Marketing

Strategic marketing planning: A case study on ‘Your Destination’

Table of content

Introduction

Marketing strategy is the long term planning through which the corporate firms can achieve their objective and gain high competitive advantage (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2015). Through marketing tactics, the companies can meet their pre-specified objective successfully as well as secure future sustainable development so that the organisations can run their business activities efficiently. The aim of the study is to develop effective marketing planning for the organisation ‘Your Destination’ so that the company can expand their business sustainably and retain more customers for their quality transportation services. The organisation Your Destination is the transportation company which is efficient in providing effective transportation service top the customers within London and Essex. The operational efficiency and resource utilisation help the company to run their business activities over three years and recently the senior management team has decided that they need to expand the company through branches across Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Glasgow etc. Brand expansion is the main motive of the company Your Destination, through which the organisation aims at maximising their profitability and secure future sustainable development. The essay is appropriate to identify the roles and responsibilities of the marketing manager as well as it further provides a scope to develop effective marketing planning through which the company Your Destination can expand their business through branch expansion and promotional activities. The National Express is the market leader in London and in this regard the company Your Destination aims at developing effective marketing planning to gain high competitive advantage so that it is possible to compete with the National Express.

1.1 Key duties and responsibilities of marketing officer

The marketing manager plays a crucial role in the company to analyse the external and internal environment for doing the business so that it is possible to develop effective marketing tactics for the expansion of the company. The key role of the marketing officer is to create effective marketing plan that aims at achieving success through successful promotion and customer retention. Managing the innovation process through analysis and evaluation of the existing transportation operation is also the role of the marketing officer in the Your Destination through which it is possible to develop creative planning through which the company can achieve success innovatively. The marketing officer of the transportation of the company Your Destination is also responsible for develop customer’s service strategy as in the recent years, serving the customers uniquely is necessary where the aim of the company is to satisfy the customers so that it is possible to retain long term consumers successfully. Brand management and handling the brand equity are also other key duties of the marketing officer who is concerned in creating good brand image as well as improve the brand image in the market so that the customers can identify the organisation in the transportation industry of London (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018).

Figure 1: Roles and duties of marketing officer

Without brand image and identify, it is not possible for the companies to be popular and in this regard the organisations try to improve the brand identity so that the customers can identify their organisation in the market (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2015). Managing the customers and the developing creative strategic planning are also the responsibility of the marketing officer as the main aim of the company is to maximise the number of satisfied customers so that it is possible to retain long term customers and manage them successfully by delivering high quality service as per their needs and preferences (Banerjee, 2017). The marketing officer needs to analyse the internal and external business environment for understanding the industry so that it is possible to acknowledge the market trend as well as the actual needs and preferences of the customer in the market. Without proper identification of the actual requirements of the corporate clients, the companies cannot deliver high quality products and services to the customers and in this regard the marketing officers try to analyse the current industry trend and develop effective marketing tactics for delivering the customers creatively (Chacour and Ulaga, 2015). The role of the marketing officer in the organisation Your Destination is to manage marketing mix of the company for managing the customers. Improving the brand image and effective brand identify through marketing tactics so helpful for the marketing officer to target the potential customers in the market where the purchase intention of that particular group of the customers is high. Hereby, in order to understand the customer’s preferences as well as the target the potential customers in the industry, the marketing manager needs to analyse the industry (Chernev, 2018). Developing customer centric approach and choosing right partners for doing the business sustainably are also the responsibility of the marketing managers. Enhancing marketing communication and managing marketing events are other roles of the marketing officers through which the marketing officers try to achieve the organisational success by ensuring successful branding, customer retention and high brand reputation (Proctor, 2014).

1.2 Proposed structure of marketing department

The organisation Your Destination needs appropriate structure for marketing department so that the operational activities can be conducted efficiently. In this regard, there must be chief marketing officer and marketing directors who have the responsibility to develop effective marketing planning so that the company can achieve success in near future. The marketing manager is also important in the marketing department for managing the employees, executing the marketing planning and displaying the messages through print media, television, banners and hoardings. On the other hand, there is marketing analyst or researcher who plays an important role in evaluating the external and internal business environment (Payne, and Frow, 2014). This is a critical job where the person is responsible for identifying the current market trend as well as acknowledging the actual needs and preferences of the customers.

