Tech has needed to accelerate to enable customer retention
In what was the first in-person event Webloyalty has been to in over a year, it was an exciting time to visit the Travolution European Summit 2021 and get back to networking in person at the Kia Oval. With the travel industry in particular heavily impacted by COVID-19, 2021 has never been more important to re-evaluate and rebuild the sector.
This year’s conversations have been dominated by how technology will underpin the travel industry’s efforts to build back better and it provided a good opportunity to showcase Webloyalty’s approach to customer loyalty. As part of our initiative to better understand the latest trends in the UK travel market, we were delighted to sponsor this event.
Upon arrival, it was exciting to see the number of reputable brands being represented on stage, including the likes of Thomas Cook, Trip.com, TUI and Expedia. There were a number of intriguing discussions throughout the day, including the latest tech investments, building back consumer trust and connecting the world of travel in a post-pandemic era.
We had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion with Business Development Director, Richard Piper alongside Simon Matthews, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Hotelbeds, Steve Domin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive at Duffel and host of the panel, Lucy England, Partner at Fox Williams. The theme of the discussion was how traditional business models are being challenged, and how the pandemic has seen a decade’s worth of shift to digital take place in the last year. With a more technological environment, business models are changing as a greater range of channels, suppliers and customers are becoming available to target.
Webloyalty’s stance on the topic was to ensure relationships are built with new members coming to your business in order to strengthen their rapport with your brand. With loyalty now more prominent than ever, ensuring you had the right tools in place to reward new and returning customers is a primary focus.
Now, more than ever it is imperative that the travel sector takes an updated view on how to drive loyal behaviour. The average household takes 1 trip a year and yet the majority of programmes on the market are driven by the greatest frequency. At Webloyalty, we believe that engaging and rewarding clients outside of the typical sales communications is one of the key facets that can lead to happier and more loyal customers.
Richard Piper, Business Development Director, Webloyalty
With the event taking part in the day, in the evening Webloyalty hosted an exclusive dinner with select guests from the event, allowing for an opportunity to network further. It was a great evening to allow innovative ideas to develop, deeper discussions to take place and hopefully end the night with a greater outlook on travel, heading into 2022.