The Forrester Blog For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Twitter and Online Customer Service: Are Your Ears Burning?

Diane Clarkson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:00:36 -0400

A recent analysis by PR firm Burson-Marsteller and Proof Digital Media found that more than half of Fortune 100 companies are using Twitter with two thirds of these companies using Twitter for some kind of customer service function.

In other customer service channels, companies pick up the telephone or open an email to hear about customers' issues. Customer service on Twitter is not simply about responding. Think of Twitter as a conversation. You may be a participant in that conversation with a direct message and the expectation of a response. Or you may be the topic of a conversation if your customers are tweeting their complaints to warn others or vent their frustrations. You will only hear this conversation if you are listening. Twitter gives you the opportunity to shift from being the topic to a participant. If you respond well, you can convert a frustrated customer into a happy one while salvaging your reputation amongst their listeners.

Recently, blogger Heather Armstrong was frustrated with the service she’d received (or not received) from Maytag and, without satisfaction in other customer service channels, took to Twitter to vent. Her complaints about the company reached her one million followers. The next morning, she was contacted by someone from Whirlpool, Maytag’s parent company, who resolved the problem. Ms Armstrong tweeted her satisfaction.

Granted, Ms Armstrong is not your average customer. In August 2009, she was featured on Forbes list of the Most Influential Women in Media. This incident has sparked debate over whether or not a media personality should their celebrity to complain about customer service. eBusiness professionals should consider this debate as less important than whether or not they are listening to Twitter to know what people – anyone – are saying about their brands.

There are many potential eBusiness benefits to Twitter and I wrote about this in May 2009 in a report called “How Twitter Can Influence eBusiness”. I will be publishing a report next month looking at Twitter and online customer service.

I believe more and more people will reach out to Twitter for customer service over the coming year. That growth will bring expectations for instantaneous and personal response. Meeting these high expectations will have implications across many business areas including staffing and training, operational structure, CRM and knowledge base management.

If you are attending Forrester’s Consumer Forum in Chicago on October 26 -27, I will be presenting on “How Twitter Can Influence eBusiness: Assessing the Twitter Opportunity” and hope to see you there.

You can follow me on twitter.com/diane_clarkson

Introducing my new coverage area: eCommerce & Online Customer Service

Diane Clarkson — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:56:29 -0400

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

These are certainly challenging economic times and online customer service has never been more important to achieving eBusiness goals.

I’m very excited to announce that I will be taking on a new coverage area on the eBusiness and Channel strategy team and will now be focusing my research on Online Customer Service.

My first three reports have recently been published: “Financial Web Sites Need Customer Service Help”, “Travel Website Customer Service is Far From Perfect”, and “Online Retail Customer Service Availability Needs Some Improvement”.

I’ll be presenting a teleconference on “Improving Online Customer Service Availability By Strengthening the Basics: A Review Of Financial, Travel, And Retail Web Sites’ on Thursday, August 27, 2009 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Eastern time. I’ll present the findings of Forrester's evaluation of online customer service availability on 90 leading eBusiness Web sites across the financial services, travel, and retail industries. You can register for this teleconference by clicking here.

In the coming months, I will be looking at how online customer service can drive eBusiness, including:
– Understanding consumer preferences
– Developing online customer service strategies
– Best practices for deploying self-service, email, IM Chat, Click to Call
– Social media as online self-service, including Twitter, online communities
– Benchmarking online customer service availability and effectiveness

I look forward to delving deeper into these topics and invite your feedback on current and suggestions for upcoming research.

Travel Email Customer Service Leaves Much To Be Desired

Diane Clarkson — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:40:00 -0400

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

When I speak with travel eBusiness professionals, it is clear that they value their customers and want this to be reflected throughout their online research to their travel experience.

Why then do travelers overwhelmingly feel that travel companies are failing to make them feel valued? Only 29% of online travelers believe travel companies are making strong efforts to make them feel valued.

I’ve wondered if there is simply a disconnection – that the best efforts of a dedicated marketing team can be thwarted by a weather delay, bad traffic, or a grumpy desk clerk.

