from has become a business thanks to marketing ability to sell what could be .
We have used the aviation industry as a case study to highlight the relationship between business and marketing because the progress achieved in the aviation industry over the last century is mainly due to audacious business ventures where success was the result of the interplay of various elements .
Let us take a closer look at the main drivers of business evolution in the aviation industry and try to demonstrate their impact on marketing or vice versa . Business evolution can happen gradually but oftentimes the big leaps are caused by specific events or individuals .
The top of the pick has to be the existence of visionary leadership at the crucial moments in the growth of the sector that can only be termed as an obsession . These leaders not only had a vision of what was possible but were willing to stake all including their lives to prove it . These ‘ madmen ’ have the effect of jolting the public from their comfort zones and to achieve this they need to be great communicators capable of painting an alluring future so realistic that they harness the cooperation of the many people that are required for an idea to take off .
What stands out in the aviation business is that the companies that have made an impact in the industry were led by great marketers . This fact is not only true in the aviation industry but in any business . Hugely successful companies have great marketers at the helm .
What is also apparent is that these visionaries were able to put together very effective marketing teams that were assigned the selling of the idea to their prospects . A sold customer is the ultimate business advantage and especially when the idea is sold before the product is available .
It is impossible to achieve any great results in any endeavor unless you can get great leadership . A definition of a leader is an influencer and to be a good influencer one has to understand the market landscape of influence and be an excellent communicator . This is the hallmark of a marketer .
Innovation would of course feature high up in the aviation sector and it could even be argued that this is the main driver in this sector . Surprisingly there are only two major innovations in the industry , the
Space travel has become a business because the visionaries made it possible by getting a customer who was willing to pay for the services provided . You just have to image the gargantuan marketing effort it took to convince bureaucratic government functionaries to take a risk on privateers .
initial development of the propeller craft and the advent of the jet engine .
The aviation business did however evolve through numerous alliterations as incremental innovations made the crafts larger and more efficient . The coming of jet propulsion did not eliminate the propeller versions but simply offered an additional avenue to develop the airline industry .
Innovations in rocket propulsion are creating viable business propositions as the quest to reach Mars is now on in earnest . This business evolution is again powered by marketing . Big ideas require big marketing to dislodge the investors from the inertia of the comfort zone .
It may not have taken too much convincing for those initial dare devils to get behind the cockpit as a passenger since the thrill of the danger is what drives them but it certainly took a lot of marketing effort to convince the general public that flying was safe .
Even today when flying is so common place you still have passengers who get into panic attacks during take offs and landings and contrary to the facts are convinced that flying is a dangerous but necessary evil . There are many that do not trust the laws of physics .
The real reason that commercial airlines had attractive stewardesses on their fights was a marketing ploy to subconsciously demonstrate the safety of flying . The touch of glamor had the effect of calming nerves by making flying appear fun thus mitigating the fear of flying .
Innovation , it should be noted is not a monophasic phenomenon happening sequentially in a particular sector but a multiphasic reality where innovations in other sectors will and often simultaneously affect the business evolution of a different sector .
A case in point is that innovations in the IT sector have had dramatic effects in the aviation sector especially in the automation of flying hence making flights even safer and also enhancing the customer experience by simplifying mundane issues like check in procedure and tracking luggage .
As soon as a sector is profitable it attracts competition as bees to flowers . Competition forces businesses to reevaluate their operations and business costs to ensure they can compete effectively and not only hold onto their customers but grow the business .
The competitive advantages of a business are best communicated by using marketing tools and to most businesses customer retention is a function that is jealously guarded and elaborate customer satisfaction surveys are carried out to ensure loyal and happy customers .
There are a few quirky issues in the aviation industry that do not conform to the usual competitive nature of businesses . The high cost of entry is already a huge barrier for many would be competitors and the numerous certifications and regulatory requirements are a natural barrier .
But many airlines are technically not viable businesses and only fly because they are subsidized by the governments . Having a national carrier is a matter of national pride in many cases rather than a profitable business undertaking .
This at times can cause connectivity problems when a national airline reserves the right to prohibit other carriers from accessing its borders . Such political decisions may at times cause an aviation business to make unprofitable choices but which have customer retention aspects .
The competition in the foray into space is currently based on finding cost effective ways to exit earth atmosphere . There is already collaboration in the International Space Station between Canada , Japan , Russian Federation , The USA and the European Space Agency .
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