Marketing Plan for De Pappilon for Wedding and Occasions in UAE - Case Study Example

Marketing Plan for De Pappilon for Wedding and Occasions in UAE Name Institution Course Tutor Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Elevator pitch 3 Core strategy 4 Mission statement 4 Product/Service scope 4 Market scope 4 Basis for differentiation 5 Strategic resources 5 Core competencies 5 Strategic assets 6 Partnership network 7 Suppliers 7 Partners 8 Customer interface 9 Target customer 9 Fulfillment and support 9 Pricing structures 10 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction De Pappilon is a medium-size wedding and occasions company that is located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was founded in June 2012 and offers services relating to planning for weddings and other occasions such as companies’ annual dinner parties, fund raising events, engagement ceremonies, anniversaries, civic education campaigns, and product and service launching events for other companies. The planning services encompass several elements of occasions including venue arrangements, decorations, tents, budget, transportation means, order of events, public address systems and catering, among others. The company also lends chairs and public address systems. This marketing plan will comprise of elevator pitch, core strategy, strategic resources, partnership network and customer interface. Elevator pitch De Pappilon’s planning services for weddings and other events will succeed in the events’ industry because they are unique from the services of other events’ companies in the sense that they are all-inclusive. The company will provide all the equipment, and resources that are needed to successfully carry out a memorable wedding occasion or other events from decorations, chairs, catering, transport, and program of events to public address systems. Moreover, the plan caters for a wide range of needs of customers in relation to planning of events by targeting different types of events, each with a unique planning. Despite the provision of high quality services, the prices for the services are also very fair and thus, customers with different socioeconomic statuses will be able to afford them. Core strategy Mission statement De Pappilon is devoted to the provision of exemplary events’ planning services while lessening most of the pressure associated with having a wedding or any other event. Every event is exceptional to the people celebrating it, and the company treats each event as its own. De Pappilon believes in creativity, open communication, respect and teamwork. It applies these principles to everybody it works with throughout an event’s planning process. The company’s mission is to learn and grow always. It believes in the significance of learning novel things and continuously growing both as individuals as well as a firm. Product/Service scope Under the current plan, De Pappilon will offer a number of planning services including events’ budget, venue arrangements, decorations, transport, event’s program, calligraphy, public address systems and outside catering. The outside catering services will be provided through collaboration with a leading hotel. This is because; the catering services are offered occasionally and thus, De Pappilon has not been able to employ permanent staff for food preparation and serving. The products to be offered include balloons, ribbons, flowers and invitation cards. Market scope The marketing plan for De Pappilon is meant for the UAE events’ industry that deals with the provision of products and services for use by individuals and companies during special events. De Pappilon has operated in the market for a year now and thus, it will not need to launch its products and services as is the case for new companies. Its strategy for going to the market will involve a more extensive marketing campaign through road shows, and billboards. Moreover, the company will put adverts on the TV and the internet. De Pappilon will limit its services and products to the city of Abu Dhabi. According to AMEinfo (2012), the events’ industry in the UAE is gaining popularity with individuals and companies looking for outstanding event planners and services. Trends in the industry include a move towards classy events and time conscious clients. As a result, the events’ services and products for De Pappilon have a high growth potential due to the quality of its services and effective time management. The company has future plans for extending its services outside Abu Dhabi to cover the whole of UAE. Basis for differentiation PR Log (2013) maintains that, firms operating in UAE’s event industry are facing stiff competition with an increased number of participants entering the events business. Thus, differentiation of services and products remains the ideal strategy for surviving in the industry. Such competition is a big threat to the business success of De Pappilon. Its main competitors include other events’ companies, retailers of decorations, and outside caterers. In order to survive the competition, De Pappilon will use the provision of all-inclusive services as its differentiation basis. Most people are usually under a lot of pressure and busy when preparing for an upcoming event and thus may not have time to source different services and products from different firms. Providing event planning services that will cater for all the client’s needs will make De Pappilon a unique event planner. Moreover, the