Are your customers satisfied?
We're sure that most travel suppliers and distributors like to think so, but a recent research report from IBM concludes that they are not.
According to IBM, travelers don't believe their money is well spent. They devote an "excessive" amount of time to searches, yet only 10% feel they got a good deal on their most recent trip. Airlines and hotels, two major industry segments, score badly compared with other industries in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, and for many consumers, "travel has become a burden," IBM said.
But this is not merely a case of poor service by airlines or hotels. The IBM report diagnosed it as a distribution problem, as is evident from the title: "Travel 2020: The distribution dilemma." And IBM's suggested cure is as surprising as its diagnosis: collaboration.
IBM observed that "customers value a more seamless travel experience and show a willingness to compensate any entity that can provide it," but it also noted that "no single party," either among suppliers or distributors, is able to personalize the traveler experience from the beginning of the search process to the end of the trip.
Yet, with "shared data" about customers' preferences, IBM said suppliers and distributors could work together to make it happen.
We're not optimistic that this fragmented industry can accept and meet that challenge, but we believe IBM is on to something here.