In The Digital Era, Customers Reign King
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The advancements in technology and communications are rapidly changing the airline industry as a whole. From a marketer’s perspective, there are certainly advantages to these changes as big data is being used to personalize the passenger experience and increase conversion. But the real winners here are the customers. Jenn Wint, social media & communications contributor for APEX Experience discusses the potential for crowd-sourced content in our upcoming August issue adding, “Consumers have more influence than ever with thousands of soapboxes from which to shout. As a result, expectations of brands are higher, accountability is demanded and transparency is compulsory.” Customers can give feedback in real-time and review details of their journey down to the last detail, including which seat offers the most legroom. With such ample online resources available to customers, competition among brands has amplified and, as a result, improved the passenger experience in many ways.
Companies such as HappyOrNot have caught on to this trend and decided to take a more proactive role within the marketer-consumer exchange. They work with airlines to set up customer feedback stations at several touchpoints of the passenger journey. Maryann Simson, APEX Experience contributor, spoke with HappyOrNot executive vice–president for sales and business development Todd Theisen who states, “Our services provide integral metrics for improving the passenger experience by allowing airports to really measure their service performance every day.”
As more and more brands begin to take a proactive approach to customer feedback we should see a tip in the scale. But for now, with the rise of websites such as FlyerTalk, SeatGuru, and Airline Ratings, it would appear that the customer remains king.
For more stories and content on digital technology and communications stay tuned for our upcoming Marketing Issue, available August 1st!