Promotional Strategy of Leeds Bradford Airport - Essay Example

?Running head: LEEDS BRADFORD AIRPORT Leeds Bradford airport Insert Insert Grade Insert July 22 The promotional strategy to be used by the airline Promotion is essential when a new product or service is to be availed in the market. Generally, there is stiff competition in nearly all the sectors and industries in the global and local market. Several companies provide same products and services leading to the struggle by the organizations to seek a better position in the market. The promotion initiative has to be strategically designed to help capture a larger market from the onset of the business. Primarily, promotion is aimed at informing the clients the existence of a new product or service in the market (Peterson et al, 2010, p.168). It also appeals to the customers that the products and services to be introduced into the market are better that the ones that have been existence. A number of procedures are available that can be used by the organization to help win customers to its new flight services. These include advertisement, sales promotion, public relations, publicity, and personal selling (Harper, 2003, p.108). An effective promotion by the new budget airline will require an integration of these different approaches into the operations of the organization. Advertisement Advertisement refers to providing information to the targeted clients on the availability of new services in the market. It also appeals to the customers by pointing out the desirable qualities of the new services that distinguishes them from other services available in the market. Advertisement can be done through different media. These include print media (newspapers and magazines), television, radio, internet, or public service advertising. In choosing the medium to use for advertisement of services, the company has to understand the medium that is common among the targeted customers (Harper, 2003, p.109). The quality of information that can be provided by these media is also an important consideration. The resources allocated for advertisement should be distributed among the media in relation to the factors considered. Television is one of the most common communication media and it reaches a wide range of customers. Due to its visual impression, the media is able to provide more information on the services to be provided by the airline. About 40% of the funds need to be set aside for advertisement in television. A larger proportion of the targeted customers are adults engaged in some activities during the day. Thus, these advertisements should be aired out in the evenings. Newspapers and magazines are also common and are effective in providing other details like the flight schedules. This medium should receive 20% of the advertisement funds. Many people have access to radio. However, the advertisement through radio is often less reliable since most people listen to radio while they are attending to other things. Drawing their attention to an advertisement may not succeed and it would require that the advertisement be replicated several times in order to e effective. This medium should be allocated 10% of the funds. The internet is increasing its popularity especially among the young adults and middle-aged individuals. It is more likely that the clients who would use the flight services have access to, and uses, internet services. Internet advertisement should take 20% of the advertisement funds. The remaining 10% should be used for other advertisement means like direct mails to potential clients. Sales promotion Sales promotion activities involve providing incentives to the clients of the company to improve on the sales of the services. Sales promotion involves activities like promotional sports competition, sweepstakes, and sales coupons. One promotion initiative that can be used by the organization is to sponsor some annual or seasonal sports activity like soccer tournament for youths below the age of 23 years in the UK. Besides, the company should issue its flight tickets at much lower prices at the initial stages of its operations. After capturing the customers, the prices of the tickets can be raised to the intended level. Public relations and Publicity These are concerned with the image that the public develops of the company. The company should be out to provide clarifications on the misconceptions that the public may have concerning their services. Public relations aim at improving the reputation of the organization among the public. It is desirable that all the individuals involved in the operations of the organization be good advocates for the organization among the public. To improve on its reputation, the company should also provide other incentives to give back to the community. This would include supporting social service centers like school, hospitals, churches, and other community development projects. The organization will then be viewed as being concerned with the overall development in the regions of its operations. Personal selling A substantial proportion of funds allocated for promotion should be used for this method. Unlike the other forms of promotion, personal selling involves a direct contact between the company’s sales personnel and the expected clients. It is characterized by high degree of confidence that the information is passed to the intended categories of individuals in the market. It also enables the company to identify the needs of the customers to aid in the planning of future operations of the organization. 2. What would be included in the marketing plan for the above airline? The marketing plan to be adopted by the organization should be designed for a given period. The plan should include the target market environment, customers, competitors, and the promotion strategy that will be adopted (Peterson et al, 2010, p.168). Since this is a new service, the airline may develop a marketing plan for a period of one year. The subsequent marketing strategies can be developed from the performance that was observed in the initial one-year period. A strategic marketing plan for the company will include a number of key components. The microenvironment analysis This section includes company analysis, customer analysis, competitor analysis, and analysis of other collaborators like suppliers or joint ventures. The service is new in the market and its market position in relation to other services may not be available at this stage. The analysis of the company should include the business goals and objectives that are to be achieved. The vision and mission of the organization are provided in this section. The kind of organizational culture that is to be developed to achieve these objectives is also stated clearly. The customer