5 seconds to change your business

Let's look at the experience of an individual trying to book a flight. In the UK already, 1 in 3 people no longer watch conventional TV -- they have shifted to watching web streamed TV programmes. Conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon, on marketing, advertising, multichannel customers, call-centres, mobile marketing. Event in Moscow for American Express (Amex) and ATH, audience were executives from the travel industry. The web has also made us very impatient -- as we are used increasingly to information appearing in a second or two. Russian online travel bookings are growing 20% a year -- already $90bn of business a year in 2012. Old style travel agents will struggle in Russia in future. Hotels that fail to give instant online prices and online bookings will soon find they are losing significant business to truly online competitors. Most travel call centres are stuck in the last century -- with operators unable to understand the multichannel world of the customer on the end of the phone, who may have 15 web pages open, with ipad, iphone and portable PC all active. Price comparison websites are already transforming the entire travel industry with impact not only on airlines but also charter holidays, cruise holidays and so on. Old business models are dead -- just one example is the way in which airlines are changing the rewards they offer to travel agents.