Marisa Garcia Aeroflot has selected IBM Analytics to deploy a new predictive travel personalisation system which will help it provide improved service to customers point-to-point.
Personalisation of the travel experience is a prevailing trend among airlines which want to improve the travel experience for their customers through various digital touch-points from the reservations process through to future trip promotions.
The IBM Analytics platform will help Aeroflot gather and process the large volumes of data available on passenger preferences to predict passenger needs and suggest solutions and services. It can process unstructured data gathered from travel bookings sites, social media data, and the airline’s accounting systems, among others.
“The deployment of analytics technologies will be of great benefit to our customers while searching for and selecting the best offers. Personalisation and targeted marketing tools will allow us to proactively attract new customers while successfully developing relationships with our existing base,” explains Mikhail Fandeyev, Marketing Director, Aeroflot.
Through data mining and predictive modelling technologies, the system can also anticipate the buying behaviour of the airline’s customers and make customised offers which are most likely to prompt a purchase.
“Leveraging over 300 data points including last purchase, purchase history, the number of purchased tickets, destination types and price sensitivity, Aeroflot will be able to create unique customer profiles and more accurately calculate customer lifetime value,” the airline explains.
“Aeroflot recognised the need to personalise the entire customer experience from ticket to flight,” says Eugene Ostrovsky, Head of Transport Industry Solutions, IBM Eastern Europe/Asia.
Technoserv Consulting will assist Aeroflot with the integration process of the new IBM Analytics system.
“Big data has great potential for solving large-scale problems, but not all large enterprises are able to turn this data into business value,” says said Dmitry Bulenko, Director of Business Development, Transportation Sector, Technoserv Consulting. “Aeroflot was the first among Russian airlines to clearly understand the value of data within its organisation and to deliver on its potential with this innovative project.”
Featured Image: Aleksander Markin, Flick, via Wikimedia Commons
Call me jaded, but will this really be a “great benefit to [Aeroflot’s] customers” as Mr. Fandeyev suggests? Or will it just be a tool to gouge consumers?
I don’t think you’re jaded. It’s a legitimate question about personalisation in general. There is a trade-off between the benefits to the airline and the benefits to the customer. Both parties get something out of it, but it’s the airline which profits. Still, the airline profits from data we already give voluntarily and the idea is for the customer relationship with the airline to feel more individual, less anonymous and “spammy”. I think it’s the way forward for all retailing, and it makes sense that airlines should employ these metrics too. But yes, data is making companies better at selling so that we’ll be better at buying. 😉
Thanks for contributing!