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Southwest Airlines has built a monumentally successful business model as a low fare, no frills service-oriented airline. A key component in this model is to “keep the planes in the air” understanding that the longer a plane is on the ground, the less revenue it generates. Southwest has revolutionized the industry by developing systems that allow their crews to flip a plane in under 20 minutes.

So what do you think Southwest Airlines would do if one of its employees took it upon himself to delay a plane by 12 additional minutes, nearly doubling the turnaround time for the flight? One decision by one line employee could potentially have a rippling effect through the entire carrier’s flight operations. Connections could be missed. Passengers irritated. It’s no stretch to say that Southwest would be justified in terminating the “loose cannon” that made such a decision.

But wait till you hear the rest of the story.

As reported by Christopher Elliot on consumertravel.com, he received a letter from a reader named Nancy chronicling the story. I am reposting Nancy’s letter as Chris reported it.

“Last night, my husband and I got the tragic news that our three-year-old grandson in Denver had been murdered by our daughter’s live-in boyfriend.

He is being taken off life support tonight at 9 o’clock and his parents have opted for organ donation, which will take place immediately. Over 25 people will receive his gift tonight and many lives will be saved.

This morning, after only a couple hours sleep, my husband and I began to make all arrangements to get him to Denver to be with our daughter. He is currently on business in LA and is flying Southwest.

While his employer, Northrop Grumman, made arrangements to get his ticket changed so he could get to Tucson today (which he had to do in order to not spend any extra money) I called Southwest to arrange his flight from Tucson to Denver so he would be stepping off one plane and getting on another.

He has several free flights with them so I couldn’t really do it on the website. The ticketing agent was holding back tears throughout the call.

In LAX, the lines to both check a bag and get through security were exceptional. He got to the airport two hours early and was still late getting to his plane.

Every step of the way, he’s on the verge of tears and trying to get assistance from both TSA and Southwest employees to get to his plane on time.

According to him, everyone he talked to couldn’t have cared less. When he was done with security, he grabbed his computer bag, shoes and belt and ran to his terminal in his stocking feet.

When he got there, the pilot of his plane and the ticketing agent both said, ‘Are you Mark? We held the plane for you and we’re so sorry about the loss of your grandson.’

The pilot held the plane that was supposed to take off at 11:50 until 12:02 when my husband got there.

As my husband walked down the jetway with the pilot, he said, ‘I can’t thank you enough for this.’ The pilot responded with, ‘They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.’

My husband was able to take his first deep breath of the day.

I don’t know any other airline that would have done this.”

All of a sudden, those 12 minutes don’t seem like such a big deal.

Why would a pilot feel empowered to rock the boat in order to accommodate just one passenger? I’ve got to believe it has to do with the fact that SWA’s “People First” culture is so ingrained that the pilot and gate agent really saw it as a no-brainer. They didn’t need to run it by anyone upstairs. They didn’t need a corporate directive telling them when they should and shouldn’t take such actions. They instinctively knew it was the right thing to do.

It also created a terrific story. Every passenger on that flight could imagine Southwest doing the same thing for them. And in this age of Social Media, a compelling story like this will spread like wildfire. Check out the airline’s Facebook page for a sampling of what the general public has to say.

We all say our customers are important. We all claim to be customer-centric. But how many of us would be willing to go so far out on a limb for one customer?

There’s an old saying that a principle only becomes a principle when it costs you money. This pilot’s decision may have cost Southwest financially. But it more than made up for it in good will.

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Mickey On Clients, On Customers, Social Media, customer experience brand vision, living the brand, Southwest Airlines

During World War II, the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) had been meticulously planned for years. British, Canadian, and American airborne forces planned and rehearsed for months a precise series of glider and parachute landings behind enemy lines that were designed to secure bridges, road junctions, and other key terrain that would enable the ground invasion forces to advance rapidly inland. The airborne invasion forces took off from England hours ahead of the ground forces, exactly as planned.

It didn’t take long, however, to realize all those long months of planning and rehearsal were for naught.

Paratroopers dropped into unmarked landing zones, miles from their intended targets. Gliders landed in the wrong areas. Thousands of soldiers from different units were thrown together in the dark of night, many not knowing exactly where they or their units were. Plus, as it turned out, the German resistance they encountered was much more fierce than was expected. It had all the makings of a military disaster.

