Marketing Plan of an Ecotourism Resort 1.1 Mission Statement: The core business activity of the Ecotourism Resort would be to: - Offer and provide a high quality ecotourism experience for our clients. - Operate in a sustainable and financially profitable manner so that our shareholders receive maximum dividends. - Patronise the local community by offering them employment opportunities, making use of locally manufactured goods and services when possible, even if the costs are relatively more. Furthermore, advice, training and support will be provided to the local indigenous community members to foster their entrepreneurial development. - Ensuring that tourism activities do not damage or alter the cultural and natural environment of the northern territory by implementing sustainable practices and educating visitors in this regards. - Promoting the Northern Territory both overseas and Australia wide as a tourism destination and facilitating appropriate tourism development besides encouraging investment in the region, particularly in the tourism sector. 1.2 Sustainability Policy: The sustainable policy of the eco- tourism resort includes the following: - The purchasing policy will involve buying certified wood while at the same time identifying substitutes for uncertified tropical wood. - Using 100% recycled paper for all printing material. - Reducing the purchase of endangered fish species by imposing purchase limits.
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Marketing Plan of an Ecotourism Resort
1.1 Mission Statement: The core business activity of the Ecotourism Resort would be to:
- Offer and provide a high quality ecotourism experience for our clients.- Operate in a sustainable and financially profitable manner so that our shareholders
receive maximum dividends.- Patronise the local community by offering them employment opportunities, making
use of locally manufactured goods and services when possible, even if the costs are relatively more. Furthermore, advice, training and support will be provided to the local indigenous community members to foster their entrepreneurial development.
- Ensuring that tourism activities do not damage or alter the cultural and natural environment of the northern territory by implementing sustainable practices and educating visitors in this regards.
- Promoting the Northern Territory both overseas and Australia wide as a tourism destination and facilitating appropriate tourism development besides encouraging investment in the region, particularly in the tourism sector.
1.2 Sustainability Policy: The sustainable policy of the eco-tourism resort includes the following:
- The purchasing policy will involve buying certified wood while at the same time identifying substitutes for uncertified tropical wood.
- Using 100% recycled paper for all printing material.- Reducing the purchase of endangered fish species by imposing purchase limits.- Buying organic fruits and vegetables for the restaurant’s kitchen.- Reducing and limiting the use of pesticides and other chemicals on premises.- Using ECOCERT approved organic and fair trade cotton for its bed-spreads, pillow-
cases, curtains, towels etc.- Sharing our values with our business partners so that they work closely with the
resort in regards to sustainability as well as the awareness of sustainable development challenges. The resort will encourage partners to embed sustainable practices into their daily operations.
- Carrying out sustainability audits and producing sustainable development reports at the end of the year.
- Reducing the material used in packaging.- Buying supplies from local producers which will limit transport related pollution
since supplies would no longer be arriving from Darwin.- Finding alternate sources of energy to provide electricity to the resort. For example,
installing solar panels and wind turbines.- Generating at least 70% energy from renewable sources of energy.
- Building designated smoking areas and declaring all public areas to be smoke-free zones.
- Forming in-house waste reduction and pollution prevention teams.- Installing Hybrid engines in buses part of the shuttle services and other transport
vehicles.- Using energy-saver light bulbs for lighting purposes- Installing sewage water treatment plants to reuse sewage water for watering plants
and other vegetation.- Maintaining an organic garden and orchard for grocery supplies which again reduces
transport emissions.- Carrying out community welfare activities such as providing employment
opportunities to the indigenous community, training, entrepreneurial advice, inaugurating schools and installing water treatment plants in indigenous settlements, reinvesting part of resort income on community welfare, conducting sustainability awareness programs for staff members and for the general community.
- Conserving the natural and wildlife habitat prior to and after the resort has opened.- Ensuring that the recreational services offered on site such as go-carting and boating
are hybrid powered.- The resort offers fishing as one of its niche experience. It would be ensured that
these services are provided only in those regions which do not contain any type of endangered fish species.
