Three ways airlines can brand themselves in a recession

Shashank Nigam — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:21:12 +0000

Image by demi-brooke via Flickr

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 bound to turn into true loyalty when good times return.

2. Offer better value – more discounts, less promotions

It’s a known fact that in a recession, almost 50% of consumers look to switch to a brand that provides them with more value, or at least more perceived value. Greater value can be demonstrated to the consumer if he pays the same or less price for a better quality product. Promotions like extended credit or mail-in rebates don’t tend to work as well, since the “barrier to purchase” is not lowered. Hence, instead of nickle-and-diming customer, airlines should look to improve the quality of service. For starters, now that oil prices have nosedived, some of the fuel-surcharges imposed on the customers should be lowered or removed. The increased price elasticity will likely result in greater overall demand for services.

3. Connect – go online to interact with flyers

In this recession, all companies have an inexpensive market research tool at their disposal – Web 2.0. Airlines should actively monitor feedback sites like suggestionbox.com, fluther.com and epinions.com to see what the buzz is about their airline (or even competition) and then adapt quickly to customer tastes. These are also good forums to showcase how seriously feedback is taken – another good way to build trust.

Moreover, airlines should think of innovative ways of becoming part of online communities that their flyers frequent – such as Second Life, Facebook and Twitter. JetBlue already does a great job with this.

A recession is a good time to build long-term loyalty, and innovative airlines can take advantage of these unique circumstances to gain significant market share from their competitors.

Do you know of examples of airlines that are marketing themselves well in this recession? Would Virgin Atlantic emerge stronger thanks to their “Airphoria” campaign? Would JetBlue create greater loyalty by following passengers on Twitter? What can airlines from other industries in this regard? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments…

Will online communities by airlines help their brands take-off?

Harvard Business School Professor Rohit Deshpande explains Singapore Airlines’ strategy in interview

Shashank Nigam — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:06:48 +0000

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 itÂ – and there are plenty of disgruntled traveleres today who would!

Maintaining brand consistency and buying equipment in downturns

In times of trouble, most airlines cut back on services, flights and the goodwill they may have built for their brand in good times evaporates away. Again, something exactly oppsite to what Singapore Airlines does. It maintains brand consistency even in bad times, and hence keeps the trust of their loyal customers. Moreover, it capitalizes on these times to order new planes, since the manufacturers are more likely to offer discounts when other airlines are not buying and the demand it low.

This works perfectly. By the time the industry situation improves, the airline is armed with a brand new fleet and is ready to impress further existing and newly acquired customers.

But can all airlines duplicate this success? How about just the ability to maintain customer service levels in hard times…is that too hard? What do you think? Let’s discuss.

SimpliFlying » Harvard Business School