And then something interesting happened. Despite all the misfires and lost opportunities, the military objectives were accomplished in mere hours by ad-hoc units that had somehow banded together to succeed. How could this have possibly happened when it appeared that so much had gone so terribly wrong? Through something known in the military as “Commander’s Intent.”

Commander’s Intent is effectively communicating the objectives of the operation down the line, so that every soldier, no matter what his role, knows what the end game is. In marketing, we also have our own version of Commander’s Intent. Your Brand Vision.

Your Brand Vision is what we refer to as “the one thing you aspire for your customers to say you do better than anyone else.” If you wish to hang your hat on a position of “great customer service,” then sell that vision down the line, and equip your people to deliver on it. Your Brand Vision represents the opportunity for everyone in your organization to work towards a common end, and add a personal touch while doing it.

One interesting thing about implementing a Brand Vision: despite the top-down directives you may put into place to ensure it is being delivered, the most surprising and delightful implementations of it are by the folks who deliver on it as only they could. Military personnel are trained to employ a “Spectrum of Improvisation” when they execute Commander’s Intent. So, too, can you train your team members. If your focus is for your organization to be “helpful and friendly,” rather than sweat over every possible touchpoint opportunity, you can simply hire the most “helpful and friendly” people and let them loose on their own “Spectrum of Improvisation.” Incentivize them to come up with creative ways to express the Brand Vision. Give recognition when they deliver on the Brand Vision.

And just like on D-Day, when the best laid plans start going sideways, an effective Brand Vision gives team members a “compass” of sorts to help them direct their actions. It helps them find their own ways to get to the “end game” that the organization stands for.

Commander’s Intent saved D-Day. And who knows, it could save your day.

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Mickey On Clients, On Customers, Ramblings, customer experience Brand compass, brand vision, Commanders Intent, D-Day, improvisation, team members

“New” has long been THE buzzword in marketing. Nothing gets our attention like “new.” “New” implies all sorts of goodness: “improved,” “better” and “hipper.” “New” is the propellant a product needs to break through with fussy consumers.

Or is it?

The problem with so many “new” products and brands is that while they may be “new” they aren’t really “different.” They are just mash-ups of what we’ve seen before, with a bunch of marketing hype thrown in for good measure. It is amazing how many “new” products soon blend blandly into the great morass of choices customers face. In many ways, we’ve become immune to claims of “new.”

“Different” products, on the other hand, scream for attention.

Such is the story of Vibram’s Five Fingers running shoes. The first time you see someone running in them, you can’t help but do a double take. They look nothing like any “running shoes” you’ve ever seen. They look more like over-sized gloves that goes on your feet.

Not just “new,” but “different.”

Dyson vacuums are another case in point. Bagless suction, ball maneuvering, and distinctive candy-colored looks. Not just new, different.

The great opportunity that comes with being different is the invitation it gives you to start a conversation on your terms. “Why’d they design it like that?” is an obvious first question (and conversation starter). Suddenly, if you’re Vibram, or Dyson or Apple, you have an engaged participant anxious to hear your story.

Mind you, while “different” may start a conversation, it’s up to your product’s performance to deliver on it. “Different” without a product pay off is no more than borrowed interest. Think Alpha Romeo. Or (this is suddenly dating me) Olivetti typewriters. Both were head-turningly different. And both were notorious for being crappy products.

In these days when there are so many “me-too” kind of products out there, see if you can come up with a way to be not just new, but truly, meaningfully different. It’s not easy, but it could possibly propel you to the top.

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Mickey Creative, On Clients, On Customers, Ramblings Apple, brand vision, different, Dyson, meaningful difference, new and improved, Vibram

Last Friday, the last Chrysler PT Cruiser rolled off the assembly line. The iconic vehicle with its love-it-or-hate-it “post retro” looks bit the dust after a tumultuous ten year run. That an automobile model has a pillow held over its face is not news. Automakers phase out models all the time.What is news, to marketers anyway, is how this car, which sold 145,000 vehicles its first year and had months-long waiting lists at many dealers, was killed off while dealers are saddled with a bloated inventory of this year’s model.

