Want Word of Mouth? Bring the LUV

This weekend I flew to Washington, D.C. for a friend’s wedding. Since I hate missing out on any fun, especially with this group of gals, I booked the last Southwest Airlines flight leaving Dulles on Super Bowl Sunday. Despite the fun, I found myself getting to the airport earlier than expected. While Dulles is a pretty nice airport, the idea of watching the Arizona Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Steelers from a barstool with my suitcase at my feet was not ideal.

So I walked to the ticket counter and asked if I could fly standby on an earlier flight. Like many airlines, Southwest charges a fee for this type of change on a full-restricted ticket*. (What can I say? I’m a poor grad school student.) Unfortunately the $112 change fee does not really work for my student loan budget. It was looking like I was on my way to watching the big game with fellow travelers at Harry’s Tap Room on Concourse B.

That is until the ticketing agent played around on the computer for a couple of minutes and proudly displayed what I would consider the equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket – a boarding pass for the next flight. According to this agent (whose name I didn’t get, but whose face I will always remember) the price for an earlier departure was not $112, but for me to tell all of my friends and family about Southwest Airlines. Fortunately for Southwest, look who’s a blogger!

For full disclosure, I’ve been a member of their frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, since 1999. So as a knowledgeable customer, I am honestly not surprised that Southwest would come through in this way. Heck, I get birthday cards from them every year! But as a student of integrated marketing communications I believe that Southwest really considers itself customer-centric not only because it structures its business and operating procedures on its core customers’ wants and needs, but also because it understands that when its customers receive good service they look forward to sharing it with others.

According to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, word of mouth marketing is the act of consumers providing information to other consumers. The association says “good WOMM strategies involve finding ways to support satisfied customers and making it easier for them to talk to their friends.” In this age of social networking, blogs and free information widely dispersed on the internet, it is easy for customers to share information.

But, companies also need to remember that ANY touch point with the customer is a possible WOMM tool, not just Facebook applications and messages posted on Twitter. For Southwest it is also the personal relationships forged between the employee and customer that make up the integrated marketing communications mix. It’s the great customer service at the ticketing counter and the singing flight attendants that become part of the stories travelers tell their loved ones when describing their trips.

For me, Southwest will always be the first place I go to when booking a flight. All they need to do to get more of my business is to start flying in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. It’s so much closer for my Jersey-based parents than LaGuardia or Islip.

--Lauren McCabe


*Author’s Note: Although Southwest’s advertising campaign touts its “No-Hidden Fees Zone” they clearly state on their materials that fees may be incurred on restricted tickets. (Just want to make sure I’m giving kudos on the full disclosure.)