BLOG: Clouded Judgement – Customers and brands caught in a communicative quandary

With the volcanic ash crisis continuing to cause chaos for airlines, travel companies have been bending over backwards to deal with the backlog of passengers stranded in destinations all over the world. An event of this magnitude serves to underline the importance of embracing multi-channel communication.

With customers suspended in a swirl of uncertainty, it’s vital that they’re able to access news, notifications and updates across a range of outlets. If you’re stuck in the airport for days on end, it’s often more convenient and much cheaper to look for a wireless connection and log on to the internet or turn your phone on to receive a text message rather than waiting for hours on end to receive a good enough signal to make a phone call, racking up a whopping bill in the process.

Many consumers are systematically programmed to seek quick resolutions during interactions with brands. They’ll purchase a product or complete a transaction and move on, but surely they’re missing a trick. This initial correspondence should initiate a chain of communications and the onus is on brands to make timely interventions.

According to recent estimates from the International Air Transport Association, costs of the disruption to the global airline industry have spiralled to an astonishing £1.1bn. No one could have predicted or prevented the unprecedented events of last week but brands and travel companies could have minimized the damage and alleviated some of the pressure.

Customers are no longer allied to a particular method of communication so it’s vital that travel companies and airlines are able to interact simultaneously across email, phone and internet.

With the crisis rumbling on, there’s been a knock on affect for phone companies who’ve seen a huge swell in calls from customers desperate to find out information. Swift, seamless communication and first-rate customer service is imperative to appease angry consumers who’ve spent lots of money on travel.

The more options available, the easier it is to pinpoint a method that suits the needs of the individual. The volcanic ash crisis has cast a cloud over the efficiency and reliability of customer service at airlines, travel companies and phone providers. When the dust settles and the skies clear, we can only hope that brands and customers heed the warnings, vary their communicative streams and broaden their horizons.

by Neville Upton, Apr 28 2010, 11:42 PM