Managing the Customer Experience

This report analyzes the importance of managing customer experience in the hospitality industry, using Travelodge Hotel as a case study. It explores market segmentation, customer profiling, and the customer journey, highlighting key touchpoints and their impact on customer engagement and loyalty. The report also analyzes the drivers of customer engagement across different target customer groups and concludes with the benefits of effective customer experience management.

MANAGING THE
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTON.............................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1) Why hotel carries market segmentation and customer profiling activities. .....................3
2) Examine different ways to profile customers and specify how needs, wants and expectation
of customer drive services offer by hotel...............................................................................5
3) Drivers of customer engagement across different target customer group .........................5
4) Conclusion .........................................................................................................................6
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................6
1) Fully document the customer journey from first contact with the hotel to exit.................6
2) Identify all the touch points when customer interact with business...................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTON
Customer experience is the product of interaction among customers and business
organisations during their relationship. This interaction involves three aspects i.e. Journey of the
customers, touch points with which customer interacts and the atmosphere experienced by
customer. An experience is considered good if the service of an organisation matches the
expectation of clients (Peppers and Rogers, 2016). This results in enhanced customer advocacy,
loyalty and satisfaction. This present assignment undertakes Hospitality industry and the report is
based on Travelodge Hotel;. This Hotel is headquartered in Thame, England. In terms of budget,
Travelodge is considered as second largest hotel on UK. This report involves importance of
acknowledging wants, preference and needs of customers along with factors which drive and
influence the engagement of customers. Also, a detailed customer experience map is prepared to
analyse the experience of customer while enjoying services offered by hotel. At last, the benefits
of touch points is mentioned.

TASK 1
The value of understanding the wants, needs and preference of target customer group for
hospitality services.
1) Why hotel carries market segmentation and customer profiling activities.
Day 1
Market segmentation
It is the procedure of dividing the market of potential clients into different segments and
groups on the basis of specific aspects. Members associated with these segments posses same
characteristics and have common aspects while purchasing a service or product. It is considered
as an efficient tool to target particular customers from billion of population (Wilson and et. al.,
2012). Hotel carries market segmentation activities to cater the needs of clients in desired and
appropriate manner. By this an organisation can divide their potential customers in different
groups and pays more attention toward specific group. In general there are four kinds of market
segmentation which are mentioned beneath:
 Demographic segmentation: It is simple and widely used way of segmenting market.
Marketer of Travelodge can use it to segment market on the basis of variables like
gender, age, income, religion and many more aspects.
 Behavioural segmentation: In this aspect, marketing manager of Travelodge can
segment market on the basis of decision making pattern, usage and behaviour of
customers. For example, Young people prefer Bar and casinos to entertain themselves
whereas Families prefer game-zone stations.
 Psycho-graphic segmentation: Marketer of Travelodge can also segment market on the
basis of lifestyle, interest and activities of people. It is concerned with buying behaviour
of clients.
 Geographic segmentation: Here people are divided on the basis of geographic location.
Travelodge can target people according to the location in which they are operating and
offering their services (Payne, 2012).
Merits of market segmentation to Travelodge
The procedure of segmenting market initiates even before the service and product enters
into market. It is an effective technique to analyse the behaviour, preference and choice of
customers. To maintain all act ivies and operations of Hotel in desired manner, marketing

