Customer Experience - What Connected Tourists Want

Travelers are increasingly booking their trips online.only those who understand their customers' expectations, proactively enter into dialog with them at the right moment, and use the communication medium of choice - digital devices - to do so, will secure a long-term customer relationship. iAdvicea platform for conversational commerce, shows what exactly matters in the online customer experience in tourism.Vacations are mostly booked onlineTourists are on the move on all online channels and decide for themselves when and how they want to contact a company. According to the digital association Bitkom, 63 percent of Internet users already book their vacations online, and just under half (48 percent) at least occasionally check travel and online comparison portals before booking. So the tourism industry has long been earning its money online, too. In addition, consumers are increasingly obtaining information via mobile devices. The proportion of travel searches on smartphones is currently estimated at 40 percent. The comparison and purchase phase is therefore crucial.Online customer engagement is a must-have in the travel sectorA travel plan usually requires the consumer to do research and comparisons in advance; the actual conclusion of the purchase can take a long time and is often well thought out. And even during the trip, tourists want to be able to contact their provider or use one of its services. Consumers therefore increasingly expect a functioning and personalized customer approach. Three quarters use real-time channels in the travel industry for immediate and personal advice. 13 percent also agreed with the statement that they are more likely to book with tourism companies that offer a personal online customer approach. Consequently, credible and individual communication across all channels is becoming increasingly important.Many companies in the tourism industry are therefore focusing on the conversational commerce trend, which integrates communication across all real-time channels, such as chat, call, voice, social and messaging, into the customer approach. Case studies show that this type of communication increases purchase completions, increases shopping cart value, and makes consultative visitors more satisfied. An analysis of iAdvize's customer data revealed the following average scores after engaging with a potential customer:

• a conversion rate of 9.6 percent
• an average shopping cart value over 1,112 euros
• 93 percent average satisfaction