Employees of New Destination

In the last three years, our company, "Your Destination," has had tremendous success. As a result, we are eager to expand our transportation services to the United Kingdom's other four major cities. The company intends to expand its transportation services to Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, and Glasgow. When it comes to transportation services, we recognize the level of competition in these large cities. Our principal goal is to maintain our position as the transportation industry's market leader. To restore our competitive nature over our main rivals such as National express, we intend to recruit two experienced marketing officers.

Expanding the transport services beyond Essex and London is our primary focus. This company has outperformed most of the transport companies. We have gathered adequate data on the number of customers that we have on daily basis. As such, we believe that the services we offer do not match with the number of customers that we have. The increasing numbers of customers in our company make it necessary for us to expand our services to larger markets.

We also focus on increasing the revenue of this company targeting larger customer populations in other cities. By expanding to the four major cities, we will be able to attract newer customers. However, we will only create awareness among potential customers when we have a strong marketing team. We, therefore, intend to have two marketing officers who will deal with the new market demands.

The new marketing officers will be responsible for making the marketing plans for the entire company. They will be the financial stewards for the marketing processes. They will focus on the strategies that will increase awareness among the customers. They will consult with the other marketing officers on viable strategies to be used in our new destination. The marketing officers shall be responsible for promoting the brand image of our institution. Additionally, the marketing officers will have the responsibility of market placement. They will use the market placement techniques to ensure that our company makes more profits.

Through rigorous and well-calculated marketing campaigns, the marketing officers will be responsible for the expansion of the company’s services to meet the market size and demands. They will identify the market needs as well as the specifications and inform the company. Additionally, the officers will determine the risks and policies that will address the expansion program. Throughout the expansion process, it will be necessary to determine the policies that will govern expenses and marketing processes. Moreover, they will help in establishing a good and healthy customer relationship. The marketing officers will ensure that the needs of the customers are provided as specified by the customers. To ensure a smooth relationship, they will address all the complaints and questions raised by the customers during expansion. This will help in establishing a long-lasting relationship and trust with the customers.

Ideally, each marketing officer will be responsible for the marketing processes in two cities. While one will oversee and conduct marketing processes in two cities, another officer will carry out marketing processes in the remaining two cities. However, both the marketing officers will report to the marketing manager. Consistent consultation with the marketing management will help the marketing officers to execute their duties amiably. All the necessary support shall be provided by the company to aid the officers in marketing the company in new cities successfully. The company is prepared to recruit competent market officers who will help the company to achieve its expansion objectives.

Marketing Strategy (7Ps Marketing Mix)

The concept of the marketing mix is considered as one of the commonest concept applied in the marketing theories (Araujo, Luis, et al. 23). Nowadays, a different concept of the marketing mix known as 4Ps (product, Price, place, and promotion), has remained common. According to McDonald, Malcolm and Mike Meldrum (12), the 4Ps were used when most of the products that were sold to the customers were goods rather than services. After the introduction of services into the markets, the use of 7Ps became dominant. While some scholars recommend the 7Ps of marketing, others argue that 4ps are ideal in certain marketing spheres. Depending on the contexts, studies have applied these concepts variedly (Chartered Institute of Marketing 139). Ideally, the marketing mix concept has helped most organizations to carry out formidable marketing processes. Scholars later came up with a concept that considered additional 3Ps (Process, physical evidence, and Participants) as critical components of the marketing mix.

The extended marketing mix tool (7Ps) has been applied in critical marketing analyses of major companies. The 7Ps is currently considered as a generic framework that guides companies on how they can execute marketing processes in various market situations (Araujo, Luis, et al. 23). The marketing mix is therefore perceived as the art of a marketing manager who uses all the variables in an organization to coordinate and to satisfy the needs of the customers. (Moutinho and Chien (87) contend that there are many controllable market variables that the marketing managers can use to improve the consumption of the various products.

Therefore, marketing mix is a concept used by the marketing teams to control and use the marketing tools and variables to influence the customers in a market (BPP Learning Media 54). According to studies, many variables influence the customers in a market directly. The variables may include product planning, pricing personal selling, advertising, and branding as well as distribution channels (Hanssens et al. 534). Other variables such as promotion, packaging, display, servicing and physical handling are also critical in the marketing mix. These variables can be controlled to influence the perceptions and behaviors of the customers (Moutinho and Chien 87).

In most cases, scholars refer to the 7Ps marketing model as the 7Ps framework for digital marketing as it helps companies in the marketing of both goods and services. Various techniques are employed in this model to realize a company’s marketing objective.

