Exploring the Impact of Mobile Messaging in the Travel and Hospitality Industry

Transcription

1 Exploring the Impact of Mobile Messaging in the Travel and Hospitality Industry June 2015

2 In This Study Key Take-Aways for Mobile Messaging in Travel and Hospitality 4 Business leaders are driving new investments in mobile messaging and are closely involved in solution specification, selection, and deployment. 4 Maximizing investments requires integrating mobile messaging into structured business workflows. 4 IT wants to bring communication channels together with a workflow engine to quickly create services and address functional needs. 4 The greatest benefits: customer experience and employee relations. pg 2

3 Mobile Messaging Today 82% of travel and hospitality companies view mobile messaging as having a considerable or major impact on increasing revenues. Mobile messaging gives businesses a way to enhance communications and optimize business operations. Businesses are using mobile messaging in many ways, from broadcast communications to personalized multistep interactions and workflows. Mobile Messaging: Short message service (SMS), multi-media messaging service (MMS), push notifications, and occasionally . Businesses today must be engaged with over... 3 billion+ Mobile subscribers 6 billion+ Connected devices pg 3

4 How Mobile Messaging Can Have the Greatest Impact in the Travel and Hospitality Industry Attracting and retaining customers Differentiating or improving the customer experience Gaining deeper customer insight Global communications Enhancing multichannel delivery capability Improving employee communications Optimizing our workforce Attracting and maintaining our workforce Managing employee welfare & safety Increasing brand awareness Increasing employee satisfaction Ensuring business continuity 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% % of respondents pg 4

5 The Top Mobile Messaging Use Cases for the Travel and Hospitality Industry Average response for stage of deployment today, on a scale of 1 to 6 1 = not yet considering, 6 = in production enterprise wide Mobile workforce management & notification Customer surveys Employee emergency alert systems IT system status & network outage alerts Timesheet reminders pg 5

6 Enhancing Customer Experience Customer service excellence is a competitive differentiator for top-performing businesses. of travel and hospitality organizations believe that mobile messaging 89% has a considerable or major impact on customer experience. 4 79% of travel and hospitality organizations believe that mobile messaging has a considerable or major impact on brand awareness. 4 88% see mobile messaging having a considerable or major impact on attracting customers. 4 72% see mobile messaging having a considerable or major impact on gaining customer insight. 4 Great fit for companies with high touch business models and for those that place a premium on customer experience. pg 6

7 Exploring the Impact of Mobile Messaging Enhancing Customer Experience Through targeted customer promotions and product offers, sales appointment reminders, real-time order status alerts, bill reminders, and customer surveys 4 A dopt a mobile first strategy to engage and serve Survey your mobile customers. 4 C reate more personalized mobile messaging and relevant promotions. Delivery Alert 4 8 1% of travel and hospitality companies consider SMS to be effective or very effective for customer surveys. 37% of travel and hospitality companies consider SMS to be effective or very effective for alerts, updates, reminders and notifications. Home pg 7

8 Enhancing Employee Relations Human Resources and IT are using mobile to provide employees with the necessary resources and services to achieve enterprise goals. 85% 65% of travel and hospitality companies believe the impact of mobile messaging on business priorities is significant for employee communications. of travel and hospitality companies consider SMS to be effective or very effective for employee emergency alerts. 4 Great fit for industries looking to improve employee engagement and mitigate risk. pg 8

9 Enhancing Employee Relations Through company announcements, mobile workforce management, timesheet processing, employee surveys, password reset, sign in and account authentication, emergency alerts, IT system updates, escalation management Mobile workforce management and notifications Where SMS is already highly effective today Employee emergency alert systems Develop a long-term employee engagement strategy that encompasses operational communications, training, wellness, and employee appreciation. Consider mobile messaging channels as important tools in the IT toolbox to improve employee satisfaction and IT security. pg 9

10 What Type of Justification Do Most Travel and Hospitality Companies Need? 40% require ROI to gain funding 28% 30% need a cost reduction to justify the investment consider the payback period to justify the investment pg 10

11 Top Issues in Travel and Hospitality with Existing Vendor and Willingness to Pay a Premium for Those Issues What are your top three issues with your current mobile messaging vendor? Does not offer professional or managed services Lacks domain expertise in mobile Does not support the mobile messaging channels I require Has poor customer support Is not flexible enough Doesn t provide APIs Lacks financial stability 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% % of respondents Which items would you be willing to pay a premium for? Customer support Professional or managed services Domain expertise in mobile Application programming interfaces (APIs) Flexibility to support planned mobile business activities Support for required mobile messaging channels 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% % of respondents pg 11

12 The Bottom Line 4 Take a long term, purpose-led approach to mobile investment. 4 Look for vendors that can support platforms, not just individual technology or use case requirements. 4 Look for vendors with a track record of support excellence. 4 Form a mobility center of excellence or program office to manage the project portfolio. In Conclusion A company-wide mobile messaging strategy will give organizations a path to enhance the customer experience, gain additional customer insights, improve employee relations, and drive operational efficiencies. IDC forecasts that the shipments of smart connected devices (smartphones, tablets, phablets) will increase by 44% by 2018, and organizations must adapt to incorporate mobile into every aspect of operations. 44% BY 2018 pg 12

13 Methodology The data contained in this InfoBrief is from the IDC Mobile Messaging Survey, which focused on understanding how mobile messaging can help organizations meet today s pressing business challenges. Respondents were knowledgeable about their company s needs, adoption, and use of mobile / text messaging for business operations, employee, or customer communications. The study was conducted in 2014 with 600 respondents in USA, UK, Europe, and Asia, in 10 industries including 60 in travel and hospitality. Travel and hospitality includes hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, passenger airlines, cruise and other water passenger operators, and rental car agencies. Respondents were from all parts of the organization including operations & logistics, customer service, human resources, IT/ Security, sales & marketing, and from organizations with 500 or more employees. This InfoBrief report highlights how mobile is transforming key business processes and the importance of creating a mobile messaging strategy. Copyright 2015 IDC. All rights reserved. pg 13