In other words, marketing malpractice at its worst.

Like most cases of mismarketing, this one started out with success. Chrysler succeeded admirably at creating buzz for the PT even before its launch in 2001. Described as a cross between a 1930’s sedan and a vintage milk truck, it was the darling of car shows. Pre-orders were strong. Anticipation of the model drove scores of the curious (most of them non-Chrysler types) to dealer showrooms. Early adopters paid well over invoice for the PT of their choice. Fan clubs were formed. Rallies were organized. Aftermarket pimping commenced. It was also the first of the “post retro” crop of vehicles, which has grown to include the Ford Mustang, the Dodge Challenger and the Chevrolet Camaro and HHR.

The Cruiser also proved to be a demographic-buster, appealing to everyone from retirees to customizers to first-time car buyers looking for something spacious, inexpensive and yes, head-turning. (In the spirit of disclosure, I must inform you I purchase a 2002 model, which I still drive today.)

It didn’t take long for Chrysler to squander its success. Here are a few of the marketing sins commited by the automaker on behalf of the Cruiser:

• It failed to reinvest in the brand. We’ve written before about the necessity for marketers to continually add value to their offerings (click here for post). If you see a PT coming down the street, you’d be hard pressed to tell if it was a 2001 model, a 2007 model or a 2010 model. Version 2.0 never arrived. Initial owners loved their Cruisers. But when it came time to trade them in, I suspect very few bought another one. Why buy the same car twice? As an example of an automaker who has done it right, check out the 2010 Honda Civic compared to the 2001.
• It failed to understand its user base. The downside of having a product that appeals to many demographics is that it is easy to lose site of your “sweet spot.” While you never want to turn away buyers, you definitely want to cater to your bread and butter. And Chrysler could never decide who its core market was. Was it the young urban family looking for economical transportation? The boomer who was swept up in the nostalgic looks? The soccer mom who wouldn’t be caught dead in a minivan?
• It allowed the model to become too ubiquitous. This is a tough one. The idea, after all is to sell more units, right? Well, actually the idea is to make more profits, and there are a lot of ways to go on that. The initial demand for the PT should have signaled Chrysler that it had a powerful niche model on it hands, but that’s all it would be. It was too polarizing to become the automaker’s flagship vehicle. By limiting production of the PT, Chrysler could have justified a premium price, which would played into the “individualism” the model inspired. And by upgrading the model (or adding variations: a panel truck, a woody station wagon, a top-less roadster, a club coupe?) Chrysler could continue to appeal to that crowd. Make the product’s Brand Vision “Head Turner.”

A former client of mine who was in the auto business once shared with me his early indicator of when a model was in trouble. “When you see rental car lots full of them, then you know the end is near,” he said. That was certainly true of the PT.

But perhaps the biggest marketing sin committed on behalf of the PT was to take a product that inspired passion, loyalty and camaraderie and allow it to suffer a Saturn-like fate.

Good luck, Fiat. Your work’s cut out for you.

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admin Creative, On Clients, On Customers, Ramblings brand vision, Chrysler, marketing malpractice, mismarketing, PT Cruiser

This is an actual Facebook entry posted by a friend of mine a few weeks ago. He was referencing the AT&T TV spots featuring Luke Wilson.

AT&T launched the campaign in response to Verizon’s “We’ve Got a Map For That” campaign, which uses red and blue maps to highlight AT&T’s 3G “dead spots” across the country. AT&T felt the need to counter punch, and thus came up with this tactical campaign.

The problem is, as the aforementioned Facebook entry alludes to, in its attempt to spin the facts, AT&T has dabbled in some untruths. Not that they lied, exactly—the lawyers must have racked up the billable hours splitting legal hairs. Seems the company’s idea of “coverage” isn’t what Verizon was talking about.

Here’s where it gets sticky for AT&T. If you lead your market to believe something, you better pay it off. Dancing around the facts may make you feel better, but it will just turn your audience off. And turn them against you.

As proof, a quick Google blog search on “AT&T 3G” finds verbatims from bloggers and AT&T customers alike saying “AT&T Lies Again”, “AT&T Moves the Goal Post”, and “Dude, where’s my 3G coverage?”

