Retail Services Marketing of Australian Pacific Touring Company - Case Study Example

APT (Australian Pacific Touring) Company Marketing Plan Report Outline 1. Company Summary 2. Services 3. SWOT Analysis 4. Marketing Objectives 5. Market Analysis 6. Marketing Strategies A. Target Market B. Marketing Mix 7. Marketing Environment 8. Conclusion and Recommendations Company Summary Australian Pacific Touring is a family-owned business which started in 1927. It focuses on delivering holiday experience that is memorable as well as life-enriching to individuals. It is recognized for its excellent service, accommodation and activities that are carefully chosen, well-crafted itineraries and luxury coaches. The company is located at 54 Graffin Crescent , Winnellie NT 0820, Australia. Services Australian Pacific Touring provides a comprehensive range of tour products for New Zealand and Australia. It is the leading tour operator in the region providing services to travellers who may choose to travel by sea, rail, air or road. Travellers’ security and comfort makes it the most preferred in the region. The services are offered in three levels including small group touring, escorted coach tours and independent touring in New Zealand, Australia and international. The tours to be offered are as follows: River Touring/Cruising Australian Pacific Touring provides excellent river cruising experience for the modern traveller. They travel in luxury river ships, sleep and eat in a comfortable hotel overboard and enjoy unique journeys along the waterways. Groups & Tailored Touring The company has designed unique holiday experience for group departure or special tours of individual groups’ interest. Group sizes are limited to a certain number to ensure close interaction between them, the wildlife and the land. 4WD Adventures The company provides four wheel drive experience venture to small groups that can enable travellers to explore remote areas, natural wonders and hidden treasures, wildlife and ancient cultures of Australia. The group is escorted by a driver/guide. Land Touring Travelers are escorted by experienced land guides/drivers by road and sample delicious local foods, visit interesting locations and relax in comfortable and exclusive resorts and hotels. Rail Touring Travelers can explore the places they are interested in by rail. Rail journeys can also be combined with sea, land and river for an exclusive experience. Botanical Tours These are small ship tours and cruises which are botanically themed to places of icon. These are for travellers who are interested in combining travel, history and gardens. Travellers are accompanied by a botanical expert. Wilderness Lodges The lodges have a ‘touch of luxury in the wilderness’ which allows travelers to feel comfortable in the remote wilderness. This is combined with siteseeing activities in the wilderness. Air Tours Australia Pacific Touring provides air tour services. This is exploring the sceneries and other places by air. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT Analysis presents the company’s strength and weaknesses, and provides a description of the opportunities and threats facing Adventures Unlimited. A. Strengths 1. There is a high customer loyalty among customers who do repeat purchase of the company’s services. The also company reigns with a customer satisfaction of 98 percent. 2. There are excellent company staff who are trained in their specialized service areas including customer service delivery. 3. Experience of 85 years in the industry making it one of the most trusted tourist agency in Australia. 4. Positive word of mouth communication that generates more than 30% of new customers each year. 5. Proven ability to meet the changing demands and expectation of a modern traveller 6. Endurance in a competitive business environment giving it a great experience in dealing with competitors. 7. The company’s product diversity and financial security make it strong and stable in the market. 8. Strong family values that continue to build the business and preventing it from being swallowed by big corporations. 9. Strong business partnerships all over the world making it a solid company. B. Weaknesses 1. No strong laid out strategy to venture into the American market which seems promising in terms of taking tours in Australia and New Zealand. 2. There is a challenge of providing new and exciting trips continuously while maintaining quality level that has been create for a long time from repetitive services. C. Opportunities 1. The launch of Australian Pacific Touring program for 2012/13 to New Zealand and Australia will see the company introduce new products in North America to attract new clientele in the future. 2. A qualitative market research was conducted as well as key stakeholders workshops to revitalize the Australian Pacific Touring brand by devising an innovative creative and brand platform. The findings helped in formulating a new brand platform which is fresh and creative “A departure from the ordinary” which addresses the needs of the core market. This continues to increase enquiries in massive numbers which will lead to high sales figures. D. Threats 1. Big corporations are coming up and taking over or merging with other tour operators to become Australian Pacific Touring greatest competitors. An increase in terrorist acts will chill Americans perception of safety when traveling, whether in the United States or abroad. The entrance of other service providers into AEU's niche. Marketing Objectives 1. To experience growth in new customers who can be loyal to the company 2. To increase quarterly enquiries by 10% 3. To be recognized as the high-end tour operator in the entire region. Market Analysis Over 5.98 million people visit Australia every year with around 2.9 million visiting in the last six months. 