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For creating innovative Facebook and Twitter campaigns like KLM Surprises and various crowdsourcing projects, guiding KLM during the the ashcloud crises and being a key part of a team of 16 people engaging customers on social media, Lonneke Verbiezen is the SimpliFlying Hero for Feb 2011 (Yes! Heroes is back!)
The volcanic explosion that led to explosive growth
The ashcloud crises about a year ago was a catalyst for many airlines, especially in Europe, to start engaging their customers through means they were familiar with – often tools like Facebook and Twitter (click here to see case studies). It was also then, that social media tools became the necessity for airlines to communicate during crises with their customers.
One of the airlines that transformed its customer interaction methods after the ashcloud crisis was KLM – and Lonneke Verbiezen was in the center of all the action. And the impact of her team’s work is truly felt today. In the last year, KLM has come up with various innovative campaigns like KLM Surprises (see video below), Fly2Miami – where the first flight to Miami will transformed into a party flight on the request of a Dutch DJ, and even an application where travelers can create free, personalized luggage tags!
A clear business-oriented customer engagement strategy
The numbers speak for themselves – KLM today has over a hundred thousand Facebook fans, and Twitter followers approaching the six figure mark! The best part is that Lonneke did not achieve this as a fluke – there has been a clear business strategy too.
Lonneke won the mandate to scale her team, and KLM now has a team of 16 people dedicated to social media, where 11 members of the team focus on customer service, and another five are dedicated to eCommerce and commercial side of things. More importantly, every customer is treated like a VIP and through various campaigns, they’re heard, their problems solved and their questions answered.
Here is Lonneke’s interview. And we congratulate her and her team for their exemplary efforts once again (click here if you can’t view the video).
Here’s what the KLM Surprises campaign was about, as I shared my opening keynote in San Francisco recently.
Know someone who’s worthy of being a SimpliFlying Hero?
Simpliflying Heroesare individuals recognized for outstanding social media use in the world of aviation. Do you know of somebody who uses social media effectively in their airline or airport to achieve specific business results? Or do you think you fit the bill?
Then go ahead and fill up the SimpliFlying Heroes nomination form. By filling out the nomination form, you bring them a step closer to being recognized by SimpliFlying for their efforts.
