Customer Experience Management Strategies for Hilton Hotels

This report examines customer experience management within the context of Hilton Hotels, a prominent hospitality industry leader. It begins by emphasizing the significance of understanding customer needs, wants, and preferences, differentiating these concepts and illustrating their impact on service design and pricing. The report then explores factors driving customer engagement, including offers, pricing strategies, and accessibility of services, tailored to different customer segments. It further delves into customer mapping as a tool for visualizing the customer journey, outlining stages from research to check-out, and highlighting how Hilton can enhance each touchpoint. The role of digital technology in managing customer services and implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is discussed, followed by an analysis of various customer service strategies, including defensive and retention-focused approaches. The conclusion underscores the importance of adapting strategies to meet evolving customer needs and maintain business objectives. References are provided to support the analysis.

MANAGING THE
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................3
P1. Importance of understanding needs, wants and preferences of target customer..............3
P2. Different factors that drive and influence customer engagement of target customer group
within a service sector organisation.......................................................................................4
TASK2.............................................................................................................................................5
P3. Customer mapping for service industry...........................................................................5
P4.Customer touch points creates opportunities for an organisation.....................................7
TASK3.............................................................................................................................................8
P5. Digital technology in managing customer services and Customer Relationship
Management...........................................................................................................................8
TASK4...........................................................................................................................................10
P6. Customer service strategies............................................................................................10
P7. Customer service strategy helps in developing the customer experience according to need
of the customer and maintain the business strategies...........................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Managing services of customers is a crucial task in every organisation. Every business
exist to meet the desired needs and wants of customer and customer satisfaction is a primary
motive. Organisation undertaken here in this report is Hilton, which is a hospitality industry and
was founded in 1919. This report depicts about the importance of customers needs, wants and
preferences. It also explores the factors of targeting different customer segments in an industry. It
further explains the importance of customer mapping in an organisation and investigate the
defects that customer may face. It also includes the importance of digital technology in business
and finally ends with developing needs of strategies and various strategies for improving
customer services.
TASK1
P1. Importance of understanding needs, wants and preferences of target customer.
Different customers have different needs, wants and preferences. Customer profile is
way that helps to create image of customers which will help Hilton organisation to make
decisions concerning various services(Peppers and Rogers 2016) . It is a description of customers
that include demographic, geographic and physiography attributes as well as purchasing
structure, credit worthiness and purchase history. They are records of customers and help
organisation to use as guide for determining whom to target with certain products and include
details such as age, gender etc.
Needs, wants and preferences of a customer are three different terms which are important
to understand for managing customer demands. Need, in simple words is anything which is
needed for survival, like food, water, etc. Want is something people hope to have that they may
or may not be able to buy. Wants of customers are not permanent and can change depending on
time, place etc. Willingness to purchase and power to pay creates demand for a particular
product and purchasing power converts those wants into demands and preferences. These terms
are important to understand for service industry because knowing customer is a key for any
business endeavour. It helps organisation in many ways for managing customer services such
as:-
 Deciding the prices of products and services.
 Build relationships and rapport with customers.

 Increase sales and profitability.
 Helpful in understanding how much and how often customer visit or buy products of
organisation.
 Creates goodwill and good brand image.
Furthermore, these needs, wants and preferences can be understood by market
segmentation(Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). This helps in separating the market of potential buyer
on basis of different attributes which helps organisation to manage customer more effectively.
Following are the characteristics on which market can be segmented :- Gender : On the basis of gender, Hilton hotel can improve its services by providing
different kinds of spa to females and opening shops of jewellery which attracts females.
For males, it can provide services of gym, gadget zones, etc. Age : Different age group people have different needs. Hilton can provide gaming zone
for kids, music events for youth and meditation centres for old people. It can further
provide exclusive and unique conference and banquet halls for business class people.
 Income : Hilton should keep in mind the price factor as customers are price conscious
and provide services to all income class like it should have rooms of all categories which
are affordable by lower class also.
P2. Different factors that drive and influence customer engagement of target customer group
within a service sector organisation.
To engage the customer, company use offline and online method. Online methods are
more qualitative as customer interact with brand, company and other offerings. The most
attractive method is online by which customer will engage, their sites have be attractive and
innovative. The factors influence the customer engagement of different customer group in Hilton
hotel are :-
 Offer : Company can provide different offers to different customers depending on their
purchase history. (Wong, 2013). For instance, company can provide various offers for
lower class and medium class people as they are money cantered and this will increase
their buying pattern like buy1 get1, etc. for business segment, offers are not important as
they want luxury in their treatment and they can afford whatever the price is.
 Pricing : For many customers pricing is of great concern. Customers like kids, who only
need entertainment, fun and they have no concern with pricing. For youth, they are the

