@SouthwestAir: Last to Market and Proud!

Greetings from Florida!


I'm mixing business with pleasure for the next few days or so -- spending time with parents, friends and Amir Rafizadeh, the Network Sommelier!


Why share this with you? Well, I flew Southwest this time around and bided some of my time thumbing through Spirit, their inflight magazine.  I was woefully unprepared: I forgot to bring a book and my hopes were dashed for some sort of wi-fi connectivity similar to what I had when I flew AirTran earlier this year or even Delta last week.  Sure, I should have planned in advance and research wi-fi availability on Southwest but as I mentioned in this post, that sort of organization often eludes me.  


So there I was, bemoaning my fate, flipping pages and trying to block out the noise of the retiree gin rummy game to my right.  And then, I got to page 225: Southwest Spotlight.  The title of the article? "Coming Up: Wi-Fi"  My curiosity was piqued, I dove right in and was duly rewarded.


What did I learn?  Apparently, being one of the last to the inflight wi-fi party is intentional.  Here are some of the reasons why:

• Southwest likes to take the road less traveled (pardon the pun): online fares only through their website, bags fly free, humor, etc., all with the customer in mind.
• Southwest wants to deliver the most robust inflight wi-fi solution and that takes time.  Robust means faster sending and receiving speeds than other carriers because of satellite technology versus air to ground technology.
• Southwest wants to control the wi-fi "Customer Experience" (title case was theirs, not mine).  This means that instead of Gogo Inflight driving pricing, Southwest has the "flexibility" to offer the service however they wish at whatever price point they wish.
• Southwest conducted a year's worth of market research: usability, customer preference and the like to maximize both productivity and/or entertainment inflight.
• Southwest says that, all in all, the road to superior wi-fi experience at a fair price is paved with patience and is indirectly asking us for continued patience.

That was marketing poetry right there.  Truly.  Here is Southwest saying, "Yeah, I'm late or last."  However, its defensive posture is woven so beautifully in a story about you the customer and how every waking moment is spent conjuring up ways to satisfy you the customer.  The spin is essentially, I may be one of the last to fulfill your need, but I'll be the best at fulfilling your need because I'm building this with you, my loyal customer, in mind every step of the way.


Imagine if, instead of the above, Southwest had said the following:

• I like doing things my way and on my terms.
• I like being better than everyone else.  I didn't think it would take as long, though.
• I don't like the idea of paying for a third party as it cuts into my revenues and I'm all about efficiency.  Maybe I can make more money doing things with my own built in network.  Let me tinker with that a little bit and I'll let you know when I'm done.
• Oops.  People didn't seem to like some of my original ideas and the others ones are hard to implement.  My developers and product managers have had to go back to the drawing board a few times so my milestone schedule is shot.  And oh yeah, this stuff is expensive!  My financials need some tweaking.
• You'll just have to wait.  Like I said, this is on my terms.

Admittedly, I've taken some creative license and there is some exaggeration here to prove a point.  In this post that was borne of a Chris Brogan retweet, we talked about why a "You" story always trumps a "Me" story and this anecdote is no different.  To be a trusted provider of a good or service, I have to take great pains to demonstrate that I'm fashioning said good or service in the mirror image that you the customer expect and that would enhance your overall user experience.  As I said then, if I am effective as a marketer in delivering what you need and I treat you the way you require to be satisfied, I earn your loyalty as my customer and maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll tell a few friends or strangers.


This is why the article was particularly enjoyable to me.  It took my disgruntled self filled with semi uncharitable feelings about the wi-fi situation and convinced me that waiting interminably for wi-fi on Southwest was good even though I didn't know how the waiting would pay off or what the pay off would be.  It also converted me back into a Southwest fan even though I was starting to see what else was out there in the airline dating pool that might better suit my inflight wi-fi needs.  It's embarrassing to say but it took a few minutes to snap out of it and say, "Hey...  that was clever!"


Good marketing.  Hard to argue with it.  What's your take?  Send your thoughts or please share below.  I look forward to hearing from you!


