Shortly after United Airlines kicked passengers off the plane，The New York Times published an article，Said technology has not helped improve the air travel experience。The author of the article stated，Opposite，Technology only helps airlines improve profit margins and efficiency，But it never brings any tangible value to consumers。

Although whether this view is correct is still open to question，But the United Airlines incident shows that the credibility of airline companies has been damaged，Having an impact on all three major US airlines。It’s time to wake up。United Airlines has woken up，It released an improvement plan including 10 major points。However，To improve，You need to use technology。United Airlines has pledged to reduce overbooking，And create an automatic alarm，Recruiting volunteers to disembark when there are insufficient seats。

However，Things to think about，Technology should only benefit the operations of airline companies，It can still restore the brand’s losses and build a better relationship with consumers？Can it help build customer loyalty？Can technology truly improve the quality of air travel experience？As Chris Nurko, global president of strategy consulting firm Futurebrand, puts it: How we think about technology，Determines how we apply technology。

 "First，Technology is always there。But today’s technology has become a simple term for ‘integrated computer system’。At the same time，Artificial intelligence is increasingly used as a technology to automate tasks。188bet online sports betting This is all wonderful，But for whom is it wonderful？”Nurko believes that technology needs to have the right design，Should be created at a reasonable price、Able to meet consumer needs、A simpler and more real-time efficient product、Service and experience focus。“These are powerful advantages，Not just the function of technology。However，Airlines have not yet had a good idea in this regard，Because technology will disrupt its booking model like never before。Currently，What airline companies do is use ‘technology’ to drive the growth of additional revenue、Sell more content to passengers。Airlines are increasingly charging separate fees for once core product content。”This is a commonplace discussion between the sales department and the marketing department。The two departments should have worked together，But the two sides have completely different ways of thinking。

To wait, but why?

Why technology and innovation cannot be customer-centric？How can travel brands (not just airlines) change their focus？Florida Advertiser Crispin pictured above&Porter’s iconic ad illustrates the difference best。If you don’t know why the customer has specific needs，It is impossible to fully understand whether the product meets customer needs。

Nurko believes the key is to start with what he calls “the voice and needs of the customer or passenger”。He said，Successful companies understand from the beginning that the brand experience and related products and services must be necessary for consumers，To meet specific needs。

Technology designed with the customer in mind，Can bring more choices and flexibility，And can bring repeat customers。“From the customer’s perspective，These are the advantages that brands need to pay attention to。Brands should not focus on the operational advantages that technology will bring to them，But how to provide customer experience and bring ‘value’ to passengers。”Nurko thinks，There are differences between brands in their understanding of consumers，This is why great disruptors rise。These disruptors give consumers direct access to competitive products and services，At the same time, it has achieved popularity，Eliminating the middleman in the process of purchasing and other transactions。

He said，TripAdvisor、Cruise Critic、Yelp!And services such as similar technology platforms have helped brands improve their marketing awareness，And cultivate consumer preferences。“Not just a tourism company，All businesses should view technology as an infrastructure that helps them stay relevant and competitive。Yes，This is done in part to improve financial efficiency，But more often than not, technology is used as a way to improve customer engagement、An effective way to engage and increase brand relevance。”

Great idea, but how to do it?

Jeroen van Erp, founding partner of strategic design agency Fabrique and professor of conceptual design at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, is working with KLM to research hyper-personalized applications of technology。He said that companies have blind worship of algorithms，But don’t really understand the function of the algorithm，Nor do you really understand the data you are dealing 188bet sports betting app download with。What’s more important，Businesses don’t really understand what this data reveals about their customers。

Also，The data collected may also not be specific or relevant enough，Thereby failing to provide value to customers by not answering the “why” question。“The most important thing for a brand is still the relationship。Dialogue is extremely important。But technology distracts businesses from real conversations，This is a pity。The data companies have is not good enough。These data do not reveal someone’s personality，Also did not reveal the root cause of its purchase。”

To point out this disconnect，van Erp shares a study one of his graduate students conducted on Nike products。Basic purchase data does not reveal anything meaningful。But his students conducted repeated verifications to find out the motivation for buying，Asked the right question，I found that a large number of customers who purchased Nike products actually had no intention of running。These customers don’t even like running，I just think wearing Nike shoes looks more handsome。They like the fashion brand Nike，Even if you don’t exercise，Also clearly sees this brand as a true sports brand。

This pursuit of high-end brand identity association is very important for travel brands including airlines。For example: just look at the purchase history of a certain passenger，It may be possible to determine that the passenger often flies economy class on a certain airline，Economy passengers。The airline may introduce promotional fares to this passenger in the future，But one detail was ignored，That is: this passenger flew economy class because his company has strict travel budget rules。However，This passenger has the financial strength to pay for high-fare flights on partner airlines or competitive airlines out of his own pocket，This fare provides luxury class seats or comes with optional destination vacation products。

Let consumers form the behavior of pursuing high-end and brand identity，To have the hyper-personalized brand positioning necessary to satisfy consumers，You must think beyond financial data。“If you really value your brand，We need to seriously explore why people do certain things。This is the only way to keep your brand strong。This is indeed counterintuitive for companies that focus on technology。I think we need to take a look at the system。What airlines really want to improve is the overall satisfaction of passengers。Always ensure that technology is not outdated。When someone can compete with you，You must be strong。”

