The Hindu Business Line : The real brand ambassador

IN my last column I discussed the piquant situation that arises when `branding the experience' clashes with `experiencing the brand.' The case in point was the twin paradoxes of Indian Airlines, whose improved service is not reflected in customer perception, and of Jet Airways, which appears to be a superbrand without pricing power.

A key driver for value creation is the delivery to customers of a consistently superior set of relevant benefits. To successfully brand an experience, you have to ensure that the service is designed to meet consumer needs, that it consistently meets these needs, and, critically, that it is differentiated from rival offerings.

In the beginning, Jet did a superb job of establishing itself as the five-star hotel in the sky, thereby completely disrupting the competitive dynamics. In those early days of open skies, having a polite hostess and punctual flights was a huge differentiator. No wonder then, that Indian passengers, weaned on a diet of unpunctuality and indifference from IA, turned to Jet with relief and gratitude. Now, after a decade of improvements and mindset changes, IA has caught up with, if not surpassed, Jet, on many of the service experience parameters. Today, the `brand differential' between the two airlines is wider than the `service differential.'

Which brings us to the differentiation from rival offerings. The challenge, in a service experience, is not just to offer a superior experience, but to ensure that potential customers are aware of the service differentiators. The irony is that Jet is falling behind at the former, and IA at the latter.

One recent survey discovered that 80 per cent of customers who switched suppliers actually experienced satisfaction with their previous supplier. The takeaway was that customer satisfaction relies less on traditional metrics of loyalty and retention, and is, instead, strongly influenced by customer advocacy. In the airline business, where the business model simply does not allow money for traditional advertising and marketing, the importance of customer referrals cannot be overstressed. Both airlines would do well to remember that passengers can be potent marketing weapons. Customers can act as powerful evangelists when satisfied and as a negative propaganda machine when disappointed.

Indian Airlines has done an excellent job of upgrading its service levels. However, it faces the enormous challenge of replacing memories of disappointing service with an appreciation of its new, improved formula. As my friend's experience indicates, even Jet loyalists would be impressed with the new IA - but they have to experience it first! Unfortunately, using pure price as a lure to switch over Jet loyalists offers limited benefits - how long does it take for an airline to match prices, never mind if it is haemorrhaging at the bottom line? And in any case, there are any number of regional airlines coming up, with low-cost business models, whose prices IA will be hard pressed to match.

Instead, IA needs to convert its frequent flyers to customer evangelists, who will actively recommend its brand to others. This is something that IA's marketing strategy is failing at conveying to the travelling world. In a television interview, I watched the managing director of IA, justifiably pleased with a survey in which IA was chosen as the preferred carrier by corporate passengers. Yet, as a frequent flyer (of both airlines), I never saw a celebration of this. Maybe it appeared as a snippet in its in-flight magazine, but providing statistics to captive IA passengers is like preaching to the converted. They need to get lapsed consumers back into the fold and give existing consumers a renewed appreciation of having made the smarter choice.

Jet, on the other hand, has to go beyond making a distinctive brand promise, and take a reality check on whether it is still as far ahead of IA as it used to be, especially on the truly relevant factors. Jet needs to ask itself: Are its customers truly loyal? Have they recently checked out the competition and rated Jet an experience better enough to pay a premium for? Or have they simply been trapped into an expression of repetitive loyalty due to sheer inertia? If so, there is a danger that sometime in the future, when she is lured into trying out IA, the die-hard Jet loyalist will recalibrate her experience and find Jet less satisfying than before. Note that nothing will have changed in terms of what Jet actually offers - the mere act of comparison will result in a lower sense of satisfaction.

That's what happened to my friend this week. My customer advocacy made her re-examine her unquestioned loyalty to Jet. Imagine if this snowballed into a larger movement - could we actually see a switcheroo, with IA regaining true dominance of the skies?

It would be interesting to map the strategy canvas of the domestic airline business and see how IA has gradually been changing its value curve to match that of Jet. When value curves start looking the same, it is a clear warning signal that the markets are being commoditised. It is now time for Jet to sketch itself a completely different curve, just as it did when it first entered the business.

Many years ago, another airline faced a challenge against an entrenched incumbent - Virgin Airlines completely disrupted the airline sector and stole customers and market share from giant British Airways. But it didn't try to compete on just price - instead, it created an irreverent brand focused on youthful indulgence. At the same time, it offered creature comforts: innovative in-flight entertainment, seat-back videos, an upgraded business class, onboard manicures and massages, and curbside check-in that made it a favourite with jaded travellers. But then Virgin also walks the talk - Richard Branson takes consumer feedback very seriously. He has been known to turn up at Gatwick Airport to apologise to passengers for a late flight - and at times to offer them a free trip.

The best marketing strategy is to be close to the customer. That's what lifts a brand above mere rhetoric, converting customer into evangelists.

(The author is a Chennai-based management consultant. Karate-gy is the proprietary name of strategic exercises conducted by Paradigm Management Knowhow.)

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