Marketing Communications Today is a collection of resources for marketing communications
professionals filled with industry research, marketing trends, and career
information about integrated marketing and data-driven communications.
Learn industry insights through the Marketing Communications Today blog,
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Since the pandemic, airlines and hotels have taken a huge kick to the stomach. But
now, it seems they can’t get out of their own way. Delays, poor service, and inadequate
staffing, all in the face of massive demand and booming revenues. The result? Record
low customer satisfaction and defections.
Joining us from Singapore is Mark Ross-Smith, founder of Travel Data Daily and CEO
of Status Match. Mark has 20 years of experience leading loyalty programs in telecom
and travel, most recently at Malaysian Airlines. In this episode, he explains why
loyalty programs are not only hugely valuable to airlines, but are in some cases
THE value, with important lessons for marketers everywhere. Listen in as Mark explains
the extraordinary power of loyalty programs, and the financial benefits of “selling
the dream.”
Ruth Stevens: Why is the airline industry as bad as it is today? Is there any
hope of emerging out of this from a marketing perspective?
Michael McCathren, innovation lead at Chick-Fil-A, and author of a new book: 6Ps
of Essential Innovation, is an expert on the “innovation organization.” In this
episode, he shared with us specifics about how marketing departments can develop
the capabilities and the culture needed to implement new ideas. Listen in to learn
how marketing leaders should adopt an innovation mindset, to make new ideas welcome,
and to stimulate “idea equity” in their companies. Michael explains why an innovation
organization is NOT the same as an innovative organization, and why it matters.
His secret weapon for innovation: Stay close to your customers and let them speak
for themselves.
Cyndi Greenglass: What do you mean by the term innovation?
Michael McCathren: Depending on how large or complex your organization is or
what industry you're in, innovation can take on a different definition. In my book,
I try to identify how important it is as a philosophy as you're creating this innovation
organization that you define it in a way that aligns with your culture. We define
it at Chick-fil-a as transforming ideas into business value. It could be something
that the consumer may not ever experience, but supporting our restaurants is an
ongoing area of innovation that we're that we're continually trying to improve.
