An understanding of the customer and good relations with business associates have a central influence on the success of a CRS (central reservation system) company. Customer conferences are an ideal platform servicing both these needs while simultaneously being an effective tool for gauging how customer oriented the CRS company truly is says Raadia Mukadam

Annual customer conferences held by CRS companies have become commonplace in India’s travel trade. What started off as a novelty for travel agents, has become multi-dimensional in both depth and proportion. In a volatile industry more unpredictable than Indian politics, these customer conferences serve as an extract of market opinions giving vent to spontaneous reactions, ideas and points of view. The opinion spectrum is clearly elucidated here. Needless to say, they are suitable for getting market opinion in a direct and above all rapid manner. By organising customer conferences, the company gathers new ideas and tips helpful in product innovations and strategy reinforcement.

Gains Galore For CRS Providers

Though the travel industry has realised the importance of customer conferences a little late in the day, it views its potential with great seriousness. Says Karun Budhraja, senior manager, marketing and corporate communications, Indian sub-continent, Amadeus India, "Subscriber or customer conferences are an important part of the CRS industry. In fact, I would say that these kind of conferences are not only held by the CRS sector, but every industry at large, be it service, consumer durables or FMCG. The travel sector learnt from the conference successes of the other industries."

CRS service providers unitedly agree that ‘Annual Users’ Conferences’ are the ideal platform to introduce existing and potential customers to the latest advances of their software systems. Since the conference involve clients directly, they supply CRS companies with valuable information, at the same time making it aware of grievances at an early stage. This is important given that CRS providers have long since woken up to the fact that once contact with the client stops, it is both difficult and costly to find out the cause of the grievance and take corrective action.

Seema Luthra, president and CEO, Galileo India Pvt Ltd, has a strong opinion in support of subscriber conferences. Says Luthra, "Subscriber conferences are an important and integral element of our marketing strategy. It contributes significantly to our brand building and market development objectives." And whilst agreeing to the merit of such meets, Emmanuel Philips, manager, south Asia, Sabre, says that, "Customer conferences are platforms which can showcase your product range and services all under one roof to a desired audience. So in a way these conferences are vital for the industry. But on the other hand, I do believe such conferences should have a very definite theme and concept."

Are these conferences essentially a ‘thank you’ exercise to supporters or do they add value to the CRS provider as well? The answer is quite unanimous. While such conferences are an excellent platform for the entire industry to converge under one roof and exchange ideas, it is also an ideal forum to thank loyalists and supporters. Says Budhraja, "Customer conferences are organised keeping two essential factors in mind; first to thank our clients for their patronage; two, put on display the latest range of products the CRS has to offer. However, here I would like to add that Amadeus not only talks about the present product range but also talks about planned products which could become trends in the future. At Amadeus customer conferences, we not only talk about the CRS trade at large but also offer delegates the opportunity to interact with some of the world’s best speakers. Our last conference in Malaysia saw a gamut of guest speakers from various walks of life: Airtel, Mastercard, Wipro, Ministry of Tourism and London School of Economics to name a few."

Likewise, Luthra agrees that, "As a technology service provider, we always look forward to bringing the latest to the industry and also building awareness about industry developments in India and abroad, which may impact our customer’s business. We use the subscriber conference platform to help achieve this aim. Hence, as a part of these conferences, we have international speakers talking about the latest global trends. Such activities go some way in reinforcing our relationships with our customers."

In Aid Of The Agent

Conference sessions are planned to focus on tools and techniques to manage costs, increase sales and build better customer-CRS relationships utilising the CRS provider’s solutions. These events have successfully showcased how CRS companies in India are transforming the existing GDS environment through a broad portfolio of leading edge travel-related products and services. During the conference, customers - largely travel agents - also have access to the ‘Travel Technology’ showcase, where they received real-time assistance in understanding the provider’s latest solution.

According to Luthra, these conferences assist travel agencies in providing superior customer service and increasing their bottomline, a critical service during tough times. "Through our customer conferences, we introduce our clients to our new team members and an enhanced array of solutions that can help them increase sales while either maintaining or reducing costs. We also view this as an opportunity to hear their concerns and get their feedback on us so we can continue to deliver the most robust solutions that meet their changing business needs," she says.

Planning, Organising

The most important tool however of a customer conference is a structured workshop that offers the company the scope to work on significant issues together with its customers, suppliers, cooperation partners, authorities and institution. This interaction goes a long way in creating good relationships, making necessary improvements to the product or even opening up new market segments. Industry veterans claim group dynamic processes enable the development of a multitude of viewpoints on a particular question. An understanding of the background of certain opinions is built up. New questions that arise in the discussions held can be followed up depending on the situation. A certain quantification of the results can be achieved via the known paper and pencil methods (short scaling, semantic differentiation, terms classification, etc.)

Gigantic events warrant tremendous efforts. It is indeed a herculean task to organise such an affair. Hosts must often possess the ability to listen carefully and respond appropriately to questions, problems, opinions and suggestions. Being flexible, taking the initiative, utilising effective organisational skills and maintaining cooperative working relationships becomes imperative. "Working under pressure, handling multiple tasks with completing demands concurrently and working independently interpreting and applying policies and procedures while working effectively is what is involved in setting up such a conference," informs Budhraja.

Theme Plotting

An important criteria defining the success of any conference is planning the theme, venue and agenda of the conference. It is essential to strike the perfect balance in providing the right amount of education and entertainment. Budhraja admits that, "The main concern and a nightmare for every marketing head is the organisation of such an event where the correct mix of both education and entertainment needs to be created. A great package is what is needed. Most often these gatherings are termed as a ‘junkets’ or ‘party time events’, therefore the amalgamation of both factors must be taken in to account."

He continues, "Firstly one has to decide a theme, what is it that attracts your audience keeping the culture of the organisation in mind. For Amadeus we decided it would be energy, zing and state-of-the-art technology. Then we decided to identify the conference with a fictional figure, in order to give the entire conference a face. The conclusion was James Bond. We termed this conference as ‘The Amadeus Bond’ where ‘bond’ signified both the James Bond thrill as well as the bond of friendship, commitment and values. Having identified the theme, it was time to revolve the product line and more importantly how are they going to be showcased keeping all our core messages in mind. Here came the technology angle, all products were presented keeping the benefit, advantage and ease of use factors in mind. And then came the entertainment."

Having put up a great show twice in a row in Goa, Galileo’s Luthra feels, "This is an elaborate exercise which starts many months before the actual conference itself. The basic structure is decided based on a dipstick study of our customers and feedback from our sales team. This is followed by many brain-storming sessions, internally as well as with external consultants. In the end, it is an orchestrated effort involving the entire company and a host of external agencies."

Justifying Colossal Costs

Even in times of cost cutting, exorbitant amounts are spent on these meets. So how do CRS companies justify their stance in hosting such mammoth events. The answer is quite apparent - they do not. This is why barring the Abacus Subscribers Meet held in Bangkok earlier this year, others CRS providers refrained from hosting their annual subscribers meet.

Says Budhraja, "The last Amadeus conference was at Genting Highlands, Malaysia in August 2001. Since then, we have not hosted any conference. Though conferences are an annual marketing event on our agenda, with the industry in a downslide, we decided to curtail such activity till the travel scenario picks up."

When is the Indian travel industry going to witness the next subscribers meet? At this point of time, your guess is as good as the next person’s. It is only a while before the industry bounces back and CRS providers make an endeavour to re-create the magic of another unforgettable customer conference.