Marketing Environment of Walt Disney Holidays - Essay Example

? Marketing Environment- Walt Disney Holidays Introduction Marketing management as a discipline calls for thepractical management of firm’s marketing resources and activities by applying optimum marketing techniques; influenced by the firm’s size, corporate culture and the industry that the firm is in. This is further made possible by availability of detailed objective, understanding of the internal structures of the business and the market in which the firm operates which are prerequisites for effective and cost- efficient marketing management strategy. Marketing environment on the other hand can be viewed through analysis of factors and forces that influence and/or affects firm’s ability to build and maintain a long lasting relationship with its clients that later necessitate application of the marketing management strategies (Sheehan, 2011, 6). Marketing environment can be analysed in three broad categories to include micro environment analysis that calls for evaluation of factors and forces within the business and unearthing the ways in which they affect business’ ability to serve its clients (Luck & Chartered Institute of Marketing, 2010, 13). Instruments of evaluation in this kind of analysis include the company itself to include all its operational departments, firm’s suppliers, marketing intermediaries, publics and analysis of customer market. Macro environment analysis calls for evaluation of forces that are outside the firm’s direct involvement and influence which in the long run affects the micro environment factors and thus affecting the firm’s operations. Instruments of evaluation in this analysis include demography, culture, natural calamities such as earthquakes, droughts and storms; analysis of the economy, politics and technology. Meso- environment analysis seek to evaluate the impacts of market intermediaries and their contribution to selling, promotions and distribution of goods and services in relation to the competitive aspect of the market and the firm’s competitive advantage. In this paper we shall evaluate the marketing environment of Walt Disney Holidays in relation to its market share/ leadership and the competitive advantage it possesses in the industry; evaluate importance of market research, market mix and service innovation for the firm, and later recommend marketing techniques to increase competitiveness and sustainability. Market Share Being in the tourism industry, analysis of pricing signals and measures to improve client satisfaction such as service innovations are prerequisite for market leadership. Service innovations such as “see dreams come true” whereby they have taken technology and consumer satisfaction to the next level necessitates their competitive advantage (Greenblatt, 2013, 11) over the other tour/ holiday firms by giving clients a new experience of living on ice as compared to other firms which may choose to let their clients experience the ice on visual aspects only. Their pricing signal evaluation; adoption of technology in majority of holiday segments and the coupon promotion strategies to various destination has enabled establish a significant market share in tourism industry. Micro environment analysis With outlets in Florida and a wide network of resorts in the United Kingdom, effective management of its internal departments such as finance, research and development, marketing and supplies, and the overall customer satisfaction segment will be essential to the sustainability of their operations (Fayolle & Kyro, 2008, 2). For instance the research and development section needs to come up with features of a product or service in the resorts segments that holistically attracts more customers by giving the firm competitive advantage over other holiday firms while the accounting department will approve the financial side of the marketing plan and budget on the customer satisfaction strategies. Suppliers and Supply analysis Supply of basis services in the resorts business is changing with time and the firm’s outsourcing of services such as golf and specialized services for people with disabilities will require an objective based marketing management so as to achieve their market leadership. In addition transport services to and from various parks within the resorts will require effective marketing techniques and consideration of security and luxury aspects to win the customer satisfaction goal. Market trends indicate a change of demand on the automobiles that customers want to move around the parks with and thus to catch up with market trends, the fir needs to revise its transport and supply strategies to meet and surpass the demand. Competitors, Agents and Distributors Marketing in service industry involves understanding the basic details of the customer and to be abreast with the slightest changes in customer demand, tastes and preferences. Competitors within the tourism industry are on the rise with majority adopting science and technology in their business to capture the globalization (Ami, 2009, 23) aspects brought about by innovations and thus the marketing environment by Walt Disney Holidays should encompass features that incorporate innovations and technology. As part of marketing strategy, agency marketing is taking shape in the service industry whereby other sectors such as banking and consultancy have adopted agency marketing to capture the demand controlled by convenience. To achieve effective marketing the firm needs to adopt agency marketing not only in the United Kingdom or Florida where they are widely established but to other corners of the world so as to achieve maximum market penetration. Sensitivity of the service industry is a factor to consider especially in choosing distributors of core goods and services such that whenever a client analyses gathers information about the firm, credible distributors with a long service history can improve their confidence. For instance, a variety of firm’s services such as booking and reservation are web based and hosting the firm’s website with credible hosting service providers will improve consumer’s transaction confidence especially with advanced security and safety features online. The marketing strategies to be adopted by the firm should consider distributors to cater for the changing consumer need of quality assurance which can be pegged on the changes of demand, tastes and preference; conditions the firm should consider in transport, booking and reservation, ticketing and international travels. P.E.S.T.E.L Analysis Marketing environment is drastically changing necessitated by change of tactics as a result of change in social phenomenon