party hunters and travellers and are more knowledgeable about the prices and services.
Hotel must aim at providing the best services to the youngsters. For old people, price is of
great concern as they believe in saving rather then spending so hotel should aim at
providing best services to them at minimum price. These factors influences the customer
engagement in the company.
 Accessibility : The accessibility of product and services which they offers to different
target groups. The business traveller class people get the access of conference room with
the projector facility. The electronic device like printer, scanner etc. have to be accessible
to them. Travelling with family can change the demand of the services. On-site playing
area for kids, attached kids room, 24/7 room service etc. have to be accessible to them.
Customer engagement strategies of Hilton hotel
The hotel industry has mature and reaches on peak. So, companies have to focus on
innovation process and adapt the advance technology to be in competition and engage the
customers as well. So, for that strategies are formed to influence the customer. Here are the
strategies formed to drive the customer engagement towards the Hilton hotel. The Hilton hotel
focus on defensive strategies. To maintain customer relationship is essential for them.
 To maintain the customer relationship they offers them advance technology facilities
from check-in to check-out. They get the high speed Wi-Fi connection, mobile use
booking and check-in facility.
 Customer retention strategies are formed, it means how long customer are retain.
 The products and services they offers that have to be excellence in quality. Being an five
star hotel their interior have to be attractive.
TASK2
P3. Customer mapping for service industry
Customer mapping has become a popular instrument for visualising customer experience.
It is the act of graphically depicting customer's experience with organisation when they interact
with them (Payne, 2012). It a holistic conceptualization to interpret the flow of experiences a
customer has with an organisation, it uses pictures to represent a process that cannot be
expressed through words. It is story designed to provide insight into the customer journey. It
helps organisation in managing customer services as it provides the following benefits :-

 Help to understand the environment of users. Organisation will gain clear image of
where the customer has come from and what they are trying to attain.
 This will help to understand how customer service can distinguish the organisations
digital experiences.
 Helps to understand where customer lacks communication flow in an organisation.
 It has a wider scope covering customers of all over the world.
For mapping customer experiences, following steps are need to evaluate starting from
search till completion. Hilton organisation can provide multiple benefits and services to their
customers throughout this journey.
Research : This is the first step in customer's journey and includes both online and
offline research(Rawson, Duncan and Jones,2013). Customer will search for various available
options in an industry . Under this step, Hilton hotel can design its websites such that it attracts
the customer. Website should include all the services which are important for customer's
knowledge. Social media apps and travel companies will help in attracting customer. This will
enhance the interaction between customer and organisation as it will help customer to get
knowledge about the company and organisation will be able to gain their preferences.
Comparison : In this customer will compare the services of Hilton with other
alternatives available. Hilton should make some unique strategies like providing hidden offers
for first customers, free services of cab for pick up and drop, etc. This will help in engaging
customer's. Also hotel images on website will have great influence on customer's mind and
perception while making comparisons. It enhances interactions as when customer will compare
the products, they will communicate in detail to know the benefits.
Booking : After evaluating all alternatives, customer finally books hotel. At this step,
Hilton hotel can provide customer's the services like free cancellation, regular message to the
customer for new product and services which they can enjoy, discounts, etc. Apart from this,
company should ensure that proper email of booking has been sent to the customer containing all
the details of date of stay,check in date, check out date, etc. It channelises the process of
interactions as organisation will keep the customer update about their bookings and also by
providing various other facilities like cabs, etc. can improve communication.
Stay : This is the stage when customer finally stays with an organisation. At this stage,
Hilton hotel can provide customers with services which will make them feel like home such as

