Jonathan Clarkson, Director, Rapid Rewards, Southwest Airlines participated in a Q&A with Loyalty360 to discuss the recent Freddie Awards and the airline’s keys to success.
What specific program factors do you believe led to Southwest Airlines earning the Best Customer Service and best Loyalty Credit Card awards at the annual Freddie Awards?
On the Customer Service front, Southwest Airlines has a fantastic Customer Relations team. This team, whose reach extends across all our external channels, exists to help our Members with any questions they have. The Premier Card, which actually won the Freddie, not only offers up to 50,000 Rapid Rewards points upon sign up, but it also has additional unique benefits such as 6,000 points on your anniversary, no foreign transaction fees, and tier qualifying points from spend. Our program tenets−no Blackout Dates and Every Seat is an Award Seat−resonate for fliers who want to redeem all the points they earn.
The Rapid Rewards program also placed in the top two for Best Promotion, Best Elite Program, and Best Redemption Ability. Since loyalty programs can be such a point of differentiation, what does this say about your longstanding program that resonates with customers so well?
We couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction to Rapid Rewards. We revamped the program in March of 2011 in an effort to increase relevance and appeal among a broader range of travelers, and these awards speak to the success driven by the program’s evolution.
What metrics do you use to measure success of the program, and how have those metrics for success evolved throughout the history of the program?
We measure a range of metrics including engagement, overall growth and acquisition and revenue targets. We also pay close attention to the “soft” metrics which speak to program health. Examples include satisfaction, the compliments- to-complaints ratio, depth of awareness and our annual Net Promoter Score.
How has technology played a role in this success, and what technology plans do you have for the rest of 2014?
We simply wouldn’t be where we are without our technology partners. Their role is, in many ways, to serve as a foundation for Rapid Rewards. Much of our 2014 technology effort will be reflected in the integration of A+ Rewards, the AirTran Loyalty program, into Rapid Rewards, which we’re very excited about. The full integration of the loyalty programs will take place in November of this year.
As a marketer, what things/challenges keep you up at night?
The loyalty landscape is constantly presenting new branches upon which programs can differentiate and get better. Mobile, social, and digital platforms and enhancements in the payments industry are just a few examples of the constantly changing environment. It is not the challenges that keep us up at night, but rather the excitement around the opportunities which exist!
Do you benchmark against other competitor programs? If so, does that help fuel your strategic approach to your program?
We certainly pay attention to the competitive landscape, but the strategic approach to our program is a customer-centric one. We’ve found listening and responding to our customers to be an effective practice at Southwest for 43 years, and we have no intent to waver from that.