Developing Multi-Channel Customer Relationship Management Strategy for Hotel Operation
World Research Summit for Tourism and Hospitality and 1st USA-China Tourism Research
Dec 15-19, 2015, UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract
Travellers are becoming more price sensitive, less brand loyal and more sophisticated in their hotel choices. The use of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, has becomes a strategic necessity for attracting and increasing guest patronage. For the current case-study, a multi-channel CRM system has been used in order to examine its effectiveness on guests’ relations of Iliada Beach Hotel (IBH) in Cyprus. In examining the effectiveness of this multi-channel CRM strategy for IBH, data was collected from various resources in order to: (1) profile the existing customer and clarify which market segment should be targeted, (2) proceed with an environmental and competitor analysis, (3) process collected data to identify significant patterns of data as they pertain to particular customers or customer groups, (4) understand unique value propositions of the company in relation to guests’ expectations, (5) develop creative marketing communications and assess their return on investment, (6) determine organizational effectiveness to adapt and innovate according to guests’ preference. It was found that an effective CRM system could give staff more decision-making power and correct decisions, helping them to anticipate customer needs more quickly and accurately. Therefore, data integrity should be secured, as reliable input is essential and ongoing monitoring and training is needed to ensure that data entry standards remain high and accurate. Also an integrated plan is needed to get feedback from all parts of the organization on how employees interact with guests and map out all guest touch-points and re-evaluate key processes in light of improving the guest experience. The critical success factor, however, is the optimally use of data to enhance return on investment (ROI), as knowing the customers’ needs can help pinpoint communications more accurately, improving the marketing effectiveness on ROI. Furthermore, a customer-centric organization could be developed ensuring that no matter where, when or how a customer interacts with the company, the contact is personalized, consistent and demonstrates that the company knows and values the customer.
KEY WORDS: Hotel business, Multi-Channel CRM Strategy, Tourism
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