globally, a product of integration and globalization. For instance, marketing strategies to be applied in a politically unstable country or region will differ with those applied in a peaceful economy in that the products and channels used in this country vary in scope and market penetration. The firm is faced with negative economies of scale more so in marketing their products in politically unstable economies, with less movement of factors of production affecting the market penetration. Economically, majority of economies are recording a significant gross domestic product growth and good governance is promoting equitable resource allocation and distribution; implying that per capita in majority of countries is on the rise. This is widening the market in that majority of individuals have surplus that they can afford a holiday and therefore it will be prudent for Walt Disney Holiday’s marketing department to identify and utilize the market potential to enhance a wider penetration. Technologically, global inventions and innovations have integrated the world into a global village with access of information, data and increased socialization of individual from different geographical divides. This has shaped up marketing environment such that firms are relying on technology based marketing strategies such as the internet; customizing their websites to incorporate feature that guarantees traffic in their websites, customer satisfaction surveys to ascertain their standards of service delivery, and innovations to lure and maintain clients in business. By understanding the client’s assimilation to technology and conducting customer satisfaction surveys, the firm will be in a good position to understand the best marketing strategies to apply so as maximize on the target population. Socially the firm needs to understand the cultural and social prospects of the market it intends to channel their products and/or services such that it can budget wisely on the market strategy to apply and the marketing activities (Bloom and Gunglach, 2010, 33). For instance, Walt Disney Holiday’s understanding of population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on personal effects such as security and safety in a certain region or country, will enable the finance department and the decision makers to formulate the appropriate marketing plan. Trends indicate a change of attitude in leisure and vacations with the youths dominating and therefore if the firm can take advantage of that and couple its marketing strategies with technology based features and channels it will be guaranteed market penetration. Legal frameworks in different regions are shaping the marketing environment in that regions and countries are taking into account the authenticity of marketing firms and they are moving an extra mile to demand personal safety features and mechanism put in place by the marketing firms (Suffolk, 2012, 3). For instance, for Walt Disney Holidays to market their products in certain economies, assurance of the customer security and safety within their resorts and parks is a requirement and defined consequences in case the agreements are violated. As a firm in the service industry, understating the legal framework of the markets they intend to venture into and designing their products and services to meet varied demand from these markets will be paramount so as to increase their market share. Ethics of conducting business by firms are also shaping the marketing environment in that to win and penetrate emerging markets; firms need to have a long service and results propelled history with high ethical standards, certified evidence of accountability and the firm’s preparedness and/or ability to offer the advertised products (McKinley, 2012, 9). The firm needs to adopt marketing strategies which will accommodate interactive segments with the customers so as to give room for the test of its ethical standards directly from the customers. Key Trends and Dynamics Impacting on the organization Change of demographics, economic welfare and globalization that is changing personal attitudes and social phenomenon perspectives, are widening the tourism market in that individuals from all political, social and geographical divides have assumed tourism as part of life and effective marketing strategies by firms such as Walt Disney Holidays will enable them tap to the growing markets. Major Influences As a firm in the service industry, market forces of demand and supply are the major influencers of the market environment and the strategies to be applied in that unpredictability of human behaviour which influences particular needs with time calls for firm’s marketing department to be alert. For instance, change of a family’s income might necessitate change of taste of the resorts they visit; the type of activities they indulge in in the parks, and /or the type of transport services they would prefer and thus it’s the role of the research and development department to realize these changes in demand and come up with products to suit and counter any variations in tastes and at the same time advise management for effective marketing strategy to adopt. Statistics Statistics indicate that international tourism and holidays demand has been on the increase since the early 2000’s with outbound tourism constantly rising by 2012 in which analysts say that the trend will go on; necessitating firms to expand their capacity and operations to tap into the growing market. Importance of Market research Market research seeks to gather information about the markets with an aim of identifying the market demands and preference and to ascertain structural framework to implementing marketing strategies for maximum results (Housden, 2010, 21). In our case, Walt Disney Holidays need to conduct effective market research so as to understand consumption patterns and trends which will help the research and development department come up with products and services that match with the market needs. The sensitivity of service industry such as tourism requires firms to be abreast with information on customer satisfaction which is a component and an expected output from the process of market research. Pricing and service innovations are a prerequisite in the changing markets; with which innovations are costly and the fact that pricing is the backbone in such kind of a competitive industry (Schiffman, 2011, 3), and the firm need extensive market research to be abreast with such information to enable sustainable projects and growth in market share. Marketing Mix Marketing mix seeks to combine various aspects and perspectives functional in the evaluation of the market’s potential in a bid to