Main Marketing Strategies PDF

TH1804 Main Marketing Strategies Marketing in the travel trade has a different meaning for different entities. For tour operators, it means introducing the brand to reach more prospects, create more opportunities, and sell and generate more revenues. Destinations, on the other hand, are places that...

TH1804 Main Marketing Strategies Marketing in the travel trade has a different meaning for different entities. For tour operators, it means introducing the brand to reach more prospects, create more opportunities, and sell and generate more revenues. Destinations, on the other hand, are places that attract visitors for a temporary stay. These range from continents, countries, states, and provinces down to cities, villages, and purposely built resort areas. Once marketing promotes a destination (town, city, region, or country) to increase its number of visitors, it becomes one of the types of marketing called destination marketing. A marketing plan is a business document outlining one’s marketing strategy and tactics. It must be supported by extensive research-based data on markets, consumers, and the environment. The plan can only be written once it undertakes research. One cannot simply sell a product or service based on his/her intuition that people will want it. This is especially true if one requires funding from an external source to help his/her business grow. There are differences between organizations which must be reflected in the plan. The major areas that should be considered after gathering research are as follows (Sharma, 2018): Objective should answer the question, “What are you trying to achieve?” Strategy should answer the question, “How are you going to achieve it/these?” Tactic should answer the question, “What are the things you need to do to achieve it/these?” Communicating with clients to ascertain and influence their wishes, needs, motivations, wants, likes and dislikes in either local, rural, regional, national and international levels, as well as promoting a tour package, will require extensive research. To achieve optimal tourist satisfaction, fulfill all their objectives—better yet, exceed customers’ expectations. As such, tour operators and travel agencies should have the following main marketing strategies: Building an identity guides travel agencies or tour operators to come up with the image that they would like to be remembered by their market. This strategy has two (2) types. The first one is corporate identity that conveys a travel agency or tour operator’s “distinct image” or something that sets them apart from the others. This is also where the company name, logo, colors/theme, and slogan are best illustrated. The second one is brand identity that entails what the tour operator or travel agency sells. This aims to establish an image and perception in the market place. Tour packages can have the same company logo or together with the business partners’ logos. Communicating the selling propositions aims to connect the tour package to the clients or consumers. Communication plays a predominant role in the totality of the marketing process. It starts from the sender of the message passing through the medium (channel), then going to the receiver. If the receiver has feedback or a response, it passes through the medium again going back to the sender. This process may be repetitive depending on what needs to be communicated. Feedback is necessary to convey measurements of the message’s quality, fidelity, and effectiveness back to the sender in order for it to make necessary adjustments if need be. 07 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 5  TH1804 Social media marketing is the modern and easiest form of marketing. Aside from the emergence of social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, there are also other forms of social media marketing which are as follows: o Word of mouth is done when people recommend or share stories about an experience they got from a tour package. This can either be positive or negative depending on what the person experienced during his/her tour or on what people can say about that particular tour package. o User-generated content can be from online reviews and ratings that people have given on a particular tour package. This can either be done in the form of an online survey or an online rating directly on a company’s (travel agency or tour operator) website. o Advocacy is the power of recommendation from clients or consumers. Clients who were fully satisfied with the experience they had during their tour usually become advocates. Once they become advocates, recommendation from them is expected. This is also the most important channel of influence that social media marketing can deliver. Relational marketing aims to get clients that fit the tour package of travel agencies or tour operators. It also cultivates loyalty and generates repeat bookings. Most travel managers focus their marketing efforts within a local or regional area, which gives them an advantage over their competitors especially those who only operate online. They establish community presence to develop relationships and connections with prospects and clients within that area. Marketing mix is the fundamental aspect of marketing that consists of seven (7) Ps (also called the extended marketing mix): o Product is the sum of both tangible and intangible components of a tour package that a client or consumer is willing to purchase. o Price is the expression of value consideration placed by travel agencies or tour operators on their products and services, hoping that clients or consumers would agree and thus pay to experience that product or service. o Place is the channel of distribution of the marketing tools and materials. A tour package cannot be stored. It has no shelf life and has no value until clients experienced it. o Promotion is a process designed to inform potential visitors or clients about the tourism product offered, sharing with them its most attractive and innovative attributes. As such, it is usually integrated distribution and implies communication activities including advertising. o People play a vital role in effective marketing because they represent the actual service of marketing and are also a critical factor in service business. Most tourists can think of a situation wherein the personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted a tour, vacation, or restaurant meal. This is because “people buy from people and people buy a service that they like,” so the attitude and skills of all staff constitute the main aspect of the brand and define the service quality. In short, people are drivers of effective marketing. o Physical evidence is the material part of the services that clients get from a tour package or travel products care of the service suppliers. This may sound confusing since service has no physical entity. Hence, clients rely on material cues. These may include the following (which are available on a particular destination): buildings, equipment or machines, sign and logos, business reports, brochures, a website, and business cards. 