Value-added communication for the customer's journey

If you've not read the September issue of Travolution it's well worth a look. Entitled "Journeys" the whole issue is dedicated to a series of articles urging travel brands to take a holistic view of the consumer "when they plan, book and take a holiday".

There are valuable nuggets of information scattered throughout the issue, but for me an interview with Tim Williamson, Customer Director, TUI Travel UK sums up many of the arguments I've laid out in this blog over the past months:

"It's about recognising that that customers are individuals with different demands and expectations. Ultimately, it's about making the travel experience memorable for every customer."

"It's only via interaction that travel companies can inspire customers ... ensure their airport and in-flight experience are hassle free and that once in resort customers, have the holiday they dreamed of."

"Being involved in the process is about using the opportunity to talk to your customers at the right time, using communications that are useful and add value"

Elsewhere, Piers Ford reports that: "As consumers become increasingly cost conscious, loyalty, branding and integration with the customer journey are becoming more important for travel companies."

To me, this says there is no excuse for the complete absence of communication experienced by many consumers once they start their trip. Granted, not every travel brand has the breadth of customer touch-points that TUI has, but anyone who understands the customer's itinerary can communicate at the right time in a useful, value-added manner.

And, it's the ubiquitous mobile phone that enables any travel brand to engage and assist its customers when they're on the move. The key word here is "enables". Mobile is an enabling technology. It's a means to an end, not an end in its own right. Travel companies should be suspicious of standalone "mobile projects"- these are often a byline for technology-driven, tactical affairs that are divorced from business goals.

What really matters is the dialogue with customer...

Instead, let's see more projects focused on creating a value-added dialogue with customers when they're travelling ... using mobile as an enabling technology.

It's a subtle difference, maybe, but projects that focus on the customer experience and that form part of the travel brand's overall communication strategy will deliver better results for the travel brand and its customers.