MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping company, says it has unveiled a new programme that will revolutionise the way it does business with travel agents in the UK as it plans to treble the number of passengers to 200,000 from the country by 2017.
The ‘Serving You’ initiative covers a whole host of trade-friendly measures designed to increase awareness of the cruise line, make it easier to work with and boost sales.
"The comprehensive package covers all areas of MSC Cruises’ relationship with retailers – including commission and marketing payments, improved account management, increased on-the-road sales support, clearer and better targeted promotional campaigns and new group and net-rate schemes," the company said in a statement.
MSC Cruises has also outlined details of comprehensive technological upgrades, including the launch of its new ‘MSC Book’ sales platform for agents, an updated fun and interactive online training programme and a high-tech telephone system at its UK call centre to reduce waiting time.
MSC Cruises executive director UK and Ireland Giles Hawke said “Our aim is to reach 200,000 UK passengers by 2017 – more than trebling our current level of business. We can only do that by engaging with agents and putting them at the heart of what we do. Our ‘Serving You’ programme represents a huge investment. There will be a bigger sales team managing our relationships to bring our brand closer to agents and give them all the help they need to sell. The focus is on developing stronger and deeper ties with the trade, and we have looked at every area of our business to do this. We have made no secret of our desire to become a significant player in the UK cruise market – ‘Serving You’ signals our intent to make the trade our top priority."
Details of the ‘Serving You’ scheme were unveiled today at the inaugural meeting of MSC Cruises’ newly formed Travel Agent Advisory Board, which is made up of representatives from its key agent partners. Much of the groundwork was done from feedback received from agents at an informal meeting earlier in the year. The Travel Agent Advisory Board will meet up to four times a year as part of MSC Cruises’ efforts to strengthen its relationship with the trade.
The investment in ‘Serving You’ comes hot on the heels of MSC Cruises’ recently announced expansion. With four megaships on order, scheduled for delivery between 2017 and 2019, plus options for three more, MSC Cruises is investing more than any other cruise line in its hardware– a staggering €2.8 billion of confirmed orders, potentially rising to €5 billion.
Meanwhile, the ‘Renaissance Programme’ to lengthen and improve the four Lirica-class vessels begins in August. This will see another €200 million invested.
The MSC Cruises ‘Serving You’ programme in full
Account Management
- For 2015 the MSC Cruises sales force in the UK and Ireland will DOUBLE in size
- A 20-strong field sales team – MSC Ambassadors – will be deployed across the country to support key sales periods and campaigns
- A restructured sales operation will ensure each sales channel has its own specialist team – maximising returns for agents of all sizes
Management Information
- MSC Cruises will share certain booking and sales data with key accounts, allowing agents to see how customers holiday and allow them to focus their marketing efforts
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Experience Pricing
- MSC Cruises rolls out its customised onboard experiences onboard from November, giving agent a sales option for all potential clients. With Bella, Fantastica, Aurea and MSC Yacht Club Experiences, there will be an MSC cruise to satisfy all budgets and customer types
Promotional Campaigns
- MSC Cruises will support efforts to drive early bookings with a clearer promotional campaign structure. Best deals and upgrades will always be available for early bookers, making pricing easy to explain to customers
Commercial Agreements
- Tailored commission payments and targeted marketing funds that meet the needs of all business models
- Rewards for generating growth
- Commission on MSC’s shore excursions
New Flights Programme
- Dedicated charters from 2015, serving six Mediterranean ships from Genoa and Venice
- Dynamic packaging flight system using GDS airlines to make MSC Cruises easier to sell
Investment in technology
- Huge infrastructure improvements including the new and bespoke B2B booking system, MSC Book. The system is also a marketing resource, with downloadable collateral including adverts, flyers, images and video
- Improved UK call centre telephone system sees calls routed to the relevant expert automatically
- New e-learning programme, MSC Expert
Deployment Choice
- Greater emphasis on MSC Cruises position as market leader in the Mediterranean – highlighting wide range of destinations, embarkation ports, itinerary choice and durations
Group Scheme
- Secured space and lowest prices in return for commitment from retailers
Net Rates
- New Net Rates partnerships available for 2015