2.0 Current Market Position: Tourism is the Northern Territory's largest employing industry, providing jobs for 14,000 people (6.1% of employment). It promotes economic growth at local, regional and Territory-wide levels through the creation of income, employment and investment opportunities. The visitor economy is worth over $1.4 billion and is responsible for 8.7% of total economic output. The visitor economy, which is supported by the tourism sector, includes visitors who come for leisure, business events, and corporate travel, to visit friends and relatives and other purposes.
The ecotourism resort would be the first of its kind to be introduced in the Northern Territory, since no such resorts have been operating in the NT before. It would be built near the Kakadu National Park, which attracts a large number of visitors every year and is listed under the UNESCO world heritage sites. Although, luxury resorts operate in large metropolitan areas such as Darwin, but the concept of an ecotourism resort in the NT is still new. Similar resorts exist in all other states of Australia. However, the Northern Territory, with its large amount of resources (land, labour, capital and enterprise), strategic alliances and partnerships and government support is optimistic about the success of the resort.
2.2 Product: The core product of the ecotourism resort would be to provide its customers the unique natural and cultural experiences offered by the Northern Territory. It should be noted that the core product is a service and is therefore, intangible.
The actual product: The actual product of the resort would be the luxury accommodation it provides to its customers on site.
The augmented product: This will include the actual product plus a number of different services offered such as trips and tours involving interaction of visitors with the indigenous people, art, culture, wildlife and bird watching, fishing as well as souvenir shops selling locally manufactured products.
Since tourism NT’s competitors are already providing services of such a nature in different states as well as internationally, the concept of ecotourism resorts is not, therefore tourism NT will capitalize on its competitive edge that is providing natural experiences through the Kakadu National Park and interaction with indigenous culture, which cannot be found anywhere else.
2.3 Place: In order to sell its services as well as the augmented product, the ecotourism resort will need to have premises of its own. For this purpose, tourism NT purchased a 5 acre piece of land from the Northern Territory Government, which will house the resort, different shops and the recreational facilities that it offers. It will contain 400 fully furnished standard rooms, family rooms and luxury suites and would be a 5-star eco-tourism resort.
The resort is situated at a distance of just 4 miles from the Kakadu National Park. This close proximity with a natural and cultural hotspot such as the Kakadu National Park is yet another competitive edge of the resort. This is because most of its competitors such as Tourism Queensland’s resorts are situated quite far from the natural and cultural destinations that they offer. Moreover, it will also run shuttle bus services from the resort to Darwin Airport, to facilitate the movement of visitors to the resort and to make the resort as accessible as it could be.
Furthermore, information centres that advise potential visitors on the most reasonable means of transportation to take in order to reach the resorts would be opened throughout Australia, under the Tourism NT brand name, online as well as in partnership with travel and tour operators such as Flight Centre and Expedia, both domestically and internationally.
2.4 Price: Every business needs to set prices for the products or service that it provides. For this purpose, tourism NT devised a pricing strategy which will help determine the prices of the various products and services offered at the resort as well the degree of flexibility in regards to individual prices. The pricing strategy will include fares, discounts, special package deals and offers. Although, the free market mechanism enables the seller of the product to sell the product at whatever price they wish to, however, it would be ensured that pricing levels are ethically correct and competitive at the same time.
The resort’s pricing policy includes:
- The pricing policy would be devised in such a way so that it is affordable for members of tourism NT’s different market segments. For example, lower rates for backpackers in comparison to relatively higher rates for families.
- Prices would be competitively priced against competitors with focus being on providing exceptional quality at a price which is affordable for customers and competitive at the same time.
- Ensuring a high margin, to cover the developmental costs as quickly as they can be covered and start receiving returns on investments.
- Offering discounts to encourage prompt payment as well as offering discounts on bulk buying which in this context would be providing group/family discounts in the form of special package deals and offers.
