Good customer service is the key to success in any business, and is of utmost importance in travel & hospitality industry. This industry is very sensitive when it comes to the level of customer service delivered as this will determine whether the customer would come back to avail the services again or spread a bad word of mouth due to performance below his/her expectations. Delivering personalized service to customers and quickly resolving their problems across every interaction(both before and during their stay) is essential for market growth. Travel and Hospitality industries have always remained competitive and dynamic making it a challenge for the operating environment to be innovative and unique at the same time.
Travelers increasingly employ new web and mobile apps, as well as social networks to find the best deals, peer reviews and to communicate with the service providers. They expect the services to be personalized before and throughout their journey. The consumers have multiple options these days which is a severe challenge for travel and hospitality industry. In order to compete, providers need to offer aggressive differentiation, and also the ability to contact customers wherever and whenever they need to reach them. This can only be done by introducing contact center software which has functionalities of creating seamless customer experience across their journey.
So, here are few capabilities of the contact center software that will enable you to deliver top notch experience to customers of all generations:
1.Proactive Customer Service: Proactive strategies include blending outbound communications across multiple preferred channels, including outbound IVR system, predictive dialing, text messaging, email, and mobile webpages. In travel and hospitality, proactive service will help in promoting products and services at appropriate opportunities based on current organizational goals and promotional focus. They need to employ selling techniques appropriately to encourage usage and purchase. Delighting customers whenever possible will make them loyal to your brand. For example, Adopting greeting and goodbye methods for the guests to extend a proactive warm welcome and a fond farewell with an invitation to return; Giving tips to guests on great restaurants to visit near their hotel via a personalized email or mobile message– before they start getting hungry.
2.Intelligent routing: Intelligent Call Routing helps in identifying the caller and directing them to an appropriate agent. Routing directs incoming calls to the appropriate language operators, providing quick resolution for the company’s clientele regardless of their country of origin. This helps in ensuring that the incoming service inquiries are handled by the best resource available based on the type of customer. For example: A married couple who wants to book a honeymoon package instead of a normal package; here the call gets routed to the agent who is particularly an expert and is having knowledge of the best hotels in the available region.
3.Omni- Channel Customer Service: Everyone is buzzing about Omni-Channel these days and this concept should be a priority for travel & hospitality industry. In order to provide harmonious customer experience, travel & hospitality brands must ensure that they operate in an “omnichannel” world, as the traveler would expect to research, buy or interact with the brand through any given channel at any given moment for any given purpose. For example: if a customer is trying to book a stay through the website but has encountered an issue while doing so. And then he immediately receives a phone call from a live agent for assistance and the same is done successfully without any delay. This would happen only if all the channels are integrated to deliver consistent and hassle-free omni-channel experience to the customers.
4.Mobile Self-Service: Mobile Solutions are transforming the way we live and perform our daily activities, and how enterprises can engage with their potential customers. And its impact is no different on travel & hospitality industry. With the rapid enablement of the mobile devices, it has become essential for the travel & hospitality industry to respond to the growing demand of mobile users and the mobile workforce with the help of real-time responsive travel services. Building and deploying enterprise level mobility solutions for travel industry can significantly impact operations by enhancing the key business process that drive more business by well-managed tracking, reporting and routing of the travel operations. Mobile self service provides various benefits such as:
- Simplifying the booking process
- Enabling travel & hospitality organizations to showcase discounts and promotional offers
- Enhancing customer service & satisfaction by resolving issues within a short period of time
- Providing an ease for retrieving details about the travel destination
- Reducing overall investment while increasing profit margins
- Helping you enhance your business presence over multiple mobile devices
5.Social Engagements: Social media has become a consistent part of a traveler’s experience – from researching their trip to engagement throughout the duration of their travel and even post-trip reviews and feedback. Through contact center software agents have the power to track and reply to any query being raised related to them on social media platforms; this also enables them in resolving issues or answering to a query quickly.
6.Customer Analytics: Using analytics in travel & hospitality is more than a technology capability with a return on investment. It’s a transformational phenomenon that provides the right market analysis and will fundamentally change how businesses are conducted and decisions are taken. Analytics in travel and hospitality can be done through contact center software which will help in capturing customer speech and text interactions. The captured data can be used to go beyond traditional loyalty programs for having an in-depth knowledge of guests. This will develop a granular understanding of segment behavior, needs and expectations; buying preferences; and opportunities to attract new guests.
