Analysis of Southwest Airlines' Success: A Case Study

This case study examines the success of Southwest Airlines, focusing on its innovative strategies in the airline industry. The study highlights the importance of people, process, and physical evidence in service marketing. Southwest Airlines, by prioritizing employee satisfaction, created a successful model for the airline industry. The assignment analyzes the company's strategies, including its approach to the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) and its adaptation for service-based businesses. The study emphasizes the crucial role of employee training, customer involvement, and tangible evidence in overcoming the challenges of service variability, inseparability, intangibility, and perishability. The conclusion underscores how effective strategies related to people, process, and physical evidence contribute to a company's success, as exemplified by Southwest Airlines.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SUCCESS A CASE STUDY
ANALYSIS
The main objective of this article is to spotlight the
strategies of Southwest airlines that made it to
supply a successful model in airlines industry that
was a good example for the entire airline industry. In
this fiercely competitive period service companies
may survive with innovative strategies with reference to people, process and
physical evidence that differentiate their services from their competitor
companies. Article apprises that if a service company gives importance’s to
its employees than customers, it automatically serves customers in better
way as services of a company are given through employees and employees’
satisfaction is customers’ satisfaction in service sector. The basic idea in
marketing consists of product, price, place and promotion. Important
strategic decisions related to these four determine success of any company.
However, strategies for the four require some modifications when it's applied
to services. As services are usually produced and consumed at the same
time, customers are present in-service company and are actually part of
service production process. Also, because services are intangible, customers
seek any tangible indication to assist them understand the character of
service experience. Realization of the importance of these additional
communication variables has taken services marketers to take on the
concept of an expanded marketing mix for services. In addition to the
normal four, the services marketing mix includes people, process and
physical evidence. These new elements may decide the success and failure
of any service company because any or all of them may influence the
customer’s initial decision to purchase a service, as well because the
customer’s level of satisfaction, repurchase decisions and word of mouth
publicity. Southwest airlines are that the best example for explaining the
importance of individuals, process and physical evidence within the success
of service agency. Southwest airline’s mode of operation made it seventh
largest US airline in the mid-90s. It created a successful model for profits in
Summary

the industry. This paper presents its strategies with reference to people,
process and physical evidence that helped it to achieve this great success.
Services are variable, inseparable, intangible and perishable. These unique
characteristics impose challenges for service firms to overcome. There are
different strategies to beat these characteristics. Services are variable by
nature as different people of same designation deliver services of different
types and same person provide different types of services at different times.
This problem can be overcome by training of employees. Inseparability of
production and consumption makes consumer part of service process so
their active participation, employees’ enthusiasm, easy techniques make
effective and efficient process. Providing physical evidence through website,
brand name, color, logo, uniform etc. help a service firm to overcome the
problem of intangibility. It is evident from analysis of Southwest airlines that
effective strategies related to people, process and physical evidence help a
company to overcome some of its characteristics and thus achieving
success.
Conclusion