Case Study: Accelerating Business Membership Growth for a Leading Airline

Executive Summary

We partnered with a major Australian airline to accelerate growth of its business travel program through a targeted outbound sales strategy. By deploying a specialised sales team and data-led engagement approach, the program rapidly exceeded acquisition and revenue targets, establishing a scalable model for sustained membership growth and ongoing account development.

Customer Context

Our client is a leading airline offering a broad portfolio of travel services, with a strong focus on delivering high-quality, customer-centric experiences. A key strategic priority for the organisation is its business travel program, designed to support corporate and SME travellers through tailored benefits, services, and value-driven offerings.

Challenge

The client sought to significantly expand its business travel program membership base. This required engaging a large volume of prospective businesses through outbound cold calling, with the dual objective of clearly articulating the value proposition and converting interest into active memberships.

The scale and nature of the outreach required a highly specialised outbound sales capability, combining structured call volumes with compelling, conversion-focused conversations.

Solution

We were engaged to design and deliver a dedicated outbound sales program, commencing with a 12-week pilot. A specialised sales team was established to manage cold calling activity, targeting approximately 1,000 prospective business records per week.

The team utilised tailored sales scripts and engagement strategies designed to resonate with business decision-makers, clearly communicating program benefits and aligning with the airline’s service-led brand promise. The approach balanced efficiency with quality conversations, ensuring prospects were informed, engaged, and motivated to join.

Outcome

The pilot delivered results well beyond initial expectations and established a scalable model for ongoing growth.

$20M+

in projected annual travel spend from newly acquired members

235%

Achievement against initial stretch targets

1,000

new businesses acquired year to date

4,000

businesses actively under management, driving incremental spend

Following the success of the pilot, the partnership expanded to support additional programs, including inbound support for digital marketing campaigns, initiatives to increase spend from existing members, and re-engagement of lapsed accounts. The program has now been operating for close to a year and continues to evolve in scope, delivering sustained growth and measurable commercial impact.