Marketing Horizons, a series in the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast, is forward-thinking, looking ahead, through the front windshield and beyond, into the marketing future. Marketing Legends, another series in the WVU Marketing Communications Today podcast, features marketing thinkers, innovators, practitioners and founders — legends of the marketing world — who will talk about their careers and share their wisdom with the marketers of today. Hosted by Cyndi Greenglass and Ruth Stevens, these podcast series are dedicated to looking ahead to the new ideas, technologies, tools and strategies that are emerging to help marketers navigate over the marketing horizon.
Episodes
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Can the Travel and Hospitality Industry Get Out of its Own Way?
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Since the pandemic, airlines and hotels have taken a huge kick to the stomach. But now, it seems they can’t get out of their own way. Delays, poor service, and inadequate staffing, all in the face of massive demand and booming revenues. The result? Record low customer satisfaction and defections.
Joining us from Singapore is Mark Ross-Smith, founder of Travel Data Daily and CEO of Status Match. Mark has 20 years of experience leading loyalty programs in telecom and travel, most recently at Malaysian Airlines. In this episode, he explains why loyalty programs are not only hugely valuable to airlines, but are in some cases THE value, with important lessons for marketers everywhere. Listen in as Mark explains the extraordinary power of loyalty programs and the financial benefits of “selling the dream.”
Key Takeaways/Three Little Piggies
- The lives of today’s consumers blend business and leisure, resulting in a solid new trend known as Bleisure. The world of travel is only going to grow bigger since it brings joy and magic into our lives and creates stronger human connections.
- During the downturn caused by the pandemic, airlines were forced to reveal the financial details of their loyalty programs in order to secure government loans. For the first time, the world discovered that frequent flyer programs are hugely profitable and in some cases worth more than the airline itself.
- Loyalty programs are examples of the Pareto principle in practice. As the 80/20 rule says, a small number of your most loyal customers are responsible for the majority of your profitability. Use this information to augment and enhance your own loyalty efforts, whatever your industry.
About our Guest:
Author, Founder of industry news site “Travel Data Daily”, and CEO of Status Match, Mark Ross-Smith who has published over 50 papers and articles on airline loyalty, which dive deep into airline economics, big data, and cutting-edge loyalty material.
His unique approach to loyalty has received industry acclaim and his work is referenced in major media including CNN, BBC, South China Morning Post, The Star, The Economist, Financial Times, Executive Traveler, Skift and many more. Recently, Mark also won the Global Aviation Travel Startups Award on October 2022 at the biggest aviation event in the world.
WVU Marketing Communications Today: Horizons is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master’s degree programs in Marketing Communications.
Comments (0)
To leave or reply to comments, please download free Podbean or
No Comments
To leave or reply to comments,
please download free Podbean App.