50% of these travelers are experience seekers as revealed by Tourism Australia. Surveys of the departing visitors show the experiences they engaged in while on holiday in Australia and are not nationality driven. Different people interested in variety of activities in Australia consumer almost same quantities in almost the same areas. The profiling of current visitors that provides an insight of future customers who are likely to be interested in the Australian experience. Marketing Strategies C. Target Market Target Market 1 Australia Pacific Touring targets individuals of age between 18 and 36 years old who are adventure-spirited for its Connections Adventures and Connections Safaris. This includes accommodation, activities, camping, and touring that suits active and younger travellers. Target Market 2 Australia Pacific Touring also targets individuals with high income of over $ 75,000. These people like personalized attention and are willing to spend more on vacations and are interested in adventure-like tour experience. They have a lot of income at their disposal because they are from wealthy families. This group of people is active and likes to engage in physical and outdoor activities. The target market are people aged over 18 years who are aware of Australia and New Zealand and are willing to spend good amount of money on their vacation. They are individuals who have high income and like to visit new places and gain unique experiences. They are well informed on their tour destinations; they like to meet new people, learn and understand new culture and lifestyles as well as participate in the interested activities. They are well educated and well informed and are willing to spend more time at their tour destinations. Competition There are two primary types of competitors in the market. The provider of adventure specializes in activity of hard-adventure like water rafting. Their target market is those who can purchase trips for around $900. They have a strong white water rafting spot as their strength. However, their inability to have undifferentiated product in a competitive market makes it their weakness. They also lack enough budget or resources to accommodate a packaged service product of a luxury adventure and accommodation. The providers of soft adventure charge higher prices because they have low adventure risks involved. There are closely related competitors like Inbound Tour Operator in New Zealand and Australia who have a great experience of twenty years in providing travel and adventure experiences all over the world. They have a good site that provides all the information needed by a customer regarding their services. However they have not differentiated their service products making them less competitive. There are also other competitive substitute service products that compete with Australian Pacific Services that potential customers like motorhome trips, cruises and theme parks. Substitute service products include self-planned trips that are less expensive and adventure trips like fishing and hunting. Competitive Edge Australian Pacific Touring has a newly launched great website that will act as a link between customers and the company. The website provides all the information regarding the company, the services, different tour styles, travel news and articles, booking process and so on. The 85 years’ experience in the market has created a strong customer base and customer loyalty that any other competitor cannot come close. This has assured a flow of revenue generation for the company. The company has been built on a strong family values that are passed on from generations to generations keeping the company strong in the market. D. Marketing Mix Australia Pacific Touring marketing mix consist of the following: a. Advertising and Promotion Promotion of services will be through direct sales to consumers and specialized agencies, direct mail, travel fairs, and customer loyalty programs. Australian Pacific Touring has recently launched its long awaited website www.APTouring.com which provides detailed information on its travel styles, destinations and tours, virtual tours, video and photo galleries. The potential customer is able to have a great insight into luxury programs of APT. The website represents the signature service of Australian Pacific Touring. It is easier to finding information on the website and one can be able to order, view or download the brochures. Customers can also browse from their tablets or mobile services and it has easy and integrated booking process. The company conducts user testing and research extensively to find out the usability of customers in terms of digital space and what they are looking for from travel websites. Website is the main advertising and promotion media for the company. The company also has travel