Merchandising in today's tourism industry

The presentation and management of spaces plays a decisive role in the foundation of the agency's personality and provides a competitive advantage.

Introduction

Merchandising is acquiring more and more strength, a prominent place within the daily dynamics of the tourism industry. Peter Drucker, internationally recognized as one of the main management theorists, left a written record that: ¨… there will always be a need for some type of sale, but the purpose of Marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits your needs perfectly… and therefore practically sells itself. ¨ That is why all those actions that are developed to present the product or service at the point of sale acquire a role of utmost importance when stimulating the purchase.

What is Merchandising?

According to Phillip Kotler (2006), Merchandising is the set of activities carried out at the retail level with the aim of:

A: Attract attention.

I: Interest the customer.

D: Awaken the desire.

A: Activate the purchase.

For Fresco (1999) it is, ¨ the set of actions carried out at the point of sale, with the aim of ensuring that the merchandise displayed is chosen and purchased by the consumer.¨

In the specific case of the tourism industry, it also includes the exhibition and arrangement of all the promotional material present at the point of sale (be it books, videos, brochures, catalogs, displays, DVDs, posters, etc.), as well as the decoration and entertainment of the premises.

Therefore, Merchandising in tourism consists of a whole group of techniques and methods that aim to give the brochure or equivalent, a dynamic and energetic sales role due to its presentation and environment, in order to perfect the function it performs and maximize your profitability.

Where to buy the Tourist Product?

Merchandising has the fundamental objective of promoting and encouraging the purchase, intrinsically within the point of sale. In the tourism industry, the point of sale is any place where you can sell your products or services. Due to the characteristics of the tourist product, there are 3 categories of points of sale:

• Sales through intermediaries: these can be tourist information centers, websites of other companies or organizations, global distribution systems (GDS), as well as through the wide existing network of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies offices.

• Direct sales: all those purchases or reservations that are made without anyone else intervening, between the service provider and the client, whether through their own reservation centers, Internet, mail, company offices or simply the telephone, among others… At present, with the constant and growing development of new information technology and telecommunications, direct sales are experiencing notable growth.

• Internal sales: activities that especially allow hotels, since clients are staying in them, to sell tourists a series of complementary products or services or related to the main service they provide. These points of sale are essentially: the reception, restaurants, shops, bars, etc… that are within the facility.

These categories of points of sale provide ample opportunities to implement sales actions and techniques, as well as merchandising.

Current trends in the tourism sector, which affect the points of sale.

The development of new communication technologies has revolutionized both the global economy and organizations and companies during the last decades. The tourism sector has not been exempt from these changes, on the contrary, it has applied these technologies to a large extent with the aim of expanding its functions and activities. The emergence of the Internet has allowed the customer to access a huge body of knowledge and information unprecedented in history.

The Internet is therefore a medium that improves marketing opportunities and, in particular, tourism marketing, with tourism being one of the sectors that most benefit from one-to-one interaction in the purchase of tickets, reservations and virtual visits to destinations you want. visit potential tourist. (Anato 2006)

Cyber tourism is the way to communicate and obtain information on the Internet about travel and tourism. Some authors believe that this Internet tool is going to replace traditional travel agencies. (Revenga 2000).

Even if this takes some more time, it is known that the total of transactions of tourist services purchased over the Internet in 1996 were 300 million dollars and in 2006, only in Europe (according to García 2003), their record will reach 16,400 million. euros, representing 6.9% of total income in the tourism industry.

Despite the advantages that the Internet offers the user in terms of: speed, comfort, offers and flexibility to plan vacations and the growth experienced by online travel agencies, the traditional agency will coexist with the virtual one. There are many products that require the presence of the travel agent as a consultant, but also many others such as airline tickets or hotel reservations that can be easily purchased from any personal computer with the assurance of obtaining the best available offer and the best value for money. -price (Cordón 2004).

