Qatar Upgrades Frequent Flyer Website - Case Study Example

1.1. Executive Summary Introduction The report will analyze the current internet technology use of Qatar Airways based on its e-marketing, Business to business relation, web design, sales and customer service. Based on the evaluations, the report will recommend possible internet technology opportunities that Qatar Airways can improve its online presence and increase sales. E-marketing This section of the report discusses the current state of QA’s online marketing strategies followed by an investigation of new e-marketing opportunities based on the rising internet technologies. It was found that QA’s main e-marketing tools are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social networking which are regarded as one of the best marketing strategies with high ROI indexes. They also participate on common platforms where several airlines club together to make their offers. However, many airlines are using such marketing tools and QA is not unique in its approach. Business to Business The report describes QA’s B2B relation from both sell side and buy side. They provide online duty-free shopping which means they have partnered with the suppliers of these goods. They also partner with hotel chains as a means to enhance their customer service. QA is affiliating with other websites to promote its website in order to attract value adding suppliers to partner, which will then draw more customer visits. Web design In analysis, QA’s website has a fresh and contemporary look and an easy to navigate web design. It was found that the website has a high degree of accessibility meeting all audiences’ needs and requirements. The links and information are neatly displayed on the home page and are neatly categorized. The colour theme matches its corporate identity. They also have a separate corporate section. Sales and Customer Service The report found that QA not only allows booking, paying and printing e-tickets, but passengers can even check-online as much as 36 hours in advance. They can even decide on the class of travel depending on the seat comfort they are looking, again based on short or long flights. Online check-in demo is also available on the website for the first time users. Thus they seem to be exploiting the internet technology to its advantage. Recommendation Based on the Analysis of QA’s application of internet technology, it is recommended that they have a currency converter on the website as they have people from all over globe booking through the website. As of now they have tied up only with 5 star chain hotels but they do have economy class passengers also who may book hotels of lower category if it is offered through QA’s website. E-business background Qatar Airways (QA), the airline with 5 star ranking, follows Rappa’s merchant model of e-Business (O’Toole, 2004). This is because the airline uses the internet as a tool to do business. It also uses the internet as a new channel of marketing and distribution. QA is able to enhance its services by updating its website with real time information and also by allowing instant business transactions. They use the website to provide customer support and enhance services which makes the website another feature of e-business. Passengers anywhere in the world can book, pay and print tickets at ease from their website (Media Room, 2007). QA uses technology effectively for its e-business and has been able to position itself well in the industry. In addition to the merchant model of e-business, QA also follows the buy-side model and the manufacturer model. Since they are able to reach the customer directly, they follow the manufacture model. However, they have not eliminated the travel agents and the tour operators. They maintain excellent partnerships with other players in the industry with the use of the internet as a platform, which implies that they have also successfully used the buy-side model of e-business. They are well positioned in the industry because of their e-business models as it is always referred to as the fastest growing airline in the world. Its bargaining power with the suppliers is strong and it is not having any threats from new entrants. Many airlines are using eBusiness applications so what matters is that QA must have some differentiating factors. Getting and retaining customers is a challenge because the customer has wide choice. This has urged the airline to make itself the airline of choice by using internet technology. E-Market analysis As the world is going digital, QA has kept pace with technology and changed its marketing strategy. They understand that merely having an online presence does not fetch sales. Since the traditional media has become less effective in reaching out to the customers, they have tied up with others in the trade to reach out to the customers. For instance, they have tied up with a travel search engine which allows several airlines to float their fares (Wego, 2007). Through this marketing platform the passengers or visitors are directed to the respective airline as per their queries. When the visitors are at the QA website, QA collects personal information, analyzes the customer needs and sends them updates on the services offered. To enhance its e-business, QA engages in different e-marketing activities including search engine optimization (SEO) and social networking. SEO helps them to prepare a detailed report and analyze where the traffic is generated from, what portion of the traffic converts to sales, the cost per sale and the value per visitor (Ramos and Cota, 2009: 25). QA also participates on a common platform where several airlines are clubbed together. These common platforms allow different airlines to market their good and services. This is an effective sales channel where highly qualified traffic is generated. It helps to analyze the domain popularity (Ezard, 2009). Social networking is a mode of publicity where word-of-mouth recommendation from users attracts traffic to their website. It features on social networking sites such as Facebook where they have about 10,000 fans that keep exchanging experiences (Page Data, 2009). Exchange of experiences is a way of generating traffic to the website and possibilities of converting the traffic to sales. However, many airlines are using the e-marketing applications to enhance their business. Hence, QA is not exceptional but they use the latest technology and are keeping with the changing trends. However, they do offer certain unique features through their website. Web design analysis QA got its website completely redesigned in 2007 to enhance its e-commerce platform by incorporating more features of internet technology. They have made strategic changes to its online features to better serve the existing customers and to attract and develop a new customer base. For instance, they developed templates for