Paper Outline: Travelocity

I. Introduction
A. Travelocity
§ Headquartered in Southlake, Texas
§ Leader among online travel agency, sixth largest travel agency and is the second largest online travel agency
§ Created in 1996, it is a subsidiary of Sabre Holdings
§ Online travel agency that offers its customers a self-reservation system for discounted air fares, hotel prices, and car rentals including packaged vacation deals.

II. Body
A. Current strategies
§ SEMs
o Sense
§ Visually, the website provides and stimulates different senses. The number one visual sense is comfort or ease for the customer through the simple design of the website. The customer will never feel overwhelmed by the company’s service online because whether they are looking for a simple flight or a vacation deal, the website’s user-friendly site is display through the simplicity of the home page. Also the website uses beautiful and visually stunning pictures to describe the different destination points for the customer. Just looking at pictures of the available vacation spots will make the customer book it today.
o Feel
§ For most travelers they will either travel for leisure or for business, and because most businesses provide their own travel packages, most of the customers who use Travelocity will be looking to book travel arrangements for their vacations. Therefore, Travelocity’s marketing strategy is to make the customer happy and relaxed. Beyond the enticing pictures and simple to use website, the company provides excellent customer service to build the customer satisfaction and loyalty. When customers are looking for travel deals, they want the best deal with the least hassle. Therefore, by providing an excellent service/product Travelocity lets the customers feel ready for their fun and relaxing vacation.
o Relate
§ The marketing of Travelocity from the pictures of the vacation spots to the people in these pictures, the website is full of these stimulators to make the customer want to be the people in the pictures or want to be a part of the scenery or spot of where the picture portrays.

§ Experience providers
o Product Presence
§ Related to Website as an ExPros the “product design” of Travelocity is their service design. Meaning they maintain and use their website as the service/product and their design of the website to provide customer a satisfactory experience. Travelocity tries to maintain a user-friendly website along with the most up-to-date information for their services and products of discounted fares.
o Websites and Electronic Media
§ Notification and immediate emails to notify customers of price changes and discounts on travel packages based on previous/past purchasing history
o People
§ Leader in customer service satisfaction through their customer service 1-800 number
o Visual/Verbal Identity
§ The Traveling Gnome the mascot of Travelocity is used in the company’s website and other media advertising such as commercials and print ads. This character is famously recognized and connected to Travelocity; you can even buy its merchandise (i.e. cups and tshirts) online.
§ “You’ll never roam alone.”
1. This verbal identity identifies with the Travelocity’s customers that they will never travel alone once they utilize Travelocity’s service and products. The Travelocity experience not only includes discounted fares for travel but it also includes other services for the customers such as email notifications of flight changes and customer service in the event of travel problems with overbooking. Along with the Travelocity guarantee, the customers will never be alone to travel if a problem ever rises.

§ Customer Championship
o The Travelocity Guarantee
§ A commitment to the customer for a “peace of mind” about not only a low price but a promise to resolve any problems before or during the travel. For example, if any problems arise that might make the trip for the customer “less enjoyable”, Travelocity will do what it takes to arrange a better trip. Also the company offers a “low price guarantee” which includes a refund for the difference if the customer finds a fare at a lower price within 24 hours of purchase, and a $50 discount on a future purchase.
o Customer Bill of Rights
§ There are 7 rights for the customers of Travelocity:
1. Right to use a company that “looks out” for its customers. (No overbooked flights or hotels)
2. Right for the “best overall value” from discounts to customer support and control over the details of the trip.
3. Right to have unbiased information with independent reviews and ratings.
4. Right to straightforward presentation of the options when available.
5. Right to find and book quickly and easily with the redesign of the website with ease-of-use.
6. Right to have customer support anytime
7. Right to be inspired

§ Information about the customer and for the customer
o Window Vistas fare-watcher gadget
§ This desktop gadget is integrated with the new Windows Vista and allows customers to be notified when a discount occurs on a specific fare or vacation deal. This “monitoring” tool allows the customer to receive almost instant updates about the deals they are trying to purchase at a low price.
o “Active” data warehouse
§ Teradata is the software the company uses to retrieve customer data from their activities on the company website
§ Travelocity is combining past and current data about their customers to provide the most up-to-date information and product and at the same time customize and tailor their products individually for their customers as well. Instead of just storing their data into the data warehouses, Travelocity is using and “activating” their data.

B. Lessons for their competitors
§ Customer loyalty
o From the Travelocity guarantee to the customer bill of rights the company offers many additional elements to their service to create customer loyally.
§ Data mining and warehouse
o Innovative and efficient care of the data the company recovers from their customer is very valuable if you know how to use to your advantage. Travelocity is a leader in understanding their customer through the use of collected data.

C. Lessons from their competitors/Changes
§ Customer Service
o Competing online travel agencies have beaten Travelocity when comes to customer service, and in order for the company to continue at the top they need to see what their competitors are doing right and what they can improve.
§ SEMs
o Although these sensory modules are limited for a product/service such as an online travel agency, Travelocity can still improve their current SEMs and follow their competitors by researching and comparing their experience providers.

III. Conclusion
Travelocity is a leader in the industry but they need to continue to improve to make it to the top and to beat out its competitors. Their current marketing strategy is great but the competitors are right on their heels.

IV. References
§ http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid11_gci1197444,00.html
§ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdzsb/is_200108/ai_ziff6690
§ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_July_26/ai_n6122539/pg_1
§ http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000194.php
§ http://www.ip97.com/travelocity_commits_to_customer_gjh.aspx
§ http://www.rightnow.com/resource/casestudy.php?id=1580&product=9
§ http://www.keynote.com/docs/kcr/cem/Keynote_AirlineCE05.pdf
§ http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/02/19/010219opprophet.html
§ http://svc.travelocity.com/guarantee