As a tailor-made travel company, your Net Promoter Score (NPS) is incredibly important – it’s a reflection of the level of service you provide and the customer journey you create. When put to good use, a high NPS is a powerful tool that can help you build customer loyalty, secure rebookings, and even boost new customer acquisition. 

But did you know that pre-travel communication is a key factor that can have a huge impact on your NPS? Let’s take a look at why it’s so important and how you can use it to boost your NPS.

Download: A Guide to Pre-Travel Comms

A good NPS can have huge benefits for travel companies

Let’s kick off with why NPS is so important for travel companies in the first place. Most importantly, a higher NPS typically means a company has high customer retention and rebooking rates – something that’s vital for survival in the personalised travel market. It’s much, much easier (and more cost-effective) to keep your existing customers coming back for more than to acquire new ones, so anything you can do to boost customer loyalty is a big win. 

But that’s not all! A high NPS can be super useful for getting new customers through the door, too. It’s something customers recognise as a sign of reliability, so you can shout about it on your website and in your comms with potential new customers. 

A lesser know benefit of a solid NPS is that it can also help with employee engagement, retention, and motivation. In many industries – including travel – an NPS is seen as a badge of honour. So it can give your staff a real sense of pride in what they do, as well as help them feel like they’re making a positive impact at work.

Great pre-travel comms are the building blocks of a good NPS

Your customers want to feel like they can trust and rely on you throughout their trip – it’s what sets you apart from OTAs where you can’t reach a human being for love nor money. 

But many travel companies still have a significant gap in service between a customer booking and setting off. The forward-thinking companies out there are already using this time to build trust and proactively reach out to their clients before their trip,

With pre-travel communication, you can continuously build excitement ahead of take-off, answer any questions before they’re asked, share essential information about their destination, and set their expectations for the trip.

Download: A free guide to pre-travel comms

Top-tier pre-travel comms can help you stand out from the crowd

Engaging customers pre-travel is an opportunity to create a truly amazing experience that sets your company apart from the competition. Got a client heading to a region they’ve never been to? Share restaurant recommendations for places that offer authentic dishes in their hometown, giving them a taste of what to expect on-trip. Grow their excitement through destination-related content – books, podcasts, playlists – anything related to the trip. There are dozens of things you can do to bring the holiday to life long before your client departs. 

Send to your clients: How to Take Perfect Holiday Photos

Proactive dialogue post-booking can prevent problems before they happen

Having an open line of communication means you can address any concerns clients have before they become major issues. Say a customer is going on a trekking holiday: they need to be able to physically manage the trek or it could be a disaster. Keep them motivated with periodic training reminders – ‘You should be able to complete two 4-hour treks by now and be fine afterwards, how’s it going?’.

Read now: Evertrek on Keeping Trekking Clients with Long Lead Times Engaged

Nailing pre-travel comms begins a cycle of positivity

By extending your excellent experience to the entire customer journey, you’re setting yourself up for long-term success. Happy customers are more likely to rebook with you in the future, recommend your services to others, and leave positive reviews online. And all of these factors can contribute to a higher NPS.

So, if you’re not already making pre-travel engagement a priority, now’s the time to start. It’s a valuable branding and rebooking tool that you can’t afford to miss out on.

Read now: Turquoise Holidays Give Clients a Better Journey, with Fewer Steps

Start building your NPS with great pre-travel comms today

If you’re not convinced by now that pre-travel communication is an essential element for any travel company looking to improve its NPS, you must know something we don’t. Providing guidance, recommendations, and highly-personalised engagement throughout the customer journey empowers companies to create a sense of trust and excitement that will almost certainly lead to higher customer satisfaction and increased rebookings. Take the time to invest in your pre-travel strategy and you’ll see the results in your NPS, trust us.

If you’re wondering how to get started, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide with everything you need to know. Download it today for free to start improving your customer experience and driving a higher NPS.

And if you’re interested in learning more about how a digital tool like Vamoos can help you improve your NPS even further, book a meeting with us today to learn more.