Beyond have worked closely across the Virgin Group globally to leverage the power of AI and Data Science to deliver data driven advantages to customer insights and delivering unique customer experiences
About The Virgin Group
The Virgin Group represents a world class benchmark of innovation, customer centricity, and entrepreneurial spirit.
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Founded by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin has evolved from a modest record store in 1970s London to a global conglomerate encompassing a diverse array of industries.
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The Virgin brand, synonymous with distinctive and superior customer experiences, stretches across sectors such as aviation, finance, health, and leisure, each characterised by a relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction.
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Virgin's ethos centers on the customer experience; its brands are renowned for delivering services that not only meet but exceed customer expectations. By embracing a philosophy that intertwines service excellence with inventive offerings, Virgin has established itself as a powerhouse of customer delight, often seen as a benchmark for aspirational service across the globe.
Data and AI: The Engine Room of Virgin's Customer-Centric Innovation
In the digital age, the Virgin Group's cutting-edge customer experiences need to be fuelled by the strategic use of data and AI.
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These technologies enable a profound understanding of consumer behavior, preferences, and needs, allowing Virgin brands to continue to tailor their offerings to each individual, thereby maintaining their competitive edge and distinctive brand style.
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Data analytics and AI are the linchpins in unveiling the intricacies of consumer demands, anticipating trends, and personalising interactions, delivering distinctive and memorable experiences, thereby cementing customer loyalty.
Beyond's Strategic Data and AI Solutions for Virgin Group
Beyond has been working across the Virgin Group enhancing the data and analytics and spearheading a variety of initiatives that drive customer value and business efficiency. Our collaborations have now spanned several entities within the group, each with its unique challenges and objectives.
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Beyond has been putting data to work, from optimising customer acquisition using AI-driven models at Virgin Money to spearheading a data-centric digital transformation for Virgin Holidays and developing ground-breaking customer insights for the entire group. We've employed advanced analytics to understand customer profiles, executed dynamic propensity modelling for targeted marketing, and provided strategic insights to overhaul customer relationship management systems.
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Our work has not only led to tangible improvements in customer acquisition and retention but also supported Virgin in maintaining its leadership in offering unmatched customer experiences.
Enhancing Credit Acquisition: Virgin Money's Strategic Use of AI in Targeting Frequent Flyers
Virgin Money sought to tap into the lucrative market of frequent flyers by leveraging its association with its sister airline brand. The aim was to harness data analytics and predictive modelling to discern patterns among existing airline customers and to identify similar prospects within their cardholder base.
Beyond commenced with a customer profiling exercise to find the shared characteristics of the airline's frequent flyers and Virgin Money's cardholders. This profiling informed the creation of customer segments sharing common attributes. A dynamic AI propensity model was then developed, designed to predict the likelihood of individuals applying for and successfully obtaining a new credit product.
The propensity models were iterative, improving with each campaign by incorporating learnings from previous ones. The models demonstrated efficacy in pinpointing the top 20-50% of potential applicants, leading to a rise in application volume and an increase in the successful application rate. This refined approach also diminished the incidence of rejections and cancellations, optimising the customer acquisition process.
Data-Driven Strategies for Business Flyers: Virgin Australia's Approach to an Underserved Segment
Virgin Australia had identified a gap in their data; business flyers within their customer base were not self-identifying. This presented a challenge in understanding and catering to this segment's unique behaviours and needs.
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Beyond developed a logistic regression model that took summarised data along with industry insights to identify traits characteristic of business flyers. We rigorously analysed age, other frequent flyer program (FFP) memberships, and additional factors to ensure the model accurately represented the business traveller segment.
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Subsequent analysis provided actionable intelligence on how to influence these customers through targeted marketing and tailored pricing strategies. The model empowered Virgin Australia to make strategic offers, shield business travellers from competitors, and exploit data intelligence to maximise opportunities in emerging flight routes, as well as cross-selling and upselling.
45%
lift in transacting customers ​
57%
lift in volume of bookings
61%
incremental TTV​
Campaign Results
“Prior to me joining, Virgin Holidays had created a Customer Segmentation & a set of pen portraits to help educate the wider business about what the key segments. ​But we had difficulty translating that segmentation into something actionable, that could actually drive an increase in bookings. So, I hired Beyond to create a data-driven customer segmentation which was more behavioural & drew in various data sources on owned, earned & operated platforms. ​
​Beyond knitted the 2 pieces together to create a holistic plan, which was used to frame everything from our digital display strategy to the brochures in the retail stores, which they helped deliver.​
​I can't recommend Beyond enough and will certainly use them again in future projects. They are a world-class data consultancy"​
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Claire Topping, Chief Marketing Officer Virgin Holidays​
Digital Transformation Requires a Reset with Data Insights and a new Data Strategy
Virgin Holidays were on their digital transformation journey. Their goal was to not just enhance their online presence but to revolutionise the customer experience, making their travel products more accessible online and improving their overall digital service offerings.
