Southwest Marketing Strategy

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Strengths and weaknesses of Southwest’s competitors
Plan to differentiate with other competitors
Southwest intentions to be a leader
Macro-environment issues
Trends to impact a business
Bibliography

Introduction

Marketing strategy incorporates marketing goals of a business and puts them into a cohesive whole.The strategy of low-price has been in use, in the southwest airline, from the beginning. They offer cheap flights and, therefore, able of crushing competitors. The strategy of pricing has been successful because it was the opposite of the competitors.

Their goal has been to offer some values required by the travelers such as, leisure to arrive to a new destination, efficiency, flexibility, and comfort all for an inexpensive and fair price. They are targeting business travelers since they travel frequently (Gittel, J 2005). Additionally, the use of non-airline partner services gives credit to the customers.

In 2007, the organization enhanced the program and established a new travelers’ business focused on a marketing campaign. It also introduced a freedom award, which allowed the members of immediate prize the chance of exchanging two award tickets that are standard for Freedom Award.

Strengths and weaknesses of Southwest’s competitors

Strengths enable every business to achieve goals while weaknesses make the business slag behind. Among the competitors are the AMR corporations and JetBlue airways. The AMR Corporation has a strong network across the world, strong alliances and ties-up of marketing which makes it compete with the Southwest.

Additionally, it has an outlook to airline passengers that are positive. However, it has a decline in operation efficiency and a performance of DOT Domestic that is weak that becomes a weakness. It is also facing a threat of price discounting and intense competition, and obligations of security among others.

The JetBlue Corporation has a unique relationship, which the company enjoys since its inauguration with the workers. It managed to keep its costs low and involved high profits with efficiency of employees. It used its workers roles to play. Its weakness is that of economy and the oil prices that are rising on top of the debt the company has.

Plan to differentiate with other competitors

There are some essential things required by southwest airline so as to differentiate itself with other competitors keeping of low costs and treating workers well is an obsession and a commitment to manage the company. A sense of futurity and historicity is necessary in order to keep the company going.

Having a strong relationship with the employees does not necessary involve rise in the pay roll but rather creating a favorable environment. Treating them well will give them a heart of also treating the customers well hence, success of the business (Lauer, 2010).

Southwest intentions to be a leader

The Southwest airline, unlike its competitors in the industry, did not use strategies that are convectional, or which focused on barriers of entry like networks of hub and spoke. Furthermore, it did not use complicated customer segmentation, and information via systems of computer reservations. This strategy was unusual.

As described by the southwest’s management, its fundamental strategy was competing against the car. They proposed to compete by providing reliable, friendly, and a service that is of low cost on flights. They required to deliver more for less, which translated to the derivation of more from their workers for monetary compensations of the same kind. Consequently, the company thought of ways that would help to increase the component of non-monetary compensation for its work.

By this, value of its employees would be created and thereby the employees would be motivated in conversion of values to customers, and designing processes of operation in order to acquire firm value. Additionally, behavioral norms that are encouraging would enable workers to improve their services and reduce costs.

The motivated and happy workers of the southwest company adopted the systems and processes and went an extra mile by making things happen. Resistance and chaos comes with change, but it was not so to the southwest since it captured the value through superior service and low costs (Gittel, 2005).

The environment created by the southwest company respected the individuality of the employee and ensured they fit into the culture of the company. It introduced fun at work for workers in order to motivate them and fun games for their customers. Furthermore, it encouraged employees to dress up casually all through the summer period, and aligned its processes of operation and practices of human resource with the culture of the company.

Macro-environment issues

Macro-environment factors are relevant in every firm. It considers economical, political, technological and social issues. Politics influences many companies and determines how the company should work (Lauer, 2010). A political climate that is harsh makes a company lose its profit. Therefore, politics determines the extent of the business. The southwest is in a stable country that enables it to grow.

Economy is another aspect that determines whether or not the objectives can be achieved. Some of the things looked upon are inflation rates, budget limits, salary structure, maintenance of equipments and how a business should operate. The southwest looks for a fair price that is affordable to the travelers.

Consideration of social factors in the Southwest airline is essential since it concerns safety. Security is the focal point determining how airlines should operate. Southwest should maintain a healthy relationship with its travelers in order to succeed in business.

The other aspect of macro-environment is technology. Most of the airlines are hoping that a new and cheap form of fuel comes to the existence in order to cab the problem of high costs of gasoline. Furthermore, automated kiosks of ticketing are adding up like never before. The south west airport continues to introduce machines in order to enable streamline of the business (Lauer, 2010).

Trends to impact a business

Trends entail analyzing historical data of a certain time in order to determine the growth of the business. It also helps in predicting the future and shapes the decisions of strategy in a business.

Trends used to impact a business should understand the market currents and make decisions on the good time for going with the current economy. Some of the markets are growing and other going backwards (Gittel, 2005). A business should encourage technology in order to experience a significant growth. The trend gets attractive by looking at the services of models of business.

Bibliography

Gittel, J (2005). The Southwest Airlines way: using the power of relationships to achieve high performance. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Reprint.

Lauer, C (2010). Southwest Airlines. London: ABC-CLIO.

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