Johan Lundgren, Deputy CEO of TUI Travel, recently gave an interview with Marketing Week at the ABTA travel conference, giving his verdict on how social media is reforming marketing as well as customer service.

On social media, Lundgren said:


"We are going to move away from offline form-filling to online feedback but the most difficult challenge is how to interact seamlessly with our customers through social media until it’s time for their next holiday. I’ve seen a number of clumsy attempts from companies trying to play a part through Facebook. People regard Facebook as their area where they choose who to accept as a friend. As a company coming in you have to be very careful. Social media is definitely useful as a customer service tool but also a way to engage and get people to participate in your company.

"In the Nordic region we have created a community on Facebook where customers can participate in developing our next holiday concept and we ask if they have friends who would like to participate - although we are transparent that it’s a trial and not a guarantee their ideas will be implemented."
 You can read the rest of the interview with Marketing Week here.