Points of sale:

The following is a reference to the current characteristics and trends of some of the most widespread points of sale today, outlining some of their main advantages and disadvantages when selling the tourist product or service.

• Website of the company or tourist organization (Direct Sales Point): its current growing boom is due more than anything to the advantages it provides to the consumer in terms of: comfort, quick examination of the best available prices, promptness in the purchase, as well as the possibility of knowing abundant and varied offers that allow you to make a good purchase decision. The main disadvantage is that human contact is lost, which prevents the establishment of a dialogue between borrower and consumer.

• Global Distribution Systems or GDS (Point of Sales through intermediaries): shows progressive growth, especially in terms of air ticket sales, hotel reservations and car rentals. As in the company's own Internet sites, the direct relationship with another person, call himself a seller, is lost, who can clarify any doubts that may arise at the time of booking. It is very widespread in the United States and Europe, taking place mainly through sites such as: Travelocity, Amadeus, Galileo, Saber and Worldspan.

• Tour Operators and Travel Agencies (Point of Sales through intermediaries): although the latest trends in the tourism sector suggest that the role and activity of these organizations decreases and will decrease in the future, due to the development of new technologies, it is undeniable that currently occupy the top place in the marketing of tourism products and services. There is a growing specialization in travel agents when creating and selling tourist packages, an action motivated by the brutal competition in the sector. Merchandising is presented, (for the offices of these companies), as an efficient means to carry out the activities of commercialization and sale of tourist products, in the midst of such a competitive environment.

Taking into account the current importance of the offices of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators for tourism intermediation, some sales techniques and merchandising actions that they put into practice to achieve a successful performance will be presented below.

What things should a good travel agent keep in mind?

Some considerations about sales techniques currently used by travel agents.

Being a good travel salesperson does not require talent, but rather developing a series of skills over time that allow for successful performance using a series of techniques. First of all, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of the activity you carry out: call it the product or service you sell, the needs and desires of the clients, the competition and the tourism sector as a whole.

Listening is the main word for a good travel agent. Special emphasis should be placed on trying to get the customer to talk, asking questions is important as this will allow us to know what their needs are and what products represent value for them. It is important to know what your travel motivations are, knowing this, the product or service must be presented in a way that shows that it will fulfill your needs, desires and dreams. It should be remembered that people buy benefits over products, that is why when it comes to selling them, talk about the features, but show them the benefits you will have when buying it. An example of this can be: buying a package for a hotel in Trinidad, a colonial city, this is the characteristic. The opportunity to enjoy the Museum City of the Caribbean,with the best preserved colonial center in America and located in a privileged historical-natural environment are the benefits.

Already specifically at the time of serving the client and making the sale of the tourist product or service, it is necessary to take into account a series of aspects that have great significance, which are listed below:

• You must make sure that the job or office where the sale is made is in perfect organizational and hygienic conditions, that it receives good lighting, that the client feels comfortable, there is no damage to the furniture, good weather conditions, that there is peace of mind so that the customer does not divert his attention from the reasons for which he went to the point of sale…

• Then the relationship with the client is established, always trying to make a good first impression, trying to tune in or achieve empathy by reaching common points. This is of great importance since if you have a bad start, it is very difficult for the customer to feel comfortable in your presence and it is very unlikely that the purchase of the product or service that they were looking for can be made.

• Make effective use of questions to take control of the situation. The agent must try to involve the client in the sale process, get him to talk about what his motivations are for making the trip, what services he wants included in the package, what means he prefers to travel, know which destinations he prefers… all of this will lead to your awareness of the benefits you will receive at the time of purchase.

A good agent is the one who manages to persuade the client by making him talk about what he needs or wants and not by making a demonstration of resplendent eloquence. In case of receiving objections, the most important thing at that moment is knowing how to listen, encouraging him to explain well what his ideas are and the causes of what he raises, and then knowing how to give him an appropriate response that exposes benefits that exceed those objections.