The marketing department is consist of one social media expert who is concerned in managing the online activities of marketing as in the recent years, the online marketing is increasing rapidly for successful branding. In addition to these, the marketing coordinator plays a crucial role in enhancing market communication through increasing interactions among the customers and the organisational representatives and it is also an effective tactics for improving positive brand image and reputation in the market where the company can strengthen their customer’s base (Gilligan and Wilson, 2012).

1.3 Contribution of the marketing manage in achieving objective

The above mentioned role and responsibilities are effective for the organisation Your Destination to meet the aims and objectives through successful marketing planning and execution. The role of market analysis is effective to identify the current market trend of transportation industry as well as the customer’s preferences during travelling. This is an effective tactics to understand the customer’s requirements and develop appropriate services of the organisation which can meet the requirements of the consumers (Chaneta, 2014). Apart from that, proper in depth analysis and evaluation helps the marketing officer to improve creativity and innovation as well as increase the utilisation of the technological advancement for improving branding of the organisation. Without appropriate branding, Your Destination cannot expand their business across the courtiers. In this regard, branding is necessary for the organisation to attract more audiences in the market and retain them for long run through delivering the customers the best possible service at affordable price (McDonald and Wilson, 2016). It is also the role of the marketing officer to enhance market communication and it is useful for the organisation to build strong relationship with the customers in the market. Strong customer’s relationship further improves loyalty and trust among the consumers which is necessary for successful brand expansion (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2015).

In addition to these, through communication and interaction, the marketing officer can get proper feedback from the customers and thus they have the opportunity to improve their services as per the client’s feedback. Hereby, the role of enhancing market communication is effective for the marketing officer to meet the organisation objective successful expansion of their transportation service (McCamley and Gilmore, 2018). Promotional tactics through social media is the duty of the marketing officer where the officer is trying to promote the organisational service through using social media platform and also using traditional marketing tactics (Wrenn and Mansfield, 2014). This is also effective for the organisation Your Destination to achieve success in near future as the promotional tactics are effective to improve brand visibility in the market so that the customers can identify the organisational service successfully. In addition to these, the marketing officer is also responsible for improving competitive advantage which is another benefit for the company where the organisation can compete with the National Express which has high share in the transportation industry in London

2.1 Marketing mix strategies for ‘Your Destination’

The marketing mix tactics are effective in the recent era of global competition, where the companies can develop appropriate strategic planning for promoting the service at effective market. The 7P marketing tactics can be developed further,

Figure 3: 7P marketing mix

Product:

The organisation needs to improve the quality o their transportation service where it can satisfy the customers by delivering high quality service as per the needs and preferences of the consumers. In this regard, customer centric approach is effective for the organisation Your Destination to retain more customers for their business. The company needs to maintain the quality of the vehicles that they provide to the customers for travelling. Moreover, the company is concerned about the welfare of the customers where air conditioned vehicles as well as comfortable seating arrangements and free Wi-Fi are available in the vehicles. These are the main tactics through which the company can maximise the quality o their transportation system. Availability is another crucial factor where the company needs to increase the availability of the vehicles as per the needs and preferences of the customers. Hereby, the product quality and services that the company is willing to provide to the customers are effective to expand the brand and improve brand identify and image in the transportation industry in London.

Price:

While considering the price of the transportation service, the company needs to set affordable price that the customers can avail the vehicles during travelling. In this regard, effective price range and variety of vehicles availability in the company are helpful to retain the customers. Through price and quality of the transportation service, the company aims at improving customer’s satisfaction as well as maximising the customer’s welfare by delivering efficient service according to their needs and preferences.

Place:

The aim of the company is to expand the business through branch expansion and in this regard placing the physical stores for the transportation service is a critical factor for the organisation on which the brand visibility depends. In this regard, the company targets in opening the stores in the markets where the customers can identify their transportation service.

