The travel industry is extremely competitive, so it’s no surprise that the demise of Kiss Flights has led to other holiday and flight sellers scrambling to pick up affected customers.
A search on Google for “kiss flights” the morning after the airline went bust reveals how quickly travel agents’ marketing teams have reacted to the news – take a look at the sponsored links:
We can see three types of adverts here:
“Rebook your flights with us! (Please!)”
First Choice, Jet2, On The Beach and others all want to sweep up customers left in the wake of Kiss Flight’s demise. They (just about) stay on the right side of line between identifying the customer’s needs and exploiting the demise of Kiss.
I can’t help think that some of the ad writers had a feeling of glee when they found out their competitor’s closure, but they are at least channelling this in a way which will help affected customers!
“Book with us – you can be assured that your booking is safe”
Thompson, Co-operative Travel, TVL4U and Fleetway assuage customer concern by mentioning ATOL and/or ABTA in their ad creative.
With Kiss being just the latest UK travel industry casualty of the summer (right on the tails of Sun 4 U and Goldtrail), customers will be seeking assurance that the risk to their holidays is low and that their money is protected, should the worst happen.
Confidence in the scores of travellers who rebooked with Kiss after Goldtrail’s collapse will be particularly low.
Membership to schemes such as ATOL and ABTA can help reassure customers,
“We don’t want our reputation to be dragged down with Kiss, so we’d better make it easy for customers to get a refund.”
Lost Cost Holidays resold flights with Kiss, and their response is to look after their affected customers. By advertising 100% refunds on flights, they’re demonstrating customer care and shielding their brand’s reputation from the fallout of customer complaints about Kiss.
Reacting to Events
Reacting to events is a good way to show that you are aware of and care about your clients’ concerns.
Technology such as email, paid search advertising (PPC – Pay Per Click) and social networking bypass traditional PR techniques and connect you directly with your audience quickly and cheaply.
Fish.Net are experienced in delivering messages in this way – call our Web team on 01457 819600 to find out how we can help you.
Recently Internet Explorer 6 passed the grand age of 9, having first been thrust upon an unsuspecting world in 2001.