How Airlines Can Influence Traveler Buying Decisions with a Personalized Approach

Two things about travel have changed quite significantly:  1) travel is becoming more “democratized” and 2) travelers are exercising their right to vote in many ways – not just with their booking decisions (i.e., choosing between this or that airline) but also with the apps they download, the brands they mention on social media and the sites they repeatedly do business with.

In this kind of democratized travel environment, where consumers are faced with so many options and empowered digitally to make the best decisions, the real race is to provide the best customer experience - and there will be winners and losers among airlines. How can they ensure they’ll be among the former?

How to Win Friends and Influence People …for Airlines

Personalization is the key to gaining more influence over travelers’ buying decisions, and creating competitive advantage in a democratized sector. Today’s consumers want their interactions with travel brands to be less transactional in nature and more experience-focused.

One way airlines can meet those consumer expectations is by using technology to provide a better product and experience for the end customer. It starts with airlines using customer data to “always be there” for customers in the direct channel – with the right content or offer for that customer, at that moment. 

Here are three ways our Travel Personalization Platform is helping airlines manage their customer relationships and increase ancillary sales and revenue through personalization…

1. Unlocking Value Before and After the Flight

Airlines have become more sophisticated as merchandisers and retailers by offering third-party inventory such as hotels and car rentals – but ancillary offers are still largely hit or miss. Simple data intelligence can add tremendous value to an offer and help complete the sale. By connecting all their data streams, airlines can build a much clearer profile of their customers and unlock value that leads to better offers, more sales and higher revenue.

2. Reducing Stress on the Day of Journey and Beyond

Airlines can start personalizing the day of journey by understanding their customers in context and attaching offers to real stress points. Maybe check-in isn’t the best time to deliver an offer for concert tickets, even if the customer happens to love the band. Matching the offer to the stressful moment is a huge part of what personalization is all about.

3. What I Want, When I Want It

Of course, travelers aren’t always stressed, and one reason is because they have things to buy and eat and do. There is a global ecosystem of travel suppliers just waiting to deliver the right ancillary merchandise to the right customers – airlines should focus on creating a superior digital experience in the mobile channel, where they can manage these fulfillment opportunities.

Making Travel Less Stressful, More Experience-Focused

Airlines are trying to adapt to new consumer technology – some more successfully than others – because they recognize a fundamental shift in the market and in what influences traveler buying decisions.