COMMENTS
It is good to hear how the big guys do it. However, in the first paragraph it says that Virgin implemented this strategy "with a much smaller budget than their competition". But, on the other hand they've invested so much in providing added value services to their customers.
Hence, it is not like they have achieved great results with a small investment.
Some good insight but also proof positive that social media cannot exist on it's own. The Virgin brand made sure it already had credibility among their target w/ a great service and off-line alliances that made sense. Social media was the natural progression of an already "social" brand.
Agree with Laura's comment about social media not being able to exist on its own but needs to be integrated with the overall marketing effort. What Virgin America also shows is that to be successful on the social web requires the right corporate culture and attitude across the entire organization. This is not always easy and VA was recently tested when one of their flights was stranded at a small airport near NYC during a storm and the customer experience was anything but pleasant. Due to their experience with social media it seems the company handled the crisis rather well compared to competitors. Ultimately that's when the brand has to show its strength when the chips are down.
Love to hear about how the "small guy" can compete against the "big boys". Giving customers experiences they can appreciate is the value, and yet I would be curious as to their ROI with a small budget, leveraging their partners and inbound marketing. Will their be "...And Now The Rest of Story" segment to follow up....with metrics?
I aree with social media not being able to exist on its own but needs to be integrated with the overall marketing effort. I aslo agree that it is great to see the little guy makeing a difference.
Can we dump the expression "integrated marketing" and go back to calling it the "marketing mix"? To my way of thinking, the former has always sounded like the department has met its diversity-in-hiring goals. The latter is more straightforward, more descriptive and means business.
For those who weren't sure what "Grok" means, it means to think like someone. Aka step in their shoes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok
Great post, and even better airline. Given the opportunity I now always fly Virgin American. All it took was one flight and I was sold.
I agree with Tim and would love to see a follow up segment with ROI metrics. Excellent post, this is leveling the playing field!
This post got me thinking about the other places where Virgin has excelled, perhaps more so than with traditional marketing. What started as a simple response post evolved into a blog of my own. Read it here...http://bit.ly/bfmS2q
Key point that some are missing, Virgin have really tried to give their customer the best experience possible, truly great marketing is only possible when the product is excellent
The post is good but i think their soul finds behind the “profile persona” concept and the way to add or integrate the better of both worlds (brick and mortar and social networks) to spread a consistent value proposal
I think Partnerships can be a great catalyst. Rightfully so, I need to get to work on that in my own business :)
I've gotta say, this attempt to portray a company as big as Virgin as some kind of scrappy underdog would be hilarious if it weren't such a blatant lie.
Great article! I used the 4 bullets in my blog and added my own content to them.
Thanks again Hubspot team!
Linda