- Prices would be set up in such a manner which persuades the visitors to lengthen their stay, as well as come back for a return visit.
2.5 Promotion: Promotion is the element within an organization’s marketing mix that is used to inform and persuade the market regarding the organization’s products and services. Tourism NT is a well established brand and aims at promoting the ecotourism resort in a similar fashion as it does for its other products and experiences. However, it also plans on adopting promotional tactics used by its competitors as well as exploit the weaknesses that exist in those tactics. It will therefore promote the resort through:
- Advertising – print, broadcast, direct mail and the internet.- Public Relations – media release, media kits, press conferences, media
familiarisations, interviews and speeches.- Personal Selling – trade and consumer events, sales calls, sales missions and staff
training.- Sales Promotions – competitions and sales incentives.
As per the competitor analysis, tourism Queensland promotes its resorts particularly through personal selling, at tourism exhibitions globally, which helps them to attract a lot of potential customers. Tourism NT adopted a similar approach by participating in Tourism Expos domestically and internationally, representing themselves by setting up stalls which attracted a lot of customer attention. Moreover, tourism Queensland seem rather reluctant to promote themselves through public relations or carrying out publicity activities at public events such as sporting events, concerts, festivals etc. This has provided a vacuum which tourism NT can fill by promoting the resorts heavily through PR and publicity activities.It also aims to spend more on its advertising budget to develop an extensive advertising campaign which in the past had a relatively low budget.
2.6 People: It is essential for a business to have a staff which understands the goals and objectives of the business and works in conjunction with the management in achieving those objectives. The ecotourism resort can be categorized as a large business organization which aims at employing a staff comprising of 500 employees.
Tourism NT offers training services as part of its accreditation programme and has several agreements in place with its counterparts in WA and SA regarding exchange of staff. It also offers internships and apprenticeships to University and TAFE students who wish to work in the tourism industry as well as to members of the indigenous community. It also has the option to outsource the recruitment of staff to recruitment agencies such as Tusk Group during times of staff shortages and peak seasons. This means that it has a large pool of a prospective human resource.
Once the recruitment process has been undertaken and staff has been hired, tourism NT will ensure that the resort staff undergoes a proper training programme by the name of “Managing Tourism and Hospitality” which spans over 4 weeks developed in partnership with Kangan Institute and similar programmes on a regular basis to boost the productivity and career prospects of staff members.
Priority areas in which staff would be trained are:
- Customer Service.- Communication skills.- Dispute and query resolutions.- Performing under pressure.- Operational Health and Safety.- The resorts value, vision and mission statements (Employees need to know as to
what it is that the resort stands for).
2.7 Process: A business will cease to operate in the absence of business processes and procedures. They can be defined as the arteries in our bodies which pump blood. In the commercial context, they ensure that the operations of the business flow through smoothly and efficiently. The resort will have a number of processes and procedures which are listed as follows:
- Disciplinary procedures: For example, punctuality, code of conduct etc.- Housekeeping procedures: Making sure the resort is clean at all times.- OHS procedures: Procedures designed to cope up with workplace hazards and
incidents.- Security procedures: CCTV surveillance, prevention of theft, robbery, quarrels etc.- Customer service procedure: Room service, food and recreation, dealing with
queries.
- Booking procedures: Booking rooms online or via telephone, storing guests’ information, dealing with guests when they check-in and check out.
- Transportation procedures: Managing the flow of customers from Darwin to the resort and vice versa, arranging trips to cultural and natural sites.
2.8 Physical Evidence: The way in which a business portrays its staff and premises has a significant impact on how the customers perceive the business to be in person or when they see photos or videos of the premises and staff during promotional activities.
