Presenting The Brand: What Makes You Distinct?
Product and Service Design
In our earlier report on air travel a few years ago, we compared these and many attributes that help define the overall experience of flying today, and found that no one airline won the award as "Most Flyable Airline". But we did note that the best in-flight entertainment was Air Canada's enRoute® system, Southwest Airlines' Safety Show was easily the most entertaining and easy to remember safety demonstration, and US Airways was the most consistently on-time carrier in the United States. Of course, one successful attribute at one airline may not be adaptable or possibly even desired at another. And over time, things change. Technology improves, competition responds, and consumer expectations.
But something generally remains true: each airline usually has a good idea of how to present their strongest attributes to their customers for marketing purposes, while at the same time, a better idea of what to improve operationally. The challenge is trying to look ahead, and see what will be your needed attributes in the future, so that others follow you rather than the other way around.
Marketing
In our resort market research, we noticed a merchandising problem: there were too many offerings for dining, entertainment, and even just picking accommodation for most customers to be able to compare. Most customers simply would not book such options online or over the phone, which might mean they would not use any of these amenities at all.
We suggested that web booking engines use the same model of computer vendors, where a base model is presented and comparable options are added, with a direct price/service comparison for each. This allows guests to build an itinerary of their visit with their understanding and buy-in. This technique improved revenue, customer knowledge of offerings, and overall customer satisfaction.
Image: Resort websites now often provide add-ons at the time of booking, but it did not used to be this way.
Merchandising
For example, customers in sunny climates usually prefer iced drinks year round, but in northern climates, they prefer hot beverages for 9 months of the year. We suggested a greater emphasis be placed on what customers in different regions wanted to drink, and modify promotions to reflect that. We also suggested that well-paired food items be matched to these newly discovered beverage preferences by included with a bundled promotion, and that these both be periodically offered.
Since that time, our client and the industry has made personalized offers the norm, based not only on regional preference, but individual. Other factors for those who travel frequently, or who have inconsistent preferences, low retention, etc. can all be adjusted to maximize customer engagement, leading to more revenue.