We will be publishing a report shortly on making travelers feel valued. In the course of researching this report, I’ve paid a lot of attention to the how travel companies communicate. There is an old expression that the “devil is in the details”. I disagree. Sometimes the big picture is the accumulation of details.

I undertook a Web track in the course of researching this upcoming report to look at how travel companies respond to a basic customer service question. The results were disappointing. I was almost always thanked for writing and frequently told that I was a valued customer. But these warm comments were undone by:

- Auto-acknowledgements - when I received one - rarely addressed me by name.
- Long response times. The assurances of my value were undermined by advice that I wouldn’t receive an answer for several days – in one case, 7 – 14 business days.
- Irrelevant replies. I was asked to explain why I wanted to know, given completely unrelated information and, in one case, it appears the person replying cut and paste the answer and inadvertently included the beginning of the salutation from another correspondence.
- Nameless replies. Some emails were sent by nameless people. One, curiously, had the typed signature of the CEO which was probably well-intentioned but disingenuous.
- Self-interest. My emailed comment was not a request to be included on promotion lists and defaulting the permission to “yes” felt pushy.
- No reply whatsoever. Three days after my initial email, I am still awaiting a reply from one third of the travel companies I contacted.

These may seem like small issues. But they are important. Travelers’ willingness to overlook disappointment is only as deep as the goodwill previously banked. For some of the companies that I contacted, my goodwill bank is empty.

My report will be published shortly. Hopefully I’ll have received a reply to all of my customer service inquiries by then.

Observations after the Microsoft Travel Marketing Summit

Diane Clarkson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:16:47 -0400

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

On June 10 - 12, I had the opportunity to attend the Microsoft Travel Marketing Summit along with 40 marketing executives from across the travel industry. It was a summit in the best sense of the word: a forum of open and frank conversation about the challenges and opportunities within the travel industry today.

Here are a few points raised in conversations and panels that I thought were particularly interesting:

Travel marketers understand the importance of social media to travelers. At the same time, the appropriate strategy can be elusive. Travel marketers are wary that for every success story, there are untold stories of social marketing efforts that didn't hit the mark. I have often written that now is the time to experiment and found it interesting that several companies reported their experimentation led to growing pains in understanding where social media sits internally: PR, marketing, operations. Many marketers reported their early social media efforts have led to internal joint ownership and collaboration processes grounded in legal and compliance guidelines.

The question of brand versus performance advertising attracted many lively conversations. As John Peebles from Avis observed, to a large extent it is up to the customer if an ad is brand or response advertising. Attribution continues to be a challenge, further complicated by the influence of social media. I encourage our travel clients to read "Redefining Attribution in a Social Computing Era" by my colleague Emily Riley.

Loyalty remains front of mind among travel marketers. As Forrester has reported, there has been a 19% decline in brand loyal travelers between 2006 and 2008. Loyalty programs are
ubiquitous. Travelers belong to multiple programs and reset the playing field every time points are redeemed. Premier customer service will be an increasingly important component to a successful loyalty strategy.

Marketers echoed the findings we've had a Forrester: some people are not traveling and those who are are spending less. But there was no hand-wringing at last week's Summit. But there are opportunities; most simply, to do things better. As Randy Wooten of Micorsoft stated in his presentation, an economic meltdown is a terrible thing to waste.

Travel Stats Should Jolt Any Complacency

Diane Clarkson — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:51:34 -0500

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

I was speaking with a friend today about the state of the economy and its impact on travel. This friend is a survivor of the travel industry’s catalog of crisis over recent years: 9/11, SARS, airline bankruptcies, soaring fuel costs. His view was that the travel industry has become complacent in its approach to crisis.

It’s true that one of the oft-repeated refrains I hear is “people still want to travel”. Several statistics announced last week render this hope like clinging to an untethered life ring.

According to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, 71% of its member companies now plan to spend less on travel this year than in 2008. This is twice as many U.S. companies as they previously expected.