The premises have been designed to promote the resort as a venue offering luxury, comfort, healthy entertainment together with the ecotourism services it provides. Large parts of the premises will be decorated with trees and plants, greenbelts, gardens to promote sustainable practices by the resort, its environment and eco-friendliness policies. Efforts would be made to ensure that the level of pollution (air, water, soil, noise, visual, light, personal pollution such as smoking etc) is minimized. The resort aims at achieving a 5-star eco rating in regards to its sustainability practices in order to expand on its competitive edge. This has been further discussed below in the strategy relating to physical evidence.
Male members of the staff would be dressed in formal suits which would be black in colour and would have badges with the resort’s logo and their first names on it. Similarly, female members of the staff would wear formal coats and skirts, also black in colour with similar badges. They would be trained to behave in a courteous, warm and welcoming manner during their training programmes.
3.0 Market Overview: The performance of a business can be affected by factors internal as well as external to the organization. The purpose of the market overview is to take these factors into consideration when making a marketing plan and anticipate any changes that are likely to affect the success of the business. The factors that are both internal and external to the resort and may affect its success are as follows:
- The number of people using the internet is growing day by day and this amount is expected to grow even further. With the latest developments in information technology, more commercial activities are taking place online. Therefore, the management at the resort has decided to develop an online booking system to facilitate customers even further.
- Recent market research suggests anticipate an increase in the awareness for corporate sustainability amongst consumers in the coming 6 months, particularly from Europe and North America and they are likely to forego a business that is unsustainable for a sustainable choice and there would be little or no role of price as a determining factor. Therefore, in order to retain and attract new customers, the business will need to embed sustainable practices in its daily operations.
- Studies suggest growth in the backpacker segment in the coming 12 months and that increased accommodation facilities would be needed to cater to the members of this segment. For this purpose, the resort will offer standard rooms which will be priced reasonably, would be affordable and within the purchasing power of the backpackers.
- Travel and tourism experts also anticipate a rise in the number of visitors from countries with emerging economies such as China and India, where the newly formed upper middle class can afford travel to the Northern Territory. Therefore, tourism NT will target these customers by using the relevant variables such as separate promotional campaigns, partnerships with local Chinese and Indian tour operators etc.
- The introduction of low-cost air-craft carriers means that visitation to the NT will increase by a considerable amount during the next 6 months, which means that the resort needs to develop partnerships and alliances with these airline companies in order to better approach and target their customers. For example, special discounts offered to Tiger Airways passengers if they choose to stay at the resort.
4.0 SWOT Analysis: A SWOT assesses the organization’s strengths and weaknesses which are internal to the organization, as well as opportunities and threats which are external to the organization. Completing the SWOT analysis helps to identify ways to minimize the effect of weaknesses within the organization while at the same time maximizing strengths. A firm will ideally match its strengths against market opportunities that result from competitor weaknesses or void. Some factors taken into consideration when preparing a SWOT analysis are provision of financial resources, suppliers and distributors, current client base, pricing levels, profit margins and certain unique product characteristics. The SWOT analysis for Tourism NT’s ecotourism resort is as follows:
4.1 Strengths:
- The resort is situated near an iconic natural attraction and a world heritage national park, namely, the Kakadu national park.
- Offers interaction with unique, historical and contemporary culture, particularly the indigenous culture.
- Due to geographical differences, the NT offers a welcome escape from southern winter.
- Significant development of infrastructure in the NT such as a new convention centre and a cruise terminal were developed in Darwin
- Sound performance during the last 5 years.- Global demand for natural and cultural travel is expected to grow, which is a positive
indicator for the NT.
- Tourism NT has maintained an active marketing program and developed branding tools to further strengthen its message, which is a positive indicator for the resort since it has a joint-demand with tourism NT.
