Today tourism industry is growing and you can find different segments of people in this sector. Some visit a new place for business purpose whereas the others just wish to explore and enjoy the change in environment. When you are in a new place you might need some help and here comes the role of local information center.
Local information center provides information and assistance to people who are new to the area. The information provided by the center should be specific and must help the new person reach, know, and enjoy the place. You can provide the information to people through telephone or in writing. The business of local information center can be of many types. You can just open a local visitors center from where travelers can know details of all the attraction that they can visit along with the map or you can run a tourist information center from where tourist cannot just collect the information about tourist attraction but also know about the lodging facility and other relevant information. If you wish you can diversify your business and start a local info center providing service in various fields. Through this you cannot just help tourist but also people who have come to your locality for business or other personal reasons and would stay for a longer period of time. With the growth in the tourism sector there is a high scope that the business will reach great heights in the future.
Who can start this business and what kind of skill is needed for the business?
Anyone who has a good customer handling skill with pleasant and friendly personality can start the business. Here are some of the skills that you must have to become successful in the profession.
- You must know everything about the local area. Along with the various sightseeing spots, venue for events and activities, transport and lodging information you must be able to provide other information to the tourist to make their trip smooth and memorable.
- Patience is the key to success. You must be able to answer all the queries asked by the visitor.
- Keep yourself updated with the local information. If any new hotels or anything comes up in your area, you must make sure to have all the details so that they can be provided to the visitor. You must also keep all the information of events and other activities going on in your city.
- Get yourself ready for long and unusual working hours. There can be time when your customer needs your assistance in odd hours. Make sure to respond to their queries and ensure that they are comfortable in your area.
- Problem solving ability is very important in this industry and make sure to maintain your cool in any kind of given situation.
- Good Public relation and marketing skill will give your business a winning edge.
- You must know at least Hindi, English, and some local languages to deal with your customers. Knowing more language will be advantageous in this business.
- Diploma in hospitality or travel and tourism will surely be an added advantage and help you plan proper strategy.
Level of risk and steps for starting up a new local info center:
Every business has some or the other risk associated with it and same is the case with local information center business. To run the business successfully you need to have a proper planning, public relation skill, and marketing strategy. You must understand what your customer wants and act accordingly so that he/she is happy. This will help in spreading your business through word of mouth which is very important for success. One happy customer will bring in ten new whereas one unhappy customer will surely pull you down in this competitive world. Here are some tips which will help you develop a local info center.
- There are several options when you decide to start a local info center. First before you start, decide on what you want. You can be a one stop shop from where people can get information about everything involved to that place like transportation, local sightseeing, accommodation etc or you can focus on any particular area like transportation or hospitality.
- Keep the area where you live into consideration and plan your business strategy. You must also search around and check the amount of competition. If the kind of service you are planning to provide is already congested then come up with a unique strategy.
- Create a business plan with all required details which includes the kind of service you plan to provide, the infrastructure you will need, business expenses, and marketing strategy.
- Obtain business license from the local government business regulatory agency.
- Set up your office with proper infrastructure and equipments like computer, printer, telephone, and internet facility. Telephone and internet facility on computer will help your customer get in touch with you.
- Hire people with good communication skill.
- You can decide a name for your information center and open a personal website featuring the kind of customer service you wish to provide.
- You can promote your company’s website through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
- Classified advertisement on papers will also help you promote your business. A catchy sentence will surely attract potential customer you are targeting and make your business successful. When advertised through classified paper make sure to select one that is popular and people read.
- Smart appearance, good listening and questioning skill, adequate general knowledge and enthusiasm is the key for success in the field.
Marketing kit and training
To make any business successful it is important that along with new customers we have our old people coming back and here are some tips which will help you retain your customers.
- Plan an unbeatable marketing strategy and make sure that the customers get proper information.
- Incentives attract customers thus you can give some gift or announce some special deal.
- Over a period of time you will know your customer and their taste. Keep a record and tap into their power of interest.
- Know your customers potential and make them feel special with your service.
- Customer is the boss of the company thus you must make sure that the assistance provided by you is top class.
We are a marketing training agency based in Bangalore. The company aims to offer online training sessions to small business owners who wish to achieve success in their business. Along with more marketing tips, the team of experts provide a complete business solution starting from strategy planning to building leadership quality so that the owners are not confused and can handle any given situation.