“What’s your niche?”
It’s the hot new question to ask in the travel agent community.
Actually, scratch that—the topic of niching has been popular for a while now!
And I’m a big fan of honing in on a niche or specialty. Speaking to a specific group of travelers through your marketing is much more effective than trying to market to everyone.
But niching comes with a downside.
I’ve talked with travel pros who go all in on a niche—and then really struggle to attract any clients in that niche.
I’m talking about travel agents who spend years proclaiming “I specialize in X” … but have maybe booked just 1 or 2 trips within that specialty.
That whole “niching is the key to success!” mantra starts to sound like a big fat lie. They’re ready to give up.
So, really—the niche might not be the problem after all …
Introducing: The 3 M’s of Marketing
According to marketing strategist Dan Kennedy, to succeed in business you need to get three things right: the market, the message, and the media.
>> The market is your target audience—who are the ideal clients in your niche?
>> The message is what you use to “hook” the audience—what are you saying to speak to your ideal clients’ desires?
>> The media is how you deliver your message—how are you reaching your ideal clients?
So before you toss in the towel on your niche, first take a look at the 3 M’s. If you don’t have all three covered, then THAT might be your problem—not your niche itself.
Aligning the 3 M’s for Marketing Success
If you don’t get all three of the M’s right, it may become really hard to succeed in your chosen niche.
So, take a step back and assess: Are the 3 M’s aligned in your travel agency?
For example, let’s say you specialize in river cruising.
You pour a lot of your time into posting beautiful cruising shots on Instagram … and you’re left wondering why you’re not getting new clients from it.
Well, in this case, I think the media doesn’t match the market. River cruising primarily appeals to older travelers—are they really spending their time on Instagram?
Or let’s say you specialize in honeymoons to upscale all-inclusive resorts. But you’re always talking about the money you could save your clients.
In this case, I don’t think the message matches the market. Is saving money really what these couples desire most? It might be important to them—but it’s probably not their #1 concern (these are pricy resorts, after all). You have to dig deeper to uncover the message that will truly resonate with them.
If you’re really passionate about your niche, then you owe it to yourself—and the specific clients who would truly benefit from your services—to get the 3 M’s right!
Only after you’ve aligned your 3 M’s will you really know if you’ve picked a productive niche or not. So start here.
[WATCH] Breaking down the 3 M’s
Want to dig deeper into what the 3 M’s mean for your travel business? I dive into all three in this short FB Live video:
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