The challenge
A manufacturing company was seeking to reduce travel costs by 10% globally. They did not want to implement a blanket travel freeze to achieve savings, and were keen to find alternatives that would not impact their day-to-day activities and long-term business strategy.
The solution
Through an analysis of their program, we were able to highlight two key opportunities for improvement: increasing compliance, which has slipped over previous months; and reducing flexible fare use.
Through targeted messaging to travelers over a one-month period we were able to influence traveler behavior.
Personalized messages were sent via email to travelers when triggered by specific booking behaviors. These included:
- A booking made inside 7 days, prompting a message to educate the traveler on the savings that can be obtained by purchasing further in advance.
- A booking of a flexible fare, prompting a reminder that the company’s travel policy requires them to book restricted fares where available and possible.
This short, sharp email campaign encouraged travelers to take up the challenge of reducing costs by changing their behavior. The benefits continue to be seen, with ongoing savings and compliance well past the campaign end date.
The results
By reducing the use of flexible fares and increasing compliance, our client was able to generate savings of USD$157k in their travel spend year-on-year – 5% more than the 10% savings target that had been set at the start of campaign.
This was all achieved with no reduction in the number of trips taken, enabling them to continue their project and business development travel.
CWT and the client continue to keep an eye on booking behaviors and now plan to run this program annually as a reminder to travelers and to avoid further slips in compliance. Due to the success of the initiative in Australia, the campaign has since been adopted by the client globally.