Convention travel is suffering from a rash of cancellation caused by diminishing budgets and the so-called “AIG effect”.

Demand for international flights – the most profitable product for airlines – is falling. ITA reports U.S. international air travel was down 5% in November 2008 compared to November 2007. According to USA Today, there will be 5.3% fewer international flights in March 2009 compared to last year.

Inbound tourism is facing challenges. According to the ITA, total international visitation in November 2008 was down 9% compared to November 2007.

All of this is happening despite the belief that “people still want to travel”. The issue is not desire. The issue is that an alarming number of people cannot afford to travel.

So I will offer a couple of short thoughts on an immense topic.

Travel companies must be developing scenarios for the next couple of years based on bad, worse and disastrous possibilities.

As we wrote about at the end of last year in a report called “Travel Advertising in a Slowing Economy”, travel advertisers are becoming less brand-driven and more direct-response focused. These marketers must address how this strategy will affect brand equity and the cost of recapturing it against the above scenarios.

I don’t believe the travel industry is complacent. Most travel professionals that I know are strategic, realistic and very concerned. Those who were optimistic may be a bit less so this week.

The Current US Economy and Opportunities for Canada Tourism

Diane Clarkson — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:48:03 -0500

[Posted by Diane Clarkson]

I had the opportunity to attend Canada e-Connect last week in Toronto. This is Canada's e-Tourism Strategy Conference presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Mobile marketing and social media were two of the most popular topics both on the agenda and in conversations among delegates.

Certainly the most repeated conversation I had was about how the economic environment in the US will impact Canadian tourism. Beneath gloomy economy clouds, there may be some optimism for Canadian tourism with the possibility of Americans heading above the 49th parallel to seek the beauty of the Great White North and its' favourable exchange rate.

American travelers will not, however, be a "if you build it, they will come" situation. Canadian destination marketing organizations should consider the following to attract American travelers:

1. We found last year that 15% of US travelers began their online research without a clear destination in mind. To reach these undecided travelers, travel marketers should incorporate lifestyle segments (i.e. family, gay and lesbian) as well as activities (i.e. skiing, theater) into search marketing and optimization strategies.

2. Mapping and destination content should be developed with the personas of online travel researchers who have are familiar with the area as well as those with no knowledge of the area's geography.

3. Photographs are extremely inspirational and should appeal to lifestyle segments (i.e. include seniors, families, etc) and travel planning cycles. Specifically, photo selection should reflect that travelers plan ahead: photographs of snow today will not inspire people dreaming of sun in a few months.

4. Microsites aimed directly at American travelers will allow targeted content that can include topics such as driving distance from US cities, visa and border information, etc.

One theme from Canada e-Connect is certain: the Internet has never been a more important channel to the tourism industry on both sides of the border.

Air Canada's Holiday Baggage Policies Show Some Consideration

Forrester Admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:07:42 -0500

Home for the holidays. It has a melodic ring to it, but the idea of lost baggage can be wincing.

Air Canada has announced some customer service initiatives around baggage that are truly responsive to travelers needs.

Workers in Alberta's oil region have been carrying their tools home to Newfoundland, and then flying them back to Alberta. Air Canada has partnered with some companies to provide storage for these tools. This saves the travelers the inconvenience while freeing up cargo space. Win win.

Employees travelling during the holidays will have their bags placed on lower handling priority than paying passengers. (I appreciate this as several of the premium seats on my Thanksgiving flight were filled by airline staff, which did nothing to enhance my impression of the carrier — if, for nothing else, because they didn�t bother to tell employees not to wear their uniforms. But that is another rant)

If Air Canada bags do not arrive, passengers can park for free in short term parking to retrieve their bags. This may seem small, but it is like lemon juice in a papercut to have to hand over dollars to pick up something that should have left the airport with you the first time.

There is a lot of talk about improving airlines brand favourability, providing responsive service, and demonstrating customer care. It was only a decade ago that Air Canada's baggage service was so deplorable that the CEO took out a full page newspaper ad apologizing. My, how times have changed. US carriers — look north.