What’s more? While a marketer can contribute to the conversation, he very likely won’t get the last word. Case in point, here’s what Luke Wilson says…

And here’s what a non-paid Verizon customer says…

This can’t be the kind of word of mouth AT&T was hoping for. But that’s what happens when your audience catches you trying to mislead.

So what could AT&T have done to counter Verizon without bordering on the misleading? My advice would be to speak only about their strengths. Focus on markets where their 3G coverage is strong, and remind customers why they chose AT&T in the first place. Maybe even play off the ridiculousness of the more-places-is-better foundation of Verizon’s maps:

“True, Verizon has 3G coverage in Pierre, South Dakota.
But how often do you find yourself in Pierre, South Dakota?”

For many marketers, there are times you need to get out there and counter punch when a competitor starts eating your lunch. At such times, it is imperative that you do so transparently from your Brand Vision. And to do everything in your power to ensure the bond of trust between you and your customers is never compromised.

Trust is the currency of success.

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Mickey Media, On Customers 3G, AT&T, brand vision, campaign, cell phone coverage, Facebook, factual information, Luke Wilson, success, trust, Verizon, We’ve Got a Map For That

This week’s social media blog posts:
Monday: Seven ways to doom a Social Media program.
Tuesday: Co-Creating with Social Media.
Wednesday: Building Brand Evangelism through Social Media.
Thursday: Social Media and Reputation Management.
Friday: Now that you’ve engaged, it’s time to re-engage.

(This is the last in our series of Social Media posts for the month of October. We welcome your feedback on the series.)

So let’s say your first foray into Social Media was a success.

You scrubbed your customer database so you have a good list. You put together an email blast with compelling creative and an intriguing offer. And you got eye-popping “open” and “conversion” rates. Congratulations!

Now before you pop that bottle of champagne, think about your next engagement with them, and how you can make it a little more meaningful.

Their first opt-in should be translated that they liked your offer, not necessarily that they are somehow “passionate” about you. This first engagement is key, but it should not be considered an unmitigated Social Media success story.

The challenge is to keep your initial “hand-raisers” opted-in. And to make your communications with them a conversation, so you find out more about them, how they view your organization and its offerings, what makes them more likely to buy from you, to convince them to serve as the conduit between their communities and you, and help you identify opportunities for deeper engagement.

It helps to think of the customers who opt-in for the first time as “trial customers.” They liked what it was you asked them to respond to. The next step though is less clear. The key is to stay relevant. A 10% off coupon may attract a lot of attention the first time you do it, but it is important to recognize this act as a conversation-starter. It will help you find out who’s interested. At that point you need to deepen the conversation.

This first engagement is an opportunity to find out more about your “hand raisers” than their email addresses or how they found you. Let’s say your first contact was a coupon you sent via email. As part of the redemption process, you could put together a quick survey to find out a little more about redeemers and what they would like to see in future communications from you. Once you know what customers are looking for, you can put together a calendar of events and mailings that will continue to be relevant for them. And the more they redeem and reciprocate the communication, the more you will inevitably learn about them. Your goal in the early stages of engagement are to learn as much as you can about your followers and continually be relevant to them to ensure continued engagement.

Once you have established this “first circle” of followers, you should be able to incite them to share with others in their communities. You can do this with “Bring a Friend” events, “two-for-one” offers or offer bounties on new customers.

An example of an organization that does a great job re-engaging with its followers is Woot.com. This is an online retailer who offers one unbelievable deal on one specific item each day, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

The company built a loyal following because its community knows that even though 9 times in 10, the offer will be for something they would never buy, that 1 time in 10 will get them an unbelievable deal. Woot.com stays relevant to its community by holding to its promise (Brand Vision) of offering one unbelievable deal each day. By seeing what its customers purchased (or tried to purchase) and the velocity at which items moved, Woot is able to streamline its product offerings and leverage its buying power. In short, it becomes even more relevant to its community.

Although today marks the official end of Social Media Month, we still have more Social Media ground to cover. We’ll be sending out these posts in the coming days and weeks, so please keep an eye out for the Quisenblog.

We’d love to hear your comments on the series. Leave your comments or questions here, or email me here.

