The air travel industry took a hard hit in revenue due to the pandemic. In total, U.S. scheduled passenger airlines reported an annual 2020 post-tax net loss of $35 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The pandemic also brought safety requirements to airports, and passengers turned to social media platforms with their questions and concerns related to travel guidance, which overwhelmed social media teams at various airports.
Looking for a way to ease the burden, the digital marketing team at Miami International Airport looked to Qualtrics and its Social Connect solution. In 2020, the airport developed its Mia chatbot and programmed it with answers in English and Spanish to travelers' most frequent questions related to the pandemic.
The airport cut the number of inquiries to its social channels nearly in half, freeing up its social team to respond faster to more complex passenger requests. With the chatbot, MIA reduced its average customer service resolution time to less than 10 minutes and kept travelers informed and up-to-date throughout the pandemic.
“With our chatbot automating responses and the social listening capabilities informing it all, our team can quickly zero in on the most critical customer needs and anticipate the information that we can proactively share to make the biggest difference in our travelers’ experience,” said Ralph Cutié, MIA director and CEO.
With the pandemic somewhat calming down and things returning to normalcy, airports are bustling again. The MIA digital marketing team will continue to use Qualtrics Social Connect to analyze inquiries received over its social channels and the Mia chatbot to help inform what gets shared on the airport’s website and social media properties.
Qualtrics Social Connect and XM Discover analytics responded to potential issues, trends and common questions within direct messages and social media interactions alongside public-facing social data like mentions, keywords, engagement, reach and comments. Passengers frequently had questions about parking availability and pricing. In response, the MIA social team now proactively alerts travelers through Mia and social channels when availability in the parking garages becomes scarce.
Additionally, the customer care team uses data from Qualtrics Social Connect to create approved scripts and responses with links to relevant information that automatically populate based on keywords from a customer's question.
“With Qualtrics Social Connect, MIA better understands and delivers on its travelers’ expectations and desires for timely updates and customer service, building loyalty and trust during a challenging time for the industry,” said Fabrice Martin, head of product for Qualtrics Customer Care.
Edited by
Erik Linask
