United recently announced that it’s joining Delta and American in creating a new Basic Economy fare class, one tier below Standard Economy. This no-frills tier cuts a few of the remaining “frills” of Standard Economy, like overhead bins and pre-assigned seats.
It’s a move to help the major airlines compete with discount airlines like Spirit and Frontier. Spirit advertises itself as “a cheap seat for a cheap-ass” and models after Ryanair which famously considered charging passengers £1 to use the inflight toilet.
A lot of brands offer a continuum of basic to premium, but I think there’s risk to brands that try to stretch this far, literally from “cheap-ass” to first-class. Many travel brands in particular follow a model of low base prices and constant aggressive upselling. But in the process, they can forget all about the impact on customer experience.
Rafat Ali of Skift described how travel brands market to customers as “hate-selling”:
“Delta’s lowest fare seats comes with tons of restrictions, and its ecommerce team thought it would be a great idea to hate-sell it, implying: “Here’s is what you don’t get, you cheap shit!” Passive-aggressive selling at its best. Or worst.”
As Ali concludes, “this is what happens when you let conversion marketers run amok with customer experience. They made it a science, but forgot being human.”
I think this watch-out applies to any brand that has to navigate the tension of conversion marketing and customer experience. Many marketing tactics can come across as “hate-selling.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Here are a few more cartoons I’ve drawn about airline brands and customer experience over the years.
Steve Willson says
I’m actually pleased to see that Delta is explicitly laying out what you DON’T get if you book their lowest price fares. We so often see news reports and travel site posts after the fact with folks complaining that they didn’t know that they might not get seated with their companion, or that they didn’t get a meal. Those of us who travel a lot understand the lunacy of “modern” air travel, but those who are infrequent travellers may still be stuck in the romantic era. So maybe we just need to frame the conversation a bit differently…
“At Delta we look forward to having you onboard, but here are a few reminders before you complete your ticket purchase…”
Maybe I’m jaded, but I go for transparency whenever possible:)
Dave says
I hate flying altogether. I’m 6’2″ and never comfortable in coach yet that is where I typically fly. It seems I’m always one of the last on the plane so finding room in the overhead is often a challenge. My laptop is nearly impossible to use on the tray tables and I had a display snap about 15 years ago when the guy in front of me reclined faster than I could react. I’ve had my luggage lost once and delayed by 24 on a second occasion. Can’t sleep, someone’s always coughing, screaming babies … and then there’s TSA. So in light of it all, I can’t get worked up over this new (old) change. (Remember People’s Express?)
Steve says
Totally agree with Steve Willson above. Please don’t attempt to coin the term “hate selling ” rather than call this what it is – choice – options – full disclosure. This is a good thing – don’t paint it as bad.
Marcos Dutra says
No, it is not a good thing.
Detergents that don’t clean, cheese that is not cheese, services that create unexpected problems to the customers are not good things. This is not choice, it’s a scam from marketers too desperate with their own incompetence and lack of good ideas.
Marcos Dutra says
That’s the plague of “Restriction Marketing”, so common these days. Sell horrible products and let the customer pay more for basic service.
This mess started with the idea that developing countries like India and Brazil accept crippled versions of any products, and spread like wildfire.
Actually, people are people anywhere and they have basic expectations.
The problem with this approach is that the customer will hate you forever, and develop no loyalty whatsoever to your brand.
Luka Rejec says
I would agree on two crucial points:
– you can’t have a cheap ass to first class range of products and succeed as a brand. The reason ryanair (sort of) works is that everyone assumes it’s horrid.
– if you are a brand based on horrid, you have zero customer goodwill and – something companies forget – very little political goodwill.
Richard Warland says
Why are there so many of us who find this “funny”aka DISTRESSING…?
It is not just airlines.. but they lead the charge.
OK call me an old codger but what happened to understanding your customers…? Hey, your Mom & Dad are your customers! (Mum if you are English).
I have been working with “spreadsheet marketers” for 30 years and they are getting worse. Very few of them have ever been a customer in their target market.
HUMAN BEINGS have not changed. Their needs and wants are the same as they were 50 or 100 years ago!
WHY therefore are we subjected to so much inane BS in the form of “marketing”?
Lisa Rothstein says
The distinction I find is that the new “basic” economy is not just no frills but punitive. I can understand some restrictions on resources that are limited like overhead bin space. But other things (no ability to upgrade even if you pay, no ability to choose a seat, even a “cheap” one so that you can sit with your travel companion) are just there to make you miserable for trying to save money.