My Take:
Orbitz Just Knows Better
Gary Lemke, Chief Customer Advocate
(June 26, 2012)
Share
This just in: Orbitz finds Mac users spend more a night on hotels than PC users so the online travel agency shows different, and sometimes costlier, travel options. As a front page article in today's Wall Street Journal there will be buzz. OK, by the time you read this, there already is buzz including new conversations about customer privacy, profiling, analytics, fairness, etc.
We will hear outrage, applause, and everything in between. However there really isn't much new news here when you look at what the online travel service has learned and what they are doing with the knowledge.
First, this is not about some supercomputer in the backroom crunching terabytes in order to spit out an epiphany. Orbitz already had the intuition that Mac users spent more than PC users. The data merely confirmed the intuition.
Second, the way Orbitz presents hotel options is no different than old-fashion retailing. For instance, someone visiting a jewelry store might be directed toward the higher-end watches if he is wearing a coat and tie.
In the end, Mac users were already booking more expensive hotels than PC users. All Orbitz is doing is making it easier for a segment of their customers to get what they came for.
Insight into Topics Driving Customer Satisfaction Scores ResponseTek announced the release of Buzz Tracker, its new real-time text analytics module. The ResponseTek Listening Platform is able to translate every customer comment from all channels into business metrics, allowing immediate interpretation of satisfaction and loyalty drivers as a standard capability. . . .read more >>
Mobile Marketing Outperforms Traditional Marketing Initiatives Mobile marketing is a smart investment, delivering higher return-on-investment (ROI) than traditional marketing programs, according to recent research findings. SoundBite Communications commissioned Luth Research to explore trends, issues and the future direction of mobile marketing. Luth surveyed key marketing executives at companies ranging from $100 million to $1 billion+ in annual revenue across retail, consumer package goods, travel and hospitality, media and financial services industries. When asked about mobile marketing ROI compared to traditional initiatives, 52 percent of mobile marketers stated mobile returns were higher while only 15 percent stated their returns as lower. For those reporting results, the average ROI was 32 percent. . . .read more >>
Are Your Customers Using Social Media To Warn Others Thinking of your experiences as a buyer, Kristin Zhivago bets there are lots of times you’ve decided not to buy a product because reviewer comments scared you off. Customers are talking to each other, revealing the ugly truth about products, and sellers are nowhere to be found – either to help, set the record straight, or fix their crummy products. Looking at your role as a seller, have you set up an RSS feed for all the places where your product is showing up and being reviewed? Is there anyone in your company dedicated to responding properly to those reviews? . . .read more >>
Contact Center Survey Reveals Exposure to Non-Compliance Risk Noble Systems announced the results of its latest survey of more than 400 North American contact center operations, revealing that almost 40 percent of respondents have yet to implement a process or engage a partner dedicated to helping them remain compliant with State and Federal regulations that govern customer contact activities. . . .read more >>
