Source: Sabre’s Personalization report
Personalization is not customization So what exactly does personalization mean? It is the practice of using customer data to deliver your customers the product that is well-aligned with their preferences and specific needs. It is not to be confused with customization. Customization is done by the user. The user explicitly states his/her preference and receives information or a product that matches those interests. Personalization goes beyond customization and takes a step further by using data to understand, assess and predict customer behavior. In most cases, this task is left to a system to deliver the relevant content, experience, or functionality that matches the user’s identity. Power of personalization It’s no secret that adopting a customer-centric approach yields better results and builds greater brand loyalty. With the right technology and tools, travel companies are presented with vast opportunities to anticipate their customer’s needs and deliver tailored experiences for them. If travel companies make the effort to apply elements of personalization to customer interactions, they are likely to drive more loyalty, engagement, positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. This will help them stay ahead of the stiff competition, giving them the edge to differentiate themselves from other travel providers. Besides advancing customer relationships, personalization can lead to increased acquisition, conversion and retention of customers. A study by Researchscape International and Evergage [1] found that most (96%) marketers agree that personalization advances customer relationships, while 88% of respondents said that there’s a notable lift in their business from their personalization efforts. Providing personalization throughout the customer travel journey can influence and accelerate purchasing decisions. With a plethora of travel options available today, personalization has the ability to reduce information to a digestible level that’s useful and relevant to the travelers. It helps to shift their priority from price to real value when they book their trips.via GIPHY Personalization can delight your customers across all stages of travel
Where do you start? The starting point will be to gather, interpret and act upon data that is coming from increasingly varied sources. An email that addresses your customers by name, an offer that’s location or interest relevant, or an incentive to upgrade a purchase based on past purchase patterns will more likely generate positive responses from your customers. It is essential to note that personalization goes beyond just changing names in an email or letterhead – it is the ability to reach out to every single customer, knowing their preferences and most importantly, build a relationship and engage them on a personal level. In the next blog post, we will talk about why capturing the right data is key to delivering personalization. For more insights on what personalization looks like in the travel landscape and how to use it to craft experiences for each individual traveler, download the personalization report NOW It’s Personal. [1] http://www.evergage.com/resources/ebooks/trends-in-personalization-survey-report/