Boeing's marketing strategy: ask customers what they want

Tags: Marketing, Market Research, Advertising

Today's Wall Street Journal has a great article on how Boeing is reviving its business with its new 787 aircraft. This from a company that people were writing off as a laggard behind Airbus. What did Boeing do that was so special? It asked its customers -- and more importantly, its customers bankers who were also involved in the sales -- what they wanted and organized its product and its processes to make sure it could respond quickly. But it didn't get just put a menu of too many options in front of customers; Boeing understood the tyranny of too much and how it might hurt its business. Instead, it gave customers smart choices. The article says it well:

In designing the plane, Boeing did something else new: It listened to more than just its airline customers. The bankers that finance aircraft purchases were pushing for an airplane with only one engine type. It's hard to sell a used airplane with one maker's engine to a carrier that prefers another. The airlines were seeking at least two options.

Boeing compromised. The 787 will come with a choice of General Electric Co. or Rolls-Royce PLC engines. Boeing, however, required that each engine be capable of being swapped for the competition in 24 hours. On a typical plane, that task would take a couple of months and cost more than $1 million.

Inside the plane, power for lighting and in-flight entertainment systems will be built into the floor rather than hard-wired into each seat. Boeing also cut down the number of ways airlines could customize the interiors. This makes it easier for planes to be updated or revamped for new owners.