During its six-year existence, JetBlue Airways has endeavored to be more than the typical airline — but for less. Already, the airline has upped the number of locations it serves to 35, offering more than 400 daily flights. In flight, travelers are not subjected to the airline’s choice of often boring entertainment; instead, JetBlue customers can choose what to watch on their personal monitors from 36 live DIRECTV channels while sitting comfortably in leather seats. (Longer flights also offer additional movies from which to choose.) That is only the beginning of the amenities offered by the airline.
But as more and more airlines find it difficult to keep profits soaring, JetBlue also must find ways to keep its customers satisfied without cutting into margins or eliminating amenities. So, JetBlue formulated a flight plan as to how to do exactly that.
It began by selecting Salesnet’s patent pending on-demand CRM software to increase the effectiveness of its sales force. Salesnet’s is a cost-effective alternative to expensive, complex, packaged or premise-based CRM software.
Salesnet’s Guided Performance Selling (GPS) strategy essentially turns software, configuration, integration, and administration into service offerings designed to drive increased ROI — higher than purchased in-house solutions, anyway.
The solution increases performance by defining best practices, guiding salespeople to use those best practices, and tracking ongoing success using those best practices. It also assists in defining the path between business goals and realistic solutions. On demand software is nothing new, but the ease of administration, adaptability, and use and the single, low monthly subscription cost make Salesnet’s an intriguing proposition.
JetBlue became enamored with Salesnet immediately, but what clinched the deal was the launch of Salesnet's 25th Anniversary Edition. The HTML email feature was a major bonus, as JetBlue’s sales teams rely heavily on email campaigns — as do sales teams at most firms. Also, the lead generation functionality was appealing, since it helps management prioritize accounts based on size and revenue opportunities.
Ultimately, Salesnet was the most intuitive solution for JetBlue, including the sophistication of the Salesnet Dashboard, which was able to display information significantly more clearly than other vendors’ solutions.
Luceno stated, "The Salesnet dashboard really stood out; the graphics are laid out better and the charts can graphically display data in a way that is more pleasing to the eye which makes it easier to retain and understand information,” said Tim Luceno, regional sales manager, East, for JetBlue.
He added that, “We tried a homegrown solution but realized it wasn’t robust enough and acted more as a temporary solution. Now that we are up and running with Salesnet, we are amazed at how much easier it is to navigate Salesnet to find and customize data.”
With its new CRM platform in place, JetBlue customers not only can expect increased customer service efficiency, but they can travel comfortably, knowing that it will not be their last flight with Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee, or any of the other “perks” they currently enjoy.
Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Most recently, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page.
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