Online travel agency Expedia has transformed huge volumes of data into useful insights for decision making. Effectively optimizing online customer experiences and increasing customer lifetime value fuels the company’s growth.
Expedia has nearly 200 terabytes of customer and clickstream data in their data warehouse. “In the direct response business, we track and measure everything so we need powerful analytical products that can handle big data,” said Joe Megibow, VP and General Manager of Expedia US.
“Analytical insights about customer needs and preferences help us deliver the value and convenience that earns their loyalty”, Megibow added.
Lifetime value
The company related its customer lifetime value to acquisition-cost decisions. Using clustering techniques, the analytics team explored customer behavior over time. They built predictive models that revealed the factors that most influence transactions.
Customer lifetime value insights help Expedia determine which offers encourage repeat business. The benefit to Expedia customers and Expedia’s bottom line has been significant.
Customer satisfaction
“Expedia discovers important new ways to increase customer satisfaction,” said Tapan Patel, SAS Global Product Marketing Manager. “Expedia clearly understands how each marketing channel influences conversions on the site, allowing it to optimize marketing investments by channel.”
“The value of analytics became crystal clear as annual gross bookings and revenue increased. Expedia’s smart use of analytics helps them continually innovate and distinguishes the company as a winner in the online travel industry.”
Web analytics award
Megibow led Expedia’s effort to consolidate the company’s disparate data feeds into one and apply analytics to optimize marketing. Megibow presented his approach to hundreds of Web Analytics Association members who awarded him the Practitioner of the Year Award for Excellence.