use in the back-end content management system (AMEInfo, 2007). The updated version now has additional features to enhance the user experience and gives a fresh and contemporary look. Simultaneously, their marketing communications and promotional campaigns site also received the changed look with new features. The e-commerce objectives are being fulfilled as the website is now more vibrant and in-line with its five star ranking. In January 2009 The Moodie Report (2009) declared QA’s website as Website of the Week (Appendix A). The website offers several services through its website as detailed below: a. It offers duty free page that can be accessed via ‘The Experience” section on the navigation panel on the home page under the ‘Onboard’ sub-section. They offer a PDF version of the 127-page duty free catalogue. They also provide a link to download the PDF. They offer a wide selection of brands and products along with full-page advertisements. Product images have also been provided which are of good size and quality. b. The links and information are neatly displayed on the home page and are neatly categorized. A drop-down menu that is highlighted as the cursor moves over it, displays the subsections for that particular section. c. The colour theme of the website matches its corporate identity which is both elegant and pleasing to the eye. d. The airline offer a pre-order service because not all products can be provided on-board at all times. Hence pre-ordering helps to reserve the items to be delivered to them while on board. e. Important information about duty free shopping is briefly mentioned on the website’s duty free page but has been covered in detail in the first two pages of the catalogue. Further details and clarifications have been provided in the FAQ section. f. The website also offers a ‘Google custom search’ function which is located on the navigation panel. This allows the visitor to search for information on the website by using key words. g. The ‘contact us’ section on the website denotes dedication to service as it carries words that give confidence to the visitor. A drop-down menu offers wide choice to the customers to locate the region and the office. The purpose of contacting the airline also carries a wide variety of reasons. The ‘contact us’ section carries feedback page but this requires a login which means only members can post a feedback. The passenger survey page does not open and suggests an error. h. They have an FAQ page on redeeming Qmiles. All the panels are neatly organized and the website is easily navigable. Their website has a dedicated section for corporate customers, which gives easier access to relevant functions related to their travel. This Corporate Travel Section consolidates information into a concise referencing guide (Air Travel, 2009). This saves the corporate client's time in having to search for relevant information. Access to this section is through the quick links from the home page. The Corporate Travel Section also offers links to the Privilege Club as well as the recently introduced Q-Biz (Business Quiz) program that allows the SMEs (small and medium industries) and their employees to jointly earn miles from their flights. Business-to-Business (B2B) analysis While QA provides online duty-free shopping with the facility for pre-ordering, there is an incentive for the privilege class. Those members that pre-order products from the online duty free shopping receive Qmiles for this as well (Moodie Report, 2009). They receive 2 Qmiles (rewards) for every $1 spent. They make online offers available to travel agents and tour operators thereby establishing new partnerships with the industry players (Air Travel, 2009). They have also initiated a series of trade road-shows and familiarization trips. They have also launched a new online training program for the agents. Apart from associating with travel agents and tour operators, QA has also partnered with the world's largest alliance of independent hotel groups, Global Hotel Alliance (GHA). This is again meant to provide its Privilege Class members the opportunity to earn Qmiles if they book at any of the 180 hotels of the chain through QA website (ABTN, 2009). The Privilege Class Members are entitled to 500 QMiles when they stay at any of the 180 GHA hotels across 136 cities in 43 countries. The airline comes up with promo offers and hence between April 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009, they offered 1000 QMiles for the same facility. At the time of the booking, they have to provide their membership number and after they have availed of the stay, the QMiles are credited to their account. The GHA represent 11 prestigious chain hotels including Anantara Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels, The Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts, Marco Polo Hotels and Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts. This allows the airline to offer a wide choice of luxury accommodation to their loyal customers and also rewarding them for their continued loyalty. This has also served to enhance their customer base for the air travel. Customer service QA has a separate website (Qmiles.com) for its privilege members so that it maintains customer satisfaction through enhanced services (Aviation Record, 2009). This is a website for frequent flyers members meant to offer increased benefits for the airline’s most loyal customers. QA has taken a major step towards enhancing the customer experience which is not only rewarding but also hassle-free and convenient. This upgraded website positions QA among the leading loyalty airline programs as it offers high value to its members along with the breadth of product choices. The benefits to the members include the following: a. Members can redeem their accrued Qmiles through this website. They just have to book and issue their reward tickets online at Qmiles. b. The Privilege Club members can check the availability of the award seats for the month and the requested date of travel and also for the upcoming months. This not only speeds up the redemption process but also makes the process transparent. c. The customers have more option when to travel and redeem points. d. This site allows customers to book ticket, pay taxes online and receive an e-ticket that can be printed easily. e. The Privilege Club members can even combine different classes of travel. Depending on the amount of Qmiles accumulated, the passenger can redeem these for say, First Class of travel for the longer leg of the journey and take economy class for the shorter journey. f. This new engine offers another privilege. If a customer does not have sufficient Qmiles, he can purchase additional Qmiles and then redeem the points. This is known as Qmiles plus as along with the Qmiles the Cash Option can also be used. Another way of enhancing the customer service is that QA has set