In today's fast-paced world, airports face immense challenges to deliver seamless, personalized experiences to millions of travelers. With the rapid advancement of technology, the potential to unlock and activate data has become a game changer for the aviation industry. Leveraging this data, along with AI, allows airports to capture significant opportunities and transform both traveler and employee experiences. Here’s how Salesforce is leading the way, enabling airports to combine CRM, AI, and data in a unified platform.
Crafting the Ideal Journey: The Connected Traveler Experience
The connected traveler journey represents the ultimate goal for airports, where passengers are guided effortlessly from booking to boarding through personalized, real-time interactions. For example, imagine receiving a timely notification before your trip: "James, have you considered your parking options? Would you prefer Valet Parking?" These tailored messages not only save time but also enhance the passenger’s experience by anticipating and meeting their needs.
As travelers move through the airport, real-time updates ensure a smoother journey: "James, here’s the quickest route to the security line" or "New Italian Deli in Terminal 3 – we thought you might like lunch." By offering this kind of helpful, contextual information, airports can minimize common pain points, such as navigating terminals or waiting in long lines. The technology behind these interactions also resolves issues before they even occur, ensuring a stress-free experience by addressing problems in real time and keeping passengers informed.
Beyond the journey itself, airports can boost engagement with features like personalized lounge invitations: "Exclusive VIP Lounge opening soon. Be our first guest!" or post-trip reminders that encourage future visits. Powered by Salesforce and integrated by OSF Digital, these solutions enable airports to deliver seamless, memorable experiences that improve both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. By anticipating needs, resolving issues, and offering personalized services, the connected traveler journey sets the standard for the future of air travel.
So, how do you achieve this level of personalization? Discover how Salesforce empowers airports to lead the way in digital transformation with integrated CRM, AI, and data solutions in a single unified platform.
Unlocking Data: Building the Unified Traveler Profile
A key element in revolutionizing customer service is unlocking data to create the Unified Traveler Profile. While most are familiar with the idea of a contact record—a simple email or phone number—the Unified Traveler Profile goes further. It integrates transactional, behavioral, and demographic data into a single record, enabling airports to deliver highly personalized experiences.
Imagine not just knowing when a traveler flies but also understanding their preferences, past purchases, and behaviors. Airports can now recognize whether they’re serving a business traveler or a family, and by using these profiles, they can customize their services accordingly. With this data, airports can offer tailor-made experiences, from personalized communications to timely services. For instance, an airport could analyze past travel data to identify a frequent traveler's preference for window seating or specific dining options. This allows the airport to put data into action and proactively suggest dining reservations or special services, enhancing the overall travel experience. Such personalization is made possible through the integration of data into a single platform.
Activating Data: Personalizing Communications and Journeys
Once the data is unlocked, the next crucial step is activating it. This means using the data to deliver highly personalized traveler communications and journeys. Today’s travelers interact across multiple channels—whether it's voice, digital, or video. For airports, the ability to serve travelers on their preferred channel is crucial. Salesforce’s unified platform enables airports to engage travelers across multiple channels—email, SMS, WhatsApp, and social media—allowing them to interact in real-time based on their preferences and behavior. This real-time engagement allows airports to capture more revenue while improving the traveler’s journey.
Data activation also enhances retail opportunities within the airport. Understanding the travel patterns of incoming passengers can help retailers optimize their strategies. Knowing that a flight from Japan is arriving with 350 passengers allows stores to prepare targeted promotions based on passenger preferences. This not only maximizes store revenue but also improves the traveler experience by offering relevant deals.
Furthermore, IoT sensor data, telemetry, and mobile data provide real-time insights into airport operations, which can be monetized by offering these insights to retailers, airlines, and suppliers. Whether it's optimizing retail strategies or improving services through targeted messaging, this is where data activation truly shines.
Leveraging AI: Maximizing Revenue with Predictive Insights and Personalized Services
The most transformative stage is leveraging AI to capitalize on the data. Airports can use AI for dynamic pricing, targeted promotions, and even conversational commerce. By analyzing traveler data, AI can deliver personalized offers in real-time, boosting conversions. Gatwick Airport, for instance, has employed AI to optimize parking revenue through dynamic promotions based on customer behavior.
AI can also drive conversational commerce, guiding passengers through personalized shopping experiences—from duty-free purchases to pre-ordering items for pick-up. Airports like Heathrow utilize AI to allow business travelers to pre-purchase gifts or other items, streamlining the entire process and increasing digital revenue.
Monetizing Data: Turning Airport Data into Revenue
Airports can leverage data not just for their operations but also to provide valuable insights to third parties, such as retailers, airlines, and other service providers. For example, by identifying incoming flights with specific passenger profiles, airports can help retailers optimize stock and prepare relevant offers, leading to higher revenue.
Expanding into Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs play a key role in enhancing the traveler experience and driving repeat business. For example, Nice Airport offers fast-track services and discounts in exchange for data instead of just focusing on traditional discounts. Travelers are incentivized to share their personal information, which the airport can then use to provide even more tailored offers and sell this data to retailers and service providers.
Loyalty programs can also evolve beyond traditional discounts. EasyJet offers a paid loyalty card that grants additional benefits, while Nice Airport provides perks like shopping vouchers for frequent travelers to spend on any airport service.
Empowering Employees with Data-Driven Automation
In addition to improving traveler experiences, AI and data can also empower airport employees. Salesforce also enhances the employee experience, ensuring internal teams have the right data at their fingertips. Automated insights allow teams to anticipate traveler needs and address concerns before they escalate. This not only speeds up case resolution but also ensures that airports provide consistent, high-quality service.
Creating an Airport Community: Engaging Employees and Partners
Airports are complex ecosystems, with thousands of employees working across various sectors, from retailers to ground staff. The airport authority typically employs a small percentage of the total workforce, while the rest come from partner organizations. Here, airports have the opportunity to build and foster a sense of community among employees by orchestrating events, offering discounts, and providing personalized services. For example, airports can offer discounts on food and beverages to staff working in specific terminals or run special campaigns targeting employees.
Airports today have an unprecedented opportunity to enhance both operational efficiency and traveler satisfaction by unlocking, activating, and leveraging data with AI. Salesforce provides the tools needed to turn this vision into reality. From unified traveler profiles and personalized communications to AI-driven revenue strategies and loyalty programs, airports can capture new revenue opportunities while delivering seamless, connected experiences.
Ready to redefine your airport experience? Connect with OSF Digital to discover how we can help your airport thrive in this data-driven age.
Want to find out more? Watch our on-demand webinar to explore how airports can unlock their full potential with data and AI.
