Proceedings of the 29th Chinese Control Conference

July 29-31, 2010, Beijing, China

A Research on Marketing Management Information

System for Travel Agency Based on CRM*
WEI Min
School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, P.R.China
E-mail: xiada2000@xmu.edu.cn

AbstractCRM Customer Relationship Managementis to integrate business systems with the corporate culture to format
the customer-centric business philosophy. CRM is designed for a new management mechanism to improve the relationship
between companies and customers, which can be implemented in the travel agency marketing, service and technical support
and customer-related areas so that customers always feel the presence of travel agents, as well as, the travel agents can keep
abreast of changes to the customers. This idea will be to promote the travel agency to maximize use of its customer-related
resources, and to achieve travel options from the tourist routes, marketing and technical support services and management of
cross-dimensional. Meanwhile, the overall management of business processes is applied to reducing business costs. CRM is a
concept, and it is also a set of management software and technology, which is of great significance for enhancing marketing
capabilities of travel agents, as well as, achieving maximum profit target for a travel agency.
Key WordsCRM (customer relationship management) , Travel agency, Management information systems

1 INTRODUCTION
CRM is one of the most talked about topics in the IT
industry in recent years. The reason why the CRM is
concerned by more and more enterprises is that it allows
the enterprise to gradually shift from a product-centric to a
customer-centric. Enterprises turned their focus from a
pure market share to a share of valuable customers, and
customer-centered management is the application of CRM
department. CRM, as a software system, not the same as
with other software, is widely implemented in the front
office area of the relationships with customers, such as
marketing, travel route selection, service and technical
support. In terms of the travel agency, in the CRM
software systems to customers as the main line system
Fig The management information systems for a travel agency
organizations, it can advance the software technology marketing,
travel agents, tour routing, service and technology support 2 DEVEPMENT OF CRM SYSTEM
front-office segment for automated management and process
improvement. 2.1 Development
CRM formed a comprehensive single view of customers, CRM is a bridge, which put up a link between businesses
target customers with the selection, which is integrated and customers, to bring profits and greater room for
marketing medium mainly in the enterprise data growth for enterprises. At the same time, as the customers
warehouse platform. By caring the list of marketing feel like God, you will find the service the businesses
activities through customer, the CRM can improve provide like just like your own, so as to achieve a
customer satisfaction, as well as, to carry out the different “win-win”.
measures under the different value of different responses Around 1990, in order to meet the needs of the market,
of the customers. According to the customer life cycle, the many companies began developing SFA (sales force
CRM can provide tailored services to enable travel agents to automation systems), then focused on CSS (Customer
lower costs and higher efficiency to meet customer needs, Service System) for development and promotion. By 1996,
enhancing customer profitability, while improving the some companies combined the two systems, SFA and CSS,
core competitiveness of travel agencies. See figure1. plus marketing, Field Service. On this basis, combined
with CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) to form one
set of sales and service of call center (Call Center), by
which today’s CRM system is formed. Since 1999, with
the emergence of electronic commerce, CRM had been
*
This work is supported by National Social Science Foundation under developed to the direction of eBRM /eCRM. According to
Grant06CJL019.