analysis should be performed based on the information from the users of related services. It should include an estimate of the expected customers that are targeted in the given period. It should provide a description of the factors that attract the customers into a particular service like quality or cost. The competitor analysis will point to the other players in the market who offer the same service, their market share, and the marketing strategies that they use to maintain their market positions. Macro-environment (PEST) analysis The next section will involve the analysis of the business environment in the larger context. This includes the political/legal factors, the economic factors, the socio-cultural factors, and the technological development in a give region. The political stability in the regions to be served by the airlines affects the operations. A discussion of various political upheavals in the regions in Africa and the Middle East are described here. The economy of the regions also has a positive reflection on the performance of the business. A better economy will promise market security for the service. The socio-cultural factors have influence on the social lifestyle of individuals. Religious faith is a key determinant of the social lifestyle that one can adopt. Tourists form a significant proportion of clients of the organization. The technological developments in a given region will also affect how the business performs its operations like communicating with the customers. SWOT analysis The internal environmental factors identified are then considered as strengths or weaknesses of the company whereas the external factors are considered to provide opportunities or threats to the operations of the company. The need for many and cheap means of air transport is an opportunity that whereas rising costs of fuel and competition from others are threats to the company. The appropriate course of action is then provided in a SWOT implication matrix. This illustrates how the identified strengths will be used to exploit the available opportunity while managing the associated threats. It also points out the new strengths that need to be developed in response to the threats and opportunities identified. The company has low operational costs and is thus able to provide services at lower prices. Marketing mix (4 P’s) The plan should also include the marketing mix namely product, place, price and promotion. The marketing mix indicates the services that are offered, from where they can be obtained, their prices and how the public will be informed of the services. Products: The marketing plan will contain the products and services provided by the organization. The main product of the company is the flight service. Other products are food and drinks that are to be paid for by those on board. Business tickets and phone cards are also available to customers during flight. Place: The marketing plan will include the location of the business. Place refers to the location of the business and the avenues through the products and services can be accessed by the clients. The tickets of the flight are available online and the airline does not use sales agents. The customers will be required to book for their flights online. The other products that are offered by the company are available during flight for those on board. Price: This is another component of the marketing mix and refers to the costs that will be incurred by the customers in exchange of the products and services. It also contains the conditions for payment. The services are available at relatively lower rates than the others in the market are. Majority of the seats in the airline have low charges. For comfort, the passengers are to pay a little more for the other seats with relatively higher charges. However, the tickets are not transferable and neither can they be refunded in the event that a passenger misses a flight. Promotion: This refers to the procedures through which the company will inform its clients of their new products and services. In the past, the company has spent very little on advertisement and used not advertisement agency. The company has to increase its advertisement expenditure and continue with other promotional strategies like charging for toilets on board. It has to identify the media of advertisement that can reach many potential customers. The promotion strategy will be included within the outline of the budget. Market segmentation A detailed description of the market segment also needs to be provided. The airline will serve different age groups namely children, adults, and the elderly. These categories are attracted by different incentives. The elderly will give more value to comfort during fight whereas the middle-aged adults will be attracted by a form of entertainment. Sales forecasts The market plan will also include a forecast of the sales expected at the end of the period. It will also include how likely the sales target will be realized. 3. The decision-making process regarding purchasing a ticket for the above airline The decision to purchase ticket from the airline will be influenced by what the customer values most in the service and calls for analysis of the quality of service offered by the budget airline. To make a good decision, the passenger needs to understand the types of services available in the market. The airline is out to provide flight services at lower rates than other airlines. Customers can select comfortable seats in the equipment by paying slightly more than the others pay. However, to achieve this, it has cut down other expenses like flight agents or flight incentives to the customers. The customers on board make additional payment for foods and drinks. The seats are allocated as the clients arrive and a passenger can be separated from friends or family members throughout the flight. Besides, the services are not flexible and if a passes left out of a flight that had been booked, a new ticket has to be obtained. The ticket is not transferable to another flight and neither can it be refunded. Considering the fare rates, the majority of customers with financial constraints will opt for the tickets of the airline. The associated risks like missing a flight may be eliminated through careful planning of the journey. On the other hand, those who are financially equipped will value other factors like comfort and flexibility and will opt for larger air carriers. Reference List Harper, S., 2003. The McGraw-Hill guide to starting your own business: a step-by-step blueprint for the first-time entrepreneur. Second Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Peterson, S. et al. 2010. Business Plans Kit for Dummies. Third Ed. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing. Read More