WorldHum has a whimsical piece on 'Post-Trip Funk', which I was discussing with a fellow holidaymaker less than a month ago as we taxied forlornly back to Gatwick North Terminal.
That 'PTF' is an act of grotesque self-pity, and is best treated by a slap round the chops, is by the by - people still feel it, and it's still a need state. Marketers know about it, and about the attendant desperation to get your next trip in the diary.
As a party of skiers/snowboarders we were likely to repeat the same category of trip next year, and that makes us a particularly tempting target - we got 'See-you-next-time?' emails within a few days of coming home.
But there are other approaches for other types of business. Both the conversation and the WorldHum article reminded me of this throwaway detail from a story about members of Elite's Ethos luxury division 'getting creative' during the worst of the downturn:
I arrange many group cruises and would normally give them a bottle of wine. However, this time I arranged for a 'welcome home' carrier bag containing milk, bread, butter, eggs, tea and coffee. The response I received was phenomenal. (Marion Owen, owner of Marion Owen Travel.)
I don't know if that'd cure my Post-Trip Funk, but it's great relationship-building. I remembered it 12 months later, and all I did was read the story...