manager of Travelodge segment market into different groups. Merits enjoyed by Travelodge due
to market segmentation are:
 It helps the marketing team of Travelodge to understand the expectation and desires
of potential customers in a better way.
 Market segmentation benefits in maximising service potential of hotel.
 It improves and enhances the distribution network of Travelodge in offering services.
 Helps in increasing customer base
Customer profiling
It is a process to develop a portrait of customers which assist Travelodge in making
appropriate decisions while delivering their services. In customer profiling activities, the clients
are divided into different groups on the basis of their characteristics and expectations. Each
group is assigned with an representatives having name, photo, description and decisions are
taken by analysing the specific customer profiles.
Merits of customer profiling to Travelodge
 Customer profiling provides Travelodge the ability to tailor interaction with
customers on the basis of their specific interest.
 It can help Travelodge to uncover potential opportunities by improving market
penetration tactics of hotel which leads toward future growth and sustainability.
2) Examine different ways to profile customers and specify how needs, wants and expectation of
customer drive services offer by hotel.
Day 2
There are several ways to profile specific customers such as on the basis of interest,
personal information, location, demography. Behaviour and buying pattern. This will help
Travelodge to provide facilities and services to customer in an appropriate manner. Different
ways of customer profiling are mentioned below:
 Profile with personal information: In this, marketer of Travelodge needs to includes basic
and important information related to customer such as their name, contact information, E-
mail address and other required information (Brocato, Voorhees and Baker, 2012).
 Profile with customer interest: Here marketer of Travelodge can profile a customer on the
basis of their interest such as preference, choice and buying attitude. Customers having
similar interest will be categorised into same group.

 Profile with customer demography: This type of customer profile involves lot of details
associated with customer. Marketing manager of Travelodge can profile customers on the
basis of age, income, locality, marital status, job profiles and other aspects.
Needs, wants and expectation of customers
To sustain a considerable position in hospitality sector, it is vital for Travelodge to
consider the needs demands and preferences of their customers. If customers are not satisfied,
this will impact the revenue and profitability of Hotel. Hence, it is vital for Manager in
Travelodge to provide services to specific customers as per their expectations. For example,
People from high class like expensive and standardised services. To cater their need hotel
management needs to provide service of premium quality (Verhoef and Lemon, 2013). In case
of business class, customer prefer peaceful environment along with facilities conference rooms
and transportation. So, hotel management needs to offer services in accordance with that. This
shows that different needs and choices of clients shape the services provided by hotel.
3) Drivers of customer engagement across different target customer group
Day 3
In order to enhance customer base, it is vital for Travelodge to satisfy the demands and
needs of different customers in a proper manner. Travelodge targets business class, high class
families and young generation. Different ways to engage them is specified below:
 Business class: Managers in Travelodge can engage business class by providing them
affordable food, accommodation, conference halls, peaceful environment and
transportation facilities.
 High class families: Marketing manager of Travelodge can offer standardised food and
accommodations service along with themed rooms, play-zones and gaming stations to
engage more families and children.
 Young generation: To cater the needs of young generation, Travelodge can offer
facilitates like Bar and casino to entertain them, along with services like free WI-FI, play-
stations and cool ambience.
4) Conclusion
Day 4
Engaging customers is an vital aspect for Travelodge as this motivates the Hotel
management to perform their activities in an organised manner. There are several ways to

enhance the engagement of employees like personalised messages, mails, advertising and
through official websites of Hotel. Also, it is vital for staff members of Travelodge to provide
facilitates and services according to the demand of specific customers. Market segmentation and
customer profiling are some techniques which helps Travelodge to differentiate among different
types of customers (So and et. al., 2016). This allow Travelodge to offer services as per the
desire of customers which results in enhanced brand reputation, revenues and profit margins.
TASK 2
1) Fully document the customer journey from first contact with the hotel to exit.
Customer journey is defined as the aggregate of experiences which customers go through
while enjoying services offered by a company. Rather than specifying a particular experience, it
covers entire experience of customer which helps Travelodge to acknowledge the behaviour of
customers regarding their services. Travelodge offers standardised and satisfactory services to its
clients due to which different segments of customers contact with hotel management to confirm
their bookings. Below is mentioned the complete process regarding the journey of customer from
first contact with Travelodge till exit:
 First contact of customer with Travelodge is done through social media and official
websites where detailed information regarding hotel like contact number, address and
offered services are provided.
 After contacting with hotel management regarding booking and offered facilities,
customer visits and check-in room.
 Services such as standardised food, well organised accommodation to stay, themed
rooms, refrigerator, air conditioner, tea/ coffee marker and additional facilities, according
to the payment made by customer is offered (Evans, 2012).
 These services are provided according to the package purchased by customer. Most of the
times, stay period of clients in 3 days and 2 nights or 3 days and 3 nights.
 During this time, to entertain themselves customers prefer to visit Bar, Disc and Casinos
within hotel premises to enjoy some relaxation time.
 At the time of check out, customer gives feedback regarding the services offered by hotel
management. This feedback is collected by receptionist and handed over to manager of
marketing department.

