Beyond have worked closely with Flight Centre to leverage the power of AI and Data Science to drive forward personalisation and customer relationship management
About Flight Centre
Flight Centre Travel Group is recognised as a global leader in the travel industry, distinguished by its network and commitment to delivering personalised travel experiences.
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Founded in the early 1980s in Australia, it has since expanded its footprint worldwide, operating in over 23 countries with a portfolio that includes leisure travel, corporate travel management, and a range of travel-related services. Flight Centre's business model is built on a foundation of unmatched personal service, in-depth expertise, and the ability to offer competitive travel options through its strong relationships with suppliers.
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At the heart of its strategy is a focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, aiming to meet the evolving needs of travellers through technological advancement and a deep understanding of the travel market. This commitment has propelled Flight Centre to the forefront of the travel industry, making it a preferred choice for millions of travellers seeking comprehensive and reliable travel solutions.
Challenges Faced in the Travel Agency Sector
The travel agency sector is navigating a complex landscape marked by rapid technological changes, evolving consumer preferences, and external shocks that influence travel demand.
One of the paramount challenges is the competition from Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), which have reshaped consumer expectations by offering a wide array of choices and competitive prices at the click of a button.
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Additionally, the sector is grappling with the need to meet increasingly personalised customer expectations, requiring agencies to curate unique and flexible travel experiences. Regulatory and compliance complexities further add to the challenge, demanding meticulous adherence across varying global standards. The impact of global events, such as economic downturns, health crises, or geopolitical tensions, can significantly disrupt travel patterns, necessitating agility and foresight in business strategy.
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These challenges underscore the need for travel agencies to innovate continually and adapt to a dynamically changing environment to sustain growth and relevance.
The Role of Data in Overcoming Sector Challenges
In the face of these challenges, data has emerged as a pivotal asset for travel agencies, enabling them to transform obstacles into opportunities for innovation and customer satisfaction. Data analytics offers powerful tools for personalisation, allowing agencies to understand and predict individual customer preferences, tailor recommendations, and curate bespoke travel experiences.
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By harnessing data, agencies can achieve operational efficiencies, optimising everything from inventory management to customer service, thereby enhancing profitability and streamlining the customer journey. Insightful analysis of market trends and consumer behaviour patterns equips agencies with the knowledge to make informed decisions, identify growth opportunities, and develop strategic marketing initiatives.
Furthermore, data plays a crucial role in risk management, providing agencies with the ability to forecast demand fluctuations, assess potential impacts of global events, and navigate regulatory landscapes.
Flight Centre and Beyond
Flight Centre was seeking to elevate its operational efficiencies and enhance the return on investment (ROI) of its marketing communications. With an expansive footprint and a consumer base expecting increasingly personalised services, Flight Centre required a sophisticated data and analytics approach to stay ahead of the curve.
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This is where Beyond stepped in, leveraging our deep expertise in data strategy consulting, data infrastructure, and cutting-edge data analytics and AI solutions.
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Our collaboration was anchored on a mutual understanding that data is the linchpin of modern business strategy, particularly in the dynamic travel sector.
Beyond was the partner of choice due to our comprehensive capabilities in extracting actionable insights from complex data landscapes, our proven heritage in marketing, and our sophisticated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies.
Flight Centres Objectives
Enhance Flight Centre's operational workflows to drive efficiency.
Employ advanced data analytics to refine and maximise the impact of marketing efforts
Utilise AI-driven tools to interpret vast data sets for strategic decision-making.
The Approach
Our approach to elevating Flight Centre's customer engagement began with a systematic, large-scale data collection initiative. Recognising the diverse sources and varying quality of the data available, we undertook the complex task of collating and consolidating information to build a comprehensive data foundation.
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At the core of our strategy was the development of a sophisticated segmentation model. This entailed delving into rich customer and product information to identify distinct topics or groups that customers showed interest in, as well as the various attributes of the products they engaged with.
The goal was to discern meaningful patterns within the data that could inform highly targeted marketing strategies.
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The segmentation model served as a prelude to the creation of advanced clustering or combination techniques.
These methods allowed us to categorise customers into segments based on shared characteristics and behaviours, enabling a more nuanced understanding of the Flight Centre customer base.
With the clusters defined, we then designed a Customer Engagement Model that hinged on key engagement metrics: frequency of transactions, items purchased, expenditure levels, and the timing of purchases. This model was pivotal in tailoring communication strategies to resonate with the identified customer segments, ensuring that marketing efforts were both relevant and timely.
Propensity to Purchase Models
How likely a customer is to book a holiday
They are scored on a scale on 1 -100 based on their previous transactions. 1 being the most likely, and 100 being the least likely. These scores are updated and then used every month to create more effective marketing campaigns.
Booking Gap
Models
Identifying potential opportunities to cross/upsell
Analytics is used to identify gaps in bookings for an individual customer and then identify the most likely gap that can be filled successfully.
E.g. Hotels, Car Hire, Travel Insurance, Tours and Trips.
Product
Model
How likely a customer is to book a cruise
Another score to show how likely a customer is to book a cruise. Note: that this can apply to customers who have not booked a cruise before but show signs of potentially being interested in a cruise e.g. going on rail/coach tours.
Delivery
The delivery phase of our approach The delivery phase of our approach was multi-faceted: delivery phase of our approach was multi-faceted:as multi-faceted:
By adhering to this methodical approach, Beyond ensured that Flight Centre's investment in marketing communications was not only more efficient but also more effective, delivering a higher return on investment and fostering stronger customer relationships.
Staff Training
At the heart of the ongoing improvement in the programme performance was the continuous improvements made in customer and booking data quality.
This was heavily reliant on the cooperation and buy-in from the sales agents in store.
A training video was made that explained simply how better data would deliver them more sales and therefore better commissions.
The Results:
Tangible Outcomes from Strategic Data Application
52
Extra Network Stores
280
Additional Sales Agents
The collaboration between Beyond and Flight Centre culminated in substantial and measurable results that underscore the value of data-driven decision-making.
Our joint efforts yielded efficiencies equivalent to the opening of 52 additional network stores or the hiring of 280 staff members.
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This remarkable improvement was achieved without the need to invest in physical expansion or significant increases in headcount, demonstrating the power of optimised operations and targeted marketing strategies.
“When it comes to customer insight, we wouldn’t trust anyone else but the team at Beyond”
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Sally Chapman,
Head of CRM, FlightCentre
Lessons Learned
Interested in becoming a data driven organisation like Virgin?
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Let's discuss how our tailored solutions can empower your decisions and drive your success. Contact us today to explore the possibilities.
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Why Choose Beyond?
Expertise
Our team of seasoned consultants has decades of combined experience in data strategy and consulting. We bring deep industry knowledge and hands on experience to every engagement.
Customised Solutions
We provide tailored solutions that fit with where you are on your data journey to address your unique data needs and challenges, ensuring a perfect fit for your organisation.
Value-Driven Approach
Our focus is on delivering real value through our services. We work to identify opportunities for cost savings, revenue generation, and process improvements.
End-to-End Support
We are with you every step of the way, from initial assessment to implementation and beyond. We are committed to your success.
Examples Of Our Work