259
the trend of the world's leading companies, the global
CRM market has been growing with 50% annually in
recent years. The sales of global CRM market were 13
billion U.S. dollars in 2000, which jumped to 67 billion
U.S. dollars in 2004 and 238 billion U.S. dollars in 2009.
Currently, the systems of analysis, consulting and
integration services has become a vital new force in the
CRM market, whose annual growth rate is a staggering
88% to produce a great impact on enterprises, especially,
travel agents. Therefore, the CRM system plays an important
role in the construction of information management for travel
agents. See fig2.
Fig 2 The development of CRM
2.2 CRM System
CRM system mainly includes three sales force automation,
marketing automation and customer service. These three aspects
are important factors affecting commercial circulation, and
playing an important role on the establishment and operation of
the system. See fig3.
Fig 3 CRM Systems
2.2.1 Sales Force Automation
Sales Force Automation is a key function of the system,
and it uses more integrated solution to manage the
relationship between business and customers, including account
management, contract management, quota management, sales
management and many other functions. The process of sales
force automation included four areas, target generation and
tracking, order management, order fulfillment, marketing
and customer service system integration. See figure4.
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Figure 4 The process of sales force automation
2.2.2 Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is the only system in the relatively
new features, and it focuses a comprehensive framework
for action through the design, implementation and
evaluation of marketing initiatives and other relevant
include, giving marketers greater capacity. It provides
three unique features, high-end marketing management,
marketing execution methods, marketing analysis. See
fig.5.
Fig 5 Marketing Automation Systems
2.2.3 Customer Service
The profitability of a travel agency depends on providing
quality services to customers in the system, and the
customer’s service and support can be provided mainly
through the call center and the Internet to achieve, who has
speed, high efficiency and accuracy. This powerful
customer data and tool makes the vertical and horizontal
sales through multiple channels become possible, which
can provide more opportunities for travel agents to have
customers to sell more products.
3 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
CRM-based Management Information System for a travel
agency is not a quick thing, so the concrete
implementation must be phased. In full knowledge of the
actual situation on the basis of travel agents, starting from
travel agents urgent need, so the travel agents can create the
shortest possible time for benefits. In terms of implementation
of information systems, domestic software companies, travel
agencies already have a lot of practical experience. Although
the implementation of CRM is still in its infancy in China, its
means and steps meet the information system of general laws.
There are few basic components in the implementation of
CRM-based management information system. See figure6.
Fig 6 Management Information System
3.1 Philosophy
Management information system is a process of business
philosophy, just like other large of system, and the
management information systems involved some Business,
such as sales, marketing, customer service, finance and
distribution, and its realization is inseparable from the work
support staff positions to promote the efforts and cooperation.
Company-wide support is including: the system user support
from the bottom to access; the project team with dedication to
system implementation; The business philosophy to carry out
the entire customer-centric in travel agencies, the customer is
really thinking of God should be instilled in to the enterprise's
employees.
3.2 Project Team
Once received the support of the company from top to
bottom, it can be chosen from various departments of
appropriate composition of management information
systems group. Project team is the driving force behind the
implementation of management information systems, and
they want to make a variety of CRM implementation
decision, giving advice, details on the CRM and the
benefits and communicate with employees throughout the
company. In general, the project team should not only
include senior management, sales and marketing staff, IT
department staff, financial departments, but also include
all the end-user's voice.
3.3 Business needs
Business requirements analysis phase is the key to
the implementation of management information systems.
In business requirements analysis phase, the strategy
discussions are necessary to the sales, marketing and
customer service managers on the management of
information systems System, and finally the consistent
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ideal of management information systems can be reached
in the consensus. The aim is to fully identify the
expectations of each sector of the CRM and to the needs of
various departments and information integration and build
up a good overall view of CRM programs. By the analysis
of investigation and business of CRM, it can be found to
be most in need of automation business areas, to areas
where business process improvement, as well as, what
technical characteristics of CRM solutions in the choice of
should be considered.
3.4 Implementation and operation
In order to turn the CRM from Idealization to reality, the
implementation and action plans are necessary, and
specific consideration should be given as following. See
figure7.
Fig.7 Implementation and operation
3.4.1 CRM Program
Currently, CRM solutions are so many, but it should be
combined with the company to determine the actual
situation. There are many professional consultants and
researchers in CRM industry, and their main task is to
study and evaluate CRM programs, which can provide
pairs of the main market of CRM solutions for system
support.
3.4.2 CRM Software
The goal of application management information
system is to support and promote the rationalization of
yes-off sales, marketing and customer service process,
which meant the choice of software should be built on the
basis of existing and operational requirements of IT
technology. The mainstream of software generally
provides the following features: Contact and customer
management, sales management, telemarketing and phone
sales, customer service, marketing, business intelligence,
lead management, e-commerce, and so on.
3.4.3 CRM implementation
Implementation phase of the project is to be translated
into reality system requirements analysis process, effective
implementation and management is the base of the project's
success, Including: project planning and management, system
configuration and customization, testing and commissioning,