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Despite significant investments in revamping their digital platforms, Virgin Holidays struggled to measure the impact of these changes and to determine whether their effort were meeting the objectives. A particular area of concern was the 'Manage My Booking' feature, which aimed to transition a previously call centre-handled process to a self-service online system. The shift, while intended to streamline operations and reduce costs, potentially overlooked the call centres' role in up-selling additional services, a key revenue driver for the company.
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Beyond was tasked with evaluating how customer behaviour's changed pre and post the digital enhancements. We focused on understanding the financial and net promoter score (NPS) impact of the new 'Manage My Booking' system. Our approach involved analysing Virgin Holidays' data to determine the next steps in the system's development.
Data Strategy Vision
Our analysis identified a crucial oversight in the digital strategy. The move to self-service had inadvertently reduced the opportunities for call agents to up-sell high-margin extras during customer interactions. To address this, Beyond's data science team developed propensity models and value-based algorithms to identify customers most likely to purchase additional services. This enabled targeted digital CRM outreach and proactive outbound calls to capitalize on these high-value opportunities.
Virgin Holidays’ challenges during their digital transformation highlighted significant gaps in the use of data and insights, leading to a strategic pivot. The company was facing the twin challenges of integrating data-driven decision-making into its core processes and addressing the high turnover and low morale within its data insights team.
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Recognising the need to unify its approach to data and prevent the pitfalls of data silos and inconsistent information, a centralised function was deemed the desired approach for data handling and analysis, as well as the model to rebuild and grow its data capability.
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In response, Beyond was tasked with developing Virgin Holidays' data strategy aligned around the company's three core KPIs. Our consultancy team focused on setting the vision and designing a new operating model for the data function to encourage a unified approach to decision-making across the organisation.
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We developed a Central Customer Intelligence Organisation model for Virgin Holidays, with a comprehensive KPI Framework and a strategic data evaluation method, supported by a robust data architecture and governance processes.
Revolutionising Customer Experience Metrics:
The Evolution of Virgin Holidays’ NPS
Virgin Holidays recognised that their current Net Promoter Score (NPS) model was inadequate for their needs, as it did not capture the diversity of their customers' experiences or provide actionable insights. The company needed a more granular and commercially valuable understanding of the NPS to drive improvements and to make the score a more effective strategic tool.
Beyond was tasked with refining the NPS model to align with today's business landscape, providing teams with directives for improved customer satisfaction, and enhancing NPS reporting to aid in more effective decision-making.
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Beyond employed its AI and data science team to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the existing NPS model. The approach involved regression analysis to identify and quantify the impact of customer interactions on satisfaction levels and NPS and linking NPS improvements to commercial value, particularly focusing on customer retention.
Trail Blazing Customer Insights Across the Virgin Group
Recognising the untapped potential of brand loyalty within its diverse portfolio, Virgin Group embarked on a strategic initiative to deepen customer engagement across its many brands. The objective was to harness this loyalty to encourage Virgin customers to broaden their interactions with the wider Virgin family of companies. Beyond was tasked with providing analytical firepower to inform the development of a group-wide loyalty program.
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Beyond undertook an innovative analysis of anonymised UK banking data provided by Barclays to understand the shopping habits of Virgin customers, both within the Virgin Group and with external retailers. This analysis and segmentation was pivotal in shaping a group-wide loyalty program for Virgin Companies (VCs).
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This analysis was a cornerstone in crafting a Virgin Group loyalty program. It provided a data-driven foundation for strategic decisions, enabling Virgin to optimize its loyalty initiatives, facilitate brand synergy, and maximize customer lifetime value across its corporate ecosystem.
“Beyond has revolutionised the way we operate at Virgin Group, delivering impactful data-driven solutions that have driven efficiency and innovation. Their expertise and collaborative approach have been invaluable, significantly contributing to our leadership. Highly recommended for any organisation aiming for growth and operational excellence.”
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Michael Buffham-Wade
Vice President International Marketing & Loyalty, Virgin
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