company will use cost leadership to differentiate its products and services. Offering a wide range of services will make De Pappilon to enjoy economies of scale and thus afford to offer the lowest price in the market. Strategic resources Core competencies De Pappilon’s core competency is human resources. Events’ business requires people with skills and knowledge in areas such as event planning, operation of PA systems, IT, interior design, budgeting and catering. The company has highly skilled and experienced employees in the field of event planning and an effective management team. It also has IT experts for managing its website. When it comes to the provision of catering services, De Pappilon teams up with 3 or 5-star hotel with highly qualified chefs and waiters. Thus, the provision of high quality service is guaranteed. Drawing from Boxall (2003, p.12), human resources are becoming a source of competitive advantage for firms nowadays since they are difficult to imitate. On the contrary, De Pappilon does not have its own catering unit, which forces it to rely on hotels to assist with catering services during events. It also relies on car rental firms to provide vehicles for use during certain events such as weddings. This is a great weakness for the company since overdependence on its partners can result in inconveniences as well as provision of poor quality catering services. This is because; these partners are independent business firms and De Pappilon is not in a position to exercise control over the quality of its services and products. Strategic assets De Pappilon has several strategic assets that will facilitate the success of the marketing plan. First, it has equipment for making decorations used in events and thus, it is able to customize decorations to suit the specific needs of different customers. It also enables the company to have low production costs. In addition, it has assets such as PA systems, chairs and tents. Hence, it will not have to depend on outside suppliers to supply it with equipment. Additionally, it has vehicles for transporting raw materials for decorations from suppliers, as well as staff and equipment to and from events’ venues. Furthermore, De Pappilon has a strong trademark that is unique in the events’ industry and which is a symbol of quality. Trademark is necessary in helping ensure that customers are not lured by rival companies. Moreover, De Pappilon has a 24/7 internet connection and telephone communication networks. Through the internet, the company is able to interact with customers on its website and get feedback on the quality of its services and products. Customers are also able to make bookings for events from different locations around the clock. The presence of reliable telephone networks enables effective communication within and outside the company, which in turn facilitates coordination among employees, especially during events. For instance, in case larger numbers of people than expected turn up for an event, those at the venue are able to contact those at the office and request for additional staff. For the one year it has been in the events’ business, De Pappilon has experienced great success with high profit margins from its wide range of services. Hence, in terms of finances, it has a stable financial position. This presents it with a competitive advantage since it is able to fund and run its operations smoothly. Moreover, in case of any expansion plans the company has enough resources for carrying out such plans. Therefore, the company has adequate finances to support the current marketing plan. Partnership network Suppliers In terms of sourcing, effective time management is very crucial in the events’ businesses since delays can result in failure of events to materialize and poor services that may make it hard for a company to retain customers. Most delays in businesses are caused by having unreliable supplies and thus, having a reliable supplier is very important in the events’ business (Kleemann 2012). To carry out the marketing plan, De Pappilon will require reliable suppliers for raw materials to be used in making decorations, as well as food stuff to be used in catering. The selection of the ideal suppliers will be based on a number of criteria. To start with, the company will use its previous experience with suppliers for the time it has been in the events’ planning business. For the 12 months it has been in business, the company has been able to deal with different suppliers and thus it knows the suppliers whose performance is remarkable. Moreover, De Pappilon’s scope of services and products and customer base is growing compared to the time the business begun. Consequently, the company will choose suppliers who can meet its capacity requirements. The company has les experience in food supplies and thus it will rely on recommendations from hotels in choosing a supplier for food stuff. Food materials are sensitive products due to their vulnerability to contamination which may affect people’s health. Therefore, the supplier of the food stuff has to conform to set government regulations on food supplies and public health. Furthermore, the purchases of events’ planning firms are irregular and thus, De Pappilon will settle for a supplier who is available any time. Using wide criteria to choose suppliers will help De Pappilon get the best suppliers in terms of reliability, cost, quality and value for money. Partners De Pappilon will partner with a first rate hotel