With the inception of Covid-19 pandemic globally since March’20, many industries were forced to either stop the services or redefine how and when they need to offer services. Out of all the major verticals which got impacted, the Travel and Aviation industries had the worst hit ever. However, with the implementation of lockdown rules, the mandatory precautionary methods while travelling, the quarantine procedures taken by many flight industries, people now have started to travel, but does it mean that the travel industry has recovered completely?
Experimentation and digital optimization – are now the two key ingredients for any marketer. Until Jan’20, the travel industry was at peaks with many users getting attracted to Vlog videos, travel options, flight discounts and the wide variety of flights and services available, the question now is will users show interest in all of these given the current pandemic situation or will Fear take over?
What would a user consider before boarding a flight?
Whenever a user starts to think of travelling, they will have to think about hygiene, sanitation, restrictions, state or country entry and exit policies. Below is a quick snapshot of what people consider while traveling.
What should a marketer consider for making a user board a flight?
Digitization and experimentation are the key in the current pandemic situation. Below is a quick list of reference points that every marketer should consider for an effective digital strategy:
- Focus on reducing cost and finding sources for quick revenue which helps to drive more conversions: In every crisis Marketers focus on aggressively reducing cost and identify sources of quick revenue. Conversion optimization impacts cost and revenue, higher conversions mean more revenue and bookings. Marketers should now understand a user in the given situation will travel only if it is deemed necessary thus a booking in majority of the cases happens automatically thereby giving the chance to re check on how much they are spending in digital platforms. If the bookings are high customer cost acquisition will reduce resulting in lower clicks and higher booking.
- Understand the user: Conversions are possible only if a user’s fears and concerns are addressed. Avoid advertising generic messages in the consideration funnel. Focus directly on key aspects that a user is concerned about.
- Focus on market research, identify trends and anomalies during audience targeting, focus more on communication, emphasis more on what the airline is doing to address the growing pandemic issues. Personalization and empathetic approach will be key.
- High Velocity decision making: High speed decision making involves taking decisions which could be irreversible or some irreversible decisions quickly and goal oriented. Companies which have the potential to make these decisions will have a competitive advantage.
- “No- Contact” Opportunity: Behavioral changes often lead to innovation. Airlines can now think about touchless and contactless opportunities to innovate and implement automation across booking channels and various touch points of customer journey.
- New group of digital users: In countries where digital penetration is minimal and those industries who depend on offline transactions are seeing a shift to digital infrastructure. This is advantageous as the marketers will now access to fresh and new data which help them come up with more innovative digital strategies.
Quick Stats about current Aviation Industry:
- 52% of airlines have in-house digital teams.
- 51% of airlines claim that there IBE ( booking engine) doesn’t allow automation
- 45% of airlines say digital optimization are recognized at an individual user or department level.
- 45% of airlines say they don’t have budgets for digital optimization and personalization
- Only 43% of airlines use advanced analytics and visualization tools.
At the end, Airlines should be now focusing more on digital experimentation with a high-speed decision-making process with a goal-oriented approach.