• It is important to create images of success for your clients, how to do this, because building emotions, dreams, feelings… First, you must pay special attention to personal presence, use visual elements at the time of presenting the tourist product so that customer senses become more involved (an important role in this is played by videos, DVDs, posters, posters, brochures, catalogs, books, etc…) as well as using phrases and words that convey that each characteristic of the product gives them a benefit. Images are the fire that awakens the desire to buy.

Also, you can use well-known examples of people who had a good travel experience and are recognized by them, if possible. In this way, the credibility of the product or service they are acquiring is reaffirmed, since it must be remembered that one of the main characteristics of the tourism product is its intangibility and inseparability, that is, the client does not know what he is buying until he consumes it.

• Help the customer to make discoveries for themselves, for them personal experience is of great importance, as well as their own evidence that they can contribute to reinforcing their purchase wishes. Use this to your advantage by trying to draw them to conclusions from your knowledge and experiences.

• At the time of closing the sale, questions should be asked reaffirming the understanding between the parties, as well as the benefits that you will receive from having purchased the tourist product or service, reassuring the client. A good way to do it would be: ¨I am sure you will have a vacation that you will not forget¨.

What Merchandising actions can be developed in a Travel Agency?

At first glance merchandising may seem like a minor issue when it comes to achieving success in a Travel Agency. On the contrary, it has it and a lot. Proper placement of promotional and advertising material, both in the shop window and inside the premises, is essential to attract customer curiosity and as a result increase sales and achieve profitability. That is why the presentation and management of spaces plays a decisive role in the foundation of the personality of the agencies and provides a competitive advantage. Therefore, in agencies, actions must be originated that increase their attractiveness, captivating and loyalty to the client. The application of merchandising techniques are key to this process.

Establishment design

The Travel Agency establishments must be designed according to the gender and personality of the products or services being sold, they must be bright, dynamic, creative places, where customers can move without any problem to be able to observe all the promotional and advertising material. The different collections and sections must be divided in such a way that they fit together. Special attention should be paid to shop windows and accessories; as well as having a good distribution of space and general disposition. The customer must feel comfortable at the point of sale, that there is a good atmosphere.

Promotional materials must be actively displayed so that they are more attractive to the customer and the furniture must be in perfect condition.

Linear extension

A greater extension of the shelf should be granted to the promotional material of tourist products or destinations that are sold in greater quantities, since in this way a greater number of customers will have the possibility of attracting them and being induced to make their purchase.

Markers

Clear signage must be established at the point of sale so that customers can access by themselves and without having to ask, to the places where promotional materials for tourist products are displayed according to the reasons for the trip they plan to make..

Masts

This type of accessories can be located in which posters can be placed to promote for example: special offers, seasonal discounts…

Animations at the point of sale

This element is extremely important as it has a great impact on customers. According to the travel motivation of the clients, the type of music that should be played in the establishment can be established, the number of people who are in the place can also be taken into account. In addition, actions can be developed to celebrate a special date, which may include gifts, prizes, etc…

Fabricate an Image

Every travel office must give the client an image of organization and control, project an attitude and influence their purchase decision, offering as many tourist products as possible without creating an overloaded environment that could have negative consequences for the agency.

Exterior of the Agency

Merchandising can already be applied from abroad. How: having your own parking lot with parking facilities, having beautiful gardens, location signs… The Agency's logo, banners, signs of corporate identity, etc. must be patented on the façade.

Another important aspect that is also used by Travel Agencies are the gifts they make, whether they are: key rings, wallets, hats, chocolates, caps, T-shirts, notebooks, bookmarks, ties, handkerchiefs, watches, etc…, with the logo of the company, which are made available to customers who buy trips to different destinations as a sign of loyalty. This is done with the marked purpose that the company's banner travels around the world attracting new customers.

It is well known that usually 70% of purchase decisions made at points of sale (in all sectors of the economy) are made with regard to the product being sold. Hence the significance of this marketing technique today, especially in the tourism industry.