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Mickey Social Media brand loyalty, brand vision, conversations, customer engagement, relevant content

This week’s social media blog posts:
Monday: The Social Media Manifesto.
Tuesday: Social Media and business.
Wednesday: Your Social Media strategy: What are you hoping to achieve?
Thursday: Social Marketing turns the Media Funnel upside down.
Friday: Action steps for getting your business started in Social Media—today.

(This is the fourth in our series of Social Media posts for the month of October. We look forward to your feedback on this series.)

In our last few posts, we talked about the fact that Social Media is simply anything you do in the online space that allows others to converse, contribute, add to, distribute or give feedback to.

That’s all fine, you say, but how does that relate to my business? To answer this, one must first accept the notion that people are coming to the Internet to find solutions.

The key to developing a successful Social Media campaign is in setting yourself up as a solution for your customers. Not to sell so much as to solve.

People come to the Internet to find solutions to an almost limitless number of problems: I’m looking for the lowest price on the latest James Patterson novel; I’m looking for a gluton-free recipe; I’m looking to find out which gas grill I should buy; I’m looking to return a broken music player; I’m looking to see how the Giants did last night; I’m looking to be entertained; I’m looking for trusted insight on which growth stocks to buy. You get the idea.

For some of the problems people come to the Internet looking to solve, your company or products may offer an obvious solution. Many times your company has the expertise and resources to help customers in quite a few ways. And the most helpful usually don’t have to do with selling them stuff.

The obvious question most businesses would have at this point is: “Why can’t the people with problems we can solve just come to our website?”

The thing is, most Internet users aren’t looking for a sales pitch, and that’s exactly what most corporate web sites are, or at least what visitors expect when they go there. There’s nothing wrong with this…there’s a time and a place to get your product and sales information in front of a prospective client. But when they are in the early phases of looking for a solution very often isn’t the right time.

Increasingly, Internet users see the value of the ‘Net as being able to connect with peers, other customers, thought leaders and neutral resources when researching a purchase. Upwards of 70% of consumers are “web first,” meaning they either purchase on the web or do research on the web before ever setting foot in a retail environment.

So how do you go about finding which problems to solve? What’s the one thing your customers would say you do better than anyone else (your Brand Vision)? What problem(s) does that solve for customers in the real world? Now ask, are there web users that are having that same problem?

Once you are clear on what problems you can solve, then you can move on to consider which Social Media platforms will work most efficiently at helping you do it. We’ll talk more in depth about these platforms in future posts.

As always, we look forward to your feedback on this series. If you’re not currently receiving the Quisenblog, you can subscribe here.

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Mickey Social Media brand vision, problems, social media campaign, solutions, web first shoppers

(This is the second in our series of Social Media posts for the month of October. We look forward to your feedback on this series.)

There’s the legend of the old train conductor who spent years working the rail line between the financial district of Manhattan and the suburbs of Connecticut. As the legend goes, the man retired a multi-millionaire, thanks to the stock tips he overheard from brokers while punching tickets and arranging for cocktail service. These were not conversations in which he was a participant. Passengers spoke freely as if he wasn’t there, yet he was able to benefit from the content of those conversations.

This is a perfect metaphor for Social Media.

There are literally millions of conversations going on online everyday, and we’re free to “listen in” on whichever ones catch our attention.

So how do you get the people you are interested in attracting to “listen” in on you? If you (as a person or company) are continually creating valuable, relevant, and compelling content, your customers and prospects will want to have a conversation with you. (“Content” here is defined as anything you create, re-purpose or publish that will entice web users to want to spend time with you, and hopefully, to come back for more.) They will stay “opted-in” and anticipate hearing from you again, and being part of the communication. They will freely pass information you send on to others in their social circles. Successful conversation marketing is predicated, above all, on sound relevant content.

Here’s an example that might help illustrate. On its Facebook page, Red Bull builds engagement with its followers by entertaining them, with fresh content such as its “Drunkish Dialer” series (where you can listen to actual voicemail messages left on Red Bull’s 800-number) and a series of Red Bull-themed video games (like this soapbox racer) to test your mad gaming skills.

