United Airlines Digital Experience Review

Wrecking Ball: United Airlines

Wrecking Ball Assessment
Released – January 2014

william.flaiz@influence-interactive.com | Office: 267-532-1295
www.influence-interactive.com


Who is Influence Interactive…

We Solve Business Problems with Digital Solutions
We are a full service interactive solutions consulting firm that delivers big agency
results without the baggage. No silos or big overhead, just smart people and
experienced management.
Our approach to business, marketing, and creative strategy is data informed. We
believe in the power of measuring before building.
This allows us to solve business problems with digital solutions, with ideas
translated to the web, mobile, tablet, customer experience, and campaigns.

william.flaiz@influence-interactive.com | Office: 267-532-1295
www.influence-interactive.com

2


Wrecking Ball?

•  What
is
it?

–  A
heuris.c
quan.ta.ve
and
qualita.ve
assessment
of
a
real-‐world
brand

experience
by
an
Inﬂuence
Interac.ve
team
member.
A
view
into
the
digital
and

analog
elements
of
a
brand
experience
through
the
eyes
of
real
customers
with

deep
marke.ng
backgrounds.

•  Why?

–  To
praise
brands
that
get
customer-‐centric
experiences
right
and
give
free
expert

consul.ng
to
brands
that
create
digital
wrecks.
We’re
expressing
our
sen.ment
in

a
construc.ve
manner
on
the
digital
world
we
live
in
today,
that
everyone
can

learn
from.

•  How
does
it
work?

–  We
conduct
an
external
assessment
of
a
digital
brand
experience
and
rate
it

based
on
level
of
brand
love.
We
look
at
5
primary
dimensions
in
conduc.ng
the

assessment
and
give
a
ra.ng
of
the
overall
experience.

3


Guidelines for Rating the Brand Experience
The
primary
factors
we
use
when
reviewing
a
brand
experience:

Findability

User
Experience

Content

Connectedness

Behind
the
Scenes

Paid
Search

SEO

Local
Search

Social

Direct

Word
of
Mouth

Experience
Flow

Site
Func.onality

Cross
Device
&
Channel

History
with
the
Brand

Value
Exchange

Communica.on

Relevancy

Level
of
Detail

Authority

Freshness

Accuracy

Connec.on
Points

Back
Links

Social
Reach

Brand
Response

Technology
in
Place

Analy.cs

Business
Prac.ces

CRM
&
Marke.ng
Automa.on

Experience
Funnel

Market
Posi.on

1. 

Findability

–  Where
did
the
brand
experience
start
and
what
are
the
pathways
available
for
engagement

2. 

User
Experience

–  How
does
the
experience
flow
from
start
to
finish
across
digital
and
offline
channels
and
pathways

and
what
has
the
historical
experience
been
with
the
brand
both
on
and
offline

3. 

Content

–  How
does
the
brand,
media,
and/or
user
generated
content
guide
and
effect
the
overall
experience

4. 

Connectedness

–  How
cohesive
and
responsive
is
the
experience
across
the
brand
ecosystem

5. 

Behind
the
Scenes

–  A
non-‐intrusive
look
at
the
detectable
technology,
funnel
pathway,
analy.cs,
and
architecture
that

make
up
the
inner
workings
of
the
experience

4


Wrecking Ball Assessment
Buying a Ticket to Boarding the Plane

5


Introduction – United Airlines
I
have
created
and
led
teams
of
agency
professionals
in
crea.ve,
user
experience,
analy.cs,
and

CRM,
mostly
on
a
global
scale.

My
career
has
been
centered
around
developing
strategies
for

clients
that
help
them
best
connect
with
their
customers.

During
this
.me,
I
have
had
to
fly
a
lot,

over
300,000
miles
over
the
last
3
years
alone.

Ease
of
booking,
checking
in,
boarding
passes,
and

rewards
programs
are
important
to
me.

I
have
flown
quite
a
few
airlines
during
this
.me,
but
there

is
one
that
stands
out
for
providing
an
excep.onal
experience
from
.cket
purchase
through

boarding:
United
Airlines.

