Omnichannel Contact Center Software For Travel Industry – You Simply Cannot Do Without It
The travel industry is an umbrella term that covers diverse services like air, train, and surface travel. It also includes hotels, holiday experiences, and business travel. Today’s customers no longer turn to travel agents for advice, tips, and to find the right service. Instead, they go on internet searches, on social media and expect to find the best. They use mobiles and desktops for searching the best deal. A user may try to find information on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google before approaching a specific travel service provider. After this, the traveler may choose email, voice, fax, or social media to communicate. It would be tough for the travel industry to keep in step with such customers. But now, it is not that tough to keep up with customers’ expectations with the help of omnichannel contact center software specifically developed for the travel segment.
A contact center omnichannel software is a handy tool for a better engagement at all points during the customer’s journey. Several businesses are using either on premise or cloud hosted contact center software for seamless management of their operations. However, there are still many companies that are using traditional means for customer support service. For this reason, most of them are struggling to provide the best service. To survive in today’s competitive marketplace, it is vital to upgrade contact centers with advanced technology and solutions.
Key challenges faced by the travel industry
Customers, especially in the travel & tourism sector want a quick and best service from the concerned party. They expect outstanding customer support and personalized services during every stage of their journey. However, many companies face some common challenges while meeting the specific requirements of their customers. Some of these challenges include:
#1. Higher Average Handling Time (AHT)
Even though there are so many communication channels available, still about 70% of customers prefer to connect with customer service agents over the phone. According to a 2021 TCN study, 59% of customers say wasted time waiting for a resolution is their biggest complaint about call/contact centers. Most contact centers face difficulty in tracking customer history and prior communication data all in one place. This results in a higher average handling time.
#2. Absence of omnichannel support
Today’s customers require quick support from businesses via different communication channels. In the absence of robust omnichannel support, most companies fail to maintain consistently great experiences for their customers. When agents end up asking the same question several times, or when they are not aware of the actual context of the call, it results in frustrated customers.
#3. Low Agent Efficiency
When calls take a pretty long time, the productivity of agents takes a toll. If the agents are tied up with callers for a long time, the service level will automatically decline. This also hampers the After Call Work (ACW) or other important tasks that agents need to work on within their specified work hours. All these things ultimately lead to low agent efficiency and productivity which is not good for the overall performance of a company.
Due to the inability of companies to tackle all these key challenges, customers will not take much time to switch to other competitors with just a click of a button. Therefore, companies need to provide continual service to customers via their choice of communication channel. After all, customer satisfaction is the key factor that defines the success of a company in the travel industry.
How is omnichannel contact center management software helpful for companies in the travel industry?
Without a doubt, contact center omnichannel software is the most efficient tool that can help companies in offering satisfactory customer support service. A contact center omnichannel software allows agents to engage with customers proactively and manage all the relevant data in one single place. They can access this data anytime to deliver quick and efficient customer service. Let’s look at some of the key points on how enterprise contact center software is helpful for companies in the travel industry.
#1. Engaging the customer
The new age traveler expects personalized and fast service. Hooking travelers fast and first before the competition grabs them can be achieved with the help of an omnichannel contact center software. Keep track of social media and maintain a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & WhatsApp. It is more than likely that people are on one or more of these channels. If you are there you can be found. If they are there and are searching you could land the fish before it enters other waters. When you do engage through the channel of their choice it makes them vastly happy. Funnel callers into the IVR, transition to voice, switch to email and then use WebRTC for video interaction to get customers to commit.
Also Read: Top Call Center Metrics and KPIs to Every Business Should Track
#2. Personalized service at any point in the journey
The purpose of travel industry contact center software is not just to land customers but also to assist them every step of the way with personalized service. Service personnel access customer data from the CRM and can respond on WhatsApp or Facebook or phone, whichever is the communication channel of choice. Such information is often contextual such as flight times or hotel rooms or relevant services when they are in the hotel. It is reassuring for customers to know they are receiving assistance each step of the way. Give them a wow experience and they are sure to heap praises on social media that can work wonders for your reputation.
#3. Seamless connection between service providers
The travel industry does not have siloed operations. Hotels have branches and they are connected through the multi-channel contact center software. The same software helps them to stay connected with customers and travel agents. This enables travel agents or hotel service staff to offer other relevant services through a seamless link. Everyone remains updated about each other’s position as well as about the customer. You also have access to records for later analysis so you can improve services and address deficiencies.
Conclusion:
If you are searching for the best and most cost-efficient contact center software for your business, then you must choose HoduCC. It is one of the best products built by HoduSoft that can boost revenues for the travel segment. It has all the essential features that are required to deliver prompt and efficient customer support service.
