What are addons? According to this definition, an addon is a component you add to something to improve it. You could also say it’s an additional item, an extra charge, as a part of an existing product/service.
Another term which could represent extra services you offer to your guests is upselling.
Now, people often refer to upselling as a sales strategy. The one where the seller will provide opportunities to buy related products or services, but for the sole purpose of making a larger sale.
Well, we can tell you that it definitely doesn’t need to be like that. Tour and activity providers can increase their revenue, while still do that for their customers’ satisfaction. It’s important to notice the difference between a “Sales” tactic and a “Customer Success” tactic. In a “Sales” tactic you win, but the customer loses. In a “Customer Success” tactic you both win and the customer gets increased value.
Strategic tour operators understand that customers are far more likely to increase their purchase while already in “buying mode.” These incremental gains can be key to generating profits. The basic concept is that while selling your big ticket items, once you’ve clinched the sale and you have the customer in “buying mode,” you offer him or her something else.
Furthermore, the research in the book Marketing Metrics shows an interesting fact. It seems that the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%.
It’s easy to prove that addons are important. A report from Forrester Research states that on-page recommendations create 10 – 30% of eCommerce revenues, and as much as 35% of online retail titan Amazon.
The possibility of increasing revenue by adding a complementary offer to the experience is enormous. Of course, to do that, you need to know what your customers want.
If you provide tours and/or activities, you offer lots of services. And maybe without even realizing it – many of these are for free. Each of these adds extra value to your product. If you’re not offering them as addons, now’s the time to start.
You probably know better the insider tips, where you’ll find the best food, or what bars are the liveliest, where to stay… than your guests. Create a branded travel guide for your customers that you give away as part of your product. They can decide whether they need it or not. And if it’s good – the word will spread about it and thus you’ll gain more customers. You could complement this travel guide perhaps with a company blog. That way, it will also help with your SEO.
Dealing with airline passenger taxes, charges, and fees can be a real pain. The same goes for visas and travel insurance. If you are able to offer those as an addon option, it would truly add more value to your product.
If you’re a tour and activity company in more rural areas, it probably means the access is somewhat difficult. This is where complimentary transfers are very valuable. Look at the cost involved and think about setting it up, if you’re not already offering this. It’s more than likely your customers will be willing to pay some extra money if it means no problems.
It’s possible to arrange extra trips or activities within the tour. For example, you’re providing a London tour and you offer the option for a trip to the nearby castles. Or an activity such as scuba diving within the trip that already includes the beach. Even a museum ticket could be considered as an addon.
Perhaps your guests would like to make a stopover somewhere. Or venture off the well-worn path during your travel? Arrange the option for the extra accommodation and tailor the trip for your customers!
You could offer your customer the option to get the merchandise after the trip. T-shirts, stickers, bottle openers, and pens are just some of the things you could give away on your tours. Even if you don’t charge a little extra something for it, it’s worth it in the long run. As a result, every time you give one away you’re creating another advertiser somewhere.
There’s something else you could easily implement and it’s also important for the advertising. Take loads of photos and/or videos, brand them with your logo and then tell your customers to go to your Facebook page to get them. When they like and share them, it’s increasing exposure and later bookings for your business.
Well, everyone must eat. And people usually actually love to eat, especially on vacation and if it’s local food. So, you could always arrange a special dinner or even breakfast in bed, for a small extra cost.
Combine different products into a unique experience. Try to think about all the possible options you can include in your current product/service. Some of the examples are even providing a babysitter or a private tour guide. Create a package and try to offer a better price by selling hotel, flight, and activity together. This can be a win-win situation for you and your customers.
Many tour and activity providers add extra items to their offer, which can be expensive to manage. The right kind of tour booking suit helps you manage your up sale offers and in return, it increases your revenue streams. Lots of these benefits are highlighted in an article in which we recently wrote about how an online booking system benefits tour and activity providers.
It’s very important to implement the right online booking system. Check our Booking Manager solution to know what Orioly can do for your business and sign up for a free trial to test the Add-ons feature. You’ll see just how easy is adding those options to your product. These extra costs will be displayed to your customers during their online booking. Specifically, after they click the “Book now” button and select the departure time and capacity.
Don’t be confused about fees and addons, it’s very simple. Fees are obligatory payments that your customers must pay to book your Activity. For example, airline taxes, some traffic costs, visa expenses, and so on. Click “Add fees” and enter as many as you want. Tick the “fixed price” box if this price won’t change till the beginning of the Activity. If the price is fixed, you get paid online right away through the booking button on your website. Addons are optional payments, like we already mentioned. For instance, museum tickets, meals, accommodation and so on. Your customers choose whether they want to take them or not. Click “Add Addons”, and enter the title and price of as many add-ons as you want to include. As well as Fees, Addons are offered to your customers during the online booking process. Right after they select departure time and capacity.
Just as much as it is important to you that you manage it easily, it’s important for your customers. They need to be able to get a clear display of your addons and to choose easily.
Remember, providing addons is a customer happiness tactic that can help you build deeper relationships with customers by delivering more value. With increased profit and added value, everyone wins.
Do you already offer addons? What are your experiences? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us or share it right here.
ORIOLY
on November 2, 2016
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