Like many other sectors, Christmas means big business for the food retail industry, which even in the non-festive period is arguably the largest and most competitive sector in the retail landscape.
Someone who has a particular knowledge of this industry is our chairman Steven Esom, who served at the helm of Waitrose between 2002 and 2007.
I was recently speaking to him about how the supermarket chain focuses on adopting a personal approach with its customers, buyers and staff. In fact, all the major retailers are focused on personalisation and one-to-one relationships with consumers, in a bid to stand out from the crowd.
It got me thinking about the ways in which the travel industry has adapted itself over the years.
In 1996, there were 7,000 Abta retailers, most of whom were on the high street. By 2005 this number was down to 6,900. Today, there are about 4,600 travel agents, of which more than 3,400 are Abta retailers.
The numbers might be smaller, but despite this consolidation travel agents are still key drivers in the distribution and booking cycle. The retail landscape has been changing rapidly and continues to do so, and travel agents can stay within it – if they can keep up with the pace.
How do we provide our members with the personalised approach that they are accustomed to experiencing outside of their business cycle? How do we ensure that our services offer relevant products targeted at the right level within their business? That we are creating sustainable partnerships rather than short-term flings?
Personalisation can only be effective though robust CRM capabilities. At Advantage we have just implemented new technology – part of a project we have been working on for months – which goes hand in hand with our human intervention. We have algorithms in place allowing us to populate our system with personalised data, so that at any point we will know exactly how our members like to interact, communicate and engage with us.
Just like non-travel retailers, our approach is about putting our customers (members) at the heart of what we do, thinking about their lifetime customer value.
It’s about driving new business, commercial and marketing support, administrative duties as well as training, consulting and educating.
Learning from businesses outside of our travel sphere can add so much value to your customer offering.
So when I consider retail and how everything from distribution and consumer expectations have changed, I think about what an exciting opportunity we have to keep our industry fresh and exciting to service generations for decades to come. That is certainly worth celebrating. Now, pass me that tin of Quality Street.
Julia Lo Bue-Said is managing director of Advantage Travel Partnership