Is this content serious? No way. Is it filled with “facts” about Red Bull? Nope. But it is “fun,” which is totally consistent with the Red Bull Brand Vision. And it’s how Red Bull visitors want to be engaged.

Developing and sharing relevant content is about understanding the needs of your target audience. What value can you add to what they are already doing? How can you enhance their experience? Through the content you publish and make available, you are in essence creating a “story” about who your company is. The sharing of that “story” creates opportunities to communicate with customers and prospects. And how do you know it is relevant? You hear back from them.

For clues as to what’s “relevant,” check out your own email inbox and browser bookmarks. What mailings do you remain opted-in to? What sites do you go to over and over again? Are there newsletters with articles you enjoy? A “hot sheet” of deals available from an online retailer? A joke-of-the-day?

The key is to stay relevant. This is what it takes to build trust. And trust is the high bar of marketing (Imagine being referred to by customers and prospects as “They are the ones I trust.”)

As always, we look forward to your feedback on this series. Feel free to submit questions or comments (they will be visible to all visitors). We’ll do our best to answer them.

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Mickey Social Media brand vision, Red Bull, relevant content, target audience

As a marketer, you can go along and live by the same “marketing rules” as your competitors. Or you can pull a Merce Cunningham.

Cunningham, the avant-garde dancer and choreographer, revolutionized modern dance by creating works of pure movement divorced from storytelling and even music. He died Monday at age 90.

Until Cunningham and Martha Graham came onto the scene, the paradigm for dance was pretty much the Balanchine model—tightly choreographed neo-classical pieces set in tight rhythm to the music with interchangeable dancers serving as visual storytellers. Cunningham changed everything: his focus was on the raw emotion of dance, and his choreography shattered dance’s unwritten rules, such as having dancers always facing the audience or moving in syncopated rhythms. It is said he would toss a coin to determine steps, and even had his dancers perform to music they had never even heard before.

As unnerving as his choreography was at the time, it forced audiences to rethink their definitions of dance. It polarized people. It repulsed some people. And it inspired some people.

It was visceral. It made people feel something.

And in the end, Cunningham inspired several generations of choreographers and made modern dance as approachable in Harlem as it was in upper crust Manhattan.

The point here is to emphasize that, while it’s never “acceptable” to break the rules, sometimes you have no choice but to break the rules. Don’t let a paradigm come between you and your Brand Vision. Don’t let your category define customer service, find a way to define it for yourself.

Here’s an excellent two-minute example of how Cunningham used movement to create form. It ain’t your little sister’s ballet class.

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Mickey On Customers brand vision, customer service, marketing rules, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, modern dance

In this scene from the movie “City Slickers,” trail-hardened cowpoke Curly (played marvelously by Jack Palance) sums up the secret of life for city slicker Billy Crystal:

One Thing. The secret of life. Also the secret for succeeding in business. Another term for your One Thing is your Brand Vision. It is the one thing your customers agree you do better than any of your competition. The one thing you want your customers (and non-customers) to think of every time your name comes up.

So what is your One Thing? Is it fast, cheap, attentive, sturdy, sleekly-designed? Is it reliable, techie, funny, intuitive, caring? Summing up your competitive strength in one word might seem simplistic, but in truth, one word is all your customers and prospects will reserve for you.

And please, no boiler-plate terms like “world-class customer service.” In addition to activating my gag response, it doesn’t mean anything until you back it up with specifics. It may make management feel all warm and fuzzy, but to the customer, it’s just table stakes.

Think you have your word? Make sure none of your competitors can use the same word to describe themselves. If they can, you need a new word.

Once you’ve discovered your One Thing, figure out how to engineer more of it into your products or services. If you determine your word is ‘”reliable,” for example, consider initiatives that will reinforce that strength in your customers’ minds. A super-long warranty, no-questions-asked return policy or a zero-deductible repair policy would be a few examples.

The strongest brands have always had their One Thing. A few examples: Ferrari. FedEx. McDonald’s. The Grateful Dead. Four different brands, and you probably have no problem coming up with a single word to describe them.

So how about you?

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Mickey On Customers brand vision, Business, City Slickers, competition, Customers, FedEx, Ferrari, McDonald's, The Grateful Dead