Thai Culture and Food Festival - Case Study Example

Event information: Thai festival was initiated as a celebration of the Thai culture. It is also known as festival kingdom where national and provisional holidays are host regionally or globally events. These festival events are normally classified according to the month the festival occurs. It is done frequently during every year since every month there is a festival. Thai festivals encompasses several activities such as; art and culture, food and drinks, performance, fair and festivals, film, shopping, exhibition, religious and spiritual activities and many others. It is well known for its tourist attraction in Songkran and Loy Krathong. There are several objectives that are sought to be attained during these festivals. The main objectives are; connecting small and boutique wine producer with the large agents and distributors to Thailand people. This way, Thailand has enlarged and has experienced faster growing of markets which has made over 300 million people to engage themselves in market enterprises. Wine importers and retailers involve themselves not only in wine services but also in wine related businesses or the media. The main aim of international wine businesses is to discover new markets, and introduction to new contacts and development of businesses. The other main aim of these festivals is to put together the niche producer and the niche importer so as to ensure that they focus mainly in Thai market and understand markets. Thailand is known for its ability to create unique culture and traditions and these encourage tourism. This is especially the case during these festivals. The Thai festival has greatly contributed to the country’s breakthrough into the international market. The increase in the number of tourists as a result of the Thai festival has numerous positive economic effects. This is because the country is in a position to earn foreign exchange. Subsequently, this leads to economic growth. The event has an expansionary effect on Thailand’s economic growth. It also means that the various businesses and enterprises in Thailand face huge competition. They, therefore, must come up with marketing strategies. Assessment of the market environment i) Internal analysis. The internal analysis of markets focuses on internal factors that give an organization certain advantages and disadvantages in meeting the needs of its target market. Strengths refer to core competencies that give the firm an advantage in meeting the needs of its target markets. On the other hand, weaknesses refer to the disadvantages that an organization faces in comparison to other firms in the market. Therefore, the firms that exhibit their products during the Thai festival must ensure that they enhance their strengths and try to improve on their weaknesses. This will ensure that they are able to attract consumers, and hence have a large market share. ii) External analysis. External analysis entails the analysis of the fellow competitors in the market. These include the opportunities and threats that the organization is faced with. Particularly, businesses should take advantage of the opportunities so as to expand in relation to tiers competitors. In terms of the threats, they should implement policies that will ensure that they are still in the lead. The Thai festival is a business opportunity that enterprises should grab in order to market their products. For the hotel industry, it is the opportunity to display their delicacies in order to win over customers into visiting their hotels. In order to effectively benefit from the festival, businesses need to come with marketing strategies that will woe consumers into buying their products. This will lead to increased profit margins. Market research must also be carried out prior to the festival in order to ensure that they satisfy consumer needs adequately. SWOT ANALYSIS It is essential for smooth running of every business. It refers to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These aid in ensuring the goals and objectives of the organization are achieved. The Thai festival could be analyzed on the basis of SWOT analysis. Strengths includes; Strong funding Investments Large market Variety of products Big profit margins Weaknesses include: It is seasonal Limitation of culture Opportunities include; recogniton Change in environment Threats include; Competition Rivalry Target market In any organization, firm or enterprise, the management has a duty to ensure that they establish the target market for their products. This will ensure that the products presented match the needs of the consumers. This ensures that there is consumer loyalty since their needs are adequately met. Marketing strategies must be implemented to suit the target market. The marketing manager must be in a position to market the products depending on the market segments presented through market segmentation. Markets are segmented depending on various factors. Given the fact that the Thai festival is a cultural event, it means that it would be segmented on the basis of the basic event segmentations. They include the following: Size\location and demand Demography Psychographic Product\service usage Product\service benefits Media usage This segmentation would ensure that the marketing strategies implemented for each segments is best suited in order to attain the expected results. It also ensures that the marketing strategy adopted rhymes with the people in the particular segment. This will also ensure that a large number of consumers are in a position to get access to the information about the event irrespective of they are. This also ensures that the turn up during the event is relatively high. Segmenting the market also ensures that the marketing manager is well aware of the segment that he or she needs to concentrate more on. This will ensure that the overall goals of the organization are met. The marketing strategies that are adopted for the young people are relatively different from those of the old people. Also, the marketing strategy adopted for the people in rural areas will be different from those in town centers. For the people in rural areas, announcements would be more appropriate. For the people in urban centers, media advertisements would be more appropriate. This is based on the assumption that the people in the rural areas are less likely to access televisions, radios or even newspapers. Market research This is any organized effort to get information about markets or customers. Market research can either be primary or secondary research. Market research is carried out so as to ensure that the products