Fig: 7Ps of marketing

Source: Pearson 122

Product

The first P stands for the product or service that a particular company sells for the customers. Your Destination is a transportation company that provides transportation services to potential customers within Essex and London. While individuals need to move from one place to another, the transportation system remains necessary. However, consumers will only go for suitable products that offer efficient services to them (Chartered Institute of Marketing 163). As the population in major cities such as Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow continue to grow, the demand for transport services continues to increase. The increase in demand, therefore, facilitates "Your Destination" to expand its market into these larger cities.

Place

Place refers to the location of the product or service available for the consumers. The place is a significant component of the marketing mix model. It helps in determining where specific services are available for the customers. It also explains why specific services to the customers have been located in those areas. “You Destination” located its business in Essex and London. The reason for the initial location was to target customers who commute within the two major cities. The “Place” must be a location where the customers can reach conveniently.

According to Helm and Gritsch (114), the place where services are located can help companies in increasing the number of customers seeking their products. For example, products must be placed within reach of the customers to realize higher levels of demand. Transportation services are necessary for the major cities in the United Kingdom. Apart from London and Essex, the transportation in other UK cities is in high demand. Therefore, "Your destination" proposes an expansion of its transport service to the other four major cities. With strategic locations in these four major cities, the transport company will tap potential customers into its basket. Expanding the transport services to these cities, therefore, means that the company is providing the services within reach of the customers.

Price

Every product and service is valued based on the price tagged on it. Price is the value of the service and goods sold to the consumers. However, BPP Learning Media (54) contend that price is an important component of the marketing mix. The price of a product or service tells the consumers more about the value of what they are about to purchase. Some consumers rely on the price tags to establish the quality of the goods and services. For example, some consumers believe that goods that are highly priced are of greater value compared to cheap ones (Huang and Emine Sarigöllü 113). While this could be true in some cases, certain individuals might apply the pricing concept in a wrong way. For some consumers, lower prices of goods and services are attractive. Therefore, pricing can be used by retailers to influence the buying decisions of the consumers (Leonidou, Katsikeas, and Neil 17).

About "Your Destination," relatively lower prices will help in gaining the competitive advantage over market leaders such as National Express. It is obvious that higher transportation cost will scare away most travelers. Therefore, the organization must ensure that the transportation services provided are pocket-friendly (Huang and Emine Sarigöllü 113). Nevertheless, the company’s primary objective of making profits must also be taken into consideration. Prices must be provided in a manner that favors both the consumers and the company. While low prices would lead to great losses to the company, higher costs of transportation would also scare away the consumers. As such, prices must be reasonable to both the company and the consumers (Munro 76).

Promotion

Promotion is at the core of marketing processes in most companies. Promotional activities include advertising, public relation activities, personal selling, sales promotion as well as social media marketing (Khan 22). Promotion is the technique of creating awareness on a given product or service to the consumers. Promotion help companies in spreading valuable service or product-related information with the potential buyers. Promotion targets a particular population to whom marketing of the products is conducted (Khan 17).while carrying out promotions; the marketer must ensure that the audience is carefully chosen. Promotion ensures that the right information is channeled to the right audience.

During the promotion, marketers must demonstrate accuracy in information. Buyers would only develop trust with marketers who give them correct information on specific products. Additionally, the marketer must ensure that he can express emotions and educate the consumers on specific products (Munro 76). Promotional process is appealing and engaging to the customers. Without an appealing advert, marketers might not easily influence the emotions of the customers. For example, adverts on foods must be pitched in a manner that appeals to the consumers.

Your Destination seeks to use available promotional techniques to influence customers in the four major cities to purchase its services. Through social media platforms and the television, the company can create appealing adverts that can attract new customers towards its new transport services. Despite the stiff competition within the next four cities, the company can use critical promotional techniques to entice more customers to buy its products.

People

People refer to the individuals involved in the marketing processes, manufacturing as well as the management of various organizations (Pearson 65). The marketing mix model explains that a firm seeking success must identify and employ the right individuals. The right employees will help the company to achieve its marketing objectives by following the right procedures and obeying the rules. The right marketing officers readily understand and execute their responsibilities as required. On the contrary, employing the wrong individual can influence the progress of an organization (BPP Learning Media 54).

By identifying the right marketing officers, “Your Destination” will have a successful marketing process. The marketing officers recruited must be able to identify and execute the marketing duties. Only the right marketing officers would understand the needs of a company (BPP Learning, Media 23). Consequently, the right marketing officials will do the right things to ensure that the organization is extensively marketed in the four new cities.