greet them, customization in food according to their needs, providing services of entertainment,
spa, meditation, gym,etc. Further with use of social media, hotel can post picture of customer's
with different captions like “we are delighted with your stay with us” , etc. this will leave a good
impression on customer's mind. It improves the communication process as organisation wants to
know the needs of people and customize their services accordingly.
Check out : At this stage, customer shares their feeling about their stay with hotel. If
Hilton hotel, provided them with exceptional services then they will be sharing this with their
friends and family. Organisation can provide services like loyalty programs to the customers,
discounts on next visit, reward points, etc.
(Source:Understanding the Customer Touch Points and Channels, 2018)
P4.Customer touch points creates opportunities for an organisation
Customer touch points are brand points from start to finish of an organisation. A
company interacts with customers on many levels and at many places (Rose and et. al., 2012).
These interactions are essential for company to move out their marketing and branding strategies
and to build their brand value. Brands take care to tap every place a customer visit to get most of
the impressions and to fulfil strategic marketing targets. Their are various touch points in an
organisation which helps to improve customer services and they are :-
Illustration 1: Understanding the Customer Touch
Points and Channels

Pre touchpoints : This is the starting stage where customer search for different
alternatives and explore organisations websites. It includes ratings, reviews, advertisements.
Hilton hotel, can design its websites which will be fully featured and also many travellers will
access the site from mobile device, so organisation can work with internet marketing group to
refine site for mobile devices. No doubt social channels are gaining great importance for
customer touch points. But at the same time, Hilton hotel should consider physical channel also
to create positive touch points with customers. This can include print advertisements or bill
boards, direct to customer advertising.
During touchpoints : This is the point where customer finally experiences the services
of organisation. At the time of check in, Hilton gets an opportunity of maximising customer
engagement and foster loyalty programs which will enhance the brand image.
After touchpoints : These touch points provide the after sale services. It includes billing,
thank you cards or SMS for visiting or purchasing organisations services. For instance, in Hilton
hotel by taking proper feedback from customers like survey forms and online questionnaire,
organisation can design their policies accordingly(Cetin and Dincer, 2014). This will help them
understand that how much customer is satisfied and how they felt while staying with company,
etc.
These touch points are important for organisation as they help to understand and design
the services accordingly. Organisation will be able to meet various objectives by successfully
meeting the touch points of customers and they are :-
 Increase in sales if organisation maps it and taps it effectively.
 Customer can easily be become brand loyal if their touch points are tapped correctly.
 It helps in designing products and services.
 Helps in extension of product line.
TASK3
P5. Digital technology in managing customer services and Customer Relationship Management.
Customer relationship management is a formation of strategies and techniques to retain
the new and existing customer. If customer is satisfied more with the product and quality they
are offering the customer will retain(Bagdare and Jain, 2013). The need and expectation of
customer is study through the CRM and according to which solutions can be formed. The

Hilton hotel follow the CRM strategy to retain and attack the new customer. Because of this tool
the company can lower the cost and increase the revenue.
Digital techniques used to manage the customer experience in Hilton Hotel
 Customer can book the hotel room via website. Online booking facilities are provided by
every hotel. To book room from their site the customer gets the benefits like discount,
add on meals etc.
 Key less entry in the hotel room can help in maintain the customer. That room can be
open through mobile phones. In current scenario hotel use swipe cards which will be
replace by keyless rooms.
 Machine-driven check-in and check-out process can be enable. Mobile check-in can also
be the part of room soon. Customers are not required to waste their time on these process.
If they have short of time then customer do the online check-in.
 Robotic trend in hotels and restaurants enables the fast delivery of services to customer.
As many customer consider that advance technology can save the time and energy.
 The hotel can create the personal experience for them. If a customer is fitness freak and
had food allergy. Hotel offers the free gym pass and allergic treatment to them.
 High tech hotel can achieve the customer expectation through the innovation in
techniques. Hotel can use the high technologies to design their interior.
The Hilton hotel use these techniques to manage the customer experience in hospitality
industry. Use of advance techniques can improve the efficiency in the hotel(Kietzmann and
Canhoto, 2013). These techniques can help them to retain the customer from the market and
generate new customer base. Critical evaluation of CRM to retain the customer and acquire the
new customer in Hilton hotel.
To acquire the new customer base and retain the existing customer through CRM have
advantage and disadvantage both.
 Advantage of CRM: This will centralized the hotel into need specific company. The
need are classified according the customer accessibility (Blázquez, 2014). Its a
conversion process because customer will go through the all the sites are initial. This will
maintain the strong relationship with hotel and customer

