Speaking of Success: Open Source Means Open Dialogue

This week, I traveled to New York City from Chicago on my favorite airline. JetBlue is headquartered in New York and has JFK International Airport as its major hub, featuring a newly renovated terminal with a number of innovative features—including to-your-gate food service delivery. In-flight entertainment options, such as DirectTV, XM Satellite Radio, The New York Times on Air, and free-of-charge healthy snacks are just some of what makes this 8-year old company a major competitor against airlines that are struggling after decades of doing business.

Besides its branded “Even More Leg Room” and leather seats for every passenger (along with the amenities named above), what makes jetBlue so special as a standout in its industry?

The fact is, the company has been earning accolades every year since its inaugural flight in 2000. But what really gave it wings was a much-publicized customer service catastrophe on Valentine’s Day of 2006, when jetBlue learned the hard way what not to do—the key word being, “learned.” What might have sunken another such young company kept jetBlue sailing through the skies: After disgruntled passengers were kept aboard grounded flights at JFK for several hours during an ice storm, the airline created its Customer Bill of Rights, stating among other things, that passengers who experience on-board ground delays will be reimbursed to some extent for the inconvenience. In June of the following year, it miraculously ranked highest in customer satisfaction of all North American low-cost air carriers by J.D. Power & Associates—an honor it continues to boast to date.

This ‘open source-esque’, evolving strategy keeps the “customer satisfaction” brand alive and well. In example, witness the honesty of CEO David Neeleman, who—rather than downplaying the Valentine’s Day event—gave an emotional press conference a few days later, where he confessed to feeling “humiliated and mortified,” and even shared with the world the reasons behind the debacle: a faulty communications system between pilots and other staff that slowed service options down to a standstill. The changes made to the company’s communication infrastructure ensured that the Customer Bill of Rights was more than just lip service.

On my own flight, I got to see this super-hyped customer satisfaction promise in action: The electronic equipment for the plane’s entertainment system was out of order, which meant I received a $15.00 voucher toward my next jetBlue flight. Also, we passengers were informed of the glitch at the gate prior to boarding; both the pilot and the flight attendants made additional apologetic announcements at take-off, as well.

The most important factor in any open source service or product is always an open dialogue with the customer. I frequently receive e-mail messages from this customer-oriented airline after my flights, often containing a survey form. I love to fill out these forms, cherishing the opportunity to voice my opinions about how I believe the company and crew have (or have not) gone above and beyond to enhance my in-flight experience.

How do you keep the channels of communications open with your customers or potential customers? Is your brand sending an inconsistent message? Or do you take an honest and open approach to welcoming feedback and aligning or alleviating inconsistencies? Studies show that surveys that use a combination of ratings and written feedback can best measure customer satisfaction. Implementing the survey findings is the height of marketing strategy. KiKi Productions, Inc., can help you implement the right survey approach and the right branding solutions for your company’s target audience. Talk about satisfying!

(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009

Of Dinosaurs & Digitization: When Print (Still) Works

This month, the 100-year old international news rag, The Christian Science Monitor, makes history by replacing its print edition with several digital editions: its website, RSS feeds, and handheld PDA and e-mail subscriptions. Founded in November of 1908, the newspaper has won 7 Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, and touts a non-partisan stance on global affairs. Its decision to reach audiences solely through digital means in the year 2009 (and beyond) comes at a time when a number of newspapers are struggling—or folding—in the face of adversity.

It isn’t just economy pressures that push the envelope for newspaper budgets. When I entered college as a journalism student in 1991, the internet was a little-known portal dubbed “the information superhighway;” praised by forward-thinkers, but mystifying to many others. Even then, visionaries were proclaiming “the death of the daily newspaper”: Glossy magazines were more appealing to the color-television generation of the day.

Now, with the myriad of technological advances in business and society that continue to occur each year, today’s news audience has little time to thumb through the newsprint as in days of yore. Fast receipt of information is top-of-mind to most businesses—including newspapers—in this fast-paced world.

