Nothing beats word of mouth for business travel providers seeking new clients. Established players count on referrals, with the most gratifying coming from former users recommending them to new employers. New entrants incentivize to evangelize. The lucky business travel startup hooks a big fish corporate account and rides the wave of publicity. Downstream from big corporate, new entrants going after unmanaged business travel are making what resemble business-to-consumer plays. That requires an ad budget.
There is diversity in the approaches.
"These companies have to do more marketing than trade shows and trinkets," said Atmosphere Research Group's Henry . . .