[caption id="" align="alignright" width="202" caption="Image by demi-brooke via Flickr"][/caption]

I was recently reading an article by Harvard Business School Professor John Quelch, who discussed eight refreshing ways of marketing in a recession. Inspired by that article, I decided to take a shot at coming up with ways in which airlines can market themselves to achieve a superior brand authority in a recession. Here are three of those ideas.
1. Build trust through empathy
In recessionary times, people need the comfort of knowing that they’re not alone in their troubles. While the rest of the world changes, the brand which remains consistent to the promise as much as possible would win the hearts of many.

Airlines should take small steps to build trust. One suggestion by Patrick Hanlon is to empathize. People don’t want to be reminded of their problems even when they fly – it’s an oasis of privacy, where they are disconnected from the world. For starters, the in-flight crew can smile more and be more patient with passengers. It’s the small things that build trust. And trust built in tough times is …

Image by Richard H Martin via Flickr
Singapore Airlines has always been admired for its consistently high-quality products and innovation, especially in times of crises. From using the latest aircraft like the Airbus A380, to customer service that even other airlines talk about. Recently, Harvard Business School Professor Rohit Deshpande talked about Singapore Airlines’ strategy for success in an interview on the HBS Publishing website, conducted by Scott Berinato. His conclusion – competing on price alone never bears fruit.

Thinking beyond price competition
Professor Deshpande explains in the interview that too many airlines around the world, and especially in the US, compete on price alone and this forces them to commoditize their businesses. They remove any additional frills and the concept of in-flight service is diluted substantially. This is exactly what Singapore Airlines doesn’t do. It never compromises on the quality of service, and charges a premium for that. In a world many airlines are eliminating services on-board, Singapore Airlines pampers those who’d pay for it  – and there are plenty of disgruntled traveleres today who would!