Marketing of any product requires evaluation and review of Price, Product, Promotion, and Place, generally referred to as the 4 Ps of marketing. Marketing personnel constantly attempt to identify the right balance of these factors to ensure that the customer will select their product. Marketing strategy is always determined based on how the company wishes to position itself with respect to its competitors. For example, Southwest Airlines is a success story at a time when most airlines are struggling to keep their heads above water. Southwest Airlines defined its strategy -- low priced travel cost, limited passenger service and reliable services. This strategy has proved very difficult for other airlines to follow in the recent times. Southwest entered into the airline industry late, it had a change to study the business plans of other airlines and learn from their shortcomings. In May 2003, for the contiguous U.S., Southwest transported 6.5 million passengers as compared to 6.3 million by Delta and 6.2 million by American Airlines. (Wire-Report, 2003)
Southwest Airlines is generating profit by flying to relatively well-traveled locations within the country, but not to regions that are high traffic and that may have other variables that can affect its on-time flight plans. In addition, keeping aircraft standardized (same make and model) and minimizing gate time and in-flight passenger service Southwest is able to keep its overheads low. In addition, Southwest's union contracts are flexible when compared to other airlines in the industry. Southwest also uses a limited number of travel agents for its ticket sales. Understanding the effects of the external environment on the airline industry has helped Southwest determine its strategy. The 9/11 attacks had a significant impact on the airline industry, however many of the players in the field did not wish to change their traditional method of operation in spite of the change in the travel patterns of the average individual. Delta's low cost subsidiary, Delta Express, Continental's point-to-point route service, Continental Lite, United Airlines' Shuttle service between many west cost cities, the U.S. Airways low-cost carrier operation, Metrojet were failures as they tried to straddle two philosophies of operations. They tried to stretch the capabilities of the organizations in an effort to duplicate the results if Southwest airlines, while having the legacy of a previous system.
The aviation industry is complex. It requires a wide variety of resources and logistics to keep it running efficiently. There are tremendous demands on all the companies involved to maintain these logistics. From the ground staff at airports, to the maintenance and service personnel, all have as important duties in keeping the aircraft in flight as the pilots. In the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, where terrorist attacked the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon, on March 21, 2002, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted more stringent in-flight security standards. These standards will be applicable to aircraft of 60 seats or more for all of its 187 member countries for all international flights (Ott, 2002)
The September 11 attack seriously impacted the airline and the tourism industry. It impacted the tourism industry as fewer people went on vacation. The last time airlines sustained the maximum loss was during the gulf war. The airline industry lost $4.8 billions in 1992 and it took about a year for the airline to recover from this depression and get to the pre-war traffic levels. The recovery rate has not been observed as yet in the case of the market downturn due to 9/11. Many American airlines are reporting their worst financial losses in 2003. As passengers were afraid to fly, the airline industry reduced the number of flights. It also put a hold on some of the new aircraft purchases. Reduced flights also decreased the number if supporting businesses like aircraft service businesses and reduced parts and products that are required to maintain the aircrafts.
The traditional business strategy used in the airline industry has proved to be ineffective during this industry downturn. The entire airline industry will need to evaluate its plans; for example, it is more economical to fly smaller planes more frequently or is it better to fly a bigger plane fewer times. The aviation industry has always gone through cyclic periods where the market had been either on an upward swing or on a downward swing. A happy middle ground was never achieved. For a new entrant into the market, identifying the critical niches of the other competitors in the field will ensure success or failure of the organization. Southwest...
Business Plans Marketing Plan and Evaluation The marketing plan should revolve around the marketing mix. The mix encompasses the four Ps of marketing, each of which will be addressed in turn in this business plan. The four Ps are product, price, place and promotion (NetMBA, 2010). With respect to product, the coffee shop will be a premium example of a coffee shop. Australia has an exceptional coffee culture, so good that it
In order to be known into the market place and as a new entrant, the company will provide its target market with an affordable cost while providing them a high quality products and services. The company will be given the customer and client a price that is lesser than its competitors so that the consumer will be enhanced to buy and patronize the Global Smart Card. Each card is
Advertisement Our targets are busy individuals with minimal opportunity to adhere to the TV advertisements, thus the need to adopt and implement other aspects if advertisements. One of the essential aspects of reaching the target audiences is integration of the concept of social media. Interactive social media platform would enhance interaction with the target audiences. This is through development of facebook profile for the marketing group, twitter account, and blogs enhancing
Marketing Mix for Effective Marketing: The marketing mix can be considered as the most famous marketing term after it was published in 1964 in an article by Neil H. Borden. The term has become common in marketing because its elements are the fundamental, tactical components of a marketing plan. The marketing mix elements are product, price, place, and promotion which are the four major categories that guide marketing decisions. These four
As a result of huge growth, the company's management may lose focus of the scope of their business. Miller Inc. has a highly centralized hierarchy of management and lacks the managerial backup to promote creativity amons the employees. Single-sourcing which is the characteristic of Miller Inc. could be a recipe of disaster should the supplier fail. Contingency plans for supplies need to be considered. The constrant production nature of the product leads to
Once the report is analyzed, we have a sense of how the SWOT will shape up. However, this must be supplemented with sources that have less bias. For a company analysis, this tends to be the financial news, of which there are dozens of quality sources. Academic research seldom provides sufficient or timely insight into a company's operations, but may have value for broad-based issues. The insurance industry, for example,
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