Marketing Activities of Thomas Cook and Son Company - Report Example

Thomas cook Introduction Formed in 1808, Thomas Cook and Son Company is one of the oldest tour companies in the United Kingdom and have undergone various changes to become the modern day celebrated Thomas cook. The annual report alongside portrays the growth of the company and its expansion plan in ne regions such as India. The company’s expansion and introduction into India among other tourist destinations globally widened the company’s scope of operation. However, just as expected, the expansion also increased the company’s competition. The company has since then employed various strategic marketing features that reflect on the company’s profitability as discussed in the essay below. The growth of a company relies on the ability of the management to determine new markets thus expanding the operations of the company to such new regions. The management of Thomas cook has carried out effective and equally elaborate market researches thereby determining the new markets that have sustained the growth of the company to its modern day size. Thomas Cook carries out extensive market researches in order to determine the changes in the market and consumer preferences (Cavanagh, 2002). The company has been in operations for more than a century a feature that exhibits the effectiveness of the various marketing features that the company has employed throughout its time. Social media has made marketing even cheaper for the company; Thomas Cook maintains various dedicated Facebook and Twitter accounts through which the company does not only market its products but also carries out extensive market researches to determine new services and new tourist destinations. Through the social media accounts, the company maintains interactive communication with the target markets and therefore uses such platform to obtain the opinion of the market and strive to persuade the market. A key objective of the company’s marketing department is to introduce relevant and equally profitable service bouquets. This relies on the appropriateness of the market research the department carries out. To this day, the company has introduced various services, products and tourists destinations that have proved both profitable and competitive (Niskanen, 2007). Peter, (1994) explains that diversification is a marketing feature that has proved profitable for the company to this date. The practice includes the development and introduction of new services and the determination of new destinations. Thomas Cook has strived to introduce new markets, discover new destinations and increase the market presence of the company. For a long time, the company operated in Melbourne, Derbyshire among other few cities in the United Kingdom. However, with globalization and the discovery of new and more efficient means of transport and communication, the company increased its destinations to the Americas, Asia and today even in Africa. The new markets have helped increased the company’s global presence thus competing favorably against other companies (Kotler, 2010). However, with the increased presence especially in the global platform, the company has to compete with several other local and international companies that operate in the same market. To compete favorably with such, the company has various service bouquets that help widen its market of operation (Fournier, 1998). With personalized private jets and cruise ships, the company boasts a wider target market and a special echelon of the target market. The company thus offers various safaris and excursions contingent on the demands of the target market. With the diversification of the services, the company benefits from easy marketing and a prolonged retention of their customers since they offer every service a client may request. The increased destinations widen the market for the company thus the target market (Campbell, Lo & MacKinlay, 1997). In the determination of the new destinations and the development of articular service bouquets, the company requires an elaborate understanding of the market, understanding the diversities of the market and the preferences of the same helps the marketing department to develop strategic services that safeguards the profitability objective of the company (Thomas & Michael, 2001). Thomas Coo’s marketing department has the knowledge of the market capable of developing appropriate services for target market. Most of the services the department has developed in the past target either the middle class or the wealthy in a society. The middle class, which is the widest economic class, presents a large market for the company but as expected, the class is wary of their spending (Tabbush, 2011). They consider the cost of the products and services they obtain from the market. Thomas Cook has various airline classes and service bouquets that fit the demands of the middle class. The services offer basic tour services but at relatively lower costs that fit the demands of the target market. The hospitality industry is one of the largest but equally competitive industries globally. Thomas cook therefore competes with several other international and local companies in the various markets it has a presence. The intensity of the competition requires the company to employ specific operational objectives in order to either maintain or expand its market. Among the key competitors in the market, include India’s Cox and Kings and the English Pullman’s both of which enjoy unparalleled market share. To compete against such among the many other companies in the market, Thomas Cook employs strategic marketing objectives key among which is diversity. As explained earlier, the hospitality industry is one of the most competitive industries in an economy. To earn its place in such a market, Thomas Cook employs diversity of its services and service bouquets. Creative marketing requires the marketing team to identify new markets. In the hospitality industry, the success of the business relies on the effectiveness of the business idea (Aaker & Aaker, 2010). Thomas Cook has some of the best human resource managing its marketing department. With such a department, the company has diversified its services thereby reaching a larger market. Currently the company offers a variety of services including hotel and flight management, skiing, cruise and city breaks among many other offers. With such a varied bouquets, the company has a wide target market a feature that increases its profitability. Each of the above services has a specific target market. The company thus diversifies its target market by diversifying its services a feature that markets its marketing equally cheaper and easier. Marketing mix is an operational principle that offers marketers with various elements that helps a company determine and reach its target market (Wells, Shuey & Kiely, 2001). The marketing team at Thomas cook has specialized in marketing. They understand the various marketing mix elements and by varying the employment of such earn the company the profitability and global market presence it currently enjoys. Among the elements is promotion, media campaigns helps earn the company a market presence. Promotion places the company, its products and services strategically within the marketing. An effective promotion campaigns identifies a target market and reaches them thereby influencing them to seek the services of the company. Thomas Cook invests extensively on product and service promotion through various media campaigns (Lane, 2005). The company runs various adverts on both the traditional media such as newspapers, radio and television and the new media, which includes the social media and the internet. Through the various media, the company introduces new services and products to the market and increases the presence of the company in the market. The use of new media has made marketing both easier and cheaper. The company has a dedicated website on which it maintains a dedicated advert of its services. Coupled with the more efficient social media, the company maintains an interactive communication with the target market thereby increasing the market awareness of the company. Product or service introduction requires effective market research in order to introduce an appropriate product or service into the market. This makes marketing both appropriate and equally effective. The wealth clientele on the other hand explains the various private and personalized jets and cruise ships the company introduced. The members of the class spend lavishly but also require lavish services (Chatterjee & Hevner, 2010). The company has various lavish and extremely comfortable service bouquets that fit the demands of the class in the society. This infiltrates the company’s reach to the market thus sustaining the profitability objective of the company (Bogomolova, 2011). In retrospect, marketing is a fundamental management role that determines the future of the company and its ability to sustain the profitability objective of any commercial organization (Alexander, 2010). Thomas Cook a leading tour company has an experienced marketing team that has unparalleled understanding of the market and therefore introduces effective services that has increased the company’s profitability over the period thereby sustaining the growth of the company over the period. 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