4.2 Weaknesses:
- Lack of diverse and innovative tourism product.- Accessibility issues due to geographical isolation and seasonal closure of roads.- Still plenty of room for developmental work such as more accommodation facilities,
improvement in service standards, etc to meet the needs of the tourism market.- Consumer demand is still highly seasonal.- The industry is geographically dispersed and there is a lack of critical mass and
linkages in tourism networks.- Challenges still exist in communicating with the indigenous community due to their
secluded way of life.- Geographical and demographical factors as well as lack of established businesses still
pose hindrances in investment.- Slow growth in domestic travel constituting two-thirds of the tourism industry.- Lack of private investment and industry dependence on government for tourism
marketing and development.
4.3 Opportunities:
- Growth in experiential travel and increased social awareness is likely to create a trend towards more frequent short-stay trips with focus on product quality and service standards.
- Anticipated growth in visitors from China, Korea and India.- Domestic visitation still growing in the NT despite a decline elsewhere.- Modest expansion in aviation capacity and growth in cruise ship industry.- Introduction of low-cost aircraft carriers means an increased number of visitors.- Increased business and traveller confidence due to socio-political stability.- Increased use of internet by customers to plan and book their travel activities.
4.4 Threats:
- It still faces competition for the ‘outback’ positioning.- Increased competition internationally from the Asia-Pacific region which offers high
product quality and service standards at cheaper prices. Moreover, due to a rise in the Australian dollar, domestic visitors prefer to go abroad. International visitors also prefer these destinations due to the price component who would have else visited the NT.
- Geographical immobility of labour. Workers are not keen to work in remote areas.- Climate change can affect the natural environment as well as visitor behaviour.
- Negative publicity of the NT destinations reinforced by media reports which highlight issues associated with remote indigenous communities.
- Poor traveller confidence as a result of war, terrorism and disease risks which affect the tourism industry as a whole.
4.5 Key Issues: From the SWOT analysis, the following key issues were identified:
- Consumer demand is still highly seasonal.- Challenges in engaging and interacting with the indigenous community.- Geographical immobility of labour.- Negative publicity of the NT through media reports which highlight issues associated
with the indigenous community.
4.6 Key Opportunities: From the SWOT analysis, the following key opportunities were identified:
- The NT is a welcome escape from the southern winter.- Global demand for natural and cultural based travel is anticipated to grow in the
coming years.- Rapid growth in visitation from emerging markets such as China and India.- Introduction of low-cost air-craft carriers means visitation to the NT will increase by
a considerable amount.
4.7 PEST Analysis: A PEST analysis is an environmental audit tool that takes into consideration factors affecting the success of the business externally or from the external environment. The areas assessed are physical, economical, socio-cultural and technological factors. Examples include political scenario and stability, interest rates and unemployment, social norms and cultural beliefs and technological progress. The PEST analysis for tourism NT’s resort is as follows:
Physical: The following physical factors may affect the performance of the resort:
- Government Policies.- Change of governments.- Trading policies.- Pressure groups such as social activists and trade unions.- Funding, grants and initiatives.- Wars and conflicts.
Economical: The following economical factors may affect the performance of the resort:
- Situation of the Australian and the global economy and latest economic trends.- Taxation laws and the level of taxation on goods and services.- Seasonal factors.- Interest and exchange rates, international trade, fiscal and monetary policies.
Social: The following social factors may affect the performance of the resort:
- Lifestyle trends of potential customers.- Demographics.- Consumer behaviours and attitudes.- Media opinions.- Ethnic religious factors.- Fashion and role models.- Major events and influences.
Technological: The following technological factors may affect the performance of the resort:
- Innovation potential.- Global communications.- Maturity and advancement in technology.- Technology legislation.- Research and development funding both privately and publicly.
4.8 Competitor Analysis: A competitive analysis is the analysis of information that is important in nature and is not just a list of an organization’s competitors. The goal of a competitive analysis is to identify and expand upon competitive advantage, which are the benefits that the business can offer customers that the competition can’t or won’t supply. The competitive analysis for the resort is as follows:
Tourism NT’s resort’s major competitors are the similar resorts operated by tourism Queensland and tourism Victoria. However, from amongst the two, tourism Victoria poses a relatively low level of threat on tourism NT’s market share and customer base due to its geographical distance from the NT. Therefore, the major competitor left for further competitive analysis is tourism Queensland whose SWOT analysis is as follows:
Strengths:
- Most preferred domestic holiday destination for Australians.- Population growth is driving infrastructure development.- Queensland is an aspirational brand overseas.- High growth anticipated for international visitors in 2014.
