Executive Of Marketing And Sales For The Company Dave Ridley

Statement of Problem: This case is centered on Southwest airlines. In this case the vice president of marketing and sales for the company Dave Ridley was planning to join both Keith Taylor and Joyce Rogge for a meeting. In this meeting the three men were exchanging ideas as well as coming up with developments and ideas geared towards company marketing practices. Southwest Airlines at the times was popular among consumers and they were known for their price and service strategy throughout the industry. According to the case this strategy was hard to imitate because other airlines like Continental tried to match the service levels offered by Southwest but failed. According to the case in January of 1995, â€Å"continental’s effort was being†¦show more content†¦487). In 1994, Southwest was known to be the eighth largest airline company in the U.S.; as noted by their revenue. According to the case â€Å"Southwest recorded net income of $179.3 million on total operatin g revenue of 2.6 billion in 1994† (p.487). This level of success was reached after the company had been in business for over two decades. This milestone reached by Southwest was extremely hard for other companies to reach so this helped Southwest in the quest for a sustainable competitive advantage. Since their origins in 1971, Southwest has prided itself as a company on delivering great customer service to its passengers. According to the case, â€Å"Southwest’s attention to customer service was embodied in the attitudes of its people† (p.487). When flying with Southwest the plane crew members could be seen actively involved in assisting customers, making each flight overall a very pleasant experience. The company’s attention to customer service, according to the case â€Å"won the annual ‘triple crown’ of the airline industry for the third consecutive year by ranking first among major carriers in the areas of on-time performance, baggage ha ndling, and overall customer satisfaction† (p.487). Along with excellent customer service, the company has been known to pride itself