CRM enables travel brands to stay ahead of their competition

With the increase in disposable income and desire to travel among millennials, the travel sector is evolving at the rate of knots. Understandably, competition has increased too, which has lengthened and complicated the consumer’s decision-making process. They click on hundreds of websites, browse through social media, online booking engines, review sites, mobile apps and so on, before eventually choosing a travel brand to buy from.

This can be a Herculean task. But CRM is making it increasingly easier for travel brands to not just engage with leads across various touch points, but also to convert them into loyal consumers.

Limesh Parekh, CEO, Enjay IT Solution suggests four ways in which CRM is enabling travel brands to delight their consumers and increase their own revenue in the process:

Powerful and relevant storytelling:

As mentioned above, the consumer’s decision-making has become lengthier and more intricate and is spread across various platforms, especially mobile. Capturing data and engaging with consumers in a relevant manner quickly gives a brand a leg up. In a survey by Adobe, 81 per cent of marketers said that mobile sites were extremely or very important to their marketing strategies, and 69 per cent said the same about mobile apps.

An effective CRM enables a brand to not just connect with consumers, but also present them with relevant stories. For instance, a consumer travelling on a family vacation today may travel next month for business. With in-depth insights about their demographics, spending habits and behaviour, travel brands can serve powerful stories to consumers and stay relevant.

Building meaningful relationships:

Today’s travellers are looking for personalised, authentic, purpose-driven experiences. According to an October 2016 Accenture newsroom survey, 56 per cent of consumers are more likely to engage with brands that recognise them, 58 per cent more likely to make a purchase when relevant recommendations and offers are presented, and 65 per cent more likely to continue engaging with a brand that remembers them and can refer back to their purchase history.

CRM tools enable brands to record consumer preferences, customise their experiences accordingly and build human relations beyond numbers and algorithms.

Using data to create personalised experiences:

Personalisation is a powerful yet underutilised aspect for brands to engage consumers and keep them coming back. CRM tools help analyse data and present consumers with relevant information to address their pain points. For instance, a customer logged into an app can get quick information like the closest gas station, or eat out recommendations based on personal and geo-location data.

But brands can do much more with data. Brands can use CRM to garner insights like knowing the places customers have travelled to, the type of services they regularly avail, how much they’re willing to pay, their frequency of travel and so on. This combined with data on other aspects of demographics, behaviours and affiliation, enable brands to create a level of personalisation that grabs customer’s attention.

Implementing effective loyalty programs:

Building traveller loyalty and long-term relationships with consumers is pivotal for brands to survive today considering how much consumers are flooded with information daily.

CRM tools enable brands to categorise their consumers. Based on this, they offer consumers meaningful rewards—both large and small—through loyalty programs. This makes consumers feel recognised. In return, they voluntarily share additional data about themselves which is worth its weight in gold for travel brands. It also encourages them to provide references, which are a terrific source of revenue for travel brands.