2. INVENTORY OVERVIEW
• Key Product Attributes
– Price
– Customer Service
– Flight Times and Schedules
• Bags Fly Free Marketing Campaign
– Focus on price savings vs. competitors
• Strong Social Presence
– First airline to hit 3 Million Facebook Followers
– Over 1.3 Million Twitter Followers
3. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING – PROS
“They
don't
suck
nearly
as
• Cheap flights much
as
everyone
else.”
• Customer service “Southwest
is
quickly
becoming
the
class
act
of
• No fees the
American
skies.”
• Choose your own seat “Southwest
on
a
bad
day
beats
out
anyone.”
• Easy Check-in
• On-time/Early Flights
• Comfortable Seats
4. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING – CONS
• Seating/Boarding Experience
• Limited departure/destination cities
• Inconvenient gate locations
“Southwest
saves
money
• No first class/luxury by
leasing
the
worst
gates.”
• Lacking on-board entertainment
“I
detest
the
chaos
of
the
Southwest
boarding
process.”
5. SERVICE HIERARCHY
• Wifi
on
all
planes
PotenFal
• More
DesFnaFons
• Bags
Fly
Free
Augmented
• Swabiz.com
• A
Fun
Flight
• On
Fme
(ish)
Expected
• Reasonable
Price
• Friendly
Staff
• A
à
B
Core
• Safety
6. IN DEPTH INTERVIEWS
WHO DID WE INTERVIEW?
• 18 Travelers at Tampa & Jacksonville Airports
• 66% leisure travelers, 33% business travelers
PURPOSE
• Determine Southwest’s brand image and associations
• Understand customer motivations when purchasing flights
STRATEGY
• 21 free elicitation questions
• Triangle scatter plots
• Projective & Laddering techniques
GOAL
• Does Southwest’s mission of exceptional
customer service influence purchasing habits?
7. BRAND IMAGE ELICITATION
• Colorful Planes • Cattle Call/Crowded
• Bags Fly Free
• Fun/Happiness
• No Assigned Seats
• Good Prices
• Great Customer Service
8. BRAND IMAGE PROJECTION
Toyota Camry VW Jetta Ford Taurus Lincoln
Lexus • Cadillac Honda Civic Chevy • “Old” Mini Van • Hyundai
Ford Mustang
Honda Civic
“Red”
“Sporty”
9. LADDERING
Low
Prices
Savings
No
Fees
Non-‐stop
Flights
Time
is
Money
On-‐Fme
Peace
of
Able
to
Focus
Airport
Mind
on
PrioriFes
LocaFons
Convenience
Less
Stress
Easy
Flight
Customer
Service
10. TRIANGLE SCATTER PLOT
CUSTOMER SERVICE
“What
do
you
value
most
when
choosing
an
airline?”
“Where
would
you
put
Southwest
on
this
diagram?”
PRICE RELIABILITY/
EASE OF TRAVEL
11. SUMMARY
• Southwest’s brand image is consistent with their
mission
– Fun, friendly, easygoing
– Best customer service in industry
• Customers don’t consider customer service when
booking a flight
– Price, convenience more important
• Although Customer Service was not the #1 factor in
the purchasing decision it was often mentioned as a
reason why established customers liked to fly
Southwest.
• Should be used as a retention strategy to encourage
brand loyalty
12. BRAND POSITIONING
POSITION
• “The Low-Cost Leader”
– No Baggage/Change Fees
FINDINGS
• 8 out of 18 travelers believed Southwest was a good deal
• Average flight prices have risen 39%, vs. 10% for competitors
RECOMMENDATION
• “The Value Leader” in air travel
13. ONLINE PRESENCE
POSITION
• Southwest does not partner with third party aggregators
FINDINGS
• 9 out of 18 of travelers used an aggregator
• Consumer complaints - lack of website functionality
• “It’s a pain that they are not on an aggregator.”
RECOMMENDATION
• Update website to reduce customer’s need for
aggregators
– Date/flight matrices
– Advanced search tools
14. CURRENT ADVERTISING
POSITION
• Free of fees
• Mainly positioned around baggage
FINDINGS
• What do you think of when I say Southwest?
– 6 out of 18 said Bags Fly Free
• Checking bags makes Southwest more effiecient
RECOMMENDATION
• Continue to focus on Free Bags as a point of
difference, reminding consumer during purchase
• Upfront & honest pricing strategy
15. SOCIAL MEDIA
POSITION
• Engage consumers and build a community of Southwest
brand loyalists
FINDINGS
• Strong following of loyal consumers
• They have endured some challenges in managing and
implementing their strategy
RECOMMENDATION
• Improve internal communication
• Integration between marketing and other organizational
departments
16. SWOT
Posi%ves
Nega%ves
Strengths
Weaknesses
-‐Low
cost
-‐Execu%on
of
promo%ons
-‐Strong
customer
service
-‐Limited
flight
offerings
Internal
-‐Point
to
point
offerings
-‐Labor
Costs
-‐No
bag
fees
-‐Social
Media
Presence
Opportuni%es
Threats
-‐Business/Government
-‐Consumers
resistance
to
External
Accounts
higher
fares
-‐BeJer
fuel
economy
jets
-‐Fuel
Costs
-‐Slowing
Global
Economy
-‐Teleconferencing
17. FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
• Focus on value over price
• Update website to mimic functionality of
aggregators
• Facilitate better coordination between
Marketing and other organizational
departments
