The Tourism Industry[1]

THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

•The tourism industry is made up of different organizations. •It includes hospitality, hotels and restaurants, •Other institutes that offer shelter, food, or both of these •Tourism industry has been experiencing globalization, competition, higher customer turnover, • Growing customer acquisition costs and rising customer expectations

• Hotel performance and competitiveness is significantly depending, • On the ability to satisfy customers effectively and efficiently • The hotel industry offers similar products such as rooms • In search for the best services customers usually turn their focuses to the soft factors: • Personal treatment, personalization, one-one marketing.

• The hotel industry is a perfect industry for the implementation of e-CRM principles • It allows for a true selection and managing the most valuable guests • It also allows one-one marketing and giving value added services • It attempts to increase guests loyalty and retention.

Meaning of e-CRM in hotel industry • E-CRM is a process of attracting and keeping economically valuable customers while repelling and eliminating economically invaluable ones. • It emphasizes on building relationships that lead to customer retention and long-term customer loyalty. • E-CRM has become a must have for any hotel company. • Establishing mutually beneficial interactive relationships with customers is the ultimate goal of any E-CRM initiative

The mai n c ompone nts of an ECRM s tr ate gy in tr av el and hote l i nd ustr y

• Know Your Customer • Customer Service • Personalization

• More Efficient Marketing • Build Customer Loyalty

Bene fits of E CRM in the To ur ism ind ustr y • The real value of e-CRM lies in the: • Value a company creates for its customers • And in value the customers brings back to the company. • E-CRM is a tool that contributes to profit generation. • It helps in increasing the level of loyalty of the customers. • It gives a company a strong competitive advantage.

• It re du ces th e cos t o f re cruiti ng cu sto me rs  Savings are made on marketing, mailing, contact, follow-ups fulfillment  This will add to the number of long-term customers  And the need for recruiting new customers will decrease  It is expensive to recruit a new customer than to maintain the one already existing

• Red uced cos ts of s ale  Costs are likely to decrease owing to the fact that:  Existing customers are usually more responsive than new customers.  Companies with better knowledge of channels and distributors the relationship becomes  More effective as well as reducing the costs of marketing campaigns.

• Increa sed cu sto me r rete nti on a nd loya lty  Sometimes customers do take initiatives,  Which increase the bounding of the relationship  And as result customer loyalty increases • Eva luati on o f cu stom er pro fi tab ility  E-CRM allows companies to see which customers are more profitable  And which ones are likely to be profitable in future.

Chal le nge s of E-C RM i n the hote l i nd ustr y • Gl ob al unc ertai nty  Terrorist attacks are the most direct example of global uncertainty;  Geopolitical relations, governmental travel restrictions and currency exchange rates.  These factors can jeopardize the potentiality of e-CRM  Customers will be reluctant due to these factors

• Tec hn ol ogy  The initial set up of e-CRM can be very expensive.  They is need for latest software, training of staffs and acquiring the latest technology for websites. • Safet y and sec uri ty  Customers are still not open enough to anything that is being handled over the internet.  Customers are still reluctant to give most of their private information.  Customers need to feel like they are talking to a real person at all times.

Co mpeti ti on i n the hote l indu st ry

• Globalization and the web reach have significantly increased competition within the hotel industry • Customers have become more price sensitive, • Less brand loyal and more sophisticated • Many of the companies in this industry offer similar products • The global reach has meant that competition is just a click away. • There is intensify competition for most hotels

• To over come such competition, • Hotels should implement an effective customer relationship management • As their competitive advantage. • Hotels should offer customers new and innovative customer services • Customers will appreciate good service that they would not go to a competitor.

E-C RM ar ch ite ctu re or impl eme ntat ion • Steps in implementing a sound e-CRM process: 2.Business process analysis 3.Integration and redesigning of customer data 4.ICT enabling customer interactions 5.Easy accessibility of organization information

• The hotel will need to have good channel management for enabling efficient share of guest knowledge across the organization, • The guest should get personalized and consistent services at anytime, • Anyplace and at every platform.

Th e su cce ss of e -C RM in the ho te l in dustr y • They has been an increase usage of e-CRM at every point of customer interactions for most hotels • Most hotels have been able to provide customers with: • Data that they need such: • Information about an offer or their current or their previous transactions

• E- CRM c ha ract eri st ics t hat can b e s een on most s uccessful w eb si tes inc ludes: 2. Customer dialogue engines. 3. Advanced content management delivery. 4. Process guides. 5. Monitors and alerts. 6. E-News letters. 7. Reservation Confirmation emails. 8. Pre-Arrival emails with value adds and up sells. 9. Post-stay “Thank you” emails and comment cards.

Conclusion • E-CRM is very important in the hotel industry • Companies with the ability to retain and maintain the most profitable customers have a competitive advantage • E-CRM, although hard to implement, • It brings many benefits if successfully implemented • The value of customers must be communicated from the top level to the bottom of the organization.