up the seatmaps (Appendix B) of the different aircrafts is use for its different flights. This allows the customers to make an informed decision of what they are looking for. The seatmap gives details of the seat pitch, width, availability of the laptop power and other information which would allow the passengers to make an informed decision depending on the duration of the flight. For instance, for long-haul flights they may prefer a particular aircraft type as it offers more convenience and facilities. QA allows e-check-in through its website 36 hours to 90 minutes before the flight departure (Company website). They also provide an online check-in demo for the first time users of this facility (Appendix C). Conclusion and recommendations Every sector has become challenging and the airline industry offers several challenges. Without compromising on profitability, services have to be immaculate. At the same time, passengers are lured by several options from different airlines. Thus Qatar Airways has been able to position itself very well in the industry with the use of e-business applications. QA is a model e-business company as it uses 3 of the 4 e-business models of Rappa. It follows the merchant model, the buy-side model and the manufacturer models of e-business. This suggests that the airline is connected to its upstream and downstream suppliers, vendors and customers. Even though they are able to directly reach out to the customers through their effective website, they have not done away with the travel agents or the tour operators. They understand that survival in the industry has to be through mutual association and hence they even train he travel agents for their e-business applications. To enhance their e-business, QA engages in several e-marketing activities. Through SEO they are able to extract statistics on how the traffic is generated and then they can apply techniques to convert the traffic to sales. Using the internet as a platform, QA is able to offer wide variety of services through its website. Its website is very well designed and caters to different customers providing valuable information with ease of navigation. The layout of the website is very well laid out and has links at each point with several drop-down menus. They have used advertisements and images effectively to hold the visitors to their website. The most remarkable feature is their online duty-free shopping which allows the visitor to pre-order and the goods would be delivered during the flight. This is a very good strategy because during the flight many may be unable to take decisions. QA claims they may not always have all the goods during the flights and hence pre-ordering also ensures availability. The website does contain host of FAQs but there is no information on duty-free allowances. They are using the internet as a B2B platform by involving several partners from the trade. Apart from the travel agents and the tour operators, they have tied up with the hotel industry. While this is a service to the passengers, the hotel gets sales, but QA also generates revenue through hotel sales generated through its website. As far as duty free shopping is concerned, it has provided the manufacturers of those products with a platform to sell their products through QA. Thus through the internet technology, QA has been able to enhance B2B for several players in the industry. Customer service has been enhanced because of the internet technology. Passengers can check-in online as much as 36 hours before the flight departure. They can even identify and decide on the class of travel based on the level of comfort they require during the journey. All details of the services available online are provided on the website which helps the passengers to take an informed decision. The airline is truly a model airline and is keeping pace with the changing customer preferences. Through the application of the latest technology they are able to acquire leadership and sustained competitive advantage through differentiation. Recommendations for the airline to enhance its services through the website: However, their website does not have a currency converter. Since they are a global airline and passengers from all over the world can book seats through the internet, passengers would immediately like to convert the fares and prices, and determine them in their local currencies. Secondly, QA should also tie up with two and three star category chain of hotel as they do have economy class passengers who might not want to avail of the luxury accommodation currently offered. References: ABTN. (2009). Qatar Airways forms strategic partnership with Global Hotel Alliance (press release). Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.abtn.co.uk/press-releases/qatar-airways-forms-strategic-partnership-with-global-hotel-alliance-press-release Air Travel. (2009). atar Airways offers corporate customers dedicated section on airline website (press release). Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.abtn.co.uk/press-releases/0913383-qatar-airways-offers-corporate-customers-dedicated-section-airline-website-pr AME Info. (2007). Qatar Airways chooses Flip Media. Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.ameinfo.com/109777.html Aviation Record. (2009). Qatar upgrades frequent flyer website. Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.aviationrecord.com/Home/WebWatch/tabid/82/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2288/Qatar-upgrades-frequent-flyer-website.aspx Company Website. (2009). Qatar Airways. Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.html Ezard, K. (2009). Evolutionary path for marketing. Retrieved online 03 November 2009 from http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/02/16/322615/evolutionary-path-for-marketing.html Media Room. (2007). Qatar Airways Launches New Internet Booking Engine. Retrieved online 11 October 2009 from http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/newsroom/archive/body_aboutus_09apr07.html O'Toole, D. (2004). Business Models on the Web. Retrieved online 11 October 2009 from http://www.startupjunkies.org/business_models.pdf Page Data. (2009). Qatar Airways. Retrieved online 03 November 2009 from http://pagedata.insidefacebook.com/page/view/238624/ Ramos, A and Cota, S (2009). 'Search Engine Marketing'. McGrawHill. N. York SeatGuru. (2009). Qatar Airways. Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Qatar_Airways/information.php The Moodie Report. (2009). Website of the week – Qatar Airways. Retrieved online 17 November 2009 from http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?c_id=1158&doc_id=19564 Wego. (2007). Bezurk.com Signs Marketing Agreement with Qatar Airways. Retrieved online 03 November 2009 from http://blog.wego.com/61/bezurkcom-signs-marketing-agreement-with-qatar-airways/ Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Read More