Something I read over the weekend about the recent JetBlue meltdown, and CEO David Neeleman's crisis management of it, reminded me yet again that some execs "get" marketing. And others do not.
Make no mistake, what JetBlue faced after the inexcusable, inexplicable way it treated passengers during this month's blizzard, may have been labeled a "PR" problem but its implications seep far into the airline's marketing and, ultimately, its operations function, as well. To Neeleman's credit, he let his instincts -- rather than his lawyers -- tell him what to do. The result was that the court of public opinion apparently cut him some slack.
Crisis managers give Neeleman strong marks for putting JetBlue's brand ahead any of financial liability that may ensue. What's great about Neeleman's very public penitence, from the full page "We're sorry" ads in national media, to his appearance on the Letterman Show, to a video on You Tube was that it didn't require the advice of a crisis consultant. Why? Because Neeleman has the Marketing Gene. He sees the world through the eyes of his passengers, and not the lens of his company. What he saw screamed for him to make public acknowledgement that some horrendous wrongs had been done and that the buck stopped at his office. And just as some executives have an intuitive feel for what to do and how to do it, others see no recourse but circling the wagons and hunkering down with their attorneys. These are generally the same tone-deaf bozos who, in the face of sluggish sales, will want to hack and hew at all expenditures intended to give people reasons to go out and buy their company's wares.
The executives who "get" crisis management are, by and large, the same ones who get it when it comes to the broader marketing function as well. They know what it takes to give people reasons to buy because they share the same point of view. They see their own product through the eyes of their customers. You don't learn to do that, at least not in my experience working with senior managers. You either can or you can't. You get it, or you don't.
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