Is it enough to focus solely on motivational “carrots” (incentives) to drive customer retention or there is more to it? How can the “marriage” of UX with Engineering and Big Data drive customer acquisition through an intelligent personalized UI? Travelplanet24’s story on how it worked its way through User Experience Design Thinking.

1. User Engagement
In Travel

2. UX/UI
Manager
I am
Alicia
Konstantourou
Let’s meet

3. Travelplanet24
…

4. UX team
UX Lead
Design
3 Web Designers
1 Mobile Designer
1 Graphic Designer
Content
2 Content
Travelplanet24

5. Travelplanet24 team
170 3 1 N
Travelplanet24
Organization Chart

6. Engagement
#Travel

7. - Fragmented industry
- High price-sensitivity of customers
- No loyalty
- Technology intense; need for innovation
- Too much content
- Similar brand colors
Travel industry

8. Stages of Travel

9. Devices

11. Traffic Sources
The meta-search user

12. Different Engagement Tactics
 Touch point
 Traffic Source
 Persona
 Context
 Seasonality
 Business Goals

13. What’s the challenge?
 Users & Needs
 Touch points & Experiences
 Goals & Metrics
Measure & interpret different:

14. User Engagement
Feelings Mental States Interactions
Comfortable
Reassured
Anxious
Worried
Concentrated
Focused
Intrigued
Inspired
In a hurry
Bored
Confused
Clicks
Bookings
Subscriptions
Downloads
Bounces

15. Engagement
Customer/User Touch Points
 Number of complaints
 Number of calls
 Number of emails
 Customer sharing & advocacy

16. Engagement
User Engagement
 Time to interact
 Bounce Rate
 Conversion Rate
 Abandonment Rate

17. Engagement
Customer Loyalty
 Retention rate
 Customer churn
 Customer Value (RFM)

18. Engagement
Visitor Loyalty
 Visitor Loyalty (New vs Returning)
 Satisfaction
 Direct Traffic

19. Engagement
Task/Flow specific
 Task completion rate
 Time on task
 # of errors

20. Engagement
Device-specific
 App downloads
 App crashes
 App uninstalls
 Conversion Rate per device

21. Customer
Acquisition & Retention

22. 1
User Experience

23.  Behaviors, attitudes and emotions.
 Considered to be subjective.
 May involve all senses.
 Affected by prior and future moments of
engagement.
User Experience

24. User Experience

25. 2
UX Design

26. User-Centered Design

27. “Satisfy the cat”
Don'ts:
1. Put the owner first
2. Our own tastes/opinions
3. Compel the user
User-Centered Design

28. Target Group

29. Traveler’s Categories
Type of Travel:
Frequency:
Leisure
Business
Frequent Traveler
Occasional Traveler
Other: Stay duration, Travel companion,
Booking date VS Travelling date

30.  Business Frequent Travelers
 Business Non-Frequent Travelers
 Leisure Frequent Traveler
 Leisure Non-Frequent Traveler
 Mixed Frequent Traveler
 Mixed Non-Frequent Traveler
Target Group

32. Where’s the empathy?

33. Personas

34. Persona Characteristics
Demographic Data Motivations
Frustrations Ideal Experience
User Description, Age,
Location, Internet Use,
Tech Savviness, Marital
Status, Physicals
restraints
What motivates them?
Why do they need this
service? How have they
found us?
What’s stopping them
from choosing our
service?
Features & Content
which will help them to
have a great experience

35. Chris, Athens, 34, Accounting Manager
Occasional Leisure Traveler
Offers/Discounts
Around weekend
#seasonality
Satisfy wife’s needs
Trapped in a corporate
suit
meta-search site
Payment methods (installments?)
Best price & quality

36. Context / Ethnography

37. One frequently ignored differentiator of
desktop & mobile applications is context.
Context / Ethnography

39. 3
Optimization

40. Product & UX Vision

41. Vision & Qualities
UX Vision
Provide a comfortable, seamless, simple, personalized and innovative booking
experience to users (potential customers) via all available devices.
UX Qualities
Personality/Character
Comfortable, Pleasant, Easy to use, Trustworthy, Easy-going, Helpful, Honest, …
Innovation
Intelligence, Dynamic, Distinctive, Seamless, Personalized,, Simplicity,
Credibility, Intuition, Educative, Accessible, …

42. Conversion Optimization
Framework

43. Conversion optimization framework
Conversion drivers:
 Value proposition
 Relevance
 Clarity
 Urgency
 Scarcity
Conversion inhibitors:
 Anxiety
 Distraction

44. Tools & Methods

45.  Contextual Inquiries/Interviews
 User testing (moderated in person, moderated remotely or unmoderated)
 Card Sorting
 User monitoring
 Heuristic Evaluation (Expert Review)
 Cognitive Walkthrough (Expert Review)
 AB testing
 Multivariate Testing
 Click testing
 User Journey Mapping
Tools & Methods

46. Experimentation

47. Experimentation process
Define problematic space / Ask a question
Construct hypothesis
Set metrics & KPIs
Decide on suitable method
Conduct background research
Experiment
Implement corrective tactics – if any
Propose next steps
Analyze data

48. 4
Personalization

49. Content Integration
Revenue & Optimization
Front End
Development Department

50. Revenue & Optimization
Front End
Development Department
Variety in Flights (routes, prices)

51. Front End
Development Department
Variety in Flights (routes, prices)
Discounted products, preselected based on user

52. Personalized, User-friendly & Engaging UI
Development Department
Discounted products, preselected based on user
Variety in Flights (routes, prices)

53. 5
Big Data

54. Big Data, Big Opportunities
The current frontier for innovation,
competitiveness & personalization.

55. Data into
Insights

56. Closing Remarks

57. Final remarks
UX is not something abstract
It’s actually highly measurable

58. Final remarks
UX is all about the user
Get to know him.
Mind his needs.
Interpret his behavior.

59. Final remarks
Optimization is an infinite journey
Find a problematic space
& then work on a solution.
Make an assumption and test it.

60. Final remarks
Personalization is the key
User Engagement, Customer Retention & Acquisition

61. Gamification is not the goal;
emotions are!
Help people to overcome obstacles
and motivate them to make the most difficult (first) step.
Final Remarks

62. We should rethink devices!
Not all devices for booking stage
Final Remarks

63. Final Remarks
Main goal is the long-term
User Engagement
From a scarcity economy to a connection economy

64. “Think outside the display box.”
Luke W.
Final Remarks

65. Final remarks
Users are people &
people love simplicity

66. Final remarks
Focus on delivering value
to the end user

67. Final remarks
Work hard on
Information Architecture

68. Final remarks
Build innovative products

69. Final remarks
Mobile-first approach
Mobilize, not miniaturize

70. Final remarks
Focus on the customer journey
Customer Journey Mapping

71. Final remarks
Engagement derives from
a better UX

72. Alicia Konstantourou
UX/UI Manager @ Travelplanet24
Thank you!