The world is slowly re-opening. Instead of take-out, restaurants are serving in-house customers again, theatre lights have switched on and after a year and a half of lockdown, and people are actually considering their travel options. Without a doubt, the demand is there – in fact, an American Express study determined that 78% of participants intend to travel in 2021 simply to shake off the pandemic-induced stress of 2020. The travel industry – one of the hardest hit throughout COVID-19 – is emerging scarred, but hopeful. The challenge will be how to navigate this new normal, when considering that the pandemic essentially sidelined 44% of the travel and tourism workforce, as compared to 12% in other industries. This statistic represents the need for the travel sector to make a big comeback, as travel and tourism businesses manage changing buying patterns while hampered by a diminished workforce. This dynamic has created the engagement capacity gap, which is essentially the chasm between what organizations must do to meet rising customer expectations, and their ability to do it. The importance of closing this gap cannot be overstated, and when it comes to the travel and tourism industry, some specific challenges emerge.
In addition to dealing with a huge demand backlog, travel operators will be juggling countless requests to deal with cancellations, postponements and entirely new bookings. From start to finish, the process will require connectivity, communication and enhanced customer service to deal with increased demand, along with a level of never-before-seen uncertainty on the part of customers waffling between booking that trip and waiting to see what happens next. Travellers will be looking for transparency and much more flexibility with regard to last minute changes. It only stands to reason that those travel companies that can meet these challenges and achieve high customer engagement will have the competitive edge.
At the end of the day and across all industries, the modern customer experience demands next level service. As businesses recover from the many difficulties imposed by a year and a half of a global pandemic – not the least of which is a staggering engagement capacity gap – one thing is clear. Today’s customer is empowered and savvy, with many buying choices and high expectations. And here’s where entrusting customer service activities to reputable outsourcing companies could move the needle on business growth. An outsourcing partner like Anexa can staff your critical customer service areas with dedicated, highly trained professionals who are experienced in omnichannel solutions. With an eye on always aligning your customer with your brand and first contact resolution, there is clearly a reason that Anexa was named as a finalist in the 2021 Customer Centricity World Series!
Our customer-centric strategy is simple. We integrate technology, seamless processes and human talent to achieve customized (and customerized!) interactions – depending on the type of customer, the product or service and your specific business objectives.
Let’s talk about how to improve your collective customer experience!