offered by an organization meet the needs for the consumers. Primary market research is carried out directly through the questioning of consumers on their preferences. This is assumed to be more effective. However, it is more expensive e since the event organizers would have to reach out tm different regions in order to get the answers that they are looking for. Secondary research on the other hand entails use of published information on consumer needs. This could also be based on past experience. However, this type of research is not very effective because consumer preferences keep on changing from time to time. This type of research is relatively cheaper as compared to primary research. Eventually, the aim is to get the correct consumer needs in order to ensure that the event meets them. Psychograph is the method used to delineate or explain to customers on matters under personality, value, attributes and interest. That is, you are identifying and measuring those attributes that make consumer behavior. To further target Thai marketing efforts should have a method to not only determine who is or will buy your product, but identify what makes them want to buy as well. As part of our underlying objective of developing marketing and promotional programs that make a contact, we have partnered with the top contributor of psychographic segmentation to categorize the motivations of your best customers and prospects, thus leading to the most successful message and way of delivery. Overall business objectives The overall business objective in any enterprise is to maximize profits. This is achieved through competent leadership. In any organization, there are leaders who are incorporated in the management of the firm. They have the responsibility to carry out the managerial functions effectively and efficiently. They should be in a position to implement their leadership skills in performance of their duties and responsibilities. Leadership and management may appear to have the same meaning, but this is not the case. For effective management, one requires leadership skills in order to gain confidence and trust from the people served. As the proverbs goes, unity is strength”, the same applies to people working together in achieving the same goal. Marketing strategy In any organization, strategies must be put in place so as to ensure that the organization remains competitive in the market. The marketing department must come up with marketing strategies aimed at reaching to the consumers of the products being provided by the organization. The marketing manager must be in a position to study, understand and analyze the market (Dale 82). This will be extremely crucial in ensuring that there are unfounded peculations when coming up with the marketing strategies. The strategies that the manager puts forward must conform to the goals and objectives of the organization. This is so as to ensure that the organization is successful. (Pride and Ferrell 55) The marketing strategy should be based on the 4p’s of marketing mix. These aim at ensuring that overall objectives are attained. They include the following: Product The event being marketed could deal in a range of menus depending on its location and the consumer favorites. These menus are necessitated by the demands from the people around the restaurant as well as the culture and the changing lifestyles. They should be able to determine the kinds of foods and beverages that the natives prefer. This then forms the basis of the food and beverages that they are going to serve. Consideration of the heath watch and the diets that people around the restaurant have adapted should be visible in the menu. This will ensure that their lifestyles and the food served in the hotels do complement each other. Pricing Pricing is the most important element of marketing mix. This is because it is the price that determines the final turnover of the organizations and hence profitability or losses may be realized. The other three are just adding up to the cost of business operations. It is, therefore, important to note that for a company to be successful, price has to support all the elements of mix. Prices should also be determined by prices in the market. Charging very high prices will not benefit the restaurant. Place and distribution The location of the restaurant should be accessible and in a busy area. This implies that the restaurant should be strategically located with a target of particular customers. For instance, in could be located in the central business districts targeting the people working in offices. It could be near a recreational area. This will ensure that there is a target market already existing when the restaurant is established. This will also create the ease with which people learn of its existence and exuberant services. Promotion Promotion of the restaurant and is products is a key part of the marketing process. This is because it will ensure that the people who have not had the chance to visit the restaurant get to know about it. Moreover, once they hear about it and try it, they are likely to increase the market share because of the quality service provision that is highly maintained. This will also increase the revenues and profit margins. The inclusion of advertisements and leaflets handed in to customers after their meals is also a good marketing strategy. This will ensure that they are well aware of all the products and services available in the restaurant. They will be in a position to tell their friends and families of the same. Advertisements could also be placed on televisions and radios. These could be placed during broadcasting so as to get the attention of the consumers. It would also be strategic to include posters and display all contact information. A website displaying all the available products and services available could also be made available. Marketing plan Marketing strategy Duration Cost in US Dollars Advertisements on radio and televisions One month prior to the event 1000 Billboards and posters 2 weeks prior to the event 200 Website One month prior to the event 500 References Pride, W. and Ferrell. (2008). Marketing Express. New York: Cengage Learning. Wylie, K. (2009). Marketing Analysis Chipotle Mexican Restaurant and Applebee's Restaurant. New York: GRIN Verlag. Bogardus, M. (2004). A Human resource jumpstart London: John Wiley and Sons. Aswathappa & Dash. (2007). International Resource Management Mexico: Tata McGraw-Hill. Tansky, W, J & Heneman, L, R (2006). Human resource strategies for the high growth entrepreneurial firm. London: IAP. Clampitt, G, P (2009). 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