Case Study: Cruise Terminal Transportation

Today’s case study is one in a series of papers prepared by Kevin Smith Transportation Group. This weekly series will focus on real-world issues our clients bring to us, how our Project Teams work with those same clients to understand their opportunities and how together we develop and implement a transportation solution.

Are you planning a cruise out of New York, New Jersey or Baltimore? Call Kevin Smith Transportation Group today at 610-222-6225 and let one of our Cruise Coordinators arrange all of your transportation. Our team offers luxury transportation for couples to groups of 50 or more with a fleet of luxury sedans, SUV, Stretch Limousines, Party Buses and Shuttles.

Thesis and Solution

We were contacted by a local travel agency who was looking to incorporate ground transportation into their quotes. They had tested a few companies but to date had experienced mixed results. Issues included older vehicles and inexperienced drivers.

Our approach was a little different than what they had previously seen. We built out custom marketing material specific to cruise terminal transportation. We included specific fleet choices, unique options and custom ideas to make the ride to the terminal as the beginning part of the vacation.

The transportation became a value-add and a natural inclusion to the vacation package, providing value to their clients through a better user experience and increased revenue and commissions for their agents.

Today, the agency has more than tripled the number of clients who book transportation to the cruise terminals with them and they see these numbers only increasing as their returning customers become repeat customers as it relates to the ground transportation.

Key Challenge

The opportunity shared with us was how could they promote a ground transportation to the cruise terminals where they could feel confident their clients would be well taken care of. They needed to ensure the vehicles represented luxury and the chauffeurs were trained in superior service.

The reason the issue occurred is they hadn’t fully vetted out their partners. They never toured the vehicles, assumed incorrectly that the other transportation companies would understand brand loyalty and didn’t define what they wanted to accomplish.

Feedback from their clients who booked transportation was poor and continued business was put in jeopardy. They needed to solve the transportation need or get out of offering up the service.

Alternatives

The alternatives were clear. One, give up the idea of expanding their revenue base by offering up ground transportation. Two, try to work with their existing partners even though a pattern of failure had already materialized.

Finally, vet out a new partner, setting clear expectations on service and luxury. Clearly, two was not an option and they saw the value of making it work.

So they ultimately landed on the idea of vetting out a new partner and working closely with somebody to make it happen.

Proposed Solution

Our solution was more than what they were looking for or could have expected. We participated in the marketing, building out custom content for their client base. This immediately increased the number of conversions for their sales team.

We brought our vehicles to their offices, allowing their entire agency to walk the vehicles, check out the features and ultimately become better prepared to sell them.

Finally, we did a full workshop with our team of chauffeurs and their agents, talking about why the two companies were coming together and why it was important for everybody to make it work.

Both sides shared information and everybody walked away feeling good about what we were trying to do. With bookings having tripled and the ball rolling downhill, the belief is that this service will expand to their other client base, including convention travel and airport transportation.

Lessons Learned

One thing we learned was that you can never assume what the client wants. Only by sitting and listening could we be best positioned to deliver a truly luxury service.

We were also able to translate what we learned to our retail clients who book with us directly and the expanded business allowed us to invest in more vehicles. It was a win for everybody.