Efficient services provided by Travelodge results in enhanced customer loyalty and
improved revenues.
2) Identify all the touch points when customer interact with business.
There are several touch points which helps Travelodge in enhancing their brand
reputation and revenues. These touch points are divided into different sections according to the
interaction of customer with hotel. Some of these touch points are mentioned below:
Before stay
 Official website: It is the most important touch-point which can help Travelodge to
expand their customer base within shortest time period. Website of Travelodge must
contain all necessary and required information related with hotel (Verleye, 2015). This
will allow customers to acknowledge the facilities and service provided by hotel.
 Alternatives modes to check-in: To enhance the comfort of customers, Travelodge can
offer bookings and reservations through online sites and mobile applications. Along with
this, Hotel can offer alternative mode of payments facilities like cheque, cash, credit card
etc.
 Physical channels: These touch points includes printed advertisement through
newspaper, premium magazines and pamphlet along with billboards to acknowledge
clients about the facilities provided by company.
During stay
 Occupancy stage: During stay of customers, it is vital for Travelodge to provide good
quality food and standardised accommodations to the customers along with transportation
facilities, Entertainment venues and complementary services to ensure repeat business
with existing customers and attracting new customers.
After stay
 Post stay: At the time of check out, it is vital for the staff members of Travelodge to ask
customers about their experience during stay. Hotel management needs to collect
feedback and opinions of customers (Evans and Lindsay, 2013). This touch points helps
in sustaining future growth of hotel.
At satisfactory level these touch points creates business opportunities in following ways:

These touch points specify the experience of customers with particular brand. More
effective touch points will enhance the customer experience to a new level which will helps the
hotel management to cater the demands and needs of customers in an desired manner. If a
customer is completely satisfied, there is more chance of repeatable business and increased
profitability (Gounaris and Boukis, 2013). These touch points allow managers of Travelodge to
eliminate those elements which do not adds to the value and reputation of hotel. Also, assists
hotel management in balancing their service costs along with increased returns and customer
loyalty. These opportunities helps Travelodge in sustaining a strong position within marketplace.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussed report, it has been concluded that businesses associated with
hospitality industry needs to give proper consideration to the experience of customer.
Satisfactory experience of customers will helps the company in increasing their sales and profit
margins. To cater the needs of customer, an organisation can opt techniques like customer
profiling and market segmentation. Customer journey map specifies different levels at which
customer interact with the firm. To increase clients base it is vital for a company to identify
considerable touch points and offer services in accordance with the expectation of customers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 2016. Managing customer experience and relationships: A strategic
framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Wilson, A. and et. al., 2012. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm (No.
2nd Eu). McGraw Hill.
Payne, A., 2012. Handbook of CRM. Routledge.
Brocato, E. D., Voorhees, C. M. and Baker, J., 2012. Understanding the influence of cues from
other customers in the service experience: A scale development and validation. Journal
of Retailing. 88(3). pp.384-398.
Verhoef, P. C. and Lemon, K. N., 2013. Successful customer value management: Key lessons
and emerging trends. European Management Journal. 31(1). pp.1-15.
So, K. K. F. and et. al., 2016. The role of customer engagement in building consumer loyalty to
tourism brands. Journal of Travel Research. 55(1). pp.64-78.
Evans, C., 2012. Managing for knowledge-HR's strategic role. Routledge.
Verleye, K., 2015. The co-creation experience from the customer perspective: its measurement
and determinants. Journal of Service Management. 26(2). pp.321-342.
Evans, J. R. and Lindsay, W. M., 2013. Managing for quality and performance excellence.
Cengage Learning.
Gounaris, S. and Boukis, A., 2013. The role of employee job satisfaction in strengthening
customer repurchase intentions. Journal of Services Marketing. 27(4). pp.322-333.