 Disadvantage of CRM: Hotel can maintain the proper security in premises. As the
customer are analysed through CRM. The company hire the organisation for CRM
support or hire the specialist for outcomes. This CRM will incur huge cost.
TASK4
P6. Customer service strategies
Customer's services are an essential function in every organisation to retain the customers
and increase goodwill of the organisation (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl,2017). Hilton can adopt
the following customer service strategies for managing customer services :-
 Give all the employees and staff excellent product knowledge so that they can easily
answer all the customer queries like relating to food menu, services in hotel, etc.
 Build infrastructure that supports great customer service like SMS powered live chat,
support tickets software, call back instead of putting the lengthy calls on hold, etc.
 Build consistency between offline and online communication.
 Reward loyal customers by offering them incentives and offers.
 Take time to greet customers as it creates more receptive and friendly atmosphere.
 Empower employees to make customer happy as staff becomes the face of the company
so they should have power to please the customer's.
 Everyone loves gift so surprise the customer with unexpected gift as this will leave a
positive sentiment and improves customer experience.
 Special services such as play gardens, gaming zones for kids, mini pools etc. which will
attract kids towards the company.
P7. Customer service strategy helps in developing the customer experience according to need of
the customer and maintain the business strategies.
It is essential for company to create and develop customer service strategy to accomplish
the need of the customer. These are strategies formed in way that maintained the required
business strategies.
 Customer request from hotel to allot the tracking number and frequently answer the
question rather than calling on customer care (Fatma, 2014). If there is a lack of resources
then they can outsource those resources rather than running in-house call. This strategy
will develop the strong customer experience.

 The issues customer faced whether on arrival, booking or at the time of departure. The
problem will be resolved at the first point. This will improve the customer experience
quality and standards are maintained. The person who handles the problem takes the full
responsibility to solve.
 The promises are made at the time of booking have to be fulfilled by the hotel. They are
made according to the need of the customer. If company is unable to fulfil the
commitment then frequently apologize to customer. Make them feel comfortable in the
premises. These small gesture can creates the strong impact upon customer experience.
 Employees are the face of the company (Klaus, 2014). The employees always make sure
to make customer happy and by this company will shine. Employees don't need to focus
only on speed and productivity, but the focus is on providing the best customer
experience. The employees have the power to please the customer as well.
 The employees are trained in a manner that they can make customer happy. They always
greet them pleasantly. Their interaction is a exchange of emotional bond and the tool they
have can share a happiness and reduce the customer tension as well.
These strategies are formed in a way which increase the customer experience and the standards
of business. The Hilton Hotel have to focus on both the area. Attain best customer experience
according to the customer need and along with maintaining the required standards.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that customer experiences are an essential
part of every organisation. By identifying needs, wants and preferences organisations can easily
alter and modify the services which they offer to the customer. Organisations through customer
mapping identify the touch points and this enhances their interaction process, thus allows
customer to get engaged with them. Further more in the report, customer relationship
management process is evaluated which focuses on link between digital technology has a direct
relation with customers. In later part of the report, various customer service strategies are
discussed which helps in increasing and managing customers more efficiently.
REFRENCES
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Online
Understanding the Customer Touch Points and Channels. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
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