Business Strategy for Yachting Association Luxury Yacht - Case Study Example

INDIVUAL WORK - INDIVIDUAL Introduction Our business is mainly concerned with chartering of yacht sales during the vacation periods. The company has a very distinctive hierarchical structure with the Business Manager being at the top. A team of three consisting of the Chief Financial Officer, the Administration Officer and the Manager for Engineering and Operations supports the Business Manager. Our company procures the charter yachts from Beneteau, due to the features of extended accommodation, comfort and safety paradigms. Our company is busy in developing of a business strategy for yacht charter service based on two water zones: the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. To this extent, our company has divided the annual business period into two separate divisions. For the Mediterranean waterfront, the yachts would be made to run along from the months of May to August. However, for the Caribbean waterfront the service would be spread from the months of October extended till March. Additionally two separate slog over periods has been identified to this extent. The company has decided to shift the chartering yachts along the two water zones mainly in the months of April and September by our crewmembers. Yacht Procurement from Beneteau. Our company procures the charter yachts from the yacht chartering company of Beneteau. The dependence of our company on Beneteau for procurement of the yachts is mainly due to its service features of providing greater customer space along with superb safety and comfort. The yachts procured from Beneteau by our company are divided into three groups owing to their size and accommodation features. Beneteau sailing yachts procured for charter purposes are known as the First sailing yachts known for their embedded luxury and safety features. The three groups into which the charter yachts procured from Beneteau would be run along the two water zones comprised of First 40, First 27.7 and the First 25.7. The maximum number of persons expected to fit into the yachts are ten, eight and six respectably. Comments on the plan It is to be mentioned that our company is a new entrant to the business of yacht chartering. To this end, our company faced stiff competition from its competitors on the grounds of luxury and safety. Hence, the business plan used by our company to procure First yachts from Beneteau stood effective. Pricing Techniques Further, our company being a new entrant in the industry focused on gaining the market for the sale of its services. Thus, our company used the strategy of penetrative pricing to using low and fair prices for a period of five years. Penetration pricing techniques being used signified that our company was ready to make a sacrifice of their profits in providing low rates for cruising. Penetration pricing strategy used by our company is considered effective for it would help in enhancing the sales of its charter services in addition to safety and comfort. The market being a price sensitive one with mass number of customers and growing competitors reflected best on the strategy used. (Pricing Strategies-Penetration Pricing, n.d.). The pricing techniques provided by our company also had to be set keeping the revenue parameters. Thus, for the mid-season the maximum price was set to fetch enough from the mass number of customers. The prices charged were divided into three slots viz. eight, six and four births with maximum charged for the eight births and significantly declining for the other two. However, with the start of the season our company started giving discounts at the rate of 10 percent on the rates fixed to attract more number of customers. In fact, the service extension of providing crews with the customers at an affordable rate of 50 percent of the total charge created much interest in the customer’s minds. Marketing Techniques In the light of the marketing initiatives, our company focused more on the advertisement activities to gain a huge customer base during the five-year span. Owing to above plan our company had set a separate advertising fund for 1500 pounds on a monthly basis. Marketing strategies adopted by our company mostly centered on mass scale advertisements through both the electronic media like televisions and web interfaces and with use of roadside billboards and newspapers. Our company also used the use of transport devices like buses and cruisers to advertise its services. In addition to the use of advertising strategies, our company settled an independent office, which helped the customers to get enough information and make easy booking. The website of our company was also enabled with features, which helped the customers to go for online booking. However, our company in addition to the marketing initiatives taken could have used some more non-traditional ones to create further hype. Organizing of major events both locally and internationally would have enabled the company to share a global interactive face with prospective customers. Mainly the organizing of events like conducting exhibition and conferences would have created further appeal by helping customers gain more information. Moreover, the company could also have generated major yachting events in the Business-to-Business domain to gather a corporate customer portfolio. The company in addition to holding large conferences and shows depicting its cruise liners lifestyle features of space and luxury could have opened forums and fan clubs. Creation of forums and clubs would have encouraged the customers to interact with the company and thereby provide views and needed suggestions for service betterment. (Yachting Association Luxury Yacht and Superyacht News, 2010 ). Additional Facilities Our company in order to create a loyal customer base focused on rendering