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As 2012 shapes up to be a competitive year for companies in the travel industry, Collinson Latitude, a global provider of incremental revenue products, is calling on airlines and hotels to reignite their loyalty programmes to reflect changes in consumer behaviour.
Collinson Latitude director Janet Titterton says: “The travel market remains hugely competitive, and customers are demanding the highest standards, so companies need to be innovative and ensure their loyalty programmes engage customers and offer relevant, personalised rewards which excite them. Companies whose reward programmes do not offer tangible value for money will be left behind by their competitors.”
Titterton says: “While superior customer service will always be vital for the travel industry, to really engage consumers and grow market share, companies need to ensure their loyalty programmes offer customers rewards which reflect their interests and needs on an individual basis. Offering discounted flights and hotel rooms is all well and good, but attractive reward offerings are a more sustainable route to maintaining, or even increasing, market share.”
Titterton continues: “Collinson Latitude is today launching the second stage of our ‘Ignite’ campaign, latitudeignite.com, to advise travel organisations how to develop a customer base which is active, loyal and profitable. In many cases, traditional reward programmes have been expensive to launch and maintain, so travel companies are now looking for the kind of flexible, sustainable and cost-effective alternatives we can provide.”
Titterton recognises that one regular issue faced by companies is the gulf between customers accruing and spending their reward points. She says: “Often, companies set reward targets so high they deter customers from joining their loyalty programmes or frustrate them when they try to accumulate enough currency to redeem. We recommend offering customers the option of redeeming their currency on everyday, lower-cost, third-party rewards, far removed from the airline or hotel’s own business. One only need look at how retailers successfully target customers with products and offers that are based on customers’ previous behaviour and preference indicators to see the potential of personalised reward offerings. The travel industry needs to develop loyalty programmes which reflect and respond to the increasing demands of their customers.”
Collinson Latitude’s multi-channel products provide flexible programme design, offer leading e-commerce functionality and can be seamlessly integrated into existing airline or hotel loyalty programmes.
RewardAll is a merchant-funded global rewards programme, which maximises points-earning opportunities through hundreds of trusted global brands when members do their day-to-day shopping online. Members are then able to spend their loyalty currency on a broad range of products and services from trusted brands through iRedeem, an online redemption product which offers both travel and non-travel inventory and provides members with the option to use points and cash to redeem.
Collinson Latitude is part of The Collinson Group, the company behind ICLP, the worldwide leader in loyalty. Together, Collinson Latitude and ICLP offer a unique solution of innovative market-tested products supported by full-service loyalty marketing expertise.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
