Marketing Plan: The Old Station Flying Club - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan Contents Introduction 3 Literature Review 3 Sampling Plan 6 Questionnaire Design 7 References 13 Introduction The Old Station Flying Club is a club in Australia exclusively set up for aviation enthusiasts. The club organizes fun filled activities regularly. One of the main popular activities of the Old Station Flying Club is the Fly-in air show which is organized by the club every year. The Old Station Flying Club has been organizing the unique Fly-in air show annually since 1989. This air show was renamed as the Old Station Fly-In and Heritage Show in 2011. The club welcomes aircrafts and pilots as well as people from all over the world who have interest in aviation to participate in this show. In 2014, the Fly in air show was held in Ragland, Queensland on 23rd-25th May. The show is aimed at attracting all the people who are interested in aviation related activities. The main activities included in the show are air displays, showcasing of heritage machinery, joy flights, vintage tractor pull, truck show, aircraft displays, children’s entertainment, licenced bar, fashion parade, prize competitions, contests and setting up of varied stalls for the sale of food and drinks. The price of admission tickets for the show was USD 15 for one person and USD 30 for booking the camping sites on weekends in 2014. The two day mega event was expected to be attended by more than 10000 visitors. Literature Review Customer satisfaction is perhaps the most critical point for consideration in all organizations and businesses operating in the modern day environment. It is usually seen that satisfied customers often return to purchase from a company or to visit the same event or show again. A satisfied visitor often returns to attend the same event or show when it is organized another time. Statistics show that the cost incurred by organizations to retain an existing customer is one tenth of the cost required to win over a new customer. According to Gardner (2001), not only do returning customers and visitors lead to repeat sales but also they can add to the word of mouth publicity of the organization. Additionally, sometimes the returning customers may be ready to pay a premium to a business or an organization to get the desired products or services from them (Gardner, 2001). A survey can be considered to be an ideal method of gauging the level of customer service program that has already been implemented in an organization. A survey often helps to identify the core areas in which improvements should be done in order to ensure repeat visitors or customers. There are costs associated with the conduction of a survey. But the results obtained from a market surveys are expected to go a long way in deciding the action plan for improving the event or the show. As identified by Woodall (2003), any customer satisfaction survey should include the following six steps: Selection of the sample from the total population. Selection of factors that should be used as the components to measure customer satisfaction. Methods of carrying out the survey. Selection of the criteria for evaluation. Interpretation of the evaluations. Use of the findings of the evaluations to make the survey effective for improving customer satisfaction levels (Woodall, 2003). Unlike normal sale of products and services, experiential value assumes a more significant role in events and shows. A positive experience in the shows always leads to the fulfilment of customer expectations and the enhancement of customer satisfaction. Almost 99% of times, these lead to the creation of a loyal and returning customer base who will be regular in attending the events. As per the work of Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger (2012), the concept of the zones of customer satisfaction is an important tool that can be used to measure the customer satisfaction levels relevant to a product or a service (Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger, 2012). This is also applicable for assessing the customer satisfaction level created from a show or an event. (Source: Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger, 2012) As per the work of Rust, Lemon and Zeithaml (2004), people are critical factors in delivering satisfaction (Rust, Lemon and Zeithaml, 2004). Therefore, the kinds of groups present among the visitors of an event would directly influence the customer satisfaction level of all the visitors in the event. Also, a poor quality of staffs in the venue may decrease the experiential value of the visitors. On the other hand, the presence of a good quality and efficient staff generally leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction. Core services like food and drinks are identified as main factors that directly affect the satisfaction level of visitors in shows, events as well as in conferences and meetings. Augmented services like parking facilities, refreshment facilities, meal options and presence of Wi-Fi zones often act as significant components of customer satisfaction in events. Sampling Plan The Old Station Flying club aims at evaluating the customer satisfaction perspective related to shows and events so that the club can take significant decisions to improve the show in terms of components, facilities, activities and services. The sampling plan is an important step of any research method including a survey. A systematic sampling method is selected for the survey to be carried out for the Old Station Flying Club Fly-in show. Systematic sampling method is selected as the ideal method because of the number of benefits associated with it like cost effectiveness and accuracy of results. The systematics sampling method is a probability sampling process in which the samples are collected from the total population and an interval is decided by dividing the total population by the sample size. A random starting point is chosen for selecting the sample and a periodic interval for picking up the respondents is fixed. In a systematic sampling method, where, N represents the total population for the survey, n represents the sample size for the survey, and k represents the fixed inetrval. The total population for the Fly-in show is 10000 because this number of visitors was expected to attend the show. A sample size of 200 is selected for the survey. This would mean that if the researcher wants to select 200 respondents from the population through the use of systematic sampling he would select every 50th visitor in the show, since 10000 divided by 200 is 50. The selected sample size for the survey is 200 because it is considered to be appropriately reflective of the total population relevant to the Fly-in show. The use of systematic sampling would ensure that there remains an equal probability of selection for each of the members in