Now
they
don’t
always
provide
the
best
experience
on
the
plane
and

they
s.ll
lack
Wi-‐Fi
on
many
of
their
flights,
but
everything
prior
to
the
flight
is
excellent,
and
that
is

what
we
are
here
to
evaluate.

It
is
not
enough
anymore
for
an
airline
to
provide
travelers
the
ability
to
purchase
.ckets
online,

they
need
to
service
the
online
age
through
.cke.ng,
flight
delays,
paperless
boarding
passes,
and

rewards
programs
that
are
easy
to
access
and
understand,
and
most
importantly
are
centered

around
the
traveler.

6


Start with Google

Started
searching

with
origin
&

des.na.on
in
query.

United
is
the
only

airline
in
the
paid

search
results
on

the
ﬁrst
page.

Use
of
the

des.na.on
in
the

.tle
&
descrip.on
is

good
reinforcement

for
the
searcher.

Organic
Search
Results

#10
Virgin
America

(press
releases)

#16
Fron.er
Airlines

#36
Hawaiian
Airlines

#39
Air
France

(for
PDX
-‐>
Paris)

#41
United
Airlines

The
rest
of
the
results
are

dominated
by
aggregators

for
cheap
ﬂights
and

travel.

Organic
search
is
a
missed

opportunity
for
all
of
the

airlines.

7


Paid Search Landing Page

Indicator
of
where
I
am

in
the
purchase

process
and
what
steps

I
s.ll
need
to

complete-‐
good
user

experience.

Reinforcement
of

my
search
query-‐
good
user

experience.

Third
Click

Second
Click

Calendar
with
fares

allows
me
to
quickly

evaluate
prices
in

case
my
travel
dates

are
ﬂexible.

Immediately
shows
me
the
lowest
price
fare

without
having
to
search,
and
I
can
quickly

enter
my
dates.

8


Select Departing Flight

Again,
reinforcement
of
search

query-‐
good
user
experience.

Empty
space
is
a
missed

opportunity
for
a
beier

page
layout,
or
upsell
oﬀers.

I
can
quickly
scan
the
best
fare
for

my
trip
before
scrolling
through
the

list
to
select
my
ﬂight.

9


Select Departing Flight

Good
use
of
space
in
layout-‐
I
can
quickly
see
the
fare
(and
know

if
it
is
the
lowest
or
not),
each
leg
of
the
journey,
layover
.me,

total
travel
.me,
aircral
type,
and
whether
or
not
snacks
are

available
for
purchase,
all
of
which
are
easy
to
quickly
scan
for

details
about
my
ﬂight.

10


Select Returning Flight

Clear
.tle
of
where
I

am
and
what
I
need

to
do-‐
good
user

guidance.

Informa.on
on
des.na.ons

and
.ming
for
my
trip,

posi.ve
reinforcement
for

the
user.

11


Select Returning Flight

Layout
and
experience
are
the
same
as

selec.ng
a
depar.ng
ﬂight
so
I
don’t
need

to
learn
something
new.

12


Review Trip Itinerary

Poor
layout-‐
this
is
prime
real
estate.

Both
upsell
op.ons
are
non-‐intrusive
to
the

experience
and
are
clear
and
easy
to
understand.

13



Layout
and
informa.on
for
my
ﬂights
is
the

same
as
when
I
chose
them,
therefore
not

making
me
learn
something
new
and

keeping
the
overall
experience
consistent.

14



Op.ons:
I
like
having
the

op.on
to
either

purchase
or
lock
in
my

fare
for
a
nominal
fee.

I
can
enter
my
rewards
program

informa.on
here.
This
seems
a
liile
out
of

place,
but
if
I
ﬁll
it
in,
it
will
auto
populate

the
traveler
informa.on
for
me
on
the
next

screen.

Clearly
states
where
I
am
going
to
next
and

what
to
expect,
or
provides
me
the
op.on
to

go
“Back”
at
a
point
where
I
may
want
to

change
my
op.ons.

