SAN JOSE, Calif. — Technology is fantastic and efficient, but has it made operators lazy? With the incredible amount of resources at your fingertips, are you still taking time to properly vet affiliates further than just their website?
Emelia VandenHoek, operations and affiliate manager of MA Limousine & Transportation Worldwide, says this is imperative if you want to work with companies who are going to get the job done right every time.
VandenHoek recently attended her first meeting with the Going Global affiliate manager group hosted by Arthur Messina of Create-a-Card, and learned a lot about the amount of work that should go into discovering quality affiliates.
“With social media and internet access, there are so many new tools at your fingertips to find new affiliates that I find people are a little too quick to immediately jump on what they hear,” she explains.
VandenHoek gives an example of a post on a limo operator Facebook group where someone posted they needed an affiliate in a specific part of Florida, and the first few people who responded threw out names of operators that were miles away from where they were needed. “It’s important to do your own research in terms of checking people out and not just go off word of mouth.”
About 55% of MA Limousine & Transportation Worldwide’s affiliate business is farm-in, while 20% is farm-out. The team pays incredible attention to detail, and ensures everyone is involved and attentive.
“It’s not just a job to us,” says VandenHoek. “It’s someone else’s business, but we are all incredibly invested in its success. We look after affiliates clients like they were our own because when you do affiliate work, they are your own. They become just as important as any of your other clients. I understand some are considered VIPs, but every client should be treated as such.”
As VandenHoek has grown in the industry, she’s noticed a significant difference in how much more efficient finding affiliates has become.
“Now you can go to a company’s social media page and see how involved they are, videos of their fleet, and reviews. There are so many more options when it comes to picking who you really want,” she says.
The company decided to join LCT Connect because it’s yet another resource to get their name out to the rest of the industry. “We’ve always gone to the LCT Shows, and LCT Magazine is such a reputable source in terms of providing quality information, so I think it’s a great resource to find other likeminded, quality driven companies that have the same business values,” she says.
VandenHoek loves the industry, and even though companies like Uber and Lyft are making the environment more competitive, she believes there are always going to be people who want to chauffeur car service. “When you are faced with adversity, instead of freaking out about it, find how you can grow with it. Because that’s all life is – change and adjusting to it,” she says.
Keywords
affiliate networks Affiliate Report California operators farm-in farm-out How To LCTconnect.com technology
Follow @lctmag on Twitter
via Limo News http://ift.tt/2siu6l0
No comments:
Post a Comment