Erp tells，Apply technology to be smarter、More focused marketing，Plus hyper-personalized 188bet app consumer interaction，This is not just an idea to impress people。It is necessary for brands to operate in a highly competitive market。“Make your brand truly the first choice in consumers’ minds，Cannot let it lose market share。Therefore，Take KLM as an example，It is extremely important to ensure that your passengers have a high overall satisfaction。”At the same time，Since KLM is not a low-cost airline，It must therefore also bring extremely clear added value。“Technology only adds huge value when you can truly tap into consumers’ individual concerns and personalities。For example，When my students work with KLM，Thought of a question，That is whether people have different personality traits。Some people always want to know what they can get in advance；Some people hope for surprises。You feel like someone understands you、Starts a conversation with you that truly entertains you。Therefore，The experience of flying will be more pleasant。”

Who, where, when?

van Erp thinks，Brands should go beyond the immediate、Understand what content may surprise and delight consumers，There must be organizational changes。“If technology is important to your business，If innovation is important，If the transition is important，So for enterprises，It is critical to have a chief innovation officer on the board，To reinforce the importance of innovation。CIO always puts technology first，The CMO’s vision is often short-term。The chief innovation officer is looking at long-term innovation，However, its role within the enterprise is often underestimated。There are a large number of companies that have a column structure。Innovation naturally extends in each column。But companies need one person across all columns to ensure innovation is achieved。”

What to do now?

Rob Sinclair-Barnes, strategic marketing director of the IT group of a travel distribution company, believes that technology as a tool can do many things，The premise is to give a chance。He said，“Technology must enable smarter decisions，But the premise is that all its characteristics must be used。This is a major challenge we face in the industry。We need to use technology in the right way，To make wise decisions。”It’s a cycle: Apply what you learn to action，Focus on customer relationships，You will learn more，This will allow more emphasis on creating and developing customer relationships with improved service and better products。

Sinclair-Barnes thinks，One of the major obstacles in the development of tourism companies (especially airline companies) is the disconnect caused by various sales channels in the system。Travel brands want to cooperate on "188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino data hygiene"，Make sure everyone is sharing information about customers at the most basic level，There is still a lot of work to be done。Travel brands should focus on applying technology around consumers’ “needs hierarchy”，Know “what” technology to use、“Where” technology is adopted、“When” to adopt technology，Also know “why and how to apply technology”。And to get all the answers，You must obtain the consumer’s permission。Brands must build trust with consumers，In order to obtain its permission。

Structured and unstructured data reveal consumer behavior patterns and preferences。These data may be more valuable than simple survey results，Because consumers often don’t know what they want。Have a deeper understanding of consumers，Brands can anticipate consumer needs and meet this need。For example，Unstructured data from social media，There is also a more comprehensive understanding of consumers’ past behavior from sharing data with partners，can reveal the true identity and values ​​of consumers。This is not about passport information，But the true identity，In other words, you need to understand a truth: a consumer who wants to buy Nike shoes will drive to a nearby Nike store，It’s because Nike shoes make him “feel” dynamic。

Get to know everyone among millions of people without using technology，It’s impossible。The amount of information that needs to be processed is huge。We call it “big data” for a reason。But the industry has made progress in this regard。Perform holistic testing of data collected about consumers，Be able to predict what passengers are likely to purchase when flying on an airline they don’t frequently fly or when flying from a non-hub airport，Will purchase VIP lounge access rights，Will still purchase the fast security inspection service。Build trust with consumers，To access its GPS positioning information and other data，Enables consumers to more conveniently purchase ground transportation services that meet their preferences with one click。Airlines can share the information they learn about customer preferences with employees，Thus enhancing employees’ business capabilities。At the same time，With the trust and permission of customers，Airlines can also share this information with network partners，To improve the service quality of cooperation between the two parties。

Yes，Technology can improve business quality while meeting customer needs。No matter how much information you collect about consumers，If you cannot deliver on the core services you demonstrated，It will be difficult to satisfy customers，It’s also hard to build 188bet app trust。Efficiently resuming disrupted flights is as important as selling add-ons，And it can also make passengers smile with satisfaction。Artificial intelligence can make brand interactions more constructive、More timely、More relevant。Robots cannot yet replace human services，But it can help improve the quality of manual services。Airlines have only just begun to get involved in this field。Sinclair-Barnes thinks，Technology must ultimately meet the needs of consumers。“There are a large number of airlines in the process of evolution。These airlines have closer cooperation with each other，Driving the evolution of technology as one brand。We are already seeing changes。Investment is an element。Must invest in the right technology，Only in order to obtain appropriate returns。”

However，Let technology serve consumers，It’s not just about throwing money at technology。Nurko and van Erp pointed out: We must also devote ourselves to technology。The brand must have an ultimate goal，Create stronger brand customer relationships through application of technology，It’s a long journey，But the point is to start the journey。Now is the time。

*Source of this article: WeChat public account "Travel Skygds" (ID: travelskygds)，Author: Sun Zongxun，Original title: "Technology can improve brand awareness，But did you use it correctly？》

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