Southwest Makes Hurricanes Work for Me!

Last week, we here in Raleigh got a big charge when the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Most residents felt a surge of civic pride, whether they followed hockey or not. A couple days after the win, I got an email from Southwest Airlines' customer loyalty program, known as "Rapid Rewards". I already thought that Rapid Rewards is one of the best loyalty programs in the airline business, primarily because of its simplicity (and thus, the fact that I might actually earn and use the "Rewards".) Here's the plan: Every one-way Southwest flight counts as a "credit". Earn 16 credits, you get a free round trip ticket. That's it. You get a regular ticket, usable to anywhere at anytime. The email I got from Southwest was titled "A Win for Carolina Means A Win for You", and told me that, "in recognition of Carolina's big victory, we slipped 2 bonus points past the goalie and into your Rapid Rewards account." WOW! The airline industry is another one whose products are almost a pure commodity. The innovation here has nothing to do with the product per se: They are not touting the meals, seats, planes, crew, price, boarding process, or anything else directly related to flying. What they are doing here is reinforcing their reputation, their brand, if you will. I estimate the cost of these free credits to be about $37.50 - about one-eighth of an average $300 round trip. That, of course, assumes I cash them in, which I will likely do, since it is so easy. And when I do, it will more than likely be on a trip with my wife, or even the entire family. I'm encourged to fly Southwest more often to get to the next award level. I would have to say that this is one of the most innovative marketing moves I've seen by an airline. Lesson: marketing innovation doesn't always involve your product. You can do timely, unexpected acts of generosity that will more than pay back the investment. Here's another example of how it can work: My wife and I go to lunch about once a week at Zest Café on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. We've gone there for about five years now -- we're regulars, I guess you'd say. (They have the best catfish sandwich in the world!) Around Christmastime last year, we went to the register to pay, and the owner, Marvin, was manning it. He looked at the bill, stuck out his hand, and said, "Merry Christmas!", and put the bill away. That was a wonderful Christmas present, and we told lots of friends about how much we enjoy Zest. Small investment, not related to the product, but really enhanced our impressions and their reputation.