Did you know that the tourism industry was worth $9 trillion in 2019? But with the pandemic and the travel restrictions that came with it, the travel industry took a hit. Businesses are now slowly bouncing back. And so now more than ever there is a need for strong marketing strategies for travel businesses.
Travel businesses now use an intuitive assortment of traditional and digital advertisements to bring back the crowd. With the competition mounting up you need to have a consistent inflow of marketing content if you wish for your business to stay ahead of the curve. This means that you need a robust plan for design production.
This plan for design can be in the form of an in-house design team or outsourcing design to a design agency or choosing a graphic design subscription. In this blog, we’ll tell you why design subscriptions might feel like a more practical solution for travel businesses in the long run.
A logo that tells people that they can trust your brand. A brochure that tells them what to expect on their trip. Social media posts that evoke serious wanderlust. You see all kinds of marketing designs being used by travel businesses. While the logo is a one-off assignment, the rest of your marketing designs are required on an ongoing basis. That’s why you might find a long-term collaboration like unlimited graphic design to be a convenient option.
To understand why you need a design subscription, let’s talk about the marketing designs that travel businesses need. Both to build your corporate identity and to promote your business.
Let’s face it, the competition is stiff out there. Irrespective of the kind of services you offer, you know that there are many other businesses very similar to yours. So, why should a customer pick you? And that too in a city that they are least familiar with!
Your brand identity gives them a reason. Your logo tells them why they should take your business seriously. It tells them that yours is a brand they can trust, even in a new city.
It doesn’t end there. Your logo will also be a piece of design that helps you land the best business partnerships. For example, if you offer package tours, you need to work with credible hotels and transportation service providers. A good logo tells your brand’s story. And gives other businesses a reason to trust your brand for partnerships. And that brings us to the next critical design for a travel business – a business card.
Travel business cards need to be crisp. And with a lot of emphasis on the contact details. Do you want prospective business partners to connect with you on your social media page or by phone? Make it clear through the design.
Your brand logo and overall brand aesthetics should also be captured strongly. This way you are giving businesses and even travelers an aesthetic way to remember your brand.
Billboards in a new city are easier to trust than some random online ad, don’t you agree? So, when a traveler sees billboards and flyers from your brand they trust your position in the local market.
Moreover, these outdoor ads and flyers distributed through the right channels build better brand recognition. And thus give you a competitive edge.
The other kind of print advertising that most travel businesses benefit from is a brochure. Brochure designs can be tricky especially since you have a lot of information to convey. Images to allure your audience, information to convince them to choose your services. A professional design team will be able to help you put all these details together in an interactive and easy-to-grasp format.
As you can see, these print designs are required on an ongoing basis. And they need to reflect your brand in every way. That’s why it feels beneficial to have the same team designing all your marketing designs.
For most travel businesses, customer relationships start long before the customer actually chooses the services offered. That’s why email marketing has become an integral part of travel marketing.
A well-designed outreach email will generate new leads. And for this, you need strong visuals that are composed in the form of an interactive email design. For outreach and welcome emails, you also need content that delivers value. Content that triggers serious wanderlust in your travelers and gives them plenty of reasons to choose your brand when they plan their next travel.
This is another place where the perks of a design subscription can be felt. Your requirements do not end with a single email. Your outreach email is followed by a welcome email if your leads sign up for your services. Or transaction emails when they use your services. And finally, a feedback mail that shows them that you value their opinion. All these designs can be combined in a single design subscription.
What’s the best way to make a stranger in a far-off place yearn to travel? Through dreamy travel photos. You might have the best photos of the cities that your business covers but have you added your brand’s personal flavor to them? This is another place where a design subscription will help save a lot of time and effort for you.
When you have design templates for your travel business’s social media page, you can easily customize it with visuals of your choice. As you can see in the above image.
This way, you will have an endless array of attractive images to share while also strongly establishing your brand on social media.
Images shared on your Instagram and Facebook pages help customers understand the kind of services you offer. Images you share on Stories encourage customers to interact with your brand. And they also ensure that they do not forget your brand once they avail of your services. Finally, there are promoted posts and Story ads that you can use to reach new leads on social media.
Staying active on social media comes with a perk. When customers share photos from their travels, they tag your page. And this is one way in which they advocate your brand. When you share user-generated content, you are also highlighting the strengths of your brand for your prospective customers to trust your brand better.
Given the merits of all these marketing designs for travel businesses, investing in a credible design service is going to pay off, without a doubt. But, a lot depends on how you execute these design ideas. We’ll give you some quick tips on that.
Stay, transport, local sightseeing – there are many services that belong to the umbrella of travel-related businesses. While this might be an essential detail, your marketing designs should convey more than this.
Do you make travel easier? Do you let people explore offbeat destinations in popular cities? Or do you make their accommodation safer and make them feel at home? Identify the core value you create for your customers. Your designs should focus on the value you offer. That’s how you make an instant connection with your audience.
Irrespective of the services you offer, you should be able to identify yourself with a niche within the travel industry. This depends on your target audience demographics. Family travelers, solo travelers, travelers with a pet, and couples looking for romantic getaways. That’s just a handful of ideas, to begin with. Your hotel might be suitable for all types of travelers for example. But when you pinpoint such specific travel groups, you can easily create designs that resonate with the chosen demographics. And this increases the chances of conversion.
Finally, as you ponder over the finer details in marketing, always remember to be consistent in your branding efforts. Colors, fonts, and other design elements should resonate with your brand identity. And that’s how you create an authentic image for your travel business.
An in-house design team might feel like the most convenient option since everything feels under control. But you cannot deny the fact that hiring a team of designers comes with an added cost. And then there is the cost of other resources like design tool licenses. If you can accommodate this in your budget, then this might be a feasible strategy to work with. But if you do not want to go through the hassle, a design subscription might be more convenient.
In fact, working with an unlimited design service does not feel any different. You still have a dedicated team of designers. And you know that the same designers will be handling all your marketing designs. Along with these benefits, you also know that you only have to bear a fixed monthly cost for all your design requirements to be fulfilled.
Travel businesses benefit from including both print and digital designs in their marketing strategy. The only difference here is that some businesses might need a larger portion of print ads while others might need a larger share of digital ads. A travel company dealing with local transfers, for example, needs to target the local audience. Billboards, flyers and other print advertising media might be of higher priority in such cases. On the other hand, businesses dealing with local accommodation arrangements will have to connect with travelers online. Because most travelers might prefer doing the accommodation arrangements before stepping into the new city.
Travel businesses around the world are bending backward trying to keep up with evolving travel trends and the ever-increasing competition. So, if you wish for your business to stay ahead of the curve, you should consistently appeal to your audience and connect with them through your visuals. Creatively incorporate different marketing platforms to build your brand image. A design subscription that lets you request unlimited designs every month will definitely be of great help in this.