15


Traveler Information

If
you
are
a
member
of
their

frequent
ﬂyer
program,
and
you

have
logged
in,
this
informa.on

auto-‐populates
for
you.

16


Traveler Information

Clearly
states

where
I
am
going

next
and
what
to

expect,
or

provides
me
the

op.on
to
go

“Back”
at
a
point

where
I
may
want

to
change
my

op.ons.

Many
websites

oﬀer
a
chat

feature
these

days,
but
I
like

that
I
haven’t

been
bombarded

with
it
and
I
am

just
seeing
it
now.

I
paused
on
this

page
for
several

minutes
before

this
op.on
was

oﬀered
to
me.

17


Seat Map

Easy
to
understand

legend
for
the
color

coding
and

indicators,
also
the

loca.on
is
within

close
proximity
to

my
seat
choices
so
I

don’t
have
to
look

for
it.

This
tabbed

layout
indicates

to
me
that
I
will

be
able
to
choose

seats
for
each
leg

of
my
trip,
and
as

I
go
through
each

segment,
the

experience

remains

consistent.

I
can
quickly
tab
between

the
diﬀerent
seat
classes

and
compare
features.

18


Payment Information – Flight Review

One
more
opportunity
to
review
my
ﬂights

before
purchasing,
in
the
same
format
and

informa.on
I
have
seen
before,
so
it’s
a

good
consistent
experience.

19


Payment Information – The Upsell

The
upsell
again,
why
weren’t
these
op.ons
offered
to
me

earlier
when
I
was
reviewing
my
fare?

I
think
this
is
poor

.ming
for
these
as
I
have
reviewed
my
fares
and
I
am
ready

to
purchase,
but
now
I
need
to
figure
out
these
offers.

20


Payment Information

Terms
and
condi.ons:
everyone
has
to
have

them,
but
United
keeps
them
short
and

easy
to
scan
and
understand,
also
providing

links
for
more
informa.on
on
each
of
them.

Clearly
states
what
the
traveler
can
do
and

doesn’t
complicate
maiers.

-‐
Pur
k
16

Clic

cket

ed
Ti
chas
21


Email Communications

Receipt
&
I.nerary

Check-‐in
Reminder

Once
I
have
purchased
my
.cket,
I

am
provided
an
i.nerary
and

receipt
almost
immediately.

24
hours
prior
to
my
flight,
I
receive
a

reminder
that
I
can
check-‐in
for
the

flight,
“Check
in
Now”
call
to
ac.on.

Boarding
Pass

Once
I
check-‐in,
I
have
the

choice
of
having
my
boarding

pass
emailed
to
me
for
prin.ng.

Now
I
am
ready
to
go,
except
there
is

a
flight
delay.
An
email
from
United

makes
me
aware
of
this,
in
this
case,

hours
before
the
flight.

Flight
Delay
No.fica.on

22


Mobile Experience

The experience with United
does not end with the website,
they also offer one of the best
mobile apps I have ever used.
Information is clearly available
and the pieces of information
that are important to me are
readily available on the
opening screen.
I have several airline apps on
my phone, but United has
listened to their travelers and
provide me with the
information I need easily.

Mobile

Boarding

Pass

Travel

informa.on,
seat

assignment,

weather,
etc.

Flight

Status

My
Reserva.ons

Once
logged

in,
easy
to

ﬁnd
what
is

important
to

me
about

my
account.

Quickly
ﬁnd

what
is

important
to

a
busy

traveler.

23


Wrecking
Ball
Assessment

The
Results
and
Ra.ng

24


United – Customer-Centric

United
has
embraced
a
novel
idea-‐

design
your
processes
to
ﬁt
how

your
customers
think,
integrate

your
channels,
and
deliver
needed

informa.on
when
the
customer

needs
it.

Because
their
digital
channels
work

so
well
together,
the
informa.on
is

synced
across
all
channels,
and
the

experience
up
to
boarding
is

pleasurable.

Now,
it
is
unfortunate
that
the

same
experience
doesn’t
carry
over

to
the
ﬂight
itself,
there
United

could
learn
a
thing
(or
two
or
three)

from
Virgin
America.