Weaknesses:
- Lack of investment in new serviced accommodation, new product, services and niche experiences.
- Shortage of skilled workforce.
- Pace of infrastructure development would not be in line with the growth, which would have an adverse impact on tourism.
- Significant growth in outbound travel.
Opportunities:
- Low cost air-travel and opportunities to increase inbound travel.- New media technology and opportunities to reach customers directly.- Increased trend of frequent, short-stay trips in the domestic market.- Increased number of visitors expected from countries with emerging markets.
Threats:
- Increase in oil and fuel prices may in turn increase airfares and fares of other means of transportation.
- Falling quality of natural resources and attractions.- Tougher competition from the Asian-Pacific region offering high product quality and
service standards at cheaper prices due to a rise in the Australian dollar.- Adverse impacts of natural disasters on the destination’s appeal and perceptions.
5.0 Assumptions: It should be noted that the information provided in the SWOT analysis do not take into account changes caused by unforeseen circumstances which are beyond the resort’s control. For this purpose, the following assumptions are being made by the management at the resort, which would act as contingencies and it would be easy to make any amendments in the marketing plan in the future if necessary:
- Global demand for cultural and natural based tourism will rise.- Visitation from emerging economies will increase.- Tourism Queensland will continue to face shortage of skilled labour.- Growth in experiential travel and increased social awareness will give rise to more
frequent, short-stay trips with focus on product quality and service standards.- Introduction of low-cost air-craft carriers will bring more visitors to the NT.
6.0 Objectives: Business objectives are a vital part of any business plan. They can be defined as the heart of the business plan. They are the most important thing a business owner can share with the company. They are a statement of specific, realistic, measurable goals with measured over time that a company tries to adhere to. They serve to aim the company towards the goals they are shooting for and hopefully let them attain them. The resort’s objectives as per the different areas within a business are as follows:
6.1 Sales: For the next 12 months, the management at the resort expects to:
- Achieve 10% growth in sales in each quarter with a combined annual increment of 40% in total sales.
- Increase the sale of augmented products and services such as souvenirs shops by 25% at the end of the year.
- After designing the website and the online booking mechanism, the resort expects that it will generate 505 of its sales online during the next 12 months.
6.2 Revenue: For the next 12 months, the management at the resort expects to:
- Achieve a 55% increment in gross profit margin and a 35% increment in the net profit margin.
- Have a stable balance sheet with a working capital of at least AUD $50000 available at the end of the financial year.
- Control expenses by 20% at the end of the year.
6.3 Customer Base: For the next 12 months, the management at the resort expects to:
- Maintaining a 95% occupancy rate during peak seasons.- Experience a growth in new customers who are turned into long-term customers. - Reduce variable cost per guest.- Increase customer base by 5% in each quarter with a total increment of 20% at the
end of the year.- Increase/Maintain customer retention rate.
6.4 Ansoff Matrix: The Ansoff Matrix is a useful tool that helps a business to determine its product and market growth strategy. It further enables a business to identify its marketing objectives. Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix suggests that a business’s attempt to grow depends on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets.
The Ansoff Matrix would not be applicable in the context of the resort since the resort’s core and actual product are in fact services. As far as the augmented product is concerned, the management at the resort aims to sell the souvenirs made by members of the indigenous community by applying the market development strategy which involves selling an existing product into newer markets.