the total population for the survey. Also, systematic sampling often produces more accurate results as compared to other probabilistic sampling methods like simple random sampling. The systematic sampling method can be applied in this case because the population of visitors in the Fly-in show is a relatively homogenous group and therefore, the units of systematic sample are evenly distributed throughout the population. However, the surveyor must ensure that there are no hidden patterns created within the systematic sample units because the creation of a pattern may lead to randomness and negatively impact the accuracy of the results (Black, 2004). Questionnaire Design The main research objective of the market research is to study the consumer satisfaction levels noted among the visitors of the Fly-in show in last May while they were present in the event. The questionnaire is to be administered in the data collection method of the survey. This would include the use of the questionnaire in interviewing 200 respondents through the distribution of the questionnaires during the end of the show and through small semi structured interviews that would be carried out in the event venue. A customized semi-formal questionnaire is developed for using in the survey. The questionnaire is designed in a well-structured manner in order to make it suitable for meeting the research objective. The questionnaire is designed using simple logical questions which are easy to comprehend. This would enable the respondents to understand the questions easily and respond to them accordingly and would also enable the surveyor to analyse and implement the responses in an easy and simplistic manner. The questionnaire consists of mainly response option questions. This supports the exploratory view of the survey (Van der Zouwen and Smit, 2004). It also contains some open ended and closed ended questions. The questions are ordered in a suitable manner to ensure that the flow of response of the sample is maintained as a continuous and uninterrupted flow. The flow is ensured by starting the questionnaire with easy to answer questions. The starting question is formulated in a way such that the respondents do not feel any kind of threat through the question and are further encouraged to answer the remaining questions in the questionnaire (Tourangeau, Rips and Rasinski, 2000). The next questions are placed such that the flow is natural and one question leads to another making it easy for the respondents to present their views. A variety of questions are included so that answering the questionnaire does not become monotonous for the respondents. Also, the questions are made stimulating so as to maintain the interest and attention of the respondents. The questions are formulated to focus on the quantitative analysis of the customer satisfaction levels of the visitors in the show. The use of questions with scale measurements are especially aimed at collecting the quantitative data relevant to the survey. Closed ended Likert scale questions have been amply used as scale measurement in the questionnaire design. These are aimed at evaluating the more complex perspectives of customer satisfaction which can be more appropriately gauged when measurement scales are used. Also dichotomous questions which the respondents can answer by a simple yes or no have been used to collect data regarding certain customer satisfaction aspects like interest to attend the show again, probability of suggesting the show to others and general awareness about the facilities provided by the show etc. which are comparatively easier to evaluate. The questionnaire designed for the Fly in air show organized by the Old Station Flying Club is given as follows: Questionnaire Name: Age: Gender: 1. Have you attended this show before? Yes No 2. How did you first come to know about the show? Website E mail Word of mouth Direct mail Newspaper Social media sites Brochures other sources If other sources, please specify 3. With whom do you visit the Fly-in show? Partner On my own Friends Family 4. How would you rate the variety of activities and facilities provided in the event? Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 5. Did you find the event hand-out materials useful? Yes Not sure. No 6. How satisfied are you with the activities provided in the Fly-in shows? Highly satisfied Satisfied Not sure Dissatisfied 7. What, according to you are the main attractions of the show? 8. How would you rate the overall activities staged in the show in a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest? 9. Do you think the duration of the show is appropriate? Yes Not sure. No 10. Do you think the price of the tickets is appropriate? Yes Not sure. No 11. Are you aware that the tickets of the show can be bought online? Yes No 12. If yes, have you bought the tickets online? Yes No 13. If yes, how would you rate the online tickets sale services for the show? Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor How would you rate the following components in the show? 14. Cleanliness Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 15. Variety of activities Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 16. Comfort Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 17. Experiential value Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 18. Co-operation and behaviour of the staffs of the show Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 19. Food and drinks facilities Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor 20. How would you rate the overall experience in the show on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest? 21. Would you suggest this show to other people as well? Yes Not sure. No 22. Will you prefer to attend the show again? Yes Not sure. No 23. What are the new things that you would like to be added to the show? References Black, K. 2004. Business Statistics for Contemporary Decision Making, Fourth Ed. New Jersey: Wiley. Gardner, R. 2001. What do customers value? Quality Progress. Vol. 34(11). Heskett, J., Sasser, W. E. and Schlesinger, L. 2012. The Service Profit Chain: How Leading Companies Link Profit and Growth to Loyalty, Satisfaction, and Value, 12th Ed. New York: Free Press. Rust, R.T., Lemon, K.N. and Zeithaml, V. 2004. Return on marketing: using customer equity to focus marketing strategy. Journal of Marketing. Vol. 68(1). Tourangeau, R., Rips, L. and Rasinski, K. 2000. The psychology of survey response. New York: Cambridge University Press. Van der Zouwen, J. and Smit, J. H. 2004. Evaluating survey questions by analysing patterns of behaviour codes and question-answer sequences: A diagnostic approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Woodall, A. 2003. Conceptualising ‘value for the customer’: an attributional, structural and dispositional analysis. Academy of Marketing Science Review. Vol. 42(1). Read More