Travel Manager
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March 7, 2009 – 11:21 am

This morning we launched the new radius based quotation system. You can choose the radius from gateway cities that you service from the profile page and the quotation widget will determine the closest office to serve any quote requests that come in.

We have also added 2 new buttons on the quote screen within TravelManager to show the route and distance from the office.

All locations stored in TravelManager now have the longtitude and latitude stored with it – so we can do some very interesting reports in the near future – so as where are your customers in relationship to your offices? What is the average distance you need to travel to service a trip etc..

Regards

Dean

March 6, 2009 – 12:16 pm

I read a great article in Fortune Magazine yesterday that really captured the conflict that nearly every business finds itself today regarding pricing for 2009. By using a Pricing Power Matrix smart companies are using this tool to analyze their customers perception of their product or service.

picture 3 204x300 How to INCREASE your pricing in 2009?

Getting your customer to pay more

It works by identifying two things are your services a Commodity or Unique and are they Discretionary or Necessary?

With a lot of uncertainty for 2009 it’s so important that the Motorcoach Industry resist the pressure on pricing. Short-term pain of falling revenue is leading Motorcoach Operators to discounting, which can impact long-term effects on customer perceptions.
So what do you do to increase your pricing when everyone else is dropping them? You need to looking becoming more:
1.    Unique: Make your Service as unique as possible with lots of value add that your competitors are not willing or capable of doing
2.    Necessary: Focus on the customers or sectors that need your service more than ever
As TravelManager focuses on Customer Facing side of your business we can help you do both by marketing more effectively, increasing the understanding of your customers needs, identifying new opportunities for your business and more..

So are up for the challenge? By updating the software every week we can make you more UNIQUE icon smile How to INCREASE your pricing in 2009? not to mention with all the rising costs of Travel (environmental and financial) the Motorcoach can become very NECESSARY!

March 2, 2009 – 12:26 pm

We are currently working on a number of enhancements to the online charter quotations widget for the North American market.  These include the ability for an operator to establish their base / gateway city and a radius that they are willing to accept quotes for.

travelmanager map 001 Online Charter Quotes

Zooming in – you can see the radius information better.

travelmanager map 002 Online Charter Quotes

Customers can then visit your site and get information about each office and in which radius you operate within.

travelmanager map 003 Online Charter Quotes

If you have a number of satellite offices where the radius from each overlap then the engine will work out the closest office to send a quotation to.

travelmanager map 0041 Online Charter Quotes

This is functionality based on end user feedback and we anticipating having the first phase of this radius capability in place by the weekend. We will then focus on additional reporting requirements and or widgets for your own websites so you too can share this information with your customers.

All of this information is driven from your profile screen – so please ensure it is updated with correct data – so you can take advantage of this as and when it comes online.

Regards

Dean