Not so long ago, a customer upset with the service at a hotel would take their complaint to a check-in desk or toll-free number.
At that time, the issue could be resolved with no one but the brand and the individual knowing about it. If it wasn’t solved, the biggest risk to the brand was the loss of a customer, and in the worst case scenario, the handful of people who the customer told about their negative experience. From the perspective of today’s marketers, those were good days, right? But, in 2015, social media has deeply transformed the relationship between customers and the travel industry.
Nowadays, travellers live tweet their flight delays or post photos on Instagram of maintenance issues at their hotel and instantly reach thousands of people. Thanks to these social networks, bad word of mouth are spreading faster and farther than ever before!
1. Answer customers’ queries and solve problems
This is common knowledge: when customers have something to say to brands, they say it on social media. Guests don’t want to reach out via a platform only to be told to call a toll-free number. They want to have the conversation in the channel in which they are most comfortable with – and that is social media/messaging apps. Being active on social media gives you the ability to respond in a jiffy, which is what most customers expect. Therefore, you have the chance to connect with customers in real time, as soon as they are experiencing problems, having doubts and queries or just want to share their feedback. In addition, when you post answers on social media, they will instantly become available for anyone to read.
HiJiffy can help:
If you are looking for a solution to help you automate and optimize customer care, you should meet this company! HiJiffy is a conversational booking assistant for the hospitality industry. It will help you automate and optimize customer care. Automate in the sense that you will have a chatbot to answer most of the questions and optimize with their console that is linked to the main channels of communication and that sends the request to the right person within the customer care team. They empower you with a great tool that will definitely improve your customer care service!
2. Keep your clients informed
There is no better way to be proactive than social media! When you have something going on, for instance, your website is experiencing some problems, HiJiffy.com let people know it via social networks that you are aware of it and working to fix it. Moreover, you can make a positive impression on customers if you use social media to advertise sales or promotions – and provide discount codes to your social media followers. This will not only result in new purchases from regular clients, but it will also help you to gain new customers and grow your online presence.
Tata Consultancy Services can help:
Tata Consultancy Services (in partnership with SAS Innovation Lab) has developed a ‘digital wall’ to keep travellers informed while at the Scandinavian Airlines lounge. This includes facts about the number of passengers boarding flights, the distance flew by passengers in the current year or weather conditions at destinations around the world. The wall is also able to play SAS marketing videos and display posts from the airline’s social media platforms.
3. Personalize your responses
Customer loyalty is important for every business, but that is especially true in the travel industry. In fact, social media represents a crucial opportunity for brands to engage with their customers on a deeper level and provide an outstanding customer care by delivering personalised responses. In essence, you are humanizing your brand by relating to your travellers who will feel more comfortable that their issues are being taken care of. Through social media, you can show that you as a brand are willing to communicate and listen, which will help to create loyalty among your clients.
ZenDesk can help:
Zendesk Support puts all your customer support interactions in one place, therefore communication is seamless, personal, and efficient. This solution helps you provide personalized support when and where your clients need it, keeping them happy. Zendesk Support is designed to be flexible. It works right out of the box, or it can be configured to your preferences.
4. Automation – speed matters.
Automation is everywhere, enabling users to accomplish a wide range of tasks. The customer service industry is no exception to the rule! Advancements in technology keep transforming customer service interactions. Currently, the number of people using messaging apps overtook social media. In fact, they use messaging to communicate with brands and not only with friends and family!
This, gives you the opportunity to create new revenue streams using real-time, customized customer service bots within messaging apps.
How about the advantages? For starters, you will have a customer service that is always on – not constrained by time zones or holidays. In addition, you save money on staff training. There is no doubt that automation platforms can offer huge time and cost saving in this area. Furthermore, no one can deny that travel chatbots are a reliable service, in fact, bots are free from many afflictions and biases that can negatively impact a customer interaction. Lastly, you will speed up issue resolution, thus improving service satisfaction levels. Indeed, resolving customer service issues before they arise could significantly lower customer abandonment rates.
Trilyo can help:
Trilyo Hotel Chatbot lets you connect and personalize customer interaction with the help of artificial intelligence and create a differentiated experience. The platform allows setting-up a personalised 24/7 virtual assistant. It provides deep customer insights with real-time feedback management and concierge services.
5. Collect Data
Answering to each customer directly is great, but keeping track of trends in their feedback is just as important. If you see a trend in complaints about one aspect of your business, fix the problem. The sooner, the better. In addition, make sure you share those changes with your customers when you make them. In this way, your clients can see that you truly value their feedback and opinion. Lastly, collecting data will also allow you to personalise your travellers’ journey, which is an aspect really appreciated these days.
Oracle Hospitality can help:
Oracle Hospitality model will leverage Oracle’s integrated technology stack in concert with MICROS’ deep expertise. MICROS was already a very large Oracle partner and they are going to continue to enrich and deepen the integration between Oracle technology and the MICROS application portfolio, giving customers access to a much broader set of tools and solutions to create the perfect guest experience.
Customers want help, support, to get the most they can from your services and brand. So, what better way to improve customer care than social media and messaging apps?
