For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Twitter As A Customer Service Channel

by Diane Clarkson, October 14, 2009

Twitter has the potential to change its users' expectations for customer service and how companies interact with these customers. Twitter's instantaneous and personal dialogue is proving to be a valuable social engagement tool for many brands. If customers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Improve Searchable Self-Service Online

eBusiness Professionals Must Focus On Site Search And FAQs To Deflect Call Center Calls

by Diane Clarkson, September 11, 2009

Searchable self-service and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are among the most commonly accessed customer service touchpoints, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Poor performance plaguing searchable self-service and FAQs surfaced in a recent . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Make Travel Customers Feel Valued Online

by Diane Clarkson, August 19, 2009

Making leisure travelers feel valued is more than a "warm and fuzzy" objective. There are significant business benefits to making leisure travelers feel valued — namely, these travelers are more likely to be loyal brand advocates. However, most travel . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Retail Customer Service Availability Needs Some Improvement

Retail eBusiness Customer Service And Support Benchmark, 2009

by Diane Clarkson, Elizabeth Stark, August 7, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 90 Web sites, Forrester evaluated the accessibility and availability of online customer service and support among 30 leading retail Web sites. Retail sites scored the highest compared to other industries reviewed, with . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Financial Web Sites Need Customer Service Help

Financial Services eBusiness Customer Service And Support Benchmark, 2009

by Diane Clarkson, Elizabeth Stark, July 31, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 90 Web sites, Forrester evaluated the availability of online customer service and support among 30 leading financial services Web sites. Forrester found that most sites delivered inconsistent customer service availability, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Travel Web Site Customer Service Is Far From Perfect

Travel eBusiness Customer Service And Support Benchmark, 2009

by Diane Clarkson, Elizabeth Stark, July 27, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 90 Web sites, Forrester evaluated the accessibility and availability of online customer service and support among 30 leading travel Web sites. Only 12 of the travel Web sites we reviewed received a passing score, and overall . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Travel eBusiness Must Champion Mobile Booking Benefits

by Diane Clarkson, July 22, 2009

One in three US online business travelers and nearly one in four US online leisure travelers own Web-enabled mobile phones. Roughly one-half of these travelers have used their mobile devices for travel-related mobile data services such as flight alerts . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Undecided Travelers Offer A New Opportunity For Travel eBusiness

by Diane Clarkson, June 5, 2009

Planning a leisure trip online without a specific destination in mind can be tantamount to fitting a square peg into a round hole. The standard destination-based navigation offered by most travel Web sites does not meet the needs of the 20% of leisure . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Twitter Can Influence eBusiness

Assessing The Twitter Opportunity For Retail And Travel eBusiness

by Diane Clarkson, May 14, 2009

Twitter — a social networking and micro-blogging service — is growing at an extraordinary speed. Twitter facilitates an instantaneous and informal conversation between consumers and companies. It may not yet be a game-changer, but now is the time for . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Four Tactics To Use Your Web Site To Succeed In Today's Price-Driven Travel Buying Process

by Diane Clarkson, April 23, 2009

The typical buying process begins with intention and moves through information search, evaluation, purchase decision, and purchase. The current economy is wedging obstacles into this buying path, fundamentally changing what and when travelers buy. Forty-seven . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Frequent Business Travelers Want Online Communities

by Diane Clarkson, March 4, 2009

Sixty-two percent of US online frequent business travelers are interested in participating in online communities with other business travelers. Interest is highest among loosely managed and unmanaged frequent business travelers. eBusiness executives at . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Hotels Should Leverage Free Internet Access Offers To Attract Online Frequent Business Travelers

by Diane Clarkson, February 3, 2009

In the current economic climate, hotel eBusiness professionals must exploit every competitive advantage. They should offer and promote free in-room Internet as part of a strategy to attract frequent business travelers, among whom 43% strongly agree that . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Online Travel Forecast, 2007 To 2013

Understanding The Impact Of The Current Economy On Online Travel Growth

by Diane Clarkson, January 20, 2009

As the economic climate continues to worsen into 2009, decreased demand will push the total US travel industry revenue downward from $312 billion in 2008 to $301 billion in 2009. The supply-demand equilibrium is disrupted across all travel products, and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Frequent Business Travel Executive Survey, 2008

Optimizing Managed Travel Opportunities in a Sensitive Economic Climate

by Diane Clarkson, December 18, 2008

The current economic situation presents managed travel providers with unprecedented opportunities to demonstrate strict compliance policies and online management as key strategies for successfully containing travel costs.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Travel and Advertising in a Slowing Economy

by Diane Clarkson, October 29, 2008

The current economic environment is forcing online travel advertisers to re-craft their strategies.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Traveler Behavior in a Slowing Economy

by Diane Clarkson, October 29, 2008

The current economic environment is forcing travelers to reduce their travel frequency and spending.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Green Air Travelers

Identifying Best Practices Promoting Carbon Offset Programs

by Diane Clarkson, October 10, 2008

Airlines and online travel agencies are responding to online air travelers' concern for the environment by offering carbon offset programs.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Vacation Packages

Identifying Competitive Opportunities on Providers' Web Sites

by Diane Clarkson, October 1, 2008

With travel researchers demanding convenience and cost savings in online vacation packages, providers of these products must evaluate the competitiveness of their offerings.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Travel and Mobile Devices

Assessing the Opportunities of the Small Screen

by Diane Clarkson, August 7, 2008

The majority of online travelers travel with a mobile device, offering providers opportunities to exploit the immediacy of mobile access with information and self-service tasks.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Green Online Travelers

Assessing the Brand Impact of Travelers' Environmental Concerns

by Diane Clarkson, July 4, 2008

The travel industry must balance corporate responsibility, brand favorability, and incremental sales against travelers' growing environmental concerns.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Family Vacation Travel

Aligning Planning and Booking for a Complex Niche

by Diane Clarkson, June 6, 2008

To develop online family vacation bookings, the travel industry must align online planning and booking.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Online Travel Consumer Survey, 2008

by Diane Clarkson, May 13, 2008

Brand perception is increasingly moving from the domain of marketers into the arena of user-generated content (UGC): 40 percent of online travelers now use content from other consumers in their travel decisions. Online travelers indicate plans to reduce . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Airlines and Leisure Travelers

Understanding Issues and Opportunities

by Diane Clarkson, May 2, 2008

In the wake of the US airline industry's low on-time performance, cancellations due to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspections, and increasing prices, airlines must address leisure passengers' dissatisfaction with the air travel experience.

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

E-mail Marketing to Hispanic Users

Understanding Similarities and Differences of Personal E-mail Use

by Diane Clarkson, April 17, 2008

The Hispanic population is the largest US minority group. To effectively target members of this group, e-mail marketers must understand their personal e-mail preferences and promotional e-mail's influence on their purchases.

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Travel Widgets

Assessing the Potential Benefits of Travel Applications on Social Networks

by Diane Clarkson, March 7, 2008

As online consumers' use of widgets grows, travel social marketers should consider experimenting with travel applications on social networking Web sites.