to help in providing high quality catering services to its clients during events. This partnership is crucial since it will enable De Pappilon to offer all-inclusive events’ planning services. It will also partner with car rental firms especially when planning for weddings to enable it to obtain different cars for use during weddings. De Pappilon cannot afford to purchase a range of vehicles for use during events. Hence, partnering with car rental companies will help it obtain vehicles that match the choice of the customer. Since the rented cars will be used as a mode of public transport, De Pappilon will ensure that the car rental firms conform to government transport regulations in areas such as valid driving license, transport levies and third-party insurance. Partnering with the hotel and car rental firms will increase De Pappilon’s chances of getting more business deals through recommendations from the business partners. The company will also strive to establish and maintain strong rapport with big corporate clients through giving them discounted services. Such clients are associated with high profit margins because their events and budgets are usually big, which increases the possibility of enjoying economies of scale. Customer interface Target customer When De Pappilon started its wedding and occasions’ business, it did not have a specific niche market that it directed its services and products towards and up to date it still provides events’ planning services to different types of customers. However, with increased competition in the UAE market, the company has realized the need for market segmentation. This marketing plan targets young people in the middle socioeconomic class who are in the marrying age. The company acknowledges the fact that, nowadays it is hard to predict the marrying age. This is because unlike in the past people are currently marrying at late ages. Consequently, the age group of the targeted market is 28 to 35 years. Church weddings are a thing of the past and young people prefer stylish garden weddings. In order to effectively meet the needs of the target group, the company will ensure that each event is unique by customizing each wedding as per clients’ requirements. Fulfillment and support Attracting customers is easy, but retaining them is becoming a hard task for most companies. De Pappilon believes that a satisfied customer will always come back. As a result, the current marketing plan will aim at ensuring the fulfillment of customers’ needs. Effective time management is crucial in the events’ market and thus, one of the main ways that the company will ensure it fulfils its customers is being precise in planning the order of events during events. Moreover, budgeting will be done based on current market research on prices and costs of different products and services to ensure no shortages are experienced during events. The plan’s value proposition is the provision of free decorations for all-inclusive event planning services and 15% discount for repeat customers. Pricing structures Though De Pappilon has been in the events’ market for the past one year, it is the first time it is targeting a specific niche market. Therefore, it requires a pricing strategy that will enable it to easily penetrate the market and get a market share. In this plan, the company will use penetration pricing and promotional pricing. According to Kurtz (2013), under penetration pricing, prices for services and products are set temporarily low to acquire market share. Thus, De Pappilon will offer low prices at first and increase it later. Under promotional pricing, free decorations will be offered to clients for all-inclusive services. Conclusion De Pappilon offers different products and services under its wedding and occasions’ business. The company’s product and service scope include events’ budget, venue arrangements, transport, calligraphy, event’s program, decorations, public address systems and outside catering. The services and products will be offered in the events’ industry within Abu Dhabi, but there is a high growth potential. The company’s bases for differentiation will be all-inclusive services and cost leadership. Human resources constitute De Pappilon’s core competency, while overdependence on business partners is its weakness. The company’s strategic assets include equipment for making decorations, PA systems, chairs, vehicles, internet connection, and strong financial position. Suppliers will be chosen on the basis of past experience and performance, recommendations, capacity requirements and availability. The plan targets young people aged between 28 and 35 and its pricing strategies are penetration and promotional pricing. References AMEinfo 2012, November 24, UAE events industry moves into top gear, Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http://www.ameinfo.com/uae-events-industry-moves-top-gear-320033 Boxall, P 2003, HR strategy and competitive advantage in the service sector, Human Resource Management Journal, 13 (3), 5-20. Kleemann, FC 2012, An Evaluation of Supplier Selection Methods in Strategic Procurement, Munich, GRIN Verlag. Kurtz, DL 2013, Contemporary marketing, Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning. PR Log 2013, May 23, Middle East Events Companies to Join Forces In Face Of International Competition, Retrieved June 5, 2013, from http://www.prlog.org/12143889-middle-east-events-companies-to-join-forces-in-face-of-international-competition.html Read More