Behavior modification in aviation marketing

Aren't we all trying a bit of manipulation here and there to make things happen? Come on, admit it! Your middle name is not "holiness". You want prospects to stop going to contestants or competitors and start coming to you.

You like to strike deals to your own or your business’ advantage.That requires a bit of Behavior Modification. The modification may be achieved through marketing. It may not have to do with business…, but what do you think flirting is? Marketing and flirting are behavior change techniques. I actually know people who are better in the one than in the other. Don't you? See? Right again!

 Is Behavior Modification an expression that is not in your vocabulary? In the "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge" by the FederalAviation Administration, Learning Behavior Modification Techniques is mentioned as one of the six steps for good decision-making. You didn'tread that book? Neither did I, but believe me it is in there for a fact. Note the words “good decision-making”!

Now, if one believes that Behavior Modification is just part of academic Psychology 101 course work, and that is where it should remain. Thatmay be a mistake. Did you realize that Frequent Flyer Awards are a tool for modifying behavior that is already in progress? You cannot run,you cannot hide, and behavior change methods will always be after you.

Do you like to think that clients make decisions on a rational, logical basis. Well, that is what you would like to believe and it's called a rational approach to marketing. What's the other approach? The behavior modification approach which deals with both the logical and emotional sides of the client. 

 But there is another approach called the unconscious approach. It is an approach that gets into the heads of the client and addresses what's going on in their minds as they make purchasing decisions, affirm loyalties, how they get motivated but also, of course, respond to advertising.

 The knowledge of emotion is important because most decisions are actually based on emotions and not on reason. Marketing to the mind is all about how to get clients to use your products or services rather than those of the competition.

There are two misconceptions about marketing. One is to believe that it is sales and the other is to consider that it is promotion. 

 Marketing is about intelligently creating a mix of methods and activities to successfully change the behavior of potential clients. It is actually called Marketing Mix and is a strategic framework made up of the 4 Ps—Product, Price, Place, and Promotion—that businesses use to position their offerings and generate revenue. It helps companies make decisions about what to sell, how much to charge, where to distribute, and how to communicate value to customers. For service segments, three more Ps are often added: People, Process, Physical Evidence. 

 When interviewing a new staff member for a marketing function ask them to present their views on effective Behavior Modification throughMarketing. The result could be as entertaining as a new-talent show on TV. You are not just challenging the common marketing knowledge ofthe candidate; you will get a sample of intelligence or a lack thereof.

My definition of intelligence is the ability to independently create thinking patterns. So even if the candidate has some knowledge of what is already done in marketing, you may or may not detect the candidate's ability to deal with the unexpected challenges of aviation marketing and development. Be it at airports, airlines or charters.

When you ask this unfortunate candidate the nasty question - to briefly present some views on Behavior Modification applied by Marketing - you should at least know yourself how Behavior Modification is defined to see where your victim is going with his/her views. 

 Behavior Modification is "the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through its extinction, punishment and/or therapy." Almost sounds scary, doesn't it? Marketing is to be takenseriously and especially aviation marketing is not an exercise for beginners or wimps. 

 I'm sure that you don't want to hear about the experiment demonstrating that if you ring a bell before presenting food to a dog, eventuallythe dog will salivate at the sound of the bell, even if there is no food presented. Isn't that what happens to pilots? You talk about the skyand they will salivate even without getting into a cockpit.

 You may not want to hear either about the how the Law of Effect was born? Marketing experts should know if they want to employ Behavior Modification. Sometimes, it is wise to keep wisdom for oneself. That's why I write the way I do and provide ‘food for thought’ to just guide one to figure it all out.