But there are some times when print pieces still succeed over their digital counterparts. While print journalism struggles to remain valid in the current electronic age, print advertising continues to have a home. As electronic communications sources become prolific, tangible items are a valuable commodity—especially to the younger set, who are more likely to have fewer print pieces on-hand or in their homes.

Whether you choose e-format or print versions of your communiqués, consistency is key: Studies show that the more successful ads are those delivered on a regular basis, from daily blogs to monthly mailers. And don’t forget to weave your promotions into your information, so that your product or service is always a major takeaway—even alongside any educational info. you may provide (such as in white papers, newsletters and magazines). Marrying the two formats is still a valid option. With the right design, e-mail and print newsletters can consistently share the same information with similar-to-identical looks and feels.

Small businesses, along with groups and organizations with low budgets, particularly benefit from local mailings. The Toastmasters speakers' club I belong to in Chicago succeeded in more than tripling its membership with a year-long campaign that included publishing a newsletter, where print pieces were given to visitors, as well as left behind in area offices, coffee shops, and gyms. The dual electronic component of the newsletter (PDF downloads available on the club’s website) provided the right tandem push to excel the campaign. Furthermore, direct-mail industry giant The Ballantine Corporation reported via blog in 2008 that the local auto, retail, and hospitality industries were just a few that could directly benefit from direct-mail campaigns—especially when both print and electronic options were available to audiences.

Has your print marketing campaign gone the way of the dinosaurs? KiKi Productions, Inc., offers newsletter creation to individuals, non-profit organizations, and businesses of all sizes, featuring both print and online formats that fit your solutions. Talk about timely!


(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009

Begin from Within: Corporate Integrity Starts with Personal Integrity

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, the phrase “corporate integrity” may well get your blood boiling today—especially if you live in the U.S.: Corporate giant AIG, a decades-old institution in not only the American (and international) economy, but also (thanks to business and advertising) in the mind of the American, is being publicly lambasted for the choices it’s made in the wake of its federal financial bailout. The situation is a macrocosmic parallel to the American individual on public welfare whose monthly income checks are designated only for program-approved costs, like milk or diapers. If the individual gets “caught” spending welfare money on anything outside of those program-approved expenses, there are repercussions.

The terms of this “program-approved spending”—and its mismanagement consequences—may not have been so clearly defined for AIG and other corporate recipients of federal bailout money. Just like the financially unstable individual who suddenly wins the lottery, the company is perceived to have continued the spending spree that put them in the red in the first place.

But the backlash goes beyond spending practices. It’s no secret that personal wealth is a high priority for most Americans, as well as others around the globe. And when you factor in the success over the last decade of products that tout prosperity consciousness (such as Australian Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret), there’s really no mystery to the motivating force behind this seeming money-hungry madness.

But the difference between reaping rewards and sowing repercussions is not such a fine line. In fact, most prosperity consciousness programs—be they in audio book, afternoon workshop, weekend retreat or online e-course form—feature a compelling distinction between wealth and greed: generosity. “Giving to get back” is a phrase that can be twisted. Sound business practices call for “giving” to the business in order to generate more growth. But global companies like Starbucks have based their corporate mission statement around giving to not just the business’s bottom line, but its employees, customers, vendors and even the communities with whom they work.

Starbucks’ longtime CEO Howard Schulz has spoken at length about how he applied his personal philosophy of generosity to the mission and vision of the company almost from its inception, learning quickly that focus on the bottom line should remain the bottom of one’s focus for true success—success that’s measured in more than merely dollars. His personal values became his corporate values, and remain the paragon of virtue at his Fortune 500 business—a company that’s yet to ask for a handout in 2009. (By the way, Starbucks is not only a Fortune 500 entity, it’s also currently listed as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Places to Work.)

Do you speak your truth all the time, even when no one is listening? Do you do the right thing, measuring the motives behind your choices, even when no one is looking? Integrity is commonly known as the ability to do the right thing even when no one is watching. Watchdogs and whistleblowers aside, getting caught misappropriating (or simply being inappropriate) only goes so far. Living an honest life can get you further than the greatest windfall; that measurement may include, but goes beyond money. Talk about your truisms!

(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009