U.S. Airlines Face Steep Marketing Challenge After Epic Nightmare Summer
Photo Credit: Flight cancellations are just one of the problems besieging airlines and the aviation sector. Getty Images / structuresxx
Skift Take
You don't wan't airlines to apologize. You want airlines to get better. There's the starting point in how to message to your customers going forward.
More than a decade ago, Domino's Pizza realized it had a problem: Its customers thought its products were disgusting. Rather than ignoring it, the company's new CEO went on an apology tour that became the catalyst for a major turnaround. "There comes a time when you know you have to make a change," he said in one commercial, promising Domino's would no longer sell lukewarm pizzas that tasted like cardboard.
This summer, U.S. airlines have failed more customers than a company serving stale crusts and ketchupy tomato sauce. By scheduling more flights than the system could handle, airlines ruined family reunions, business trips, birthdays, and other gatherings. Airlines didn't err on purpose. But most consumers don't understand or don't care. Many have written social media comments nastier than what people wrote about pizzas years ago. Some airlines have issued lukewarm apologies or explanations, but they haven't seemed to move public opinion. People remain mad, even though on-time performance has improved and fares are beginning to fall.
“The consumer is paying a higher price for a worse product,” said Fred Cook, a professor at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and former chairman and CEO of Golin, a public relations firm. “That is not going to lead anywhere good. If you are not able to provide the level of service you used to, and you are charging twice as much for it, it makes the thing less satisfying for a consumer. If you’re paying double for a ticket, and you are getting a glass of water and a little biscuit, it is not very gratifying.”
Given these circumstances, should airlines copy what worked so well for Domino's and offer genuine apologies?
This answer is probably not, several branding and marketing experts tell Skift. Customers may think they want airlines to say, "sorry." But experts say brands shy away from apologies except in rare circumstances, usually when only one company is at fault and that firm can demonstrate it has fixed the problem.
Domino's met both criteria. But since every airline has had operational issues and none has systematically solved them, experts say this likely is not an appropriate time for such a campaign.
"The thing with apologies is, you have to mean it," said Jamie Perry, a partner at Material who advises airlines and other companies on marketing strategy. "If yo
