Picture the scene: After two back-to-back, delayed long-haul flights a passenger must then get on a return flight within 72 hours. Wanting to ensure the flight isn’t delayed again they post a comment on Twitter. While airline can’t generally foresee delays, neither can it ignore the message. But how should it respond?

The airline at least needs to respond, with something like a welcome message at least. Those who are more creative might even start a friendly conversation or even surprise the traveller at the airport! Enter the airline’s customer-service department.

Here EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta talks to Vikramjit Bindra, a senior consultant in the Travel, Media and Services (TMS) Industry Group at Mindtree, about developing winning strategies for customer service.  

EFT: What is the significance of customer service today given that travellers have several new avenues such as Twitter and Facebook to express themselves?

VB: Customer service is continually validated through avenues such as Twitter and Facebook, and all the good work that companies are putting into customer service has found a new dashboard. Travellers use Facebook/ Twitter as a quick reference and their decisions are heavily affected by what they read there. These avenues provide a platform for ‘unbiased’ and emotional advice that the traveller is looking for before taking any decision. So I believe the significance of customer service for travel companies continues to rally as the effect created by offering good or bad service is readily available and used more and more decisively by the traveller.

EFT: How should a travel company approach customer service and what sort of organisational support is needed in today’s multi-channel environment?

VB: Customer service has to become a functional feature that needs to be mapped across the hierarchical structure of the organisation. Rather than being just top driven, customer service should direct all the organisation’s key activities.

As such any initiative, investment or even day-to-day actions of the organisation should map the impact on customer service. Organisations must regularly enhance their IT and telecommunication set-up to keep pace with the fast-changing multi-channel environment.

EFT: Can you list some winning strategies for customer service?

VB: It is a known fact that, ‘it can cost five times more to acquire new customers than retain existing ones’ (Source: TARP) which is one of the reasons why there are so many loyalty programmes in place today.

For example, in the travel industry, a focus on mining the existing customer base for revenue growth has become a bigger motive for travel organisations than going all out for new customers. Retention of existing customers is pursued aggressively and, as a result, there are cohesive documented retention strategies that aim to keep the attention of customers focused upon their existing service brands.

Some key winning strategies for customer service that have worked for the travel industry include:

• Regular attention for better retention – For the brief time that the customer is using the service, a more human touch can be leveraged for best results. When the customer is not using the service, innovative and creative methods using social media is the preferred channel of communication today. Aiming for continuous customer retention, a defined and personalised engagement strategy has to be in place between the booking-to-booking cycles. For example, one of India’s low-cost carriers sends out an e-mail asking for feedback and during this process is able to update key customer data, which can be used for future personalised services.

• Having the right loyalty/rewards programme – the key here is to offer `choice’ in picking up the rewards/price that customers want. Having appropriate knowledge through customer profiling inputs will lead travel organisations to offer more relevant and appropriate gifts and rewards for each customer.

• Cultivating brand ownership in your customers – having a unique brand proposition helps companies build a personal long-lasting relationship with its customers and also creates emotional connections. Marketing teams have to ensure that core service offerings as well as the auxiliary services exhibit the same brand characteristics that the company likes to be associated with. This encourages customers themselves to act as brand ambassadors by spreading ‘good feelings’ through word-of-mouth.

• Constant drive for innovative offerings - Today a customer appreciates every small innovative change as it shows that the service provider is responsive to new trends and any movement in taste, economics and technology. Evolution and innovation are defining and driving change for the customers who, as they themselves are evolving all the time, welcome organisations who keep pace with them.

Over the long haul, it is the focus on retaining the existing customer base that pays off by adding new revenue streams. It is a reality that this leads to repeat bookings and purchases which in turn makes expense and revenue planning easier and the roadmap to growth more transparent and feasible.

EFT: What sort of improvement would you like to see in the future?

VB: There are a few improvements that would enhance the overall customer service index: 

• Sharing positive feedback on social media sites or through emails. Since travellers relate to fellow travellers, this re-affirms their affinity and confidence to continue to hold to a brand.

• Airlines carrying out some in-house improvements/innovations that lead other parameters to improve, creates stronger brand commitment. Therefore these initiatives must also be shared on the social media forum.

• Moving towards personalised service, at least for frequent travellers is the mantra for building long-term relationship and can be followed by the airlines to distinguish themselves from others.