How to refresh your agency on a budget
A fresh coat of paint can bring a new lease of life to your agency while enticing customers. Abra Dunsby hears from agents that have refreshed their stores on a budget
"Sometimes a change is good – it boosts you. We all need one after this past year,” says Michelle Stead, manager at family-run agency Getaway Travel in Whitby, which underwent a refresh before reopening to clients in April.
The Advantage member agency diversified last year by creating a new venture, Whitby Hampers, providing arrival hampers to local holiday lets.
Due to its success, it now has a pop-up shop within Getaway Travel. The refresh included investing in new signage for Getaway Travel – with a new “Time to Travel” slogan – and Whitby Hampers, to “draw people to each business”.
The team also did away with brochure racks, replastered, painted the walls a calming teal shade and added quirky wall decorations, such as vintage posters and traditional Vietnamese hats.
Stead adds: “We also placed flowers around the door and window rims to draw in people’s attention and, so far, it is working. Clients are coming in to say hi and everyone’s commented on how nice [the shop] looks.”
The revamp cost around £210. “It was £100 for the plastering, the paint cost £10 a tin and the signs were made by a client of ours for £40 each,” says Stead.
She also decorated using interesting items that were gathering dust in storage. “The posters were created from a vintage, travel-themed calendar from TK Maxx and I bought £5 frames from The Range to put them in. I’d bought a vintage suitcase on Facebook and had collected some hats from Vietnam from past trips, so we hung those up too.”
The budget-friendly revamp has made “a massive difference”, says Stead, both to the shop’s look and feel and to staff. “It’s perked the staff up. You feel like you’re moving forward by making the changes.”
It’s sent out a positive message to clients too, she adds. “We need to encourage people to travel again and if we can do that by making our shops more enticing and making clients think about experiences and memories they’ve had before, to inspire them to start planning their next holiday, then that’s a good thing.”
To others considering a new look, Stead advises: “Be prepared to get into your scruffs, grab a paintbrush and do it yourself. Now’s a good time to do it, while it’s quiet.”
She adds that even just a change of paint colour will “lift you”. “It makes you feel 100% better once you’ve had that little change. I found painting very therapeutic too.”
BRAND VALUES
Husband-and-wife duo Tim and Adel Harden of Harden Holidays in Dartford have spent the past year refining their offering, ready for travel’s eventual upturn.
Updates include investing in a new illuminated sign, air conditioning unit, CRM system and website, as well as branding for their car.
The changes have largely been about “improving the overall customer experience and giving clients confidence in us,” says manager Tim, while “not changing the business too much so it wasn’t familiar”.
Other changes include adding a flag to the pavement to celebrate their reopening, and using essential oils to create a signature scent for the agency. “Brands such as MSC and Palladium Hotel Group have smells that are distinctive and transport you back to a particular time and place, and we wanted to do the same for our shop. It’s about building a brand image for clients and a familiarity around us,” explains Tim.
He hopes the current investments will pay dividends in future. “We know eventually travel will return.
We’re making sure we’re prepared for that and able to offer clients the smoothest and best experience.”
PIQUING CLIENTS’ INTEREST
Before reopening in April, the team at Idelo Travel in Ipswich decluttered, repainted the back wall and bought a distinctive piece of wall art featuring a paradise island scene. They also bought a bookcase, some plants and new office chairs.
Andrea Powell, managing director, says: “It’s a good time to have a bit of a refresh and restart.”
She adds that working from home during the pandemic helped the team work without much need for paper, which has led to them archiving old documents and removing cupboards.
“The shop looks clean and spacious. It gives you focus,” Powell says. She hopes the refresh will become a talking point when clients visit the shop, while sending out a positive message.
She adds: “I want to send an email to customers saying, ‘Come and see our new look’. I want them to know we’re open and ready for business, and saying we’ve invested in our shop says that.”
To other agents considering a budget-friendly refresh this year, Powell advises: “Have the confidence to do it – it’s about the wellbeing of you and the staff as much as anything else. A refresh sends out a message of confidence and that needs to be in everything you do. If you have confidence, you’ll instil it in customers too.”
OFFICE MAKEOVER
Darren Bond, former head of membership and development at Global Travel Group, revamped his home office while looking for work after being made redundant:
“During the height of the crisis I was working up to 80 hours a week, so to then go on gardening leave for three months with nothing to do was quite a shock.
“I did various DIY projects at home and decided an office revamp was on the cards. I created an ocean scene on my desk using layers of resin that I dyed different colours. It was very time consuming, but looks great – people have even asked me if I can create one for them!
“The colours remind me of the Indian Ocean. The office is now an inspiring place to come and look for travel jobs. It looks good with the travel images and world map I have on the walls too.
“I’ve worked from home one or two days a week since 2004 and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so at least in part, so it’s nice to have an inspiring home office for the future.”
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