Small Business Marketing Experts help Travelscene American Express innovate a new approach to local area marketing for Member Travel Agents.

Marketing Angels have recently supported Travelscene American Express with an innovative new approach to marketing for their Member travel agents.

Marketing Angels have used their extensive experience working with small to medium sized businesses to create a marketing program that helps individual Travel Agents who are Travelscene American Express Members, get smarter at marketing at a local level.

Chief Angel and CEO Michelle Gamble says, “Many network or franchise type businesses provide marketing support to their franchisees or members by providing a marketing template or branded materials for individual small businesses to use who are part of their network or franchise organization”

“This kind of approach is not enough in today’s new, rapidly changing marketing environment. Advertising is no longer the way to build sales. Members need practical skills, tools and a well organized education system to effectively market their brand and services to build trust and their profile amongst their local community.”

Marketing Angels core focus has been to provide highly practical “how to information” to support the tools provided by Travelscene American Express to their Members with further support through ongoing education and face to face services.

Travelscene American Express represents a national network of Travel Agents across Australia, who benefit from working together as a co-operative to leverage competitive supplier rates. Earlier this year Travelscene American Express recognised that greater centralised marketing support needed to be provided at a local level to their Member Agents.

Marketing Angels have worked with Travelscene American Express to develop an online local area marketing kit (LAMkit) for Travelscene's Member agents. The kit, covers practical, cost effective and strategic marketing tactics from strategic work on brand and positioning, to helping Members understand and utilise facebook, twitter and effective online marketing.

Marketing Angels then facilitate monthly webinars for Member agents explaining the different marketing elements in depth.

Member agents can also take up discounted services should they require greater face to face support from a Marketing Angels marketing consultant.

Adam Vance, Head of Marketing at Travelscene American Express says, “We knew that many of our Members had varying levels of experience and knowledge when it came to marketing. We also know that effectively building brands at a local level leverages the strength of our brand overall for the benefit of all Members. The Marketing Angels approach and real understanding and empathy for how to effectively market on smaller budgets means that the advice and information we are now giving Members, is realistic and effective.”

The Member response to the kit and first three webinars has been overwhelmingly positive.

"It looks fantastic with so much well researched and thought out content. It is an amazing tool for all owners/managers and staff and will be the first port of call for us when planning an event or marketing activity. It offers so many ideas and the best thing is that it's all contained in one area offering a complete 'step by step' guide.

The most exciting thing for me is the ability to tap into Republic for PR and Michelle Gamble and her team at Marketing Angels for one-on-one assistance at affordable pricing.

Congratulations and thank you to all involved in putting this together, I can only imagine how many hours have gone into producing it. It's up to us now to make the most of it to benefit and grow our businesses."

Leonie Spencer

Director

Lifestyle Travel Ballarat (VIC)

"Excellent! The Local Area Marketing Kit provides a fabulous framework to help us convert our ideas to reality, strengthen our brand and most importantly generate the worthwhile enquiries needed to grow our business."

Trudy Francis

Marketing and Promotions Coordinator

Lifeplan Travel (SA)

“…It's great to have such access to such a fully comprehensive kit to provide quality advice, encouraging us to professionally market and network within our own area, and assisting us in taking our business to the next level….”

Michelle Hartland

Business Development Manager/Director

Champagne Travel - Mandurah & Halls Head (WA)

“I do love the whole webinar concept. I have always been a huge fan of training, but the distance and more importantly time to get to Melbourne and return takes almost a whole day out of the office. We will be keen to be involved in as many as we find relevant in the future. Through re-visiting and reconsidering ideas with new situations and staff, even things that we looked at many times in the past all have more to offer. Keep up the good stuff.”

Tanya van Angere

Director

Travelscene Sorrento Beach (VIC)

Marketing Angels hope to continue the success of this innovative marketing approach by applying it to a number of franchise or network organizations that seek to improve the marketing effectiveness for their members or franchisees at a local level.

For more information and to discuss how Marketing Angels can improve your businesses marketing approach, visit our website, or contact us on the details below.