07 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 5  TH1804 o Process refers to the actual procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities wherein the service is delivered. In marketing, it is about the customer interface between a tour operator and its clients and the series of steps on how both of them deal with each other throughout the process. Main distribution and promotion channels refer to the different distribution and promotion channel opportunities in promoting a tour package. o Sales through travel agencies aim to end up being recommended by the clients of such travel agencies to their network (friends, family, colleagues, and other people who are connected to them). o Trade and tourism exchanges include fairs and exhibitions at different levels, which can be an alternative form of presentation and sale of products to intermediaries and the public. Their main advantage is to establish a personal contact between different private and public tourism businesses potentially. o Professional associations are important media for unifying the members’ offerings that aim to create a corporate image and promote public relations to expand their presence in the domestic market with hopes of entering into agreements and more distribution channels. o Notes and press releases are pieces of information that tour operators use to tailor-fit their tour packages with their existing and potential clients. o Internet refers to anything that is communicated online. It is considered the easiest, fastest, and most effective way of relaying information, especially when promoting a tour package. Other Marketing Strategies Trade fairs and exhibitions can be a highly cost-effective sales and marketing tool, combining all the best characteristics of advertising, promotions, direct mail, and selling, either through tour operators and travel agencies or, in the case of public shows, directly to consumers. Benefits include direct sales, new product launches, lead generation, penetration of new markets, building and maintaining client or customer relations, market research, database building, and networking. Research suggests that more than 80% of visitors to trade fairs are decision makers. Planning for an exhibition should be thorough enough that no surprises crop up during the actual exhibition. There must be someone who will take care of making all the arrangements needed. There must be a timeline when key tasks are supposed to have been achieved or met. Therefore, the budget must be linked to the objectives and goals. Consider the following when planning for an exhibition (Sharma, 2018): Location of stand or booth – This refers to the stand’s or booth’s rental, design and construction, furniture, pieces of equipment, and accessories. Transport of materials – This refers to how the materials of stands or booths will be available and delivered to the event. Personnel cost – This refers to the total cost of manpower, including their labor, transportation, accommodation, and meals of people in charge of the stand or booth. 07 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 5  TH1804 Promotional cost – This refers to the total cost of promoting the stands or booths on the event, such as telephone and mail promotions, promotional videos, souvenir and giveaways (optional), and brochures and catalogs printing. Brochures enable potential customers to view and compare different product offerings, including the price and key features that may provide an inspiration for consideration of new destinations and resorts. They have several positive attributes such as attracting customers’ attention when displayed at travel agencies’ pull factors (destination-generated forces and the knowledge that tourists hold about a destination) and being taken away for consideration to make decisions with other traveling companions. In addition, they allow easy comparison between destinations and between different operators. They also provide information about the legal contract between the holidaymaker and the tour operator, specifying the commitment on either side, giving information on insurance and booking conditions, and explaining complaint procedures. As such, they form the basis of the contract between the customer and the tour operator. Criticisms of a brochure include consumers’ dislike of the lack of transparency in terms of pricing, with sections often dedicated to supplementary charges such as regional departures, peak season pricing, and limited information about the product. Its contents must be clear, legible, and accurate to enable customers to make a judgment and must include the following (Holland & Leslie, 2018): Price of tour packages Meals (if inclusive) Destination, itinerary, and mode of transport Standard information on passport, health, Departure dates and visa requirements Type of accommodation, additional facilities Deadline for payment. Brochures have different sections that will aid customers or clients to have a better grasp of what to expect in a tour package regarding its destination, inclusions, and accommodation (Holland & Leslie, 2018). Front cover should be supported by any brand imagery that a travel agency or tour operator uses. The pictures should represent the type of holiday or destination being featured. For instance, brochures and flyers that are aimed at families usually include a photo of a family on the front cover. Introduction usually includes information about the travel agency or tour operator, the uniqueness of their tour products and the destinations they serve, and any specific information that is pertinent to all the products promoted in the brochure. It may also include information about the transport used— say, in the case of air transport, the name of the airline, type and class of aircraft, and the operator. Destination pages usually include commentary on each of the holidays, such as duration, location, accommodation, meals (if any), activities, and facilities included or available (may be offered for an extra fee), a clear indication of price, and any supplements that may be charged. Information specific to the brochure may include regional departures, hotel grading information, upgrade opportunities or surcharges for additional occupants (or single occupancy), health requirements, specific information about meals (if part of the inclusions), and other information that may enable customers to make an educated choice. Terms and conditions page is where full conditions of booking, including cancellation charges and conditions, transferring the booking, pricing errors, minimum number of pax, and complaint 07 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 5  TH1804 procedures, are given. Information about insurance may also be included, but customers must have the right to choose their own insurance if it covers all the activities. Back cover often includes promotional pictures of other brochures, web address, and social media details. It may also have contact details of the travel agency or tour operator, logo, membership logos, and awards as an organization. Some brochures, especially the ones offering outbound tour packages, may include guided information on visa requirements. This is to ensure that customers will be well-informed and that all they must worry about is choosing which tour package will fit their needs. Producing a brochure requires tour operators to ensure that it will reflect whatever is shown on their website. Brochures can take five (5) months or so to be produced, including decisions that need to be made about the quality of the paper, the blending of colors, the graphics, and style. Therefore, all of these need to represent the company’s or organization’s brand image and need to be consistent across all marketing communications. (Holland & Leslie, 2018). Other printed materials to be used for marketing must be enticing enough to catch the interest of customers. This proves the idea that promoting a tour package will require travel agencies and tour operators to think outside of the box and to be very creative. Some of the printed materials are the following: A flyer is a handbill (a small printed advertisement) used for advertising an event, a tour package, or service. A tarpaulin is a printed canvass material of varying sizes that features a destination, product, or service. A poster is an oversized cardboard printer material of at least 24” x 48” that also features a destination, product, or service. These printed materials can easily be transported anywhere which make them more efficient in promoting tour packages or simply destinations or services. References Claravall, B. G. (2013). Travel and tour operations in the Philippines. Sampaloc, Manila: Accumiro I.T. Solutions. Holland, J., & Leslie, D. (2018). Tour operators and operations. Croydon: CPI Group (UK) Ltd. Sharma, S. (2018). Tour operation management in tourism. New Delhi: Random Publications. Swain, D. S. (2014, February 26). Travel and tour operations management. Retrieved from Pondicherry University: http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/sites/default/files/travel-agency-op-mgt-260214.pdf on May 30, 2019 07 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 5 of 5