Marketing Environment for We Take You There Travel - Essay Example

We Take You There Travel” Marketing environment for “We take you there Travel” Marketing environment for “We take you there Travel” “We take you there Travel” operates in a highly saturated and competitive industry. Over the few years, the travel industry has faced a number of alterations. For instance, at the time of deregulation of the Airline industry attracts an escalated competitive and dynamic environment arising from the reduced regulation and control of Airline ticket sales. The revenue of the travel agency suffered a major setback from the adoption of the zero commission policy (In Bennett, & In Strydom, 2001). The firms must react through effective strategies to survive the harsh environment to increase the awareness brand as well as establish a sustainable online product range across multiple channels. The national tourism promotional campaigns that aimed at attracting more tourists into the travel industry only had minimal effects on the travel industry. The E-ticketing eroded the functions of the travel agents that further escalated the operation costs. In addition, the price of energy rose culminating into increased and indirect impacts on the travel agents livelihood as the chief intermediary of the travel associated products. Indeed, much focus was exerted on the agency experiences of zero commission, e-ticketing, insurance coverage as well as travel preferences. Currently, the travel industry is facing unanticipated and competitive environment that significantly pose threats towards the success of the various firms entering the industry. There has been an increasing in fuel prices that trigger the airlines to levy a fuel surcharge besides airport fees. A greater percentage of Airlines have suffered from the increased cost of operation that put pressure on their financial standings with a few quitting or are considering ceasing the industry. Accordingly, there has been an increased global perception that the economy is moving towards or has hit the turbulence making traveler be much cautious about travelling especially in respect to long-haul vacations. Rational consumers or traveler are now settling the cost effectiveness and have shifted attentions towards private travel arrangement through internet. In addition, the hotel and airline reservation has remained the private role of the travelers saves to the world digitalization. Subsequently, the online reservation relieved the role of travel agencies that prompted the managers of the travel agencies to vastly invest in online marketing trough continuous environmental screening and scanning on chief strategies to boost its operations by netting in new travelling customers to survive the harsh competitive environment. For instance, the travel agencies have employed to a great use of internet where they disseminate the newsletters that talks about issues affecting the travel industry. Therefore, only firms that have incorporate internet marketing in their marketing plans benefit from the increased competitive advantages. The greater percentage of the travel agencies is small and medium size enterprises operated and ran by the family or private firms. Therefore, there are few known big corporations of travel agencies and thus they demonstrate serious weaknesses due to the threat by a number of qualms in their operating environment, declining market power and share as well as profitability levels. Opportunity and Weaknesses The chief opportunity available for the travel agency is the ever increasing demands for their services despite being buffeted by the Airline policies. The travel agencies face a reduction in booking commission fees due to such Airline policies as e-reservation and e-marketing. However, in spite of the continuous fluctuations of complex fare systems, procedures of schedule and ticketing, the inputs of travel agents have remained unquestioned as travelers persistently seek for value adding pieces of advice with respect vacation packages. In addition, the ‘we take you there travel’ firm demonstrates a customer-first convention. The firms cooperate culture implies create brand awareness driven by quality and implement systematic management. The firm’s intentions are evidential spearheaded by the urge to supply the best commodities while providing an outstanding service delivery to its customers. In addition, the firm offers a complete itinerary thus has rich side resources. However, the firm has an opportunity to benefit from the increased demand for its products by incorporating information technology within its marketing plan. The range of service and products such as travel list arrangement with its customers, booking airline, applying for Visas for customers as well as tour guide services can no longer effectively be done manually. The manual operation will mean more time consumption alongside low efficiency. The firm can thus open website tagged ‘travel network quality’ to support in disseminating professional travelling information as well as provide high value of tourism service delivery. In addition, the firm will adopt and embrace the use of internet tools to attract customers as a potential customer are always informed about the firm’s products and services against their respective costs. Besides, the online research will help the firm determine the degree of customers’ satisfaction as well as retrieve their feedback about the firm’s service delivery that further help the firm accomplish its slogan of high-quality travel service. The online marketing or use of internet will further explore the lucrative opportunity of opening an online customer satisfaction survey that properly create awareness to the customers about the quality services offered by the firm. The customer survey is effective feedback system through which the agency lends an ear to the customers as VIP customers respond to questionnaire