Will Travel For Turkey

Forrester Admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:59:06 -0500

For the first time in more than five years, fewer Americans will be traveling this holiday - 41 million, down 600,000 from last Thanksgiving, according to the Automobile Association of America.

According to the AAA, 4.54 million people are expected to fly during the long holiday weekend, which is down 7.2 percent less than the 4.89 million who did the same last year.

The economy is largely attributed to this slowdown, with relatively higher airfares along with fees and surcharges.

While there is a lot of focus on the media, I think another deterrent is simply that it is unpleasant to travel by air with frustrated passengers lending an air of hostility to jam-packed, food-less, possibly-delayed flights.

I shouldn't sound negative. Because I am, after all, prepared to travel for turkey.

Whether you're hitting the road, rails, air or simply walking into your dining room, have a very happy Thanksgiving.

Cheap + travel. Search.

Forrester Admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:08:44 -0500

In a report we published last month called "Traveler Behavior in a Slowing Economy", we discussed how the current economic environment is forcing travelers to reduce their travel frequency and spending.

We found that 33% of people who took a leisure trip in the summer say they will be more price sensitive than usual in their travel plans. Considering this is already an intensely price sensitive group with the average person researching 3 websites per product, More Price Sensitive is an important shift. In addition, 28% say they will research their travel even more intensely than they have before.

There are two trends whose implications I've been thinking about.

Last year, we�d seen an increase in branded search terms. I suspect going forward, words like "cheap", "discount" and "deal" will creep back into top searches.

I also think we're going to see travelers start researching earlier. That doesn't mean they will purchase earlier. But they will be scanning, researching more intensely, and aware to pricing options to their desired destinations.

The combination of these two behavioral shifts could have a profound affect on all areas of online travel marketing. Search marketers will need to analyze their SEM robustly to determine if, in fact, they are affected by an increase in generic search terms. Promotions may need to start earlier and last longer. Website features will need to support longer planning windows.

The list will go on. "new economic reality" + "travel marketing". Search.

Online travel agencies, the economy and Velveeta

Forrester Admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:26:04 -0500

To say Q3 was a tough one for online travel agencies would be an understatement. Expedia and Priceline shares lost more than 50 percent each since the beginning of the third quarter, while Orbitz is down 40 percent in that period.

During Q3, it became abundantly clear that the economic slowdown was driving a serious contraction in demand.

At that time, there was an opportunity to come forward with a fresh and responsive marketing message to acknowledge the new financial reality.

Look to retail. Target has a stylish and amusing television campaign based on their "Brand new day" theme that shows how their products can help people save money as a substitute for activities they are likely to give up due to cost (i.e. a coffee maker instead of going to a coffee shop, an exercise ball to replace gym fees). Walmart has a more direct savings-focused television ad demonstrating that replacing cereal for take-out breakfast can save $900 per year.

Economy-relevant advertising in not restricted to retailers. For example, Velveeta cheese has addressed its customers' new economic reality with a television ad showing a woman sawing groceries in half to save money but keeping a full block of Velveeta in her cart, along with a web promotion based on Velveeta helping consumers stretch their dinner budgets.

Over the last few months, online travel agencies have taken a different tack. Most didn't change their destination marketing strategies to focus on more affordable locations, offer shorter vacation packages or alternative accommodation. Fare alerts remained largely buried. Social media wasn't leveraged. Instead, there were co-promotions: the last installment of the Raiders of the Lost Ark series and The Amazing Race occupied key homepage real estate for Expedia and Travelocity. More recently, Orbitz has partnered with the latest James Bond movie, focusing on Vienna, Tuscany and Brazil. Not that these aren't creative joint promotions. They would have been great brand awareness campaigns in 2007. But this is 2008 and the world is very different.

Vouchers for future travel when savings are required now or discounts on luxury hotels are ignoring the elephant in the room. Suppliers or other marketers offering joint promotion in exchange for travel agency homepage exposure can be a major distraction from what travelers what to hear:

I understand that you want to travel and that you need to save money. I will help you.