Emakina Academy 21 : Airlines on Facebook

The Impact OfSocial Media On Travel
Airlines Confronted To Reality

Airlines confronted to social media as any other industry.
After 10 years of hard work to automate systems (Online bookings, call center policies, Online servicing policies, Online check-in policies, …)
The interaction between the company and the passenger virtualized.
Less staff to handle customers
In many cases, the first facial/voice interaction happened at the gate or in the plane!

Social mediashuffled the cards.

The decision making

It's complicated...
The struggling Traveller
Decision criteria multiplying & changing (i.e.: Increasing price sensitivity & flying becoming a commodity)
Variety of choice
Multiple biased contradicting sources
Longer research before purchasing
New offer types
Ryanair
Easyjet
Wizzair
Vueling
Seat saturation
Multiple shops
Online travel agencies
Affiliate vendors
Price comparison &
fare casting tools
Airline sites
Search engines
External influences
Crisis
Environmental awareness

Social media invest people's day to day lives"People like meshare their unbiased experience""I TRUST PEOPLE LIKE ME”

Social networks, the Samaritan of travellers
30% of travellers who use social networks, among which Facebook, solicit trip-planning advice from their networks.
This figure is higher than influence of TV or even friends and family.
Facebook conversion rates are 6% in average higher than other referrals
Source: PhoCusWright, April 2010

What are the consequences for the travel industry?
The industry realized it had no other choice than dipping its toes into social networks
Objective:Gain a positive e-reputationand stay top of mind

The New Gold rush
To social media:
newly-created Facebook fan pages
promotional and anecdotal shareable information

Activities, tools and events to entertain and create a positive relationship with the brand
AllYouCanJet
Popular "all you can jet" Jetblue passes for sale 10,000th fan
Snowball effect: Pass customers sharing their Jetblue travel experience

Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines event
Free flight organized on New Year’s eve to Barcelona for fans
Positive Snowball effects:
Winners sharing their experience
Winners creating their own group
TV, radio, newspaper coverage
Losers buying tickets for the same night

Too little, too repetitive
Delta airlines
Sitting back after that rush, some wanted to create opportunities
The disappointing way: The Delta Facebook booking engine

The smart way
The Easyjet holiday planner
Group booking functionality to help communication when agreeing on a trip.
Currently: Group trip planner
What’s next? seal the deal
Understanding social media to help customers finalize their purchase

However!
Its not enough!
Among 30% travellers consulting social networks, only 7% prospects befriend or follow a travel company on social networks.
Ambassadors are needed

During travel

The minimum to do: Customer recovery
External factors
Bad luck
Snow
Strikes
Ash clouds
Bird strikes
Countryinstability
Multiple actors in play to fly people
Bad luck
Central reservation systems
Global distribution systems
code sharing
check-in systems
Catering
Departure/Arrival control
Other planes
Cleaning
security screening
Customs
Luggage handling
Loyalty program systems
cancellations
Plane maintenance
And so much more
Things can and do go wrong
And customers can voice their frustrations real-time

"I'm angry""I SAY SO”
.

Different recovery approaches per social network
FACEBOOK
Private life
Expression of tastes, opinions.
Responsive customer recovery methods
TWITTER, BLOGS
(Micro)blogging is public
brands are expected to respond.
Proactive, although intrusive, customer recovery methods

Crisis management
Facebook fans do not join to receive operational updates. However not communicating during crisis on Facebook is unforgivable.
Twitter accounts: used by users for real-time problem solutionning

The next step: go the extra mile to service your customer

The ultimate step: drive your business with customers as copilots
Polling
Creates intimacy brand-customer
Less reluctance to change
Customers are smart and resourceful!

Organizational changes

Learn To Be Off The Beaten Track
Social networks are often used to interact with/about a brand because of flaws in the following areas:
communication reach
product understanding
product availability
quality of the product/service
claims management
In those areas, bypass your processes, review your communication.
Internal networking & process flexibility are key!

Be Prepared For Organizational Changes
Product/service development
Involve customer opinions as early as possible, good ideas are out there. Build engagement!
Internal buy-in
You need to go off the beaten tracks to resolve customer issues. Colleagues' flexibility and support saves time.
Job descriptions and KPIs
Internal buy-in really works only when it gets official.
Build awareness & understanding
Trainings, monitor and report results
Have a policy
Potentially all staff can contribute and visibly impact your brand's image. Clear policies, do's and don'ts help to avoid issues.

Key takeaways
Social media is not a burden but an opportunity
If your customers turn to social media often when
something went wrong. Learn from it.
Re-introduce personal relationships with your customers
Understand your shareable material. Feed fans & followers,
create bonds.
Understand, among your customers, who shares information
Reward and encourage sharing.
Don't nag because social media bypasses your usual working process, it happens because your usual processes don’t work
Social media is not a one-(wo)man show. It is a company engagement.

Thank you

Emakina Academy 21 : Airlines on Facebook

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