Processes

Processes are necessary for explaining how the services or goods are delivered. The processes involved in the service delivery are critical in influencing the value of the product or services. Consumers are more interested in processes that are involved in the service-delivery processes. Ideally, the processes should be clear, precise and time-saving. Technology can often be used to improve the convenience of service delivery. Efficiency in the service-delivery process is important in convincing the customers towards a particular product or service.

Physical Evidence

The physical evidence is the proof of service to the customers (BPP Learning Media 54). Normally, the goods and products that are tangible have physical evidence. However, services such as transportation do not have physical evidence. Nonetheless, Pearson (43) explains that it is necessary for the service industry to ensure physical evidence for all the services that they sell to their potential customers. Physical evidence helps in convincing the consumers that they purchased a service. For instance, issuing receipts to customers who purchase transport services can help in creating a convincing physical evidence for the customers.

Marketing Plan

Market summary

"Your Destination" currently provides transport services in London and Essex. However, the company seeks to expand its services into other major cities including Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. The expansion into the other four major cities will create distinct market segments for the company. Through the professional operation, the company will provide the customers with effective transport services within the four major cities in the UK. Other than the current location (Essex and London), the company seeks to target larger populations of customers in other cities. Ideally, the four new cities will present different market needs for the company. As such, the marketing officers will have to identify the ideal market needs before the transport service is established. Reliable transport system will ensure that all the market needs are studied before the marketing process. It is also important to understand the nature of customers in the market. Other market needs will include:

Convenience

One of the main reasons why Your Destination wants to expand to Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, and Glasgow is because the current market is saturated. The number of customers is more than the services that are available. To create a balance between demand and supply of services, the company considered venturing into new destinations. The primary objective is to provide a world-class transport service to the customers. As such, convenience is critically considered by the marketing teams. While ensuring convenience, the company will be able to convince more customers to purchase its products (Moutinho and Chien 87).

Reliability

One of the features of good transport systems is reliability. How reliable a transport service depends on the available resources as well as the management. To ensure accurate marketing processes, the company will have to assure customers of reliability. Preston et al. (544) noted that customers would only travel with the companies whose services are reliable.

Professionalism

The target market will include individuals who expect more than the company can provide. Having high expectations will, therefore, push the company to ensure that there is utmost professionalism in the transport services. The market officials must, therefore, ensure that individuals involved in the provision of the transport services are individuals who possess adequate skills and knowledge in transportation (Mintz and Currim 40).

Target Customers

The target customers for "Your Destination" include individual travelers and the family or group travelers. The company seeks to introduce a transport system that will consider all the two categories of travelers and provide them with reasonably priced services. The customers will include commuters residing within the four major cities as well as visitors seeking transportation services within the city. To identify the potential customers, the marketing officers will ensure that the market is segmented into individual and family/ group travelers. The segmentation will help the marketing officers in identifying the needs of the specific market segment.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the process of dividing the larger market into various groups (segments) that include individuals with specific attributes (Chartered Institute of Marketing 165). Segmentation helps the marketers to identify the marketing needs to be given to a given group. Market segmentation also helps companies to identify the needs of the customers especially when it comes to the type of services or products required. Segmentation can be employed by the marketing officers recruited to identify the needs of various groups of customers in the four different cities. Additionally, this will help in identifying the relevant transport services and systems that are required by the customers thus, improving the efficiency of the transport systems.

Pricing and positioning

Pricing is one of the techniques employed by most marketers to woo customers. The prices for different services offered by various companies influence the purchasing behaviors of the consumers. For instance, relatively cheaper transport costs would attract travelers in the four new cities. However, the marketing officer must ensure that the pricing technique does not prevent the company from attaining its company objectives. In this manner, pricing will be used to entice the customers towards the transport services of Your Destination. Prices must be reasonable and affordable, but not lower than usual. The prices can be reached after conducting the standard transport rates in the four cities.

Positioning refers to the hierarchy that a given product or service holds in the market. Positioning a product helps companies to attract more customers as it creates a perception of superiority of services and products among consumers (McDonald, Malcolm and Mike Meldrum 34). Positioning will be used by the marketing officers to place the company at a superior hierarchy in the market. Also, the positioning of the transportation services will make them be known in the new markets. By positioning the company as superior to National Express (its main rival) will convince more customers to prefer its services to other services.

Promotion Promotion of the transportation services will help in creating awareness and informing the consumers about the existence of the company in the transportation industry. Promotion can be done through the digital media as well as print and mass media. The social media remains one of the effective promotional platforms nowadays. Your destination will use the social media to advertise its services including the prices, routes and the benefits. The radio and television media will also be used to inform the customers of the newer products. The company will further establish a website that will contain relevant information on the transportation services. The marketing plan will help the company to attract more customers in the new cities in the UK.

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