Travel agencies have been hit pretty hard by the pandemic this year. Travel has been restricted in many areas, and those restrictions continue to fluctuate as conditions change in different locations. With all the difficulties the travel industry is facing, it is imperative that marketing efforts be nothing less than amazing in order to attract business. Storytelling is an important part of this.

When crisis strikes, business owners go through 5 stages, similar to the 5 stages of grief, as they react. This COVID-19 situation we all find ourselves in is no different. Here are the 5 stages you will probably experience, as explained by one of my favorite business authors, Mike Michalowicz.

As a marketing consultant to the travel industry, coronavirus has hit my client base particularly hard. Some are completely shut down due to quarantines, others are suffering from loss of revenue due to cancellations and re-booking of trips into the future. And now this problem is spreading to other industries, restaurants, spas, medical offices are all being affected.

Most entrepreneurs are stuck in survival mode. Every day they go to work and put out fires, take client calls, deal with issues. When they fail to meet their business goals, they look for solutions. But often these solutions, while they address the immediate problem, end up taking them away from the path to long term success. This is because instead of focusing on their long term strategic goals, they are too busy trying to fix an immediate problem.