and expertise you are more likely to attract the transactional customer i.e. the one who places a value on you and your professionalism.

In reality of course people are not quite so easily categorised and it is worth watching and listening for signs that your next prospect is veering toward one type or the other.

You will have those people who are happy to broadcast that they are transactional e.g. “What is your best price for…”. Others will be more coy: they might be the ones who, when you ask “what is the budget”, reply “it depends”. The most difficult ones are of course those who appear to be your new best friend, take your information and run!

Unfortunately there is no simple way to judge but the longer you are in travel the more likely you are to develop a sense for where people fall on this range. And again, I repeat, your marketing message (the language you use) will tell you a lot about the customer you can expect. Tip: if you are not attracting the right customer, change the language.

Travel Uni is dedicated to providing you, the travel professional, with the tools and information that will help you capture your customers, no matter what type. If you haven’t done so already, sign up now and join. It’s free.

Reference: https://www.wizardofads.com.au/transactional-vs-relational-shoppers/

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