Personalizing the online travel experience

Putting the customer first

Maintaining a strong reputation means not only being the best in service excellence, but also providing travelers with personalized and omnichannel experiences. “Our ambition is to be the world’s leading digital airline,” said George Wang, Senior VP, Information Technology at Singapore Airlines. However, in the past, a mix of technologies throughout its global contact centers hindered this vision.

Effective inbound and outbound engagement

To help transform its operations and deliver a more unified customer experience, Singapore Airlines (SIA) adopted the Genesys solution. By blending call, email and webchat functions, the omnichannel solution enabled the airline to offer enhanced inbound and outbound engagement, thereby growing brand loyalty and improving customer satisfaction.

“Our customers come from all walks of life,” said Marvin Tan, Senior VP, Customer Services and Operations at Singapore Airlines. “Our customer contact service operations must be geared up to serve all of their needs. These types of services and functionalities are really only possible if we have the right technology platform.”

The system has also allowed SIA to unify all of its customer-facing teams — from marketing and sales to service and support — onto one system, and quickly integrate new applications and services when needed.

Harnessing artificial intelligence

One innovation at SIA is Kris, a Google-based chatbot that can be accessed via Facebook Messenger. Kris works hand-in-hand with the Genesys solution and forwards more complex inquiries to a human agent, who can immediately take over the conversation and provide a quick answer.

The highly efficient virtual concierge answers over 85,000 questions weekly and is also available on the company’s website. “Using artificial intelligence means we can give instant responses to common questions, for example those related to baggage allowances, check-in procedures, new fare types, online bookings, and traveling with infants and children,” said Wang.

“This tight integration between our chatbot and contact center experts would simply not have been possible with our legacy technology,” added Wang.

Close control of service quality and personalization

The Genesys solution empowers agents to manage interactions with supporting context and knowledge, made possible through integration with CRM systems, knowledge bases and other applications. SIA also benefits from real-time reporting.

“With comprehensive data coming through, we can better understand how we are doing,” said Tan. “This includes how long it takes the customer to get through to us, and how long they are on a call. These are things we can measure because of the role Genesys technology plays in better serving our customers.”