project implementation and roll out the end of system
operation support. Finally, management information systems
should provide feedback to the leading group and project
team, such as which performs well, which features hard to
control, what measures can be used to make full use of
existing technology investments, and so on.
3.5 Technical knowledge
3.5.1 Technology of Data Ware House
With the market competition intensifying, the
growing number of the staff and managers in travel
agencies needing the information, a new concept and
technology is proposed. Its goal is to integrate all the
scattered within the original travel agency business data
and data access through convenient and effective means to
support the travel agents within the different departments,
different needs, and different levels of users to access the
information they need. According to the practical experience
of data warehouse construction and domestic
telecommunications, data warehouse construction has just
started the specific conditions of unified planning, bottom-up,
step by step methodology. That is to say, one or a group of
important, urgent business needs for construction in the data
based on the overall framework. Implementation is based on
immediate needs and goals, to compare a short time to
complete, after gradually extended data warehouse contains
scope and function, progressive development and construction
of into enterprise-class data warehouse system.
3.5.2 Data Mining
Data mining is a use of a variety of analysis tools found in
the massive data model and data relationship between the
process, and the relationship between these models can be
used to make predictions. The first step is to describe data
mining Data - Calculation of statistical variables (such as
mean, standard deviation, etc.), then the chart or image
visually displayed, and then you can see the correlation
between the number of variables (if some of the value of
regular simultaneous). See fig.8.
Fig.8 The process of Data Mining
Data mining uses artificial intelligence (AI) and statistical
analysis of the benefits of progress. The two disciplines
are committed to pattern discovery and prediction. Data
mining is not intended to replace traditional statistical
262
analysis techniques. Rather, it is an extension of statistical
analysis methodology and extended. Most of the statistical
analyses are based on sound mathematical theory and skill,
by which the forecast accuracy is satisfactory; however,
there are high demands on the users. With the growing
computing power your computer, it is possible to use
computer computing power only through relatively simple
and fixed way to complete the same function. Data mining
is the use of statistical and artificial intelligence
applications, which is to encapsulate these highly
technology so that people will not grasp such technologies,
but they can also finish the same functioning, as well as,
they can focus more on his own to solve the problem.
4 SYSTEM IMPLENTATION
The management information system implementation of
travel agencies involves two basic issues: one problem is
philosophy; the other is the new management model to
provide information technology support. The specific
implementation can be divided into seven parts. See fig9.
Fig.9 System implementation
4.1 Basic work
The system work is based on a complicated system, whose
implementation requires a certain objective conditions and the
foundation. First of all, to establish customer master file,
through data mining, data warehousing and enterprise
customers and technology, the information collection and
analysis can be completed. Secondly, companies should
understand the customer needs, through the establishment
of real-time customer information systems, customer
information, and services into the enterprise operation, the
internal customer information can be effectively
transferred. Finally, a corporate customer portal is
established using of computer and communications
technology to establish a new channel for business contact
and communicate with customers.
4.2 Full participation
Any system including CRM of a travel agency is
interconnected, and the system involved in various business
enterprises. It's realization without the support, efforts and
cooperation of all staff positions.
4.3 Project Team
Once the Projects are established, the appropriate personnel of
various departments’ components should be selected to
compose the project team, which is the driving force of the
system implementation. Through it, companies can
analyze and identify the real business needs, improving
the function of setting the system to make all kinds of
decision-making and design, and the travel agencies can
provide the help they need in or before the implementation.
4.4 Business needs
Systems must be based on the organic basis of the analysis,
therefore, if travel agencies’ business process does not
recognize the problems, or not to analyze the development
of action programs, they will not have very good results
even if the system is applied to. The travel agencies should
fully identify the expectations of various sectors based on
analyzed the needs of the whole and the various
departments to form an ideal system solution on the
overall view and the basic framework.
4.5 Advanced technology
During the period of the establishment and implementation of
the system, the solution should fully reflect a travel agency's
personality, and the technology chosen should be tailored
for the enterprise. Moreover, with travel agencies to
integrate existing computer systems to facilitate the
effective management and customer interaction activities.
4.6 Corporate culture
Corporate culture is viewed as the number of
packages in the form of a combination of performance,
commissioning, installation and operation, but the real
core is a new concept. It is to “solve the needs of our
customers”, implement all aspects of customer related to
business and customer relations that have been further
deepened. Meanwhile, a new corporate culture also
changes, that is from a production center to the center of
customer demand, from the marketing of products for the
goal to providing the overall solution, which enables a
travel agency turn internally from departmental teamwork
long to operations.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The system is to primarily evaluate the major clients and
customers by analyzing and tracking the clients of travel
agencies. The customer relationship management and
marketing contract management are both the major
components of the system throughout the system, and then the
price management, program management and financial
management are supplemented, forming a complete system of
a CRM-based travel agency marketing management
information system. The development of this system adopted
today's popular BPS structure, providing the basic conditions
for development of the ERP system in future.
263
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