additional facilities to the customers not given by the other companies. The customers were offered free food products and dishes, which was otherwise chargeable in respect to the other yacht companies. Moreover, the rendering of additional facilities like planning of their touring routes and providing free emergency services through the provision of safety boats helped in enhancing the level of customer satisfaction. To increase the level of customer delight our company in chief contrast to its competitive companies freed the customers from their liability in cleaning up the space. Our company in regards to the cleansing services had made a contract with cleansing staffs at the ports to take care of the cleaning activities and that totally free. The customers feel relieved by such actions for other yacht charter companies render increased liability on its customers to leave the place having properly cleaned it. Using of tour videos rather than pictures used by the other firms in planning the trips called for better customer satisfaction. In regards to the payment activities, our company helps the customers to scroll between different options like credit card, bank transfer or cash to make the subsequent and final payments. This in turn makes the customers feel of the level of care, which our company pursues in regards to make them feel comfortable. However, our company could have extended the level of facilities given by rendering wire free communication networks. Generally, competitive companies to cater to the needs of their business customers extend this facility of wire free service at certain specific locations. The customers who belong to the business class can take the help of the facility using laptops and other Internet enabled devices to communicate with their business partner even while in vacations. Other facilities in addition to providing wireless communications to its elite customer base the company can go for providing facilities like underwater lighting, provision of a fuel station and total security mechanism operative on a 24-hour scale. Moreover, additional facilities like laundry stations and environment friendly clubs made open to customers would help in enhancing loyalty of the elite customer base. This in turn would help in augmenting the revenue of the company. Addressing the Competition Our company through the system of competitive pricing, mass advertisements through different media networks and by providing additional facilities to the customers for free had created a separate mark for itself. In addition to the above parameters, our company had also made a tie up with other competitive firms on an innovative note. It states that in conditions the seats of the other competitive firms had already been booked those firms can transfer the additional customer load to our firms. This condition created would help our company in two ways. Firstly, it would enhance the relationship with its other competitive firms. Secondly, our company would also be benefitted from getting additional footfalls from a new customer base of its competitive firms. The new and refined customer base obtained from its existing competitors would further help in drawing more customers through word-of-mouth communications in being satisfied with the level of hospitality extended. Our company in order to strengthen its competitive ties in the market needs also to participate in forums and discussion centers with other competitive firms in the industry. The high level of discussion meets would help sharing knowledge bases among the different firms. Knowledge sharing activities related to catering for innovations and in earning knowledge of enhanced supplier, markets would certainly augment the level of development of our firm. Suppliers and designer firms can be contacted through the making of such associations of the charter firms, which would lead to getting newer and developed designs at economical ranges. Lucrative designs created in the interiors of such yachts would help in fetching a developed customer base. Moreover, the level of informal meetings among the different competitive firms would also help in getting information about changing customer needs and tastes. This information in turn would help our firm to redesign its services and facilities and in being flexible. Conclusion Our company ventured into the yacht charter enterprise is found to strategize its position making a five-year plan to compete against the service of its competitors. It is found that our company had made an entry through the low price segment, which attracted many customers. Moreover, the company invested in a huge manner in the advertisements through electronic and other media like billboards and newspapers to create market hype. Our company in procuring the yachts from Beneteau also envisioned on the parameters of safety and comfort much needed in the yacht industry. Further, our company provided a benchmark to other companies by catering to high service standards at very nominal or through free pricing. It is found that where the competitive firms charged from the customers in regards to cleansing the yachts or in asking the customers to clean up the space our firm had installed moors who would take care of that part free. However, recommendations have been given so that the firm can better extend its service in the near future like enabling wireless communication in selective yachts for business customers. Reference 1. “Pricing Strategies-Penetration Pricing”, (n.d.). tutor2u.net. Retrieved on November 15, 2010 from: http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/pricing_strategy_penetration.asp 2. “Yachting Association Luxury Yacht and Superyacht News”, (2010). charterworld.com. Retrieved on November 15, 2010 from: http://www.charterworld.com/news/category/yachting-associations/page/5 Read More