Marketing Plan

Caribbean, Mexico & Hawaii Vacations Saizan's Travel

Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan For __________________________

...a blueprint for your success

Much has been said about writing a Marketing Plan. For most people this represents a daunting task. We're here today to make this a simplified process. Remember the story of Alice when she came to the fork in the road. There was a Chesire Cat sitting in a tree, and Alice asked him which way she should go from here. The cat answered "That depends a good deal on where you want to get." To which Alice replied: "I don't care much where." Said the cat, "Then it doesn't matter which way you go." The point is, if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there!

Marketing plans are the blueprints and roadmaps for the goals we want to achieve. Studies have continually shown that people with goals are more successful than those without them, and those who write their goals are the most successful at reaching them! Making something tangible makes it more achievable. So with that in mind, it's only logical to point out that if you write your marketing plan, you'll probably have greater success than those who don't.

This Marketing Planner will guide you through some of the steps and phases in order for you to begin and create your marketing plan, and put you solidly on the road to success.

Let's start with an important question - What is marketing anyway? Most people automatically equate marketing with sales and advertising. However, sales and advertising are only a part of overall marketing activities. By definition, marketing is all of the activities you undertake to get customers to buy your products and/or services. You need to discover what your customers want and need, create products to meet those needs, and communicate with the customer about these products. The end result of the marketing efforts is the sale of the product. And marketing efforts continue after the sale to keep the customer coming back. The seven key activities involved in marketing are listed: 1) Find out what your customer wants through market research, 2) Create, select, or specialize in products to meet customer's needs, 3) Price the product, 4) Determine how the product will be distributed to the customer, 5) Promote the product to customers, 6) Sell the product, and 7) Evaluate the effectiveness.

Market Research

In order to make the right marketing decisions, you need to conduct and/or evaluate market research. Information is gathered about customers, buying preferences, habits, wants and needs, and more, and must be evaluated. Market research can indicate what's hot and what's not. Market research can be primary research, conducted by you for its own purpose. Or market research can be secondary; that is research that already exists which you can use to help make business decisions. One of the decisions to be made would be to identify the products and services you want to sell. While you are doing that, it is also very important to identify various market segments. Market segments are groups of customers that have similar shared characteristics. Markets can be segmented by demographics, psychographics, geography, behavior, or any combination thereof. Demographic segmentation divides consumers by statistics - age, sex, religion, marital status, education, zip code, income and other objective qualities. Psychographic segmentation is more subjective. Markets are divided more by lifestyles, activities, and attitudes; for example, by culture lovers or sport lovers, or by environmentalists or conspicuous consumers. Segmenting by geography is simply targeting consumers who live in a particular region. Behavioral segmentation looks at consumer behavior, such as frequency of purchase or brands purchased.

Evaluating the various market segments leads to the next step which is to identify the target markets that you wish to reach. Think of a game of darts. The target represents the possible market segments and the bull's eye represents the specific target market. Looking at the various markets and determining which target markets to aim for is one of the initial goals of developing a marketing plan.

The Marketing Mix

If you were to make chicken soup, you would use a recipe. The recipe would include variables such as ingredients, how to prepare the ingredients, what tools to use, how long to cook, etc. Your chicken soup recipe is probably different from your friend's and that person's is different from someone else's, as well. If you were to create a marketing plan, you would have a recipe, too, and the variables, or "ingredients" for a marketing plan are known as the 4 P's. The 4 P's - product, price, place and promotion - are explained next.

This Marketing Planner will guide you through some of the strategic steps to help put your travel business on the road to success.

The Four P's of Successful Marketing

Product...

As the word suggests, product is what your customer buys. A product can be anything offered to customers to satisfy their wants and needs in exchange for something of value. Products are classified as tangible goods which could be felt, inventoried, tested or tried in advance, and controlled for quality. Services, which are intangible products, cannot be stored or inventoried, are usually produced and consumed at the same time, cannot be tested in advance, and have less quality control. Obviously, travel is an intangible product, and travel agents are in the inevitable position of selling a product whose ultimate delivery they cannot control.

The product mix sold by a travel agent may be airline tickets, car rentals, hotels, tour packages, cruises, rail tickets, insurance, FITs, groups, corporate, incentive, leisure, luggage, books, or tapes. Agents may sell a full line of products or they may specialize. They may sell different suppliers or a select few preferred. These are some of the variables in the product mix.

Price...

