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VALIDATE YOUR WHOLE BUSINESS , NOT JUST MARKETING CHANNELS
Every company and travel advisor is going to have slightly different goals and metrics to consider based on their business and marketing strategy . Not every travel advisor will need to launch custom newsletters or a TikTok channel to meet customers where they are . But all travel advisors should care about customer experience and satisfaction .
Many studies have shown that word-of-mouth and referrals are one of the highest conversion channels for travel advisors , bested only by business from repeat customers . You can use metrics like inbounds from referrals as proxy metrics for customer happiness .
Patil looks specifically at retention and repeat purchase rate , which for Well Traveled is 60 %. “ If they do book with us , we know they ’ re very likely to book again . More times than not , we know they ’ re going to be a member for life ,” Patil said .
This knowledge can also help you understand customer acquisition cost ( CAC ) in context . It might be worth investing more in a growth strategy , for example , when you can be confident that the customer is likely to book with you again .
If you track retention and referrals and are not happy with the numbers you see , that is also important information that could indicate any number of things about your business . As you make improvements , you can use those metrics as a north star to see what ’ s working .
THE TOP FOUR METRICS THAT MATTER
While the exact metrics you need to track regularly will depend on your business model , here are a few numbers that are useful for every travel advisor to monitor .
1 . RENEWAL RATE : Your renewal rate indicates customer happiness . It is also a helpful metric in understanding the lifetime value of the customer , so you have context for understanding the return on investment for marketing campaigns .
2 . CONVERSION RATE BY CHANNEL : How are your customers finding you ? This metric informs marketing strategy and planning — you can also use this information to personalize the customer experience . Over time , you ’ ll be able to see how your highest-value customers are discovering your brand .
3 . COST OF CUSTOMER ACQUISITION : How much does it cost to close one customer ? You can calculate this by dividing the dollars spent on the marketing campaign that got them in the door by the total number of customers acquired .
4 . BOUNCE RATE : Where in your marketing and sales flow are prospective customers “ bouncing ” from your site ? You can use this data to refine your messaging at the point of sale .
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