Best,

Parissa Behnia

Idea Chef

678Partners@gmail.com

678Partners.com

LinkedIn

Persian Is Not French or Why Listening Matters

There has been a flurry of activity over the last week or so here at the 678 Partners ranch.  I can't tell you about them just yet but I will do so when I can...  I'm awful at keeping secrets so it's just best to distract myself by telling you about a funny little thing that happened when I was in LA last week.


I've been helping someone figure out a new living situation.  As you know, cost is the name of the game but location and amenities are important too.  And, though you can't put a dollar value on it, the type of people who will be your neighbors add some element to your "quality of life" or similar.  It's nebulous but it's also the truth.


The property manager was very patient and showed us the building along with several apartment options: layout, floor, view, etc.  It was pretty much standard fare until we got to one small question I had.  See, the person I'm helping is predominantly Persian speaking and I was curious if there were some people in the building or complex who were also Persian speaking so there would be some commonality even if it never went beyond basic chit chat. 


Author's Note: As background, LA and surrounding areas have the largest expat Iranian population in the world.  So, asking about Persian speakers wasn't totally random.  There's even a joke about Beverly Hills Persians in Clueless.


So, I asked "are there Persian speaking residents here?"  The property manager turns around and said, "Hmm.  Persian.  Persian.  Gee.  Let me think about that.  Well, there's a resident from Belgium -- can't remember the name.  But then there's also Mr. Ed Laval.  I'm sure there's more but does that help?"  I just nodded politely.


Did that actually help?  Not in the slightest.  Not even an iota.  Not even in an alternative universe was that helpful.  To be fair, it could be that when I said Persian, she heard French.  Or when I said Persian, she heard Parisian.  Either way, the result was comical and not unlike the hundreds of times I've been asked if I am French or was born (or conceived!) in Paris.


And then I realized it was a kind of sad symbol for the larger problem we have as Marketers and Salespeople.  The manager's job is to sell, sell and sell.  She has empty units to fill and a certain profitability target to hit every month.  She was on her script and, in fairness to her, she was fulfilling her job.  Except for the listening part.  And that's where she lost this potentially lucrative piece of business.


We don't listen.  Or we are not listening as much as we should be or in the ways we should be.  If you remember, in this recent post, I said that marketers are quick to provide a solution without bothering to make a precise diagnosis.  I also said that we have to take the time to ask strategic questions to get to the actual source of the problem so that we can provide better solutions and become a trusted advisor or a "go to" person.  


The danger point is in the assumption that we've heard and understood everything we need to hear.  So, I'm going to add that we need to be 100% sure that we're listening to and comprehending the answers we get when we ask those strategic diagnostic questions.  And if we don't hear or understand fully, we should ask clarifying questions until we get to the point or the heart of the business problem.  


Mitch Joel had an excellent post last week about listening.  Essentially, he argues that great marketing success lies in truly listening to the customer at the point of need.  At that precise moment in time, where a customer self identifies as seeking a product or service, our strategic obligation is to have razor sharp hearing, to comprehend the matter intelligently and only then deliver the right solution that matches the ask.


In other words, listening is rather like a form of pull marketing.  Let's go back to my property manager anecdote to flesh this out a bit more.  When the customer is at the point of need, like I was, is envisioning herself using that product or brand, like I was, and starts to ask very specific questions, like I was...  the pre written sales and marketing script checklist stops at that precise moment.  Because the customer, like I was, is asking for help at the point of need.


The diagnosis begins.  And continues.  And continues.  And only stops when the core issue is diagnosed/uncovered.  The smart Marketer or Salesperson only then adapts himself or herself to the precise situation and crafts the solution.  We have to be nimble.  We can't expect or demand the customer adapt to us.  We have to adapt to and mirror the customer.  Because the customer has choices, like I did, and walk out the door to never come back, like I did.


Some may balk and suggest that this is the work of many hours to get to a proper diagnosis and use time as an excuse to stick with the pre written script.  Not at all.  Smart listening leads to smart clarifying questions and can be the work of a few minutes to get to the heart of the matter.  It pays off.  Truly.


What's your take?  Please send me your thoughts!


Until Next Time,


Parissa Behnia
Idea Chef


678Partners@gmail.com
678Partners.com
LinkedIn