Hand in hand with determining the product mix of an agent, price variables must also be considered. Will all price categories be addressed or will the agent focus on budget, mass market, or luxury priced products? Most often, the price of the products is determined by the supplier and not the travel agent. Will the agent offer discounts or rebates to the customer from the commissions earned from the suppliers? Will the agent charge agency service fees for the services it performs?

Place...

Place refers to the distribution of the product to the consumer. In the travel business, we have what is known as a dual distribution system. In other words, customers can buy directly from the suppliers (not all), or indirectly through an intermediary such as a travel agent. Travel agents need to make decisions about the place they do business. In the retail travel business, if you are relying on walk-in trade, the location is very important. Did you know that 92% of all travel is purchased over the telephone. Will the type of store be themed towards vacation sales? Is this a business located in an office, or is this home-based? These are variables in the place segment.

Promotion...

Promotion is the persuasive marketing communication about the products and services a business offers. To most people, this equates with advertising, and it is true that advertising is the most visible part of the promotion segment. But other promotional activities include public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling. Advertising is defined as non-personal persuasive communication mostly delivered in the mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, billboards, directories) and paid for by an identifiable sponsor who controls the message. Advertising is used to inform, persuade, and remind consumers about the products available to them. Public relations and publicity are often referred to as "free advertising," but that's not entirely correct. Public relations activities work to establish goodwill and a positive image. Some examples are press releases, sponsorships, special events, and press kits. Sales promotions are marketing promotions that add value through short term incentives for customers to take action. Examples are free upgrade if booked by certain dates, dollars off coupons, discounts, contests and special events. Direct marketing makes use of databases and lists to target customers for direct mail or telemarketing efforts. It offers a more personalized message than mass advertising and reduces the waste of contacting customers who aren't interested. Letters, postcards, newsletters and phone calls are examples of direct marketing techniques. Personal selling is unlike other forms of promotion in that it establishes a personal link with the customer - one person talking with another. It is in this "high touch" environment that much personal selling takes place, in person or over the phone. Understanding how the sales process works and how important customer service is to this equation is key to being successful at personal selling.

Setting Your Marketing Objectives...

To begin the marketing planning process, you need to ask yourself these three questions:

1. Where am I now?

2. Where do I want to be?

3. How will I get there?

If you were to plan a driving trip from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale, you would be asking the same questions. Remember a marketing plan is like a road map. Where are you now? The answer is Orlando. Where do you want to go? Ft. Lauderdale. How will you get there? These are the specific directions. Before we can write your marketing plan, we need to assess the answers to these questions as they relate to your business.

Question #1

"Where am I now?" seeks to answer your position at the moment. The formal term is called "situation analysis," in other words analyze your situation. In order to thoroughly understand this position, you should conduct a "SWOT" analysis. "SWOT" stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Let's look at each of these areas.

Strengths and weaknesses reflect the internal workings of yourself, over which you have control. Areas to examine include capital, knowledge, image, technology and products. Opportunities and threats reflect the external environment, and usually you have little or no control over this. Examples are the economy, politics, regulations, the environment, consumer behavior, supplies, competition and technology. On the next worksheet, you will conduct a SWOT analysis of yourself.

WORKSHEET #1 - SWOT ANALYSIS

Conduct a "SWOT" analysis for yourself. Based on daily operations, identify what your strengths and weaknesses are in the following areas:

I

Stengths

Weaknesses

Capital

Knowledge

Image

Technology

Products

Capital

Knowledge

Image

Technology

Products

What other areas, internally, which may be considered a strength or weakness for your business?

What other areas externally may be considered an opportunity or threat?

Setting Your Goals and Objectives

Question #2, "Where do I want to be?" examines your goals and objectives. Like the destination of Ft. Lauderdale, our goals and objectives tell us where we would like to see our business, and more specifically, when. Goals can be long-term and short term. Long term goals are where you see your business five years or more down the line. These goals are more general. Short term goals are what you want to achieve in the next 1 to 2 years (or less) to reach your long term goals. On the next worksheet, write down two to three long term goals for your business, keeping in mind where you are, what trends you see happening, and where they might be down the road, and what projections you might want to make about the future.

LONG TERM GOALS

Write down 3 long term goals for your business. Keep in mind where you are and what trends you see happening, where they may be down the road, and what projections you may want to make for the future.

