Voice of the Skies: Gathering Airline Traveler Feedback
In addition to understanding the factors that mold customer satisfaction, airlines must devise multiple ways to channel the voice of the customer. It must capture feedback and act upon it to improve the overall user experience over the long term. Touchpoints can prevail before the flight, in-flight and after the flight. An easy and obvious way is to request feedback from travelers and make it easy for them to share their views by providing intuitive options like radio buttons or smiley faces. For example, Alaska Airlines has an always-on CSAT survey on its website and uses various channels to administer customer satisfaction surveys1. Airlines can also leverage gamification to incentivize traveler feedback. This could involve a simple one-click registration or sign-in process, where travelers earn miles or points for completing a brief feedback survey, making the experience interactive and rewarding.
However, it is also necessary to conduct periodic surveys to get a more detailed understanding of customer expectations and experiences. In addition, airlines can consider in-person conversations with the cabin crew on travelers' overall experience, especially on long-haul flights. The cabin crew can interview select travelers and record their feedback in the CRM system.
With the collective customer feedback data, analyzing and identifying productive sectors or routes that generate revenue or repeat customers is possible. Next, the data can be an excellent source for sending personalized messages and rewards when frequent flyers reach certain milestones, improving customer communication. They can also enhance customer loyalty when used to create moments that matter, such as preferred meal availability and seat allocation. To make a greater impact, airlines must inform customers how their feedback has been considered and acted upon.
As customer experience gains more emphasis, technology can be the catalyst that airlines seek to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
