Chat Desk for Higher Traveler Sales

“Finally, travelers are prepared to splurge on their bucket list trips in 2023. Many people have realized that life is too short to put off those dream destinations for “someday” and are ready to make their travel dreams a reality now.” – Travel off Path

The world has opened up and people are taking advantage, indulging in those dreamed-about travel plans today rather than putting them off for tomorrow. But more than just traveling, people are splurging on their travel arrangements, opting to upgrade rooms and flights rather than holding back as they might’ve previously. 

For those in the travel and tourism industry, this is great news. However, to accommodate this surge, travel operators have to integrate the right technology so that customers aren’t being turned away. Chat Desk is exactly the travel customer care solution the industry needs right now, and here’s why.

What are some of the travel trends in 2023?

Before we launch into Chat Desk’s many useful features, here’s a look at some of the relevant travel trends that we’re expecting in 2023.

1. Big data

The travel and tourism industry is going to have to contend with a deluge of customer data as it onboards more and more clients. But what it does with this data is going to make all the difference. Companies that analyze and assess the data can use it to create a more personal customer experience, as well as tailoring their marketing campaigns.

2. Contactless payments

While the pandemic prompted more contactless engagement because of a need, it unearthed a real desire for many to make contactless payments. The mobile phone is becoming the primary payment method, taking over cash and credit cards that once dominated. 

3. Cybersecurity

Any online transactions and storage of data represent a level of risk, and this is certainly true for the travel industry. Companies will be continually implementing enhanced technologies and security features that better protect customer data and money.

4. Personalization

In addition to using customer data to personalize the customer experience, travel companies will be using surveys to determine their customers’ needs and concerns. All of this will translate into more customised engagements, with tailored travel packages, discounts, and options for customers. 

What is Chat Desk?

The trends are certainly leaning toward a more digital travel engagement, which is where a solution like Chat Desk comes in. Chat Desk is an application that sits on the Clickatell platform which user-friendly and allows for real-time communication with your customers via a single interface. Using Chat Desk, your agents can engage with customers to assist with all travel arrangements, and you can monitor agent performance for better streamlining of process and improvement of customer experience. 

Chat Desk includes:

• Chat Desk Dashboard: A summary of agent performance and customer engagement behaviour.

• Supervisor Desk: Provides more visibility of agent interactions for improved efficiency.

• Agent Desk: Agents can engage with customers across a variety of channels using two-way rich media support. 

How will Chat Desk meet these trends and more?

Now that you have a good idea of which way the travel industry is heading, you probably want to know how Chat Desk is going to meet these needs. To explain this better, let’s go through the many features of this comprehensive travel solution. 

- Customer authentication

Concerns around cyber risk and data security can be allayed by Chat Desk’s customer authentication. This is a second-factor authentication that allows you to SMS one-time pins to customers across the globe. This can be done instantly, no matter where your customers are. 

-  Multi-channel capability

Customers have their own preferences for communicating with their travel agents, and Chat Desk enables them to reach out to you on WhatsApp, SMS, and other mobile messaging apps, with responses sent to the same app. This allows for a quicker, more personal interaction.

- Customer profiles

This personalization continues with Chat Desk’s customer profiles that can be built for a much more enriching experience. Here you can record the customer’s past interactions, preferences, and other personal details that improve the customer experience. 

- Tagging and notes

Using Chat Desk your travel agents can make notes and flag certain queries for quicker attendance and a more streamlined engagement with customers. The flagged chats are moved to the top of the queue for easy reference, with live chats marked as pending when you’re awaiting a customer response. 

-  Automated responses

You can free up your agents’ time while also providing your customers with the information they need in real-time. With a Chat Desk, you can set up automated responses to communicate directly with your customers no matter what time of day. 

-  Conversation management

Chat Desk comes with an inbuilt management tool that lets your customer support service handle five times the number of conversations. Considering the massive surge of travel queries that companies will be fielding going into 2023, this will be a huge help for businesses. 

- Call deflection

Even when fielding five times the number of queries, your agents will be very busy. However, you don’t want to put customers on hold, which is why Chat Desk reroutes calls from a traditional phone to a mobile messaging channel so that customers can engage with you using their messaging app of choice, rather than being put on hold.

- Dashboards

You can be assured that you’re offering your customers the best level of service by tracking the performance of agents, both live and historically. This visual representation can then be used for training purposes, and to create a better method of engagement going forwards. You can even monitor your customer feedback so that you better understand their needs to drive sales.

With Chat Desk on the Clickatell platform, you’re able to address all your customers’ queries, no matter the scale. And because it’s a much more personalized engagement, customers will return again and again. Everything from flight details and bookings to upgrades, cancellations and more can be facilitated on Chat Desk.