INSIGHTS
Business travel agencies are driving tech investments. FCM is already ahead of the curve
Travel technology always tops the list for any travel manager/booker and business traveller. It’s not just them. Travel technology has become the main dish for travel management companies looking to meet customer expectations, enhance user experience, increase productivity, and drive more value with every business trip.
As per Amadeus, business travel agencies are looking to spend significantly more in 2024 to add tech capabilities. Nearly 69% business travel agencies are planning to increase investments in tech by 13% in next 12 months, as per its report.
Core areas of travel technology investments
Two key purposes behind disruptive technologies across industries have been productivity and user experience. Same with travel technology.
The Amadeus report stated 49% business travel agencies want to level-up customer experience and 41% wish to improve productivity.
The travel agencies want to drive innovation, improve margins, offer bespoke itineraries, and elevate end-to-end experiences for passengers.
Travel tech transformation at FCM
FCM Travel never stopped tech investments and innovation right from the first product. Over the years, FCM has heavily invested in technology, creating tools that are customer centric and enhance travel experience right from business trip planning to reporting.
FCM anticipated customer needs when they didn’t even exist. The travel management company deeply understood the requirements of each persona in the business travel industry and created a proprietary tool- FCM Platform- to cultivate unique and seamless travel experiences. With one login, this end-to-end ecosystem enables business travellers to book their travels, get travel approvals, be notified about safety and risks, manage payments and expenses, reconcile GST, calculate sustainability metrics, and provide reporting and analytics with data protection.
Customer experience in business travel
Customers, especially in Singapore have always been “experience seekers”. A KPMG report mentioned customer behaviour of Singaporeans across six pillars- Personalisation, Integrity, Expectations, Time & Effort, Resolution and Empathy.
FCM Travel also believes in providing best-in-class personalised customer service and experience to its business travellers.
There is no better way to find out than to get a first-hand experience. FCM Platform comes with customisable features that takes away stresses of business travellers and travel managers/bookers.
On one single platform, you can make bookings (air, hotel, car) with ease, share options with travellers on the same dashboard, get alerts in case of disruptions, sync travel bookings with calendar, get real-time updates on flight information, and report expenses on the same dashboard.
Moreover, you can add more fields on FCM Platform and add your travel policy. This essentially means you can add what your company wants to track such as carbon emissions calculator, etc. You can also tag VIP/female travellers, add healthy options for meals, and enable easy check-in processes.
All this on one dashboard, without changing screens can be dubbed as a good customer experience.
Also, bringing “human touch” is key of our travel programmes. FCM has made conscious efforts to support travel programmes by dedicating account managers and 24/7 customer support teams. Our teams curate travel programmes by understanding your company policy, getting insights into booking behaviour, and much more.
Improving productivity in business travel industry
Travel technology should help you do more in minimum steps. That’s productivity in a nutshell.
Bespoke itineraries, creating journeys aligned with ambition, seamless experience at every touchpoint, etc., are one end of the spectrum. At the other end lies reporting, policy and compliance, and savings and maximise revenue, which is a given in all scenarios.
FCM covers full spectrum. The FCM Platform offers a suite of features for travel and expense reporting, data on booking behaviour-whether the traveller is booking on time, exceeding allotted budget, and reducing carbon footprint.
The expense function on the platform also offers tools where travellers can click photos of bills and just upload them. The OCR technology captures details through the image and auto-fills the fields required for reporting expenses. This level of tech adoption drives productivity and eases reporting function as well.
Creating customer journey with tech and people
Consumer expectations, whether B2B or B2C, are higher than ever. Companies must be future-ready already to respond to market shifts, create key capabilities and strategise to create seamless customer experiences.
FCM’s 98% retention rate can speak volumes about its customer service and experience.
“FCM Asia has 98% retention rate. We really bring to corporate travel is value, agility, and simplicity. We bring tech and people together and create the right balance. We’ve invested heavily in customer experience also for our people internally to provide better service to our customers,” said Scott Reddie, Chief Business Officer, FCM Travel Asia.
Leveraging tech innovation to capture emerging trends never stops at FCM. You can expect out-of-the solutions, apps, and much that enable you to stay productive. It is also investing in artificial intelligence, conversational bookings, and other possibilities to empower and engage with our customers. Book your demo today!