3.2 Internet features and its e-CRM benefits
As an information-intensive industry, e-marketing seems to be
the ideal partner of the sector growth. Considering that the Internet is the
most effective and efficient means in information exchange worldwide, it
facilitates the promotion and distribution of tourist products. It even enables
tourism destinations and enterprises to compete on a level playing field. The
generation, gathering, processing, application and communication of information
is essential in the daily operations of the industry which holds together the
different producers within the travel industry (e.g airlines, tour operators,
travel agencies, attractions, car rental, cruise lines).
In addition, the balancing between the tourism supply and
demand is a key issue as tourism products are perishable and tourist demand
often erratic. As a result, tourism became one of the first industries to apply
IT and conduct electronic commerce from the early 1960s with computerised
reservation systems (CRs) and global distribution System (GDSs).
A web based GDS is able to increase the speed of information
transmission. It can improve the quality of information delivery, reduce the
cost to the user who do not need special connections, and has the potential to
interact with e-customers worldwide. That is the reason why most of the GDS
companies launched web-based systems which are transforming the tourism
distribution features. For instance, Amadeus launched Amadeus Pro Web in
January 2000. The Amadeus Pro Web provides a browser-based reservation tool
which allows travel agents to serve customers worldwide without a dedicated
communications line. This system greatly reduce the cost.
In order to explain why Internet is such a valuable tool for the
tourism sector, we are going to deal with its most interesting features from a
the e-customer relationship management perspective.
3.2.1 Interactivity : the proactive e-consumer
Interactivity must be considered as one of the most distinctive
and important feature of Internet. In fact, Internet allows to respond to user
inputs, whereas communication media do not allow this interactivity.
Websites offer the opportunity to get some feedback
in response to the actions performed by the e-customers. This can be
considered as a two-way dialogue form which is an essential
component of relationship marketing. It also helps to build customer
loyalty.
3 The EITO is the European Information Technology Observatory
From the customer point of view, e-customers can find the
relevant product informations and conduct transactions. From the companies
point of view, it allows to clarify their clients needs and to inform
them of the launching of new products.
In opposition to traditional communication channels such as
newspapers or television, the e-customer becomes an active participant.
As a matter of fact, the e-customer can choose and process the
information he needs. We can say that this interactivity corresponds to the
«desire marketing» approach as the e-customer gets only what
he really wants and needs.
As an interactive media, Internet provides competitive
intelligence, partnering and co-operation with other firms which often
intends to improve the supply-channel and distribution-channel
relationships.
With regard to the consumer to consumer communication, we must
examine the marketing impact of the virtual communities. This virtual
communities have implications on segmentation and customer service. The virtual
communities allow exchange of information or experiences among customers.
Consequently, companies are enabled to get a better understanding of its
consumers behaviour.
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