to help the agency get rid of the weakness pointed out and build on strength and opportunities. The major weakness of the travel agency is ineffective marketing strategy. The firm operates a manual marketing with no knowledge of online marketing. The firm thus, faces limited coverage of customers since it does not appear on any digital platform making their advertisement so much ineffective. Therefore, the profit remains a chief issue contributing to the agency’s weakness with small funds available for marketing expenditures. In an addition, the operation team attaches the advertisement to great difficulties in examining effects besides being too much expensive. In addition, the firm faces limited control over the alteration of the online policies such as deregulation, e-marketing and e-reservation. Since they are small private family owned organizations, such sudden changes affect their financial positions and may quit the industry if worse hit. Objective The objective of this the “We take you there Travel” firm is to develop an effective online marketing framework in order to benefit from the increased demand for its services to offset the weakness of being buffeted by Airline policies that may adversely affect their financial position leading to exit from the industry. Such an objective will be purely driven by increased customers and the realization of sustainable online product range across multiple channels, not just its website. To maximize the opportunity and to weed out the weakness, this travel must, therefore, develop a working website from where a range of products and services will be marketed to the potential travelers. Strategy The first strategy that will help to realize the stated objective of the firm is to create an online marketing plan for the firm. Here, the Company shall deign and run a website from where the following online marketing strategy plans will be implemented. Information Marketing Online information marketing will assist this travel firm to disseminate information of the company network. Here, the company shall include such chief information as tourism festivals, travel guides, news as well as tourism events. The dissemination will be online-based that provides the specialty of individual scenic spot. The main focus here is to create awareness of the existence of the “we take you there travel” through greatly publicizing such services as tourism events, services as well as festivals (Karel, 2007). In addition, this marketing plan will assist the firm disseminate information about its attraction ticket service information as well as graphic illustration information that are effectively possible by the network platform (website). Theme Marketing The market hot spots like features, seasons, travel ways and population trends are key determinants of the firm’s implementation of online marketing promotion framework. The travelling consumers prefer to select from a range of scenic for their travel destination that must always be available online (Keller, 2008). The theme marketing strategy will thus facilitate this firm to disseminate its brand alongside expansion of clientele base, a key element of the firm’s objective. The theme marketing helps the firm creates awareness with respect to attraction’s features, festivals as well as local culture. When customer can easily access such factors online using the firm’s website, more customers will be attracted and thus increasing the firm’s market share. Precision Marketing ‘We take you there travel’ employs the data analysis in ensuring that external customer access information about its operation through a range of channels. Such a strategy is beneficial to this firm as it will help firm in creating a sustainable online product range across multiple channels such continuous flow of tourist information (Roetzer, 2012). The precision marketing is also beneficial as it nets in the valuable customers feedback and complaints that help the firm assess the customer’s opinions and satisfaction for immediate or future readjustments. In addition, this marketing approach will drive the execution of a raffle within the firm where lucky winners are selected from the existing customers and rewarded accordingly to retain customers as well as attract new ones leading to increased loyalty amongst the served travelers. Brand Marketing ‘We take you there travel’ brand’s existing is can be greatly boosted through online brand marketing. For ‘we take you there travel’ firm to thrive with a reception and maintenance of a competitive advantage, the firm has to design high-grade cooperate and product awareness online marketing idea spearheaded by brand marketing strategy. The primary role of online rests on the ability of the firm to sufficiently utilize its brand influence to impress consumers rather than an ineffective establishment of a huge marketing network creation. The firm shall employ thronging strategy to design and implement the establishment of special tourism events to outside scenic attractiveness. Such a strategy help the firm penetrate new markets as customers become more aware and understand the available attractions. In addition, micro-blogging that has effectively work for the Chinese travel firms will also be employed driven by microblogging publicity to popularize and create the firm’s brand image to the potential customers as well as a competitive advantage (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011). The microblogging operators in the firm will assist in disseminating and sharing the information about the firm and the travelling issues with a range of other microblogging operators and users. Such approach culminates into a rise in potential travelers as they become knowledgeable and enlightened about the tourist information, leading to a more brand awareness. The Strategic Online Marketing Plan ‘We Take You There Travel’ must separate their target market into