The reason as to why this growth strategy has been selected is because the existing product, that is the indigenous souvenirs were not selling well in their current markets, whereas the cultural nature of the products do not allow for any changes to the product. For example, a necklace made with pearls gathered from an indigenous settlement will value more than a necklace made with pearls in a factory. Thus, product development was not possible either, which also eliminated the possibility of adopting the diversification strategy. There are a number of measures that can be undertaken in order to implement this strategy which are as follows:
- Selling into new markets. For example, exporting the souvenirs overseas.- Changing the outlook of the product. For example, packaging, labelling etc.
- New distribution channels. For example, selling products online or through mail order rather than through retail outlets.
- Coming up with different pricing policies for different customers as well as making new market segments.
7.0 Strategy
7.1 Strategy Introduction: The marketing strategy of the resort contains the main ingredients of any marketing strategy, which are the 4ps of the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) and since the resort is offering a service, an additional 3ps of services marketing ( People, Process, Physical Evidence) would be discussed. The marketing strategy will help determine the target markets of the resort and their respective characteristics. A positioning statement would be developed to develop an image or perception about the resort’s services in the minds of the customers. Extensive product branding would be done by implementing tactics that ensure the resort establishes itself as a strong brand in terms of high quality and service, value for money, is easily recognized by customers and promote brand loyalty.
A product strategy would be developed which would be aimed at highlighting the features and benefits offered by the resort, its unique selling point or more commonly known as competitive advantage as well as the future products and services that it plans to offer.
This would be followed by a pricing strategy which would help determine the pricing objectives, pricing strategies and market-entry strategies. The distribution strategy will discuss the various channels that the resort will make use of in reaching its target audience as well as making its value offering as accessible as it can by implementing tactics aimed at diminishing geographical constraints.
The promotional strategy would include several elements that will be used in conjunction to carry out the promotional campaign for the resort in order to make the target customers aware of the resort’s corporate presence. This will include developing strategies of the various promotional methods such as public relations, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, sales, packaging and partnerships.
The 3ps of services marketing would be included in the strategy given the resort is a service provider. This will include the development of strategies for people, which refers to the resort’s staff, the training they will receive and their expected behaviours by the organization. The process and systems section will include strategies critical to the success of the business such as booking systems, OHS systems, customer service systems, security systems etc. Lastly, the physical evidence component will include the strategies that would be aimed at providing a more materialistic outlook of the services provided by the resort, embedding the resort’s core values and principles as well as its mission statement. Examples
include the physical layout (interior and exterior) and spatial layout of the premises, the ambience, including the resort’s logo on packaging of augmented products, souvenirs, resort merchandise, motor vehicles.
Each of the 7 elements of the marketing mix will include sustainable practices as part of the resort’s sustainable policy which will be aimed at establishing the reputation of the resort as a socially responsible business organization as well as help it to expand on its competitive advantage.
7.2 Target Market: Since the ecotourism experiences and services provided by the resort are in a sense unique and exclusive, they are not for the mainstream customers, but for a particular target market and would be classified as a market niche. The target market strategy would be concentrated marketing whereby one segment is selected from the market and catered to as the target segment. The resort’s target market includes:
- Visitors who seek quietness and escape from their daily routines and are interested in activities such as visiting and camping at natural reserves along with their children. Their age group ranges from 40-54 years old with children being more than 8 years old. They usually prefer travelling with their families and stay in apartments, hotels, tents or with friends. They can spend up to $92 per person for a night in any of the above mentioned accommodations.
- Visitors who are generally well-travelled and may have visited the Northern Territory before. They generally seek the peaceful environment of the country-side or eco-tourism parks and are highly likely to return for a re-visit. They usually spend a considerable amount of money on trave activities from their savings, as they work but have no children to support. Their age group ranges from 40-54 years old, with no children at home. They are likely to travel alone, with a partner or a group of friends but no children, stay in hotel, self-contained units or caravans and spend up to AUD$108 per person for a night for accommodation purposes.