Goals, Strategies, and Tactics

Now that you have general direction, you need to get more specific as to how to get there. Here's were your short term goals come in. You should have any number of short term goals. But to be successful, these goals must be specific, they must be measurable, and they must be attainable. Vague goals are unrealistic, sort of like Alice knowing she wanted to find the White Rabbit, but not sure why, where, or when. For example, you might say from looking at your SWOT analysis, that one of your long term goals is to be recognized "the leading cruise selling agent at the agency." To do that you know that a short term goal is to increase your individual cruise sales. That's great, but that's too vague. You need to more specific (What percentage do we need to increase sales by?), and you need to have a measurement factor (What percentage or volume and by what time frame?). And most importantly, the goal must be attainable yet challenging (Can you really achieve this?). A more realistic way to stating your short term goal would be to say "To increase my overall cruise sales by 20 percent in the next 12 months." You know what your realities are now because of your SWOT analysis. On the next worksheet, write down at least three short term goals you wish to achieve for your business, being specific, adding measurement, and making it reachable.

SHORT TERM GOALS

Write down at least three short term goals you wish to achieve for your business based on your SWOT analysis. Remember to be specific, and have some form of measurement in percentages, numbers, and / or time frames, and make sure the goals is attainable yet challenging.

Question #3, "How do I get there?" looks at the strategies and tactics used to reach your goals and objectives. Remember our drive from Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale? Well, our specific directions would be the roads we take to get there, what time we leave, how fast we go, and so on. Think of creating your marketing plan like a football game. The goal or objective is to score more points than the other teams by making touchdowns, points after, or field goals in the allotted time. Depending on the teams you're playing, your position on the field, the time remaining, and other factors, your strategy might be defensive or offensive. The tactics are the moves you make for each play to advance the ball or defend your goal. Your marketing plan is created the same way.

GOALS are your priorities for your future actions.

STRATEGIES are the ways to achieve your goals.

TACTICS are the specific steps for achieving the strategies.

Let's look once again at the goal for your cruise sales. GOAL - "To increase overall cruise sales by 20% in the next 12 months". First, we evaluate some strategies that will help us reach this goal. From our SWOT analysis, we recognize that you could use some more knowledge about cruises. The importance of preferred supplier relationships and yield management is critical to success. We also recognize that it is much more cost effective to market these cruises to your existing customer base. So we might list these three stategies for increasing cruise sales.

STRATEGIES

1. Increase your knowledge of the cruise industry.

2. Increase awareness of preferred cruise suppliers.

3. Direct marketing efforts to former customers.

Our tactics then become the specific steps we take to implement each of these strategies.

TACTICS

1. Increase your knowledge of the cruise industry.

• Enroll in CLIA Cruise Counselor program and work towards ACC or MCC accreditation within 6 months.

• Attend a cruise conference with next 3 months

• Arrange for ship inspections, seminar at sea or FAM trip.

• Create a resource center for cruises through subscriptions, videos, and the internet.

2. Increase awareness of preferred cruise suppliers.

• Attend the training programs for preferred suppliers.

• Technology training for booking preferred suppliers via the internet or CRS

• Learn the preferred supplier products inside and out

3. Direct marketing efforts to former customers.

• Through a database program, identify your past passengers (customers)

• Co-op with preferred supplier and do a postcard mailing (continuous 6 to 8 week cycle)

• Follow up every other mailing with telemarketing campaign.

• Hold a "Cruise Vacation Night" in Feb. and Aug. inviting new and past customers.

Strategies and Tactics

As you can see, you now have the workings of a viable marketing plan. You might continue to list additional strategies and tactics to achieve this goal, as many as you think it will take to be most effective. Remember to use ingredients from each of the 4 P's as you create the strategies and tactics to build your marketing plan. Include database marketing, direct mail, advertising, internet, co-op marketing, sales promotions, and public relations. Completing these strategies and tactics for each of the goals indicated previously will keep you focused on your marketing plan. The next worksheet asks you to create strategies and tactics for each of the goals you have listed.

WORKSHEET #4 - STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

For each of the goals you listed develop 2 or 3 strategies to achieve that goal. Then list tactics required to put those strategies into play.

Goal #1

Strategy #1 _____________________________________________________________________________

Tactics...

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Goal #2

Strategy #2 _____________________________________________________________________________

Tactics...

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Goal #3

Strategy #3 _____________________________________________________________________________

Tactics...

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Goal #4

Strategy #4 _____________________________________________________________________________

Tactics...

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Your Marketing Budget...

Adding Up All The Numbers

Many people ask, which come first - the marketing budget or the marketing plan?

Final Calculations