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Southwest Airlines Brand Exploratory & Strategy
Southwest Airlines has built a strong brand image focused on being fun, friendly, and providing good customer service. However, customer interviews found that while customers like Southwest's customer service, price and convenience are more important factors in booking decisions. Customers appreciate Southwest's low fees but have noticed rising prices. The report recommends Southwest position itself as the "Value Leader" and improve its online presence to better compete.
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Southwest Airlines Brand Exploratory & Strategy
- 1. BRAND EXPLORATORY &STRATEGY REPORT August 7, 2012
- 2. INVENTORY OVERVIEW • KeyProduct 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 ARESAYING – 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 ARESAYING – 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 WHODID 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 brandimage 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 • “TheLow-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 • Southwestdoes 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 • Freeof 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 • Engageconsumers 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 • Focuson value over price • Update website to mimic functionality of aggregators • Facilitate better coordination between Marketing and other organizational departments