The Marketing Mix for Tourism Services

1
The Marketing Mix for Tourism Services

• Objective Introducing the four basic
  controllable variables known as the 4Ps of
  marketing that marketing managers use in order to
  manage demand. In addition, explaining how these
  variables expanded to include people, process and
  physical evidence or design for travel and
  tourism services.

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Marketing mix defined

• A companys success depends on the ability of
  the company in
• responding the changes in the environment,
• forecasting the direction and intensity of these
  changes, and
• using the internal controllable resources
  (marketing mix) in adapting to the changes in the
  external environment.

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• Marketing mix may be defined as the mixture of
  the controllable marketing variables that the
  firm uses to persuade the customers in the target
  market in order to secure sales.
• Basically, the marketing mix variables are
  referred to as the 4 Ps product, place
  (distribution), promotion, and price.

4

• The four controllable are the product formulation
  which is adapting the product to the changing
  needs of the target customer pricing which is
  used to increase or slow down the volume of sales
  according to market conditions promotion which
  is used to increase the numbers of the people in
  the target market who are aware of the product
  and directed to buy the product the place which
  determines the number of prospective customers
  who are able to find convenient places and ways
  to convert their buying intentions into
  purchases.
• These four are guided continuously according to
  the market conditions, especially with regard to
  the actions of the competitors.

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4 Ps and 4 Cs

• The four conrollable marketing mix elements all
  begin with the letter p by McCarthy (1981).
  They are stated in producer oriented terms,
  therefore Kotler and Amstrong (1999) restated
  them by using the c to reflect consumer
  orientation central to modern marketing today.
• Customer value for product
• Cost for price
• Communication for promotion
• Convenience for place

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Product

• Product covers the shape or form of what is
  offered to prospective customers. Product
  components include
• Basic design, such as the size and facilities of
  a hotel.
• Presentation, which is mainly the atmosphere and
  environment created on the property.
• The service element, which includes the number,
  training, attitudes and appearance of the staff
  who deliver the product to the consumer.
• Branding, which identifies particular products
  with a unique name and image. In other words, is
  the synthesis of all product elements. So that,
  it is the focus of the promotional activity.

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• In modern marketing, products in travel and
  tourism are designed for and continuously adapted
  to match, target segments needs, expectations,
  and ability to pay. Most organizations produce
  and market not one but several products. For
  example, tour operators provide a range of
  products within their brochures. And large
  hotels have separate products ranging from
  meeting and business class rooms to short break
  packages for holiday market.

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• Activities Product planning product research
  and
• development product testing and the service
• accompanying the product.
• Market research on product planning, development,
  and product testing
• Product research on the development of product
  styling and fashions
• Presale service
• Postsale service

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Price

• Price indicates that the published or negotiated
  terms of the exchange transaction for a product
  between a producer ( who aim to achieve
  predetermined sales volume and revenue
  objectives) and prospective customers ( who aim
  to maximize the value for money in choices they
  make between alternative products).
• In tourism there is generally a regular or
  standard price for a product. In addition, there
  are discounted or promotional prices because of
  the needs of particular segments of buyers, or
  particular market conditions such as seasonality.

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• Activities Price determination pricing
  policies
• and specific pricing strategies.
• Determining list price of products given demand,
  cost, and competitive constraints
• Determining channel member discounts
• Setting overall strategy on pricing above or
  below competitors prices
• Dealing with legal constraints on prices

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Place (or distribution)

• For marketing purposes, place does not just mean
  the location of a tourist attraction or facility,
  but the location of all points of sale that
  provide access to tourist products. For example,
  place for Disney World in the USA is not only
  Orlando, Florida, but also the numerous travel
  agents that sell the Disney World product.
  However, travel agents are only one of the ways
  in which place or access is created for
  products in travel and tourism. Place would
  include computerized and other reservation/booking
  systems that provide access to products for
  repeat/loyal or prospective customers.

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• Activites The selection, coordination, and
• evaluation of channels transportation
• Transportation
• Determination of the basic channels of
  distribution
• Selection of individual establishments within the
  basic channels
• Producers efforts to develop and assist the
  channel of distribution

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Promotion

• The most visible of the four Ps is the promotion
  which includes advertising, direct mailing, sales
  promotion, brochure production, merchandising,
  public relations (PR). Promotional techniques,
  which will be examined in detail in the following
  chapters, are used to make prospective customers
  aware of products in order to sharpen the
  attractiveness and stimulate demand. In
  addition, they provide information to help
  customers decide, and generally provide
  incentives to purchase. Note that, promotion
  can only be effective if it is coordinated with
  the other three.

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• Activities Sales management personal selling
  advertising
• sales promotional programs and all other forms
  of
• marketing communications
• Product branding and promotional packaging
• Printed media advertising (newspapers, magazines,
  and brochures)
• Broadcast media advertising (radio and
  television)
• Sales management and personal selling, including
  training, and supervision and sales efforts of
  company management personnel
• Special promotional activities - promotional
  warranties, trade shows, dealer aids, and product
  displays

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Expanding the marketing mix

• The expanded marketing mix is offered by Booms
  and Bitner in the 1980s. They added
• People participants in the service delivery
• Process of service delivery
• Physical evidence of service delivery
• There is overlap between them. In addition, they
  may be considered as part-product and
  part-communications mix.

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People

• Regarding travel and tourism products, there is
  substantial human interaction as part of the
  service experience. Participants include
• Visitors interaction with other customers
• Employees front-line and support staff interact
  with visitors
• Host community residents of a destination
  country interact with visitors

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The service delivery process

• The travel and tourism experience includes both
  process and outcome.
• Consumers move through a series of sevice
  delivery encounters during their experience.
• Some encounters may be more important than
  others
• Critical incidents
• Moments of truth

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• Critical incidents specific interactions between
  a consumer and service employees (or equipment)
  that are especially satisfying or dissatisfying.
  They are less memoriable.
• Moments of truth stays in consumers mind and
  signify quality and satisfaction.
• Service recovery systems are required to turn
  dissatisfied customers into satisfied customers.
  For this, companies need to
• Measure and track the costs of customer retention
• Encourage complaints
• Train employees in service recovery

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• To improve the performance of service delivery
• Using scripts sequence of actions, equipment and
  words that help to have a smooth and seamless
  service delivery process
• Service blueprinting flowchart of the service
  delivery process a picture, graphical
  representation or map that accurately portrays
  the service system so that the different service
  people can understand and deal with it
  objectively. A blueprint can involve all relevant
  points of contact, standard length of time for
  activities, bottlenecks, possible service failure
  points, etc.

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Physical evidence and design

• Refers to the internal and external design of the
  built environment of the travel organization.
• Due to inseparability, physical setting in the
  service delivery process is an important part of
  the visitors experience.
• In relation with intangibility, it is used to
  tangibilize the offer, especially important at
  the point of sale to influence purchase.

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Useful Links and Sources

• Kotler, P. Bowen, J. and Makens, J. (1999).
  Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (2nd ed.).
  Prentice Hall. NJ.
• Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2006) Principles of
  Marketing (11th ed.). Prentice Hall. NJ.
• Middleton, V.T.C. (2004) Marketing in Travel and
  Tourism (3rd ed). Elsevier. Oxford.
• http//www.hotelsmag.com
• http//www.tourism.bilkent.edu.tr/eda