Personalized Journeys, Better Bookings: Optimizing Digital CX for Grand Circle Corporation

Challenges

• Lack of a smooth, integrated checkout experience for booking trips, leading to friction in the customer journey.
• Difficulty in managing a vast content library to ensure relevant content reached the right audience at the right time.
• Needed seamless integration with external customer support systems to streamline services.
• Lack of unified customer view across campaigns and web journeys to identify customer needs.

COMPANY

The Grand Circle Corporation (GCC) is one of the largest travel brands for Americans over the age of 50 years. In addition to river cruises, escorted tours, and ocean cruises, they also offer land experiences and small ship adventure holidays in the U.S. and overseas.

INDUSTRY

Travel and Hospitality

SERVICE PROVIDED

Website Revamp with Optimized Content Management and Marketing Analytics

Solutions

The solution involved a complete website revamp, including a redesign of site navigation and a responsive design to enhance user experience. Content optimization and custom tools were implemented to ease content creation. Back-office services were upgraded for improved performance, and integration with a third-party call center (Genesys) enabled scheduled callback support. Marketing analytics were incorporated to personalize customer journeys and enhance lead quality. Additionally, Continuous Delivery modules were introduced to boost team productivity and facilitate frequent updates.

Results

• 15%-20% increase in call requests, along with improved lead generation and referrals

• 3X faster update on website content, improving operational efficiency

• Reduced bounce rates and increased lead generation

Background

Grand Circle Corporation (GCC), a leader in travel experiences for Americans aged 50 and older, offers river and ocean cruises, guided land tours, and small ship adventures across the globe. With a large, loyal customer base, GCC aimed to modernize its digital presence to better meet evolving expectations for convenience and personalization.

However, the brand’s website presented several operational and customer experience challenges. The booking process was disjointed, often requiring manual intervention and support calls, which created friction in the buyer journey. Additionally, managing a vast library of content, from travel itineraries to destination media, was cumbersome and inefficient. GCC’s marketing team lacked tools to deliver personalized content at scale or gain insights from customer behavior across web and campaign touchpoints. Integration with external systems, including customer support, was also limited, affecting service responsiveness.

To address these challenges, Altudo collaborated with GCC to reimagine the website experience from the ground up. We streamlined the Trip Builder process, revamped site navigation for intuitive browsing, and enabled responsive design for mobile users. The implementation of a robust content management system and personalized analytics helped the marketing team deliver timely, relevant experiences and triple the speed of content updates. Integration with a third-party call center allowed for seamless callback scheduling, reducing booking friction and increasing customer satisfaction.

These digital enhancements not only improved operational efficiency but also resulted in higher lead quality, increased referrals, and a measurable boost in conversions, solidifying GCC’s position in a competitive travel market.