As more business travelers move online, corporate travel managers and their travel management company partners are seizing on the opportunity to develop sophisticated, Web-based customer service portals that can reach out to end users and gain greater reporting capabilities in the process.
Part of the resurgence of interest in these technologies, which have existed for years, may be the travel manager's need to prove the value of a managed program in an increasingly fragmented corporate travel environment, said Bob Lichtman, partner in the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Corporate Solutions Group.
"A lot of the interest has to do with trying to build adoption with online booking tools and also trying to make certain that the travel programs they have are at the highest levels of customer service," Lichtman said. "Also, trying to keep travel purchasing within the scheme as directed by the travel manager versus having them go outside and diluting the program. Travel managers will do anything to keep the travel purchases going through the system."
Lichtman said travel managers are finding innovative ways to reach travelers with information that may enhance the user experience. "One of my companies has a link to some static airfares, so travelers have a baseline to look at. These technologies have gone through a lot of maturation over the years."
Following in the footsteps of such organizations as Siemens' Shared Services Division—which four years ago launched a proprietary tool to manage the flow of service inquiries that the company's eight preferred suppliers can access for review
(BTN, April 18)—Intel's corporate travel division has realized the edge such technology provides through enhanced data aggregation.
"We have a customer relationship management solution that we're working on right now," said Sy Price, global corporate travel manager for Intel. "It's intended to deliver a global technology solution that enhances some of our online resources and allows us to improve some customer relationship management techniques by improving upon some more self-service models, phone support and chat support for Intel travelers."
The Intel team is overhauling the portal's Web content and implementing an internal tool to track incoming customer questions and complaints and better understand traveler needs. Through that technology, reporting can determine things like most frequently asked questions or common online booking concerns which, ideally, can be addressed with the appropriate solutions.
Travel management companies and technology providers also are working to enhance existing customer relationship management technologies and develop new ways of connecting with the end user. WorldTravel BTI's traveler portal, which is licensed by 75 users—including a handful of companies that do not employ the TMC's other services—is constantly under development, said WorldTravel BTI president Danny Hood.
"There are constant enhancements and releases since the traveler portal was released in 2001. More features, more data, more tools, more aggregation of data heading toward real time," he said. "The traveler actually can get everything they need on the portal. We keep the content fresh with real-time access to air traffic control, driving directions and mapping." Despite growing interest in real-time chat functions to address customer inquiries, Hood said, "We've found IChat isn't really as effective as e-mail or telephone communication." Hood said through WorldTravel's Centris Console—CRM technology accessible through a company's traveler portal—companies can give suppliers access to the same customer-service data visible to travel managers. Now, however, "Travel managers can grant access, but with firewall and security issues, they'd rather be the go-between."
Alexandria, Va.-based online booking provider Outtask Inc. recently announced a partnership with on-demand support provider Parature to enhance customer service through a robust corporate travel portal. Outtask, which previously resolved support issues and inquiries through online chat, e-mails and phone calls, now offers users Web-based, personalized information, including status and history of open service tickets and new product information on a 24/7 basis. "What tying everything together from a customer interaction perspective. Anyone can go in and take a look at what's actually going on. If I open up a ticket, not only do I get an e-mail confirming that a ticket's been opened and its status, I also get an e-mail confirming the closing of the ticket," said Outtask chief marketing officer Ross Atkinson. "It's automatic, closed-loop, customer service."