Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Conclusions
In the current environment of the travel and tourism industry a major challenge for organizations
is to retain customers by building effective relationship strategies while developing cost effective
self-service offerings. The apparent contradiction of encouraging autonomy of action while
building close one-on-one relationships can be resolved by using information technology tools
to meet customer demands and create loyalty to the organization.
The use of SSTs benefi ts organizations in terms of cost savings and in drawing the customer
into a proactive or co-production role that empowers the customer and encourages relationship
development. By developing SSTs that are easily accessible and appropriate to consumer
readiness, travel and tourism organizations encourage the creation of loyalty and status to
reinforce the mutual commitment between organization and customer. In further considering
relationship management constructs organizations can enhance the use of SSTs and underpin
the involvement of consumers, thereby creating loyalty and enhancing the role of the self-service
offerings. This has the dual benefi t of increasing loyalty ties with customers and gaining
cost savings from increased use of the SSTs. The provision of a framework as a starting point
for improving the management of customer relationship in a self-service environment may
contribute towards alleviating the 'small number of adopters, the limitations of usage and the
perceived lack of benefi ts' (Liljander et al . 2006: 187) currently prevalent in SSTs in the travel and
tourism industry.
The contribution of this research for practitioners is the reconciliation of the seemingly
contradictory aspects of encouraging independence in customers through self-service offerings
while promoting the call for effective customer relationship management. The implications for
practice lie in the identifi cation of the constructs relating to building customer relationship
strategies that embrace the SST environment, while also deriving the benefi ts of SST use. The
framework further contributes a view of how managing contributions to the customer result in
reciprocation of loyalty, friendship and trust to the organization.
From a research perspective making the link between self-service technologies and customer
relationships opens up several avenues for further research. The co-production role of customers
is a fruitful area for continuing research, particularly in the development of SSTs. While
co-production is largely seen as a positive move, there is little research into how it can be
effectively managed in traditional travel industry organizations, beyond the customer-orientated
sites such as TripAdvisor. Additionally, as the trend for self-service in the travel sector increases
there is a need for greater insights into customer requirements such as the essential touch
points of personal service as opposed to areas that can be serviced by SSTs. The fast moving
developments in social media technologies also bring research opportunities. For example,
how can customer relationships be enhanced by the use of social media and how can the very
immediate and personal demands arising from use of these technologies be met by SSTs? Finally,
customer relationship management requires analysis of customer data. The wealth of data that
can be accumulated from SST interactions brings problems of how to use such data effectively.
Research into data management in the travel sector is required to meet the not inconsiderable
challenges of the current age of big data.
References
Albert, T.C., Goes, P.B. and Gupta, A. (2004) 'GIST: A model for design and management of content and
interactivity of customer-centric web sites', MIS Quarterly , 28(2): 161-82.
Bos, H. (2004) Tourism Trends for Europe. Brussels: European Travel Commission.
Buhalis, D. and Licata, M.C. (2002) 'The future eTourism intermediaries', Tourism Management , 23: 207-20.
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