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Delta's new "customer experience"
May 8, 2007
Delta Air Lines has launched, in their words, a "reinvigorated customer experience." And following the recent example of Dairy Queen, so far the most apparent change is in the logo.
Here's the old logo (or the most recent one, anyway; see the Delta Museum page for all of them).
Here's the new logo.
This change also kicks off a multimillion dollar investment in... advertising, of course! As I wrote in Budgeting for Advertising and the Customer Experience, investing in advertising and visual "branding" often takes away resources from improving the actual customer experience. So far Delta seems to be following the corporate script of "slightly change the logo at huge expense and declare victory."
Still, maybe Delta will surprise us. In the company's own words, from AdWeek:
Delta's new corporate brand identity is a red "Widget" logo that was unveiled April 30.
"Every element of this campaign is focused on how Delta is changing the travel experience for our worldwide customers, with tangible benefits including industry-leading in-flight entertainment, signature cocktails and time-saving self-service technology, among many others," Tim Mapes, vp, marketing at Delta, Atlanta, said in a statement. "The campaign communicates how we have modernized, upgraded and reinvigorated the airline, and we're continuing to change. We're also introducing an innovative, interactive component that will soon invite our customers to provide feedback on their travel experience and share ideas that will allow us to continue to serve them better."
See also: Defining "Branding" (the brand is what you talk about later!)
Obviously, Delta is not in as much trouble as they would have us believe, if they have jillions to waste on this. Oh, man! (As a client of mine, a successful small business owner, told me recently: "I could run an airline better than these clowns." I believe him.)
It took me years to realize that an incremental improvement in the customer experience -- along with *patience* -- is worth 100 times its expense in advertising.
The patience part is key. Companies love advertising because it gives them the instant feedback that they are "doing something". Changes to the customer experience take a lot longer to show their effects.
A message to the folks in airlines, automobiles, newspapers: the status quo just doesn't cut it anymore, guys.
It is really interesting that Delta is re-branding to improve their customer experience. After a round trip from LGA to Charlotte last week on their commuter line, I swore I'd never book with them again. Leaving LGA was the worst experience flying I've had in years. Multiple commuter flights leaving from one crowded gate. A surly agent, no electronic posting of which of SEVEN flights was boarding thru the gate at any time, my flight was not even on the list of scheduled departing flights so you can only imagine the confusion, not to say bedlam with frustrated passengers trying to help each other know what was going on!
Well, I'll see if looking at a new logo helps...Thanks for all of your good work with GEL.
Best regards, Inese Kaufman
I hope they didnt' spend a lot on the logo re-design. Did Delta merge with CITGO? Did I miss a memo... or did they?
http://www.tncities.com/business/CentralOil/citgo/citgo.jpg
The new logo looks like Citgo gas stations.
http://www.citgo.com/Home.jsp
This is so on point about experiences and using so much of the dollars on the creative marketing pitch rather than on what is actually happening at the customer level. The "reinvigorated customer experience" they talk about should come at the customer level - provide me a positive memorable experience while flying with Delta and then let me sell your brand to my friends. I love the ideas they have about making it more comfortable - through signature cocktails or giving the opportunity save some time but show it to me then talk about it.
My first thought looking at the logo: looks just like the CITGO sign over Fenway Park... WHAT are they thinking??
I completely agree with Stephen; changing the logo and spending massive dollars on advertising is like cleaning your car when the engine gives trouble.
I don't want to even begin to imagine the hundreds of iterations the designers must have presented to the marketing team, eagerly discussing colour values, while completely ignoring the bigger picture - namely the complete detachment from the actual needs of the passengers. A new logo probably ranks at number 876 on their wish list.
Patience in particular seems to be a lost virtue today and none that is easily represented in annual reports. I would happily exchange my signature cocktail for real long term benefits.
I think each industry has their own "experience franca', which shapes their thinking within a very narrow framework about how to relate to "customers" and therefore defines their priorities on how they go about improving that. For example in academia this relationship appears to be extremely event and program driven. "What kinds of events can we get students to come to so they will want to be involved with the school and continue to do so after they graduate?" The more spectacular, fun, or whatever, the more they will want to be involved."
So it is with the airlines. It seems like cushy amenities are just a way of apologizing for the bad service customers may have experienced up until they boarded their flight. The "interactive component" sounds promising, that is, if they 1) listen to it and then 2) actually act on it.
You'd think a company just emerging from near-bankruptcy would forego an all-RED insignia. Green might've been a more positive-thinking choice!
Some very true comments here regarding "patience" being the missing factor but this is not only the fault of the companies themselves. Todays shareholders and markets demand change NOW! from any downward turn in stock prices, patience is not on their list of priorities. Obviously this reflects on the actions taken by companies concerned, fast-track the output of "enhancing this" and "improving that" with band-aids i.e. marketing hype cosmetic patch-jobs. Voila...media buys it, non-clear thinkers and average Jo Public buy it, job done, share prices turn upward again, and the most important people of all the "customers (read shareholders)" get their reinvigorated customer experience in their dividend cheques.
Right on the mark. (sorry) This is just a logo change, at least for now. I tried booking a flight on Delta just last week, for myself, my wife and our two-year-old. Online it says that you have to call in to get children's prices on tickets. At his age, he needs his own seat so I couldn't book for him online and get a child's price. So, I called in, and lots of wait time later, I finally spoke to a person who told me, "Oh, we don't have children's prices anymore." No "Sorry" or "That's not our policy anymore, but since it's still up on the web site let's see what we can do..." Nothing. Just, "Too bad. We screwed up and there's nothing we're going to do to help you." I even had to go back and book online to avoid having to pay the $10 fee for booking with an agent. Some experience.