One key attribute of a Citizen Brand is open communication with everyone inside or outside the organization. Southwest Airlines is one of my favorite brands and it is a company that has always been open in all of its communications.
Right now, for example, Southwest has been in the news regarding a potential change in their open seating policy. If you have never flown Southwest Airlines, then you may not know that there are no assigned seats. You board in three groups - A, B and C - and you take whatever seat you want when you get on the plane. It has become part of the Southwest culture and an important part of their ability to operate more efficiently than other airlines.
Not everyone likes it of course. In fact, some people will avoid flying Southwest just because there are no assigned seats. I personally like it. But the fact that there are customers who don't means Southwest has to listen.
So what do they do about it? Do they just suddenly change their policy and then try to spin some kind of announcement to make it sound good? No, they don't. Instead, the CEO of Southwest is discussing the issue on the Southwest blog. There has been no decision made, yet here is the CEO talking direct with customers about the issue and its pros and cons. Refreshing.
Too bad it seems refreshing instead of being the norm in business communications.
More on this at Andy's blog.
Another airline who created a Corporate Blog : Air France Mexico !
http://airfrance.typepad.com/home/
Posted by: Carlos Duran | Friday, June 23, 2006 at 12:38 PM