Becoming a more effective retailer is essential for airlines to succeed, and that means becoming ecommerce experts. British Airlines is doing just that by refining its approach to customer segmentation and reaching out to segments not actually buying online yet.
The selling challenge was growing beyond London, said John McDonald, recently the vice president of marketing at British Airways, who spoke at DMA 2014 in San Diego on Tuesday.
One particular great opportunity that was identified was the North America to India route, in particular targeting people who were visiting friends and relatives. This was a very attractive segment for many reasons—they were buying from travel agents, not online, and they lived near where the airline operates.. They also typically look to fly in the October-January timeframe, when the company’s core segments aren’t the most interested in flying to or from London.
The airline had tried to reach these customers before, but they weren’t approaching them the right way, says McDonald.
“We needed to turn business insight into practical customer insight, and look at travel patterns, see how these people behave with us, see how they interact with British Airways and travel,” he said, noting that in particular they considered what language they use when they search; search patterns; when, who and how converts; and booking curves—how far from searching for a flight did they book their trip.
One hurdle was that these travelers felt distant from British Airways. They thought the brand didn’t understand their traveling needs, and in a way, this was on point, because the airline wasn’t marketing to them at the right times of year to solicit their business.
The way to this segment’s heart turned out to be a very personal campaign called “A Ticket to Visit Mum,” centering around a video story outlining one son’s trip home to India to visit his mother. The video changed the culture of British Airways for this segment, and helped build a long term relationship.
“We need to inspire consumers,” he said.
Network
