Thoughts from the Top - Featuring Sooho Choi, Global Head of Travel & Hospitality

Sooho Choi brings over 20 years of experience in the consulting industry, with the past two years spent as the Global Head of Travel & Hospitality at Publicis Sapient. He believes that a client-centric and outcome-focused approach, paired with best-in-class solutions for each engagement, drives results and profitable growth for every business served. Sooho is based in the Greater Chicago Area.

Q: Given the major impact COVID has had on the Travel and Hospitality industry, what have you seen companies within this industry prioritizing as they look to reopen?

First and foremost, the health and safety of both crew and customers are of utmost importance and remain the primary focus as the industry looks to recover. At the same time, the business reality is that travel and hospitality brands need access to substantial cash and credit lines to survive through this pandemic. This crisis has lasted longer than initially anticipated, and having sufficient liquidity will allow these businesses to invest in their future now and ultimately emerge stronger. Lastly, there is a strong emphasis on communicating with clarity.

Across the larger sectors in the Travel and Hospitality space, we have observed several major shifts and some promising recovery trends. Airlines and airports have focused on cost-cutting while simultaneously offsetting lost revenues by shifting to cargo and leisure business. China is well on its way toward recovery, particularly with hotel demand. Perhaps most significantly, restaurants have undergone a significant overhaul in the ways they engage with customers, with the vast majority of revenues now coming through digital channels—kiosks, touchless, mobile, etc.—especially in the QSR segment.

Q: How do you see Salesforce playing a major role in the recovery of the Travel and Hospitality industry?

We see a tremendous opportunity in both the B2B and B2C worlds. The robust capabilities in marketing, mobile, and engagement that Salesforce offers are well suited for the needs of a post-COVID world. In terms of B2C, Salesforce’s Customer 360, with its own CDP and Audience Studio, comes into play. This offering provides the ability to deliver real-time offers and journeys specifically mapped to what customers are truly looking for. We have seen an uptick in staycations and local getaways, so we need to enable our clients to use Marketing Cloud to target and engage with these individuals in the right way.

Looking at the restaurant and delivery ecosystem, we have identified ways to use communities to connect restaurant partners to end customers. Restaurants understand that using third parties for their delivery system is important to their business, but it goes beyond simply ensuring the food gets from point A to point B. It is about ensuring that we are connecting an ecosystem from end to end.

Q: What is one innovative way you have seen clients leverage Salesforce in creating more customer engagement during this time?

We have been working with a large global hotel chain on their recovery efforts centered on the customer experience. This specific client has an in-house, custom-built CDP. One of the unique advantages of Salesforce in this instance was its ability to integrate seamlessly with the client’s existing CDP. By leveraging the client’s data in combination with the power of Salesforce, we are now able to create offers and journey orchestration. They have invested in a suite of Salesforce products to support the larger scope of their initiatives. The offers are currently being pushed through their service console, while the journeys are mapped through Marketing Cloud.

Q: What is the best way for Salesforce to engage with Publicis Sapient?

We want to ensure that all of our engagements with Salesforce are value-driven. We see a massive need for businesses within the Travel and Hospitality industry to invest now.

We want to align with Salesforce in helping our customers ask: How do I make the most out of the cash I have today? How do I build resilience into my business? Finally, if the client is behind, how can I turn this into an opportunity to catch up and get ahead?

Q: What about the “Salesforce Ohana” and culture stands out in your mind?

One of the things we see in larger engagements is the use of multiple technologies. Even so, we appreciate that Salesforce approaches every individual piece of an engagement as an opportunity to partner. We believe that their willingness to be collaborative and continue to work with us in the best interest of the client is representative of their culture.