Sales Promotion Techniques used by JETBLUE Research Paper

Sales Promotion Techniques used by JETBLUE - Research Paper Example JetBlue not only offers the service of air travel at cheap rates but it also tries to set itself apart from its competitors by offering a product that is superior than the rest at prices people can afford. With the objective of providing superior in-flight experience the airline was the first to offer all the passengers with a personalized service. Each seat had its own flat-screen monitor installed at the back and it allowed passengers to tune into many of DirecTV channels at the same cost. Due to its focus on providing the best service to passengers, the airline became synonymous to customer service. The airline was given a four-star rating by SKYTRAX (The World’s 4-Star Airlines| official SKYTRAX Airline Ranking). In 2007 a violent snowstorm led to a collapse of JetBlue’s and passengers were made to wait for many hours to wait for clearance to take-off. Many of the flights were even cancelled. This hurt JetBlue’s status badly, however, the airline was able to deal with the crisis effectively and rebuild its image among its customers. JetBlue’s success should be credited to its belief of â€Å"flying people† rather than â€Å"flying airplanes†. Low Air-fare & Superior Customer Service: The aviation industry is very competitive and most of the airlines have a lot of trouble in creating brand loyalty among the customers. Passengers usually search for available flights usually on sites such as orbitz.com, travelocity.com and expedia.com. The passengers, most of the times, end up buying a ticket on the flight that provides them with the cheapest fare (Lambrano). Hence airline companies have to come up with travel deals with cheaper rates than their competitors. They also need to reduce their costs and at the same time provide great customer service to passengers in order to attract more and more customers. JetBlue was able to do just that. When David Neeleman founded JetBlue, the idea was to provide passengers with a low-cost airline without compromising on the in-flight experience. When customers travel with JetBlue not only will they be able to reduce their fare costs by as much as 65% but they would also enjoy a great travel experience as JetBlue offers wider seat s, more legroom, and more overhead storage space than any other airline in its class and, with 24 channels of live in-flight television, passengers would not have to miss on any of their shows while travelling (JetBlue Airways, The First 'Mega Start-Up' Unveils Launch Plans 1999). Through these measures JetBlue was able to increase the demand for their service as more and more passengers were attracted to flying with JetBlue. Not only were the low fares an incentive to travel for the customers, but the great in-flight experience provided by the airline offered an added incentive for customers to travel with JetBlue. Hence by lowering its cost the airline was able to offer lower rates for its flight fares as compared to its competitors. Coupled with that, it was embedded in the DNA of the airline to provide a high quality in-flight experience to their passengers better than the rest. As a result JetBlue was able to create some brand loyalty among its customers who kept utilizing JetB lue’s service while travelling because of the very personalized in-flight experience that they received. Eventually these customers would also recommend JetBlue to their friends or colleagues. Hence the role of word of mouth was a big help to increase the airline’s sales. When first-time travellers of JetBlue were asked from where they had heard about the airline more than 70% answered that they had heard about it from a friend (Carton 2001). Customer service plays an important role in improving JetBlue sales. It