the overseas tourism market and local tourism market. Then, individual market will adopt and implement distinct online marketing mix that meets particular customers’ need per segment. In this case, the agency wills to employ a combined domestic tourism market strategy (Hemann & Burbary, 2013). The travel agency is driven by traditional tourist routes to create unique trips, as well as business travel. For instance, foreign travel will set the line of the agreement of neighboring nations in outbound tourism. Therefore, the agency will do particular online marketing to this target group. In this case, the agency will use the developed web page to promote the sale of advertising, sales promotion as well as public relations to enhance their visibility (Pride & Ferrell, 2013). In addition, the travel agency will attract new customers and retain old customers through introducing exquisite pictures and culture T-shirt with logos to customers shown on their websites (Guo, 2012). In addition, the firm will use a portfolio strategy for foreign tourist market with the promotional efforts stressed on establishing a corporate image as well firm’s reputation expansion. The firm will favorably gain market share and competitive advantage by digitalizing its marketing plan while thinking from both internal and customers perception. Such a strategy is achieved by linking the price, product and promotional channel effectively to the customer that is only possible through a working website (Kotler, 2000). With respect to the service strategy, the agency will use differentiation in transportation, accommodation and travel. On travel section, the firm will market through the website its introduction of high quality to guide driven by availing information about the features, history of tourist attraction as well as culture. The firm will employ the use of beautiful pictures that appeals to the customers in their website to seek more information about its services. On accommodation, the firm will provide differentiated services for a range of customers from camp to five-star hotels regardless of whatever the customers need the firm will struggle to offer the customers’ their best of interest. With respect to transportation, ‘We Take You There Travel’ agency will operate in a number of differentiated tourist routes by offering different types of vehicles for the customers. The customers per segments and levels will, therefore, feel satisfied and satisfied as they utilize the website to choose preferable vehicles depending on their ability. Diversification As a result of fluctuation in deregulation of travel agencies, it is prudent for the firm to explore the opportunity presented by the website to diversify. The diversification can take the form of new business lines either linked to travel business or unrelated travel ventures (Aaker, Kumar & Day, (2006). The common respond that must be embraced by the ‘We Take You There Travel’ is to expand their revenue base by incorporating significant efforts on cruise reservation and hotel. The firm must diversify in a range of products and services such as fun establishment, means of transportation, hotels, travel agencies as well as restaurants. The established website will be used to market this range of diversified products and services after a thorough market research to only ensure that facts are posted on the website. The deepening of the economic system reforms new opportunities of growth in the tourism industry have been identified by both government and private investing (Ferrell, 2014). Therefore, the agency must diversify to invest in any tourism-attached ventures as the industry is marked the mainstream in the future with expectation of additional attractiveness. Domain Selection: Domain selection in travel industry market scanning and screening to find new opportunities that have fewer stiff competitions in order to survive a particular saturated line of travel business. Once the firm has developed the website, the scanning and screening on the digital platform will be feasible. There several domains the firm can choose from such as water rafting, jungle trekking, overland travel, health travel that has not been fully explored. In addition, many firms prefer existing domains such as religious travel, inbound as well as outbound travels. Therefore, it recommends that the firm execute a further study to explore the new travel markets and settle on preferable domains. Identification of the domain name: This refers to the identifying the website and in particular the name to which the website will be referred and it calls for the annual fee payment as a registration to have the intellectual property right to use this name (Mitchell, 2006). The firm’s domain name will be Web.Com that is freely offered and the cheapest option and unlimited Bandwidth coming with packages of website building. Arriving at the name has nothing to do with the acquisition of a website as most people will think (Academy of Marketing Science., & In Robinson, 2014). Success of a website depends on the ability to choose a precise and domain name as this has presented a lot of challenge to most people. One is not expected to use the same domain that has been used by others. References Aaker, David A. & Kumar, V. & Day, Georg S. (2006). Marketing Research. 9th Edition. New York. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Hoboken. Academy of Marketing Science.,& In Robinson, L. (2014). Proceedings of the 2008 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P. (2011). Marketing and Introduction, Pearson, 10th Edition, 2011. Ferrell, O. C. (2014). Marketing. Australia ; Mason, OH: South Western Cengage Learning. Guo, Rong(2012). 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The marketing agency blueprint: The handbook for building hybrid PR, SEO, content, advertising, and web firms. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Read More