25

United Airlines – Experience In Summary


A
Customer-‐

United
Plane
Ticket
Purchase
Process
By
The
Numbers

41st
–
Natural
search
result,
the
Siberia
of
search
results.

2nd
–
Posi.on
in
the
paid
search
ads
which
led
to
my
click.

1
–
The
only
airline
present
in
the
search
results
on
the
first
page
to
buy
a
plane
.cket.

16
–
Number
of
clicks
it
took
to
purchase
a
round-‐trip
plane
.cket,
no
extraneous
clicks.

1
–
Number
of
taps
it
takes
me
to
find
the
informa.on
I
am
looking
for
on
the
United
mobile
app.

2
–
Number
of
.mes
United
tried
to
upsell
me.

350,000+
-‐
Number
of
miles
I
have
flown
with
United
in
my
life.me.

100s
–
The
number
of
people
I
have
told
they
should
fly
United
and
book
on
their
website
or
through
their
app.

0
–
The
number
of
.mes
I
wasn’t
sure
what
to
do
next
in
the
purchase
process.

Immeasurable
–
The
amount
of
revenue
I
drive
through
my
being
a
brand
advocate.

26


Brand Experience Rating
Wrecking Ball Rating – Love United

Wrecking Ball
Rating System:

Love

Like

Leaving

Lost

The United Brand Rating:

Love

Based
on
all
of
my
flying
experience,
from
booking
to
entering
the
plane,

I
will
con.nue
to
use
United
as
my
preferred
airline,
and
recommend

them
to
friends
and
colleagues.

United
has
definitely
invested
.me
into
their
experience
of
bringing

customers
onboard
as
exhibited
by
a
flyer-‐centric
experience
on
the
web

and
mobile.

They
make
it
easy
for
the
novice,
and
provide
all
the
tools
a

frequent
flyer
relies
on
for
a
great
experience.

Findability

User Experience

Content

Post Purchase

Poor –
organic, lots of opportunity

Excellent overall –
user centered

Very Good –
appropriate content at the
appropriate time

Very Good –
connected systems

-  Good job supplementing poor
organic results with paid search

-  Purchase process is simple
and easy to use
-  Post purchase ticket
communication is very good
-  Mobile experience is very good

-  Supplemental content is
available and not intrusive
-  Consistent information across
platforms

- Web experience is tied into
email communications with a
logical flow of information
- Mobile experience is very
good, consistent with web
experience

27


Closing Thoughts – Future of Air Travel

•  What
should
United
do
next?

–  United
needs
to
apply
their
customer-‐centric
thinking
to
their
in-‐airport
and

plane
experiences.

If
they
can
do
this,
they
cannot
lose.

If
they
don’t,
they

will
be
passed
by
other
airlines
such
as
Virgin
America
who
have
focused
on

the
in-‐airport
and
plane
experience,
and
geqng
the
digital
channels
inline
is

easier.

–  United
needs
to
address
its
organic
search
deficiencies-‐
travel
is
a
crowded

and
compe..ve
industry
for
organic
search,
but
they
need
to
be
found
in

order
to
increase
sales.

•  What
is
the
future
of
air
travel?

–  Airlines
are
going
to
have
to
be
able
to
.e
together
all
of
their
touch
points

into
a
single
user-‐centric
experience.

Performing
well
in
just
one
aspect
of
the

flying
experience
is
not
going
to
be
enough,
the
pre-‐flight
and
in-‐flight

experiences
will
need
to
be
.ghtly
aligned
and
centered
around
the
traveler.

28


APPENDIX

29


Purchase/Booking by device

Air
Travel:

11%

Air
Travel:

9%

30

References


31

Travel Sales and Mobile Booking


32

Most Used Brands


33

hip://www.tnooz.com/wp-‐content/uploads/2013/04/mobiquity-‐FULL.jpg

Research to Booking


34


Poor Mobile Experience


35


Online Ad Spend


36

United Airlines Digital Experience Review

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