brochures on the different company tours of different destination areas. This is used to promote the services provided by the company to potential customers from wherever they are in the world. The company also advertises its services in various websites like travelpromotion.com and insideview.com. Other advertising media include travel publications and magazines, radios and TV stations and newspapers where its target market can be found. b. Pricing There is no competition on price for Australian Pacific Touring but the competition is on service. The target marketing on the other hand is not really sensitive on the price. The price is not relevant compared to the services offered. The target market buys the service not the price. c. Place Distributed of services will be in New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world depending on where the trip is located. d. People The company has qualified staff who are well trained on customer service delivery and product knowledge. All staff focus on customers and how to meet their needs. Some staff work as consultants in their area of specalisation like river cruising in order to serve clients with specific needs effectively e. Product The company offers day tour services to those seeking to have a unique experience during their vacation. The tour services include accommodation, rail tour, road tour, air tour, ocean/river cruising, 4WD adventure, among others. f. Physical Evidence Tours take place by use of buses, boats, ship, and flight. Therefore, these means are comfortable inside with smartly dressed and professional attendants to serve them food and assist them where possible. Music systems and TV screens are installed for entertainment. g. Process Customers can book for services online, by calling the offices or in person. Booking is done by the help of the company service consultants. Depending with the trip the visitors are picked from the airport, the company offices or designed areas for visitor stop-over from where they are taken to their place of stay as well as given a schedule of the tour. Marketing Environment Australia Pacific Touring marketing environment is as follows. a) Political Forces Australia is politically stable making it a safer place to invest. There are no political influences or events expected to affect the company’s operations. b) Economic Forces Australia is economically strong and flexible supported by best financial, political and legal practices. This supports the investment of the business in Australia. c) Legal Forces The regulatory environment of Australia is efficient and transparent compared to other parts of the world. There are many proactive reform committed to providing right conditions for investing and growing businesses. These reforms include a better tax system, industry deregulation, labour market flexibility among other. Australia has few product market restrictions. Regulatory procedures take only two business days thus making it easier to do business in Australia. This also provides certainty and predictability when planning for the business. The currency is also fully internationalized and therefore no foreign exchange controls. So far there are no legal issues affecting the company. d) Technological Forces Tourist information systems that are web-based enabled the company to conduct intelligent research on its potential customers. Internet availability provides currency information both to the company and the customers making transactions easier. Conclusion and Recommendations Australia is known in the whole world for its rich and distinct environments, oldest living culture in the world and admired lifestyle of its people. Almost 5.98 million visitors arrive in Australia yearly. This creates a great tourism service demand that Australian Pacific Touring can take advantage of. The commitment of Australia Government to market Tourism services nationally and internationally, its economic and political stability with support the investment and growth of the business Since Australian Pacific Touring has been in existence for the last 85 years it has great competitive edges that can see it expand its business. It should seek to diversify its service products more further to fishing, hunting and so on. The company should also venture into Asian, American and African market to expand its market share. Reference List AAA Tourism Pty Ltd. 2012. Australian Pacific Touring. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 September 2012. Australian Natural Adventures, 2012. Coach Tours in Australia & New Zealand. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 September 2012 APT, 2012. [online] Available at: < http://www.aptouring.com.au/about-us> [Accessed 21 September 2012 Logimonde Media, 2012. Australian Pacific Touring Turns 85. [Accessed 21 September 2012 Tourism Australia, 2012. 2020 Industry Potential. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 September 2012]. Tourism Australia, 2012. Visitors Arrival Data. [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 September 2012 TRA (Tourism Research Australia) (2011a), Tourism Industry Facts and Figures at a Glance, Tourism Research Australia, Canberra. The South Australian Tourism Commission, 2012. APT (Australian Pacific Touring). [online] Available at: [Accessed 21 September 2012 Read More