tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13331370.post115935285658335168..comments2023-10-21T14:45:00.295+01:00Comments on Travolution Blog: Travolution@PhoCusWright Brussels - Who are you kidding?Travolution Bloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14075713549142296853noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13331370.post-1159880123725498452006-10-03T13:55:00.000+01:002006-10-03T13:55:00.000+01:00Tricia I find it very interesting that you quote ...Tricia I find it very interesting that you quote Kristie Goshow on the cost of the direct channel when so much of Kristie's presentation was on how much Jumeirah benefits from Customer Relationship Management via direct contact with the customer...<BR/><BR/>Perhaps you want to review the presentations via your MyPhocusWright login. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13331370.post-1159541727579119992006-09-29T15:55:00.000+01:002006-09-29T15:55:00.000+01:00Deflating hype is a noble cause. But short of the ...Deflating hype is a noble cause. But short of the twin fallacies of acting as if direct distribution is free and acting as if distribution partners can be avoided altogether, there are a number of sound reasons for the, let’s say, intense interest of suppliers in direct distribution. <BR/><BR/>1. If the costs of direct distribution are hard to pin down, the costs of indirect often are not. Northwest Airlines paid $180 million in GDS fees in 2003; American paid $500 million in 2005. Even a small percentage of that will go a very long way toward building and maintaining a supplier.com site. <BR/>2. When a supplier does invest in a direct distribution channel today, it can and should be a second-generation, “Travel 2.0” site. Whatever else that might mean, it at least designates that the technologies and services now available can support sites that are more engaging, inspiring, and persuasive; less likely to frustrate; and capable of delivering impressively higher conversion rates. When FatWire customer Mexicana Airlines launched their new site in mid-August, they immediately achieved mid-double-digit increases in online sales compared to previous week, and high-double-digit increases over the same week in 2005. (More information will be available in an upcoming case study.)<BR/>3. Even if the cost savings of direct distribution are negligible, the supplier derives the immense advantage of direct customer contact. A number of suppliers have told me that the ability to establish and nurture a customer relationship is so valuable that it would justify paying a premium over the costs of channel distribution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com