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technologies and in the very competitive environment of, for example, airline travel, the extent
of cost saving has forced the pace of adoption (Liu 2012). For example, Lee et al . (2012) report
that SSTs reduce the cost of check-in from $3.68 per customer to 16 cents and such benefi ts
make SSTs necessary to a successful business model in such a price-competitive market. Despite
the potential savings there are questions as to whether this may be counter-productive if their
use results in negative attitudes towards the provider (Liu 2012).
Other studies suggest that notwithstanding diffi culties such as customer anxiety (Kinard et al .
2009) and failures of service (Forbes 2008), self-service opportunities are attracting more
customers who are becoming familiar with the technologies and fi nd them to be convenient and
time saving (Lee et al . 2012). Organizations are moving to exploit the trend with customized
offerings to remain competitive. Airlines are leading the development of SSTs (Frary 2005) and
are putting considerable effort into reducing the consequences of forced use by developing
additional service offerings including smartphone check-in and the ability to print luggage labels
(Lee et al . 2012). Reinders, Dabholkar and Framback (2008) further recommend that airlines
retain options for customers to choose between modes of interaction, such as retaining some
check-in staff, to minimize the effects of anxiety. This choice of delivery options is considered a
key management strategy in the use of SSTs (Curran and Meuter 2007).
In other areas of travel and tourism, SSTs are prevalent and signifi cant numbers of tourists
now search and book all or some of their travel online (Xiang and Gretzel 2010). Despite earlier
speculation regarding the demise of intermediaries, the complexity of travel information counters
the arguments for disintermediation and there remains a strong presence of service providers,
such as travel agents, who undertake at least part of a consumer's travel arrangements. This very
competitive market allows for new entrants who are quick to establish novel offerings and to
exploit the consumer's willingness to share travel experiences (Stockdale and Borovicka 2006).
The ubiquity and accessibility of social media technologies further support new offerings and
new entrants. For example, a smartphone application that handles travel bookings, itinerary
planning and integrated expenses management for business travellers (www.concur.com). Hotel
chains offer direct booker discounts, passing on a proportion of the commissions saved to the
customer ( The Economist 2002) while budget airlines such as AirAsia operate at very low cost by
using high levels of SSTs (Frary 2005).
In this highly complex market, the potential to be gained from investment in SSTs is
substantial (Gianforte 2003) although it requires organizations to plan and execute initiatives
well. As Forbes (2008) notes, customers will rarely re-purchase after a failure of an SST activity
that may result from such events as out of stock, defective products, incomplete information or,
most often, customer error in the process. Regaining customer trust requires service recovery
procedures, which in Forbes' study were woefully inadequate, equal to a 'Do Nothing' approach.
Such indifference to the plight of the self-service customer translates into very low levels of
loyalty and little repeat custom. Developing strategies for managing customer relationships
within the self-service culture of travel and tourism is therefore both a necessity and a challenge.
Managing customer relationships
The term customer relationship management is used interchangeably with relationship
management in an academic context. The former, with its emphasis on technology-based
solutions, can be described as 'information-enabled relationship marketing' (Ryals and Payne in
Payne and Frow 2005: 167). The term eCRM incorporates marketing activity in the online
environment (Luck and Lancaster 2003) and more recently, social CRM (SCRM) is seen as 'the
business strategy of engaging customers through social media with the goal of building trust and
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