The travel industry is ramping up to meet the needs of a post-pandemic world. As leisure and business travelers return, there is potential for a wave of customer dissatisfaction – at a critical time when customer loyalty is up for grabs. What is the data showing us, how should industry stakeholders be navigating this recovery, and where can BPO outsourcing companies help in rebooting customer experience to bring back the magic of travel?
To begin with, it’s important to recognize the unprecedented impact that COVID-19 had on the travel sector. Although it is bouncing back today, recovery still has a long way to go and according to the Skift Recovery Index, it is still 35% below pre-pandemic levels globally. In addition, varying travel restrictions, COVID-19 case counts and domestic travel markets dictate different rates of recovery from one region to the next. One thing is certain, however: customer experience is emerging as the challenge of the recovery.
Mixed signals abound. While some surveys show that today’s travelers are satisfied with their travel experience (some, surprisingly, more so than before COVID-19) a deeper dive reveals that negative feedback is increasing. Although Skift Research’s Traveler Tracker survey found that more than 80% of leisure travelers were satisfied with summer 2021 flight and hotel experiences, further analysis found the negative emotional intensity of customer reviews increased considerably from 2019 to 2021. Not surprising when considering the “new normal” of travel – strained operational capacity, staffing challenges, increased airline complaints, rental car shortages, higher prices and pared down services across hotel amenities. The truth of the matter may be as simple as “cabin fever” – leisure travelers are so happy to be on the road again that the satisfaction bar is set substantially lower than pre-COVID. But not for long – once the honeymoon is over and business travel resumes, customer patience will likely reset itself, with expectations rising exponentially. Factor in that business travelers, who typically travel more frequently with higher expectations, will be a bigger part of the mix, and this is where travel companies can pull ahead if they prioritize CX, build loyalty and future-proof their businesses.
Important questions to ask might be: Is your customer experience consistently high across all channels, products, and services? Do you understand your customers and what motivates them? Is your business model nimble and able to pivot quickly in response to shifting consumer trends? And finally, are you up to the ultimate challenge of bringing back the magic of travel and delivering it in a CX package? While a significant investment in dedicated CX might seem overwhelming in a post-pandemic economy, research shows companies that prioritize CX during a downturn stand to outperform their competition for years to come.
One way to aim high and set the gold standard for CX is to look at BPO / outsourcing companies as potential partners in your customer-centric strategies. Considering that travel companies need to build an emotional connection that EXCEEDS customer expectations, and literally sell the way they make their guests FEEL, partnering with a business process outsourcing company like Anexa could be a stroke of genius. When it comes to CX, our agents are trained to leverage the science behind delight: while satisfaction is a rational assessment of reality minus expectations, delight is emotional and is experienced as a result of joy and surprise. Anexa can help your business deliver on ambitious aspirations by representing your company as you would, implementing insights, first contact resolution and going the extra mile for each one of your customers. We understand that CX is more than a feeling, more than a department, and more than a phase in the customer journey. It should be the culture of your organization, and with the support of our customer specialists, it will be.
Contact Anexa today to find out more about our CX specialists.