The world is getting smaller, and businesses are having to keep up with a rapid pace of change
Not sure if you’ve noticed that the world is getting smaller – countries and continents are now separated by just one click. As Internet accessibility spreads to the remotest parts of the world and previously inaccessible information becomes available at the touch of a keyboard, businesses are upping their game – because if you snooze in today’s rapidly changing world, you lose.
There’s exciting opportunities for your career and for business!
It’s an exciting time to be growing and developing – or changing – you career, because there are huge opportunities for small, medium and large businesses on a global scale via internet connectivity.
After all – I’m writing this very post while sitting at the beach on a Sunday afternoon, on my ultra-thin laptop tethered to the internet via my smartphone. Does it get any better than this? (I just took the pic below from my phone, in case you’re wondering!).
Recently I discovered thinglink – an image-driven portal which allows individuals or businesses to upload pictures and create pop ups and click-through links with prices and more information, telling you where to buy or what to discover. It’s similar to Polyvore, except it encourages you to utilise your own images instead of using those already on the portal. It’s more customisable to the individual, you might say.
Now, you can have your own digital feature pages and share at the click of a button
Both Polyvore and thinglink encourage users to be their own virtual creators, telling their own stories, in a way that drives users to take the next step as a call to action. It’s like having your own digital magazine page, without having to have the technical know-how, and being able to share these information-rich graphics on your blog or via social media.
The online travel sector is one sector that is adapting to customers’ needs
The online travel sector is one that is continually morphing to remain relevant to travellers. According to a 2014 hotel and travel trends report by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which is based on a survey of 7,000 business and leisure travellers, hotel guests are increasingly seeking a more personalised service. The report suggests that hotels need to be “global, local and personal in order to appeal to the evolving expectations of travellers in the 21st century”.
Traditionally, hotels have long been focused on customer loyalty and retaining a global consistency. The findings of the IHG report suggests that travellers are now wanting more of a tailored, personalised service. The rapid rise of technology is enabling hotels to provide this. As an example, hotels are now gathering data about your personal preferences for hotel rooms, food, transfers, and more to provide you with a tailored service the next time you visit; or taking into account comments you leave on their social media pages.
Utilising online services such as thinglink is another way the online travel sector is adapting to customers’ needs by targeting travellers with rich content and graphic images specifically built to fit the target audience – such as in the first graphic above.
I know that when I visited The Quincy Hotel in Singapore for the first time a few years’ back (read my post about it here), I decided to revisit based on the fact that it was a great hotel, but also the personalised service they provided. Not only did they tailor their messages across platform to target my interests, but they offered us our room of choice and extras such as movie nights with free popcorn on the deck, meals inclusive of the room price and a luxury airport transfer. They supported this with a solid social media presence and ongoing offers to draw us back.
Note: The thinklink image at the top of this post was created by FCM Travel, whom I partnered with for this post. The IHG report, ‘Creating moments of trust: the key to building successful brand relationships in the kinship economy’ can be viewed here.
Do you expect personalised service when you visit hotels?
