Personalised Websites for all Personal Travel Managers
It’s widely understood that a strong online presence is an essential component of running a business, allowing the effective promotion of products, services and expertise to current and prospective clients. TravelManagers has recently upgraded the stand-alone websites that are provided to its personal travel managers (PTMs), empowering them to promote their own individual strengths and areas of interest.
Having their own websites is not a new concept for the PTMs, but TravelManagers’ Executive General Manager, Michael Gazal, explains that the new version goes far beyond the previous static profile page.
“TravelManagers’ commitment to continuous innovation meant that the time had come for us to provide an improved platform with greater functionality. Our PTMs now each have their own multi-layered website, giving them the flexibility to embed their own specialist content but still able to pull through content provided by TravelManagers National Partnership Office, such as deals, blogs, travel advice and notifications, apps and videos.”
Natalie Miller, representative for Belmont, NSW, is thrilled with the new technology, saying that it provides her with the ownership she needs.
“I can now tell my existing and prospective clients to go to ‘my website’, which is a powerful tool in this digital age,” she explains. “For example, as well as choosing which blogs I pull through from the main TravelManagers website, I can add my own blogs and deals based on what I want to offer my clients.”
This sentiment is echoed by another PTM, Queensland-based Justine Trevenar.
“For me, being able to add my own content is one of the main highlights of the new technology,” she says. “I can talk about my last or next trip, and if I’m hosting a travel exhibition or information night I can promote that too.”
As well as personalised content, PTMs are also able to add more generic content, such as a Travel Tools page that provides access to useful travel information including SmartTraveller.gov.au advice, vaccination and visa links, the TravelManagers app and a currency converter.
Gazal adds that considerable time and effort was spent researching what functionality was required from the new technology.
“The previous website provided a ‘Profile Page’ area for each personal travel manager, which was a wonderful starting point for them to build their presence as travel professionals,” he explains, “but it’s now much easier for them to showcase their individual personality and their niche areas of expertise, which increases their relevance to their specific target market – something that’s key in digital search.”
Other functionality includes optional Deals & Tours, something Gazal says was considered an essential enhancement, given the increasing number of unique products and services being developed by PTMs.
“Almost everything can be personalised, from the brand colour and images used across the site to the destinations and interests they specialise in: there are spaces for client testimonials, photo albums and even live social media feeds,” he adds.
TravelManagers’ National Partnership Office (NPO) conducted a series of face-to- face workshops in each state to ensure that PTMs were familiar with the technology. A webinar was also provided for those who were unable to attend the workshops, and Gazal says the feedback since new websites went live has been overwhelmingly positive from both PTMs and clients.
“The most common response from PTMs since we launched is that they feel empowered by the site,” says Gazal, “and they are excited at the prospect of their promotions being brought to life across all their available communication channels.”
