Digital Technology and Customer Experience at Holiday Inn Report

This report delves into the realm of customer experience management, specifically within the context of the Holiday Inn hotel chain. It explores the application of digital technologies in enhancing customer interactions, detailing how platforms like social media, hotel websites, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems are utilized to engage customers, provide information, and gather feedback. The report further examines customer service strategies essential in the hotel industry, such as attentive listening, punctuality, and prompt problem-solving, illustrating how these practices contribute to creating positive customer experiences and fostering loyalty. It analyzes how these strategies, when implemented effectively, align with business standards and contribute to the overall success of Holiday Inn by meeting customer needs and achieving organizational objectives. The report also includes references to various academic sources and online resources used in the research.

Managing the Customer
Experience

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................1
P5. Digital technologies is employed in managing customer experience within the service
sector...........................................................................................................................................1
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................2
P6. Customer service strategies in a specific service sector context...........................................2
P7. Customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience in a way that
meets the needs of the customer and required business standards..............................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Customer experience is the entirety of the interactions a customer has with an
organisation and its products or services. Customer experience management is the process by
which a company mange and organise its each and every customer interaction with a brand
across the buyer's journey. The main objective of CRM is optimize customer interaction and
make loyal them towards the brand. This assignment is based on Holiday inn, it is a British
owned American brand and founded in 1 August,1952 by Kemmons Wilson. This brand operate
its business internationally and one of the world's largest chains with 1145 active hotels. In this
report explained about that how digital technology is employed in managing the customer
experience (Best, 2012). Customer service strategies in a service sector an d how these strategies
create and develop the customer experience.
TASK 3
P5. Digital technologies is employed in managing customer experience within the service sector
Digital technology
It a electric technology and primarily used with new physical communications media and
a device that process or use digital information include telephones, computers, communications
satellites and others. Present time every company use various digital technology to operate their
business. Holiday inn also use technologies to mange their customer experience.
In business of Hotel Inn, digital technology help in managing the business of the
company by engaging more customer. For attract customer this company can use promotional
strategy and promotes its business by using various promotional channels such as Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, social media and other. Present time customers highly use social media and
they can information about the services of the company or aware with its product or services
such as accommodation and food etc. By providing discounts and offers on its product and
service the company can engaged customer at highly basis. The management department of the
hotel can provide relevant and important information through hotel's website and attract
customers and hire a expertise that provide information through online mode and solve the
customers problems, issues and quarries related to hotel and its services (Brodie and et. al.,
2013).
Customer relation management
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It is a process and a technology which is used by the company to mange relationshi0p of
the company with its existing and potentiate customers. Customer relationship management is
important to run the business of the company successfully and generate revenue. It is helpful for
improving the relation of the company with its customers by providing better quality products
and services or satisfied their needs and demands (Gruber and et. al., 2015).
Digital technology band CRM play an important role in enhancing customer experiences,
such as:
 With the help of digital technology Holiday Inn can provide an application facility and
provide information of its various products and services to its customers. With the help of
this app, the customer can book hotel through online mode and do the process of check in
or check out by online. The management of the hotel, can also mange the information of
its customer and identified customer need or provide services according their need.
Customers can give their feedback their and the hotel can manage their customer's
experience and improve their weaknesses according the feedbacks which help in
enhancing or increasing customers.
 The management department of the hotel can provide a hotel management software
which is designed by the help of digital technology. With the help of this software, the
hotel can send massages to its existing and potential customers and provide information
related to their new products and services. This software help the hotel's customers in
booking their tables, rooms and order food. These all help in increasing customer and
their experience.
TASK 4
P6. Customer service strategies in a specific service sector context
In hotel industry, customer service is an act or process of taking care of the customers
needs by providing or delivering the services according their needs so that they can get
satisfaction. It is and important and difficult work in hotel industry to find out customers need so
that they can provide services according them (Kastenholz and et. al., 2012). There are some
strategies which are important in hotel industry to to provide better customer services, they are as
following:
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Listen- The worker and employee of Holiday inn should pay attention on their customer
that what they are saying and they should clearly listen their customers so that the company can
easily provide satisfaction to them by providing products or services. The staff of the hotel
should also use soft and kind language with their customer so that they can engae with their
customer and feel them comfortable. This help in increasing customer and enhance the business
of the hotel (Klaus and Maklan, 2013).
Punctuality- It is important in hotel industry because it show the loyalty and engagement
of the hotel and management with their customers. If the hotel have any criteria of time related to
closing, food time and other service that standard and time remain constant and inform
customers to them. Being late shows lack of interest, lack of respect and lack of time
management or sheer laziness.
Solving problem in short time- It is an important strategy, by solving problems and
providing solution of issues to its customers in less time, the hotel can make or improve its
customers service. If the customers are facing any problem related to accommodation and food,
it is the responsibility of the management that they provide solution for their customers
problems. By using this strategy, Holiday inn can increase its customers and get loyalty of their
consumers.
P7. Customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience in a way that meets
the needs of the customer and required business standards
In Holiday Inn, if the management department of the hotel use these customer service
strategies, they can create and develop the customer experience that help in meets the needs of
the customer and required business standards. Strategy like problem solving, the manger of the
hotel is provide solution for all quarries and issues which are facing by the customer. By solving
the consumers issues, the management of the hotel can increase its customer and show loyalty
towards them. If they facing problem of booking, check in or check out, the staff and employee
of the company can provide solution regarding them or by providing software and application
make this process easy.
If the staff of the hotel use listening strategy they can carefully listen the customer and
can identified customers taste and preferences or provide products and services according them
which help in creasing business and make improvement process easy (Lemon and Verhoef,
2016). By following punctuality in their work, the management department of Holiday Inn can
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make better relation and engage with them. These all strategies not only help in crate and
develop customer experience but also help the company to provide better quality product so that
customer show loyalty for it and the company can achieve its business objective s and goals. If
the company use various other strategies such as feedback, return call and others, they can meet
with their customers needs and get knowledge about the business standard which is changing
according the customers demand (Lundqvist and et. al., 2013).
CONCLUSION
In this assignment it is concluded about the explantation of digital technology and how it
help in enhancing or managing customer experience within service sector. The role of digital
technology and customer experience management are defined with the definition of CRM and
how the help in increasing and managing the customer needs and the9ir experience. Customer
service strategies are described in the report. The justification and recommendation are also
explained in context of customer services strategies that how they help in meeting customer's
needs and increase business of the company.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Best, R., 2012. Market-based management. Pearson Higher Ed.
Brodie, R. J., and et. al., 2013. Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An
exploratory analysis. Journal of business research. 66(1). pp.105-114.
Gruber, M., and et. al., 2015. Managing by design.
Kastenholz, E., and et. al., 2012. Understanding and managing the rural tourism experience—
The case of a historical village in Portugal. Tourism Management Perspectives. 4.
pp.207-214.
Klaus, P. P. and Maklan, S., 2013. Towards a better measure of customer experience.
International Journal of Market Research. 55(2). pp.227-246.
Lemon, K. N. and Verhoef, P. C., 2016. Understanding customer experience throughout the
customer journey. Journal of Marketing. 80(6). pp.69-96.
Lundqvist, A., and et. al., 2013. The impact of storytelling on the consumer brand experience:
The case of a firm-originated story. Journal of Brand Management. 20(4). pp.283-297.
Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 2016. Managing customer experience and relationships: A strategic
framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Wirtz, J., and et. al., 2013. Managing brands and customer engagement in online brand
communities. Journal of service Management. 24(3). pp.223-244.
Online
Customer Relationship Management. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.managementstudyguide.com/customer-relationship-management.htm>.
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