When today’s connected consumers interact with a travel brand, they expect a real-time omni-channel dialogue. As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to redefine the travel ecosystem, travel providers are leveraging it to deliver hyper-personalized experiences. For example, in a year’s time, two-fifths of airports plan to use beacons to make their baggage-handling processes hassle-free. These beacons will help travelers track their luggage in real-time at airports. Taking a cue, luggage companies are already investing in designing ‘smart’ luggage equipped with sensors.
This ‘smartening’ of travel is another clear indication of the travel industry’s intent to offer what the travelers are demanding — on-the-go access to information across multiple channels to reduce travel pain points. This is where the ubiquitous contact centers — often the consumers’ first touch point — have a crucial role to play. Contact centers have always been at the heart of consumer experience, and IoT is enabling them to enhance the experience seamlessly across multiple channels. Let’s take a look at how IoT will rewire contact centers into lean and efficient experience centers.
Improved preparedness to resolve issues:
Connected devices that can access data in real-time will enable contact centers to build a repository of customer history and map their preferences. These insights will enhance the preparedness of contact center agents to deal with issues and offer speedy solutions.
Anticipate potential problems: A connected contact center has access to a rich reserve of data that can be used to automatically track potential problems. A missing bag at the airport or a delayed flight, for example. Using these real-time alerts, the contact center can proactively address issues.
Deliver a seamless brand experience: Consumers will be able to interact with the brand on-the-go through a channel of their choice. As contact centers build a robust omni-channel presence, consumers will get to experience the brand consistently.
Retain an expert human touch: Not all issues can be resolved without human intervention. Contact center agents can step in to solve more complex, nuanced issues. The agents can access analytics-driven insights to offer faster, specialized resolutions for these issues.
IoT is no longer a future trend. It is fast becoming a catalyst of irreversible change that is redefining our realities.It presents a compelling opportunity for travel contact centers to deliver seamless customer experience across channels. It is about time the travel industry makes IoT an integral part of the strategy to improve customer experience. The contact center can be a good starting point for this forward-looking endeavor.
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