Southwest Airlines is continually ranked first-in-class in customer
service and employee satisfaction, so I decided to review their community page/ blog to
see what the hype is all about (since I have never flown Southwest, much less
been in an airplane before.) Going from the top down on the landing page, the
Southwest logo in the top left takes you to the company’s main website to book
flights. Tabs at the top right are also to book flights, hotels and cars and to
find special offers.
The second set of tabs are to navigate within the site, with
tabs for the Community Homepage, Discussion Forum, Blog and Knowledge Base. A
large search box makes finding information on the blog clear and simple.
Below the search box is a large image and a featured blog
post with other blog posts along the side and at the bottom of the page. When
I did this review, the featured post was showcasing employee hometown
destinations. It’s no secret that Southwest values its employees, and as a
result, it’s rare to find a Southwest employee that is unhappy on the job.
The discussion forum is below the featured blog post, and at
the bottom are resources links, contact information and social media links. The
resources are helpful for a first-time visitor, as there is a new
member guide and guidelines
for the Community. The discussion forum has 130,843 members, with over 13,700
posts.
By clicking either the “Blog” tab at the top or “View All” on
the sidebar of blog posts, you are taken to a page with stories on Southwest’s corporate
social responsibility efforts. Here you will find a sampling of heart-warming
stories like “With
Southwest’s Support, a Chamber of Commerce Helps People with Disabilities Reach
Their Dreams” and “From
Live at 35 to Patients’ Bedsides with Musicians On Call and Musician Filmore.”
Each page of the blog has about a month’s worth of positive and inspiring stories.
The posts have tags, making them easier to search, and you can
also “heart” stories. Top tags on the sidebar allow the user to find hot topics
that they may be interested in. However, you must be a registered user to
comment, which could be seen as a negative aspect of this blog. For the 15 posts on the first
page, there were only two comments. This blog appears to have a wide audience, but
perhaps they are more active in writing stories than engaging with them.
Instead of ads on the side of the blog, Southwest has calls
to action, like “Have a story to share? Click here to submit it to our blog!”
The sidebar also display information on “Community Champions,” who are “trusted
voices within the Community who answer questions, author stories and foster meaningful
conversations.”
The site is clean and has high-quality images within the posts.
Posts are written by customers, employees and pilots alike. Southwest’s genuine
and fun-loving tone seen in their advertisements and social media also comes across
in their blog.
Have you ever flown Southwest? Did you see their brand voice and values come through in their service?
Have you ever flown Southwest? Did you see their brand voice and values come through in their service?
This was a great blog post! I love all of the links that you embedded, they were all extremely helpful. I have flown Southwest before and yes, all of the rumors are true. From the time I boarded the plane to the time I left, I never saw one worker without a smile on their face. This airline does an amazing job with wanting people to come back. I thought it was really cool that instead of Advertisements on the side of the page, they had a link to a site where you could post something to make your story be heard. The images on their site were also amazing and really well thought out. I knew their service was amazing, but I didn't know their digital presence was just as great. Thank you for the great post! @ConnellyNathan
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