Apples to Apples

In an article yesterday on the Detroit News website there is some interesting information and great quotes about a recent JD Power survey on customer experience and customer satisfaction in the airline industry.

In standard JD Power fashion it is a ranking of competitors and once again Northwest is very low in customer satisfaction. In a previous post regarding the huge cuts at Delta I talked about how reduction in front line staff negatively impacts customer satisfaction and customer experience, and it appears that this is coming true with Northwest.

The part of the article that I find most interesting is a quote from Michael Boyd (described as an airline expert):

"They're lumping once-a-year passengers on connecting flights in Bangor, Maine, with daily flyers on direct flights from Detroit to Los Angeles. Its not exactly apples to apples"

This is partly true. While the overall experience of the customer who embarks on a flight (researching, buying, flying, service, baggage, etc) is similar, the segment or profile of the customer varies greatly and as such should be measured differently or at least separately.

Customer segmentation and profiles are a key part of measuring customer experience and implementing successful programs. The daily flyer from New York to LA is a completely different customer than the once-a-year in Maine. They each have different needs and expectations and as such will respond differently to similar questions despite a common experience (or actions in taking a flight).

While I am sure that airlines have comprehensive segmentation and profiles on customers JD Powers should incorporate this into their surveying - based on consolidation of segments from participating companies - to provide meaningful and actionable research for the industry.