Connected Travelers: Deliver delightful, truly connected experiences
The connected traveler is a term used to describe travelers using technology to research, plan, book, and experience their travel. This trend is driven by many factors, including the proliferation of mobile devices, the increasing availability of high-speed Internet access, and the rise of social media. Travelers are now able to access a wealth of information about potential destinations and travel options, and they can easily share their experiences with friends and family members. As a result, traditional travel companies are facing some challenges in meeting the needs of Connected Travelers. One of the biggest challenges is delivering delightful and truly connected Omni Channel Experiences.
The digital revolution has allowed travelers to plan everything in advance according to their preferences– flights and hotels, rental cars, or other ground transport options. They are also demanding an experience that is enhanced by the technology they use every day, like smartphones which allow them access 24/7 when traveling abroad.
Enhance Omni Channel Experiences
Connected Travelers expect to be able to access travel information and booking options across a variety of channels, including websites, mobile apps, social media, and in-person interactions. They also expect a consistent experience across all channels, with easy-to-use tools and a seamless booking process. Another challenge for traditional travel companies is increasing ancillary revenue.
Increase Ancillary Revenue
Connected Travelers are often more interested in experiences than things, making them less likely to purchase items like souvenirs or rental car insurance. To address this challenge, many travel companies now offer unique experiences that can be booked alongside flights or hotel rooms. These experiences might include wine tastings, cooking classes, or city tours. By offering these types of add-ons, travel companies can increase their ancillary revenue while also delivering more value to their customers.
Improve Operational Efficiency
The travel and hospitality industry has long been searching for ways to improve operational efficiency and the customer experience. In recent years, the rise of connected devices and the Internet of Things has created new opportunities to address these challenges. The Connected Traveler platform helps travel and hospitality companies to collect and analyze data from a variety of sources, including sensors, ticketing systems, and social media. This data can then be used to improve operational decisions, such as route planning and pricing strategies. In addition, the Connected Traveler platform provides customers with up-to-date information about their journey, allowing them to make informed choices about their travel plans. As the travel and hospitality industry continues to evolve, the Connected Traveler platform will play an increasingly important role in helping companies to improve efficiency and provide a better customer experience.
With the help of linguistic analytics and personality theory, we can identify psychological traits which determine purchase decisions, intent, and behavioral traits and use these to improve conversion rates and the CX.
This project was a collaboration among business leaders and SMEs from the travel industry. For this effort, I worked on designing customer journeys for connected travelers as well as generating insightful data that informed and influenced product decisions. Working on the web application allowed me to leverage artificial intelligence and use it to create a persona with preferences and tendencies that marketers can utilize to deliver highly personalized offers and relevant content within context. AI for scale and speed can help organizations react at the pace their customers demand.
As a user creates an account using social media profiles, the guest experience manager can gather insights from their personality through transactional and social media data. With this, we can identify psychological traits which determine purchase decisions, intent, and behavioral traits and use these to improve conversion rates and the CX.
In an effort to illustrate a personalized digital experience for a connected traveler journey, I also designed and developed a concept mobile app. Using the mobile across different touchpoints and micro-moments allows future customers to visualize the potential of this platform and spark conversations for the sales team.
The customer experience manager helps marketers understand customers’ needs and preferences to find out what they want. It integrates data from various functional applications, such as social media profiles or web browsing activity, with other sources like call logs for a complete understanding of an individual’s online journey. This creates a comprehensive view of behavior and trends. From there, it constructs buyer and user persona models that provide a richer, more dynamic context for marketing efforts. If done correctly – through the right channel at just the right time – it leads directly towards increased efficiencies and better connected personalized experiences that lead to increased revenues.