Promotion:

Promotional activities play a crucial role in successful expansion of the service and in this regard the company needs to focus on social media advertisement strategy as in the recent years, most of the people are willing to be updated through social media and online activities. In this regard, social media advertising through clipart and short videos are effective for the organisation Your Destination to target the potential customers and retain them for long run. On the other hand, the company needs to enhance market communication for improving personal relationship with the customers and long term relationship helps the organisation to strengthen their customers as well as retain old as well as new customers in the market (Lidstone and MacLennan, 2017). Additionally, email marketing is also effective, where the organisational representatives can send electronic mail to the customers regarding the discounts, price chart for the transportation services as well as additional information related to price and services. Moreover, promoting the organisation Your Destination through billboards and hoardings to increase brand visibility and retain more customers for their efficient services. Moreover, the designing own company website is one of the best effective ways to promote the service of Your Destination through simple and creative content, pictures and destinations available in the company. The website development is helpful where the organisational representatives can interact with the customers and gain proper feedback from the customers. In the other hand, the customers also can get 24*7 services as well as book their tickets for travelling as per their needs and preferences.

People:

In order to improve the customer’s service, it is necessary to increase the technical knowledge and skill of the employees so that they can serve the customers innovatively. In this regard, the company tries to provide effective training program to the employees as well as manage the people through incentive and rewards which can motivate the employees in doing their responsibility proficiently.

Process:

The process of the organisation must be customer focus and the effective Information Technology infrastructure is helpful for developing effective process to serve the clients successfully. The online procedure is effective where the clients can book their ticket to choose transportation service for travelling. Moreover, the Information and Communication technology is appropriate in the company which can provide a scope in future to enhance the internal and external communication through which the organisational representatives can handle the customers successfully.

Physical evidence:

As per the physical evidence, the company is concerned about the vehicles that it provides to the customers for travelling and apart form that free Wi-Fi and internal condition of the vehicles are beneficial to meet the customer’s requirements and improve their satisfaction level.

2.2 Evaluating the marketing planning

The above mentioned marketing planning is effective for the organisation Your destination as the tactics are helpful for the company to expand their business and improve brand visibility and identity in the transportation industry in London. The 7P marketing mix tactics for the Your Destination are helpful to gain better market share as compared to the competitive advantage of the National Express. The company Your Destination is effective in setting affordable price level where the National Express set higher price level for their transportation service and this is effective for the Your Destination to strengthen their customer’s base by delivering efficient transportation service at affordable price. In addition to these, rise in online activities is also advantageous for the organisation Your Destination to achieve high market share as the online activities are beneficial to improve brand image in the country and it further helps to target more potential customers and retain them for long term. Placing the service at effective market further helps to target potential buyers in the market and retain them for long run. The organisation Your Destination is also efficient in technological advancement where the employees are trying to contribute in achieving success through innovation and creativity. Online activities and company’s website are helpful in this regard to build strong relationship with the customers and it further helps the brand to strengthen their customer’s base and secure future sustainable development (Armstrong et al., 2015). The customer centric approach further provides a scope to the company Your Destination to develop effective model to satisfy the customers and in this regard the marketing officer tries to deliver the best possible transportation service after acknowledging the needs and preferences of the customers. In addition to these, the company aims at building customer’s loyalty through proper communication and interaction and in this regard the organisational representatives try to send email for further communication as well as they tries to interact with the customers thorough company’s website. These marketing tactics are beneficial for the company where these provide an opportunity to the organisation Your Destination to improve critical success factors and gain high market share in near future. Hereby, through 7P marketing mix strategies, the company targets at retaining more customers and in this regard the organisation focuses at managing quality of their transportation service and setting competitive pricing so that it is possible to attract more audiences in the market.

2.3 Marketing planning for expansion of ‘Your Destination’

Figure 4: Marketing planning for expanding Your Destination

Conclusion

The marketing planning of the Your Destination is helpful where the marketing officer plays a crucial role in analysing the transportation industry in London as well as the acknowledging the needs and preferences of the customers. Through proper analysis and evaluation, the marketing officer is successful in developing effective 7P marketing mix strategies for the organisation Your Destination to achieve the aim of successful expansion of the transportation service across the Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Manchester. The marketing planning is helpful to build strong corporate relationship with the customers and the company Your Destination will be successful in improving brand image and identify across the countries through improving quality of their service and satisfying the customers as well as successful promotional tactics. The company aims at satisfying the customers through delivering quality transportation service 24*7 at affordable price so that it is possible to maximise customer’s value by developing customer’s centric approach. Moreover, the above mentioned marketing strategic planning is advantageous for the organisation Your Destination to compete with the established transportation company National Express in London and gain high competitive advantage.

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