comprehensively achieve the marketing objectives, all in a single model. It involves integration of 7 P’s, that is, people as an important ingredient in service provision in that recruiting and training the right staff is essential to create competitive advantage due to the observation that customers make judgements about service provision and delivery based on the people representing your organization (Baker, 2012, 4). With this in mind, Walt Disney Holidays needs to recruit and train employees with customer service and effective service delivery in mind as the employees represent the face of the organization. Process aspect of marketing mix will require Walt Disney Holidays to evaluate the systems used to deliver these services in a bid to avoid confusion and promote consistent service delivery with which technological advancements and innovations in relation to changing demand will play a pivotal role of improving the process and systems. Pricing, a component of marketing mix plays a role in that for the firm to create a competitive advantage over other firms it needs to adapt a pricing structure that captures and caters for varied needs of its intend markets such as, income distribution, geographical considerations, demographic representation and other socio-political (Rothenberger & Siems, 2008, 16) factor so as to balance the market power and affordability. Market environment and the marketing strategies are largely influenced by place in that for Walt Disney Holidays to excel in this perspective it needs to exploit the background of the intended location in terms gender representation, purchasing power of the residents, compatibility of their product with cultures of that place and other business factors so as to maximise market penetration and minimize marketing budget. Product is another aspect of marketing mix in that for the firm to excel in market mixing it needs to evaluate the compatibility of the product with the market in terms of needs/ demand, the purchasing power of the market and/or design products to fit the market’s aspiration so as to attract it. Walt Disney will need to adopt promotional strategies so as to excel in marketing mix whereby it introduces the new product to the new market by for example offering free holidays and /or free golf game and free accommodation to the a guest house of choice when one visits one of their parks; a move that will promote effective market promotion and familiarity of the market with their products. The physical evidence approach calls for presentation of practical ideas and solutions to the market whereby the firm will be required to come up with product with plausible solutions to the exact market needs coupled with evidence of the availability and/or evidence of experience and expertise in providing the product. Service Innovations The company will be required to come up with innovations that promotes efficient service delivery in major sections of the business such market segmentation to accommodate varied tastes and preference of its growing client base. To catch up with emerging technology and innovations, as part of marketing, the firm needs to automate its ticket purchasing section and advance its website to incorporate interactive segments so as to necessitate timely client feedback on the quality and standards of their services (Witkin, 2012, 7). To improve on client targeting and promote competitive advantage the firm needs to adopt social media as a marketing strategy which will open up opportunities such as availing variety of booking options, getting real time feedbacks and complains of the clients concerning departmental functionality; the effective market research which will enhance competitiveness and sustainable projects. Marketing Techniques Competitive advantage calls for innovative and critical analysis of the industry that a business venture is in to come up with strategies that will promote effective market penetration. As a manager of Walt Disney Holidays I would first of all become a valuable resource in that by supplying customers with adequate information concerning the firm’s intents and expansion plans will necessitate opening up by the clients; giving room for identification and analysis of their needs, aspirations and perspectives about a product way before it is developed (Bradley, 2010, 31). This will help in creating tangible and practical opportunities coupled with reduction of research and development cost thus creating a competitive edge over the rivals with information and cost, guaranteeing sustainable products that match the market needs. Innovations would be another area of focus concentrating much on the automation of processes and systems to capture the interests of demographic changes and technological advancements. For instance, advancing booking technology to incorporate customizations that allow a variety of gadgets to access and execute the service globally; market segmentation to allow customized ticketing and use of social media to track the firm’s departmental efficiency by analysing customer feedback and complains (Young, 2011, 5), will go an extra mile to improve efficiency and improve on service delivery which promote the competitive advantage and sustainable growth of a firm in service industry. Promoting the end result is another approach I would implement in the firm that is, looking forward for the resulting experience of the service not the service itself. For instance an individual will not only be interested to visit the firm’s parks with any automobile considering that in his/her normal movements he /she use the same automobile. As a manager I would ensure that tourists get the utility with a certain image of Walt Disney Holiday; an aspect associated with the changing trends of markets and consumer tastes and preferences. Conclusion Service industry is one of the sensitive ventures in the world of business but calls for the understanding and implementing simple infrastructural principles such as effective marketing management. Effective management calls for evaluation of market trends and being abreast with information which can be achieved through accurate market research which necessitates evaluation and analysis of the market. References Ammi, C. 2009. Innovative technology and globalization. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing Baker, M. J. 2012. The marketing mix. London: Henry Stewart Talks. Bloom, P. N., & Gundlach, G. T. 2010. Handbook of marketing and society. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Bradley, N. 2010. Marketing research: Tools & techniques. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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