Now that you have created your DMC unit, company profile and manual, let’s see some ways to put you in the market.

First you must start by deciding who your future clients are going to be:

Incentive Houses?
Travel Fulfilment Companies?
Marketing Houses?
Meeting Planners?
Conference Organisers?
Specialised Travel Agencies?
Associations?                        
Corporate Accounts?

In general, most of the experienced DMC’s do not venture in the area of the corporate companies (unless they are directly solicited or they know that the Corporate has an in-house planning unit) for two simple reasons:

A) It is unfair to enter in direct competition with yo regular clients who are the Incentive Houses, Travel Fulfilment Companies, Conference Organisers or similar.

B) Corporate will be much better served by the local organisers in their respective countries when it comes to evaluating the customer objectives and needs, establishing the rules, taking care of the promotion, analysing  the results, preparing the trip delivery etc. than by a foreign DMC in a far away country.

Many DMC’s decline when asked by corporate companies to organise a trip from the corporate home country. Instead the DMC’s give  to the corporate the co-ordinates of a reputable Incentive House in that country. They recommend contacting the local IH because as specialists in their country they are in position to better serve the corporate than the DMC.

With this business attitude the DMC’s not only do not lose the business, but they also build a strong and long-term with the Incentive or Conference House thanks to the referral and mutual business exchange.

Next issue: Building a database of client records

© Tasso Pappas CITE
Tasso Pappas is President of the SITE Greek Chapter and served as President of SITE Intl. in 2000. This article is an extract from his book "To be or not to be a DMC" which he wrote in 1996 as his thesis for the certification CITE (Certified Incentive Travel Executive). Μore information about Tasso Pappas you can find at http://sites.google.com/site/tassopappasconsultancy/
Contact: tassopappas@otenet.gr