- Visitors who are generally old-aged, ageing more than 55 years old, with no children at home, who are interested in meeting like-minded people on their travels, expecting emotional nourishment and personal growth from their travel experiences. They are likely to travel with a partner or tour group, stay in hotels self-contained units or caravans and spend up to AUD$ 92 per person for a night in regards to accommodation expenses.
- Although the backpacker market is not part of the resort’s target market, measures have been taken such as offering low-priced standard rooms suitable for backpacker customers as per the resort’s product diversification policy to cater to the needs of the members of this segment, as research findings suggested a sharp growth in the number of visitors from this segment.
7.3 Positioning Statement: The positioning statement of a business enables customers to develop an image, impression or perception about the products or services offered by that business relative to their perception of other competing brands in the same category. It also helps to differentiate a product from its competitors. Once a positioning has been
established, the marketing mix is then designed to suit to the needs of the target market segments. The positioning statement of the resort is as follows:
NT Eco-tourism Resort- “Experience nature and culture with a class”
The NT’s Eco-tourism resort provides an exceptional hospitality experience to its customers, in spectacular natural surroundings, by delivering quality service in an atmosphere of comfort, openness and friendship as well as the opportunity to interact with a culture that is unique and unchanged since centuries.
Besides the above mentioned niche experiences, it also provides luxury and recreational facilities that are offered at a standard 5-star resort. The resort will comply with the principles of sustainability and environmental responsibility as outlined in its sustainability policy.
7.4 Branding Strategy: Successful branding helps distinguish and differentiate a product from its competitors, establish its credibility, increase brand loyalty and recognition. The branding strategy of the resort would be aimed at establishing it as the leading eco-tourism resort in Australia. The resort will portray itself as a place which provides unmatched luxury, comfort, leisure and entertainment, natural and cultural experiences in a highly personalized manner that is the individuality of the customer would be valued.
This would be done by promoting the competitive advantage of the resort’s value offering as part of the promotional campaign that is the close proximity to eco-tourism, natural sites and the cultural interaction with indigenous people.
Another way in which the resort would be established as a strong brand would be by offering high quality service and hospitality to its customer, providing value for money. The level of customer service and quality would be closely monitored, analysed and evaluated on a regular basis so that any weaknesses or shortcomings are dealt with. Moreover, customer queries would be effectively resolved and customer satisfaction would be one of the priority areas that would be looked after, to ensure the resort establishes its credibility amongst its current and potential customers, as one which cares for its customers.
The staff would be trained as part of their training programs to behave in a warm, hospitable, welcoming and courteous manner which will again help to promote the brand through customers inspired by the way in which the staff responded to them.
The appearance or logo of the resort would be equally important in establishing it as a strong brand. This is because an easily recognizable logo leads to brand recognition. For example, an apple with a chunk missing from the top denotes Apple Corporation’s products. Similarly, efforts would be made to promote the resorts logo during promotional campaigns as well as at other instances such as on staff uniforms and other amenities supplied by the resort to its customers such as towels, pens, serviettes etc.
Brand endorsement would be done by paying opinion leaders and celebrities to endorse the brand, as in the case of tourism NT, which was heavily endorsed as a must visit destination by renowned TV show host, Oprah Winfrey.
7.5 Product Strategy: The product strategy of the resort would be based upon 3 major factors which are explained as follows:
Features and benefits offered: The resort offers as part of its core and actual product offering, nature and culture based eco-tourism activities together with a 5-star accommodation and numerous recreational facilities to its customers by offering 300 rooms spanning across the standard rooms, family rooms and luxury suites categories, besides offering recreational and other facilities to its guests which are normally offered in a 5-star rating resort. It also offers as its augmented product, locally manufactured souvenirs by the indigenous community, which are sold through the shops located within the resort as well as providing rental space to different brands.
Unique selling point: The resort’s unique selling point is the niche experiences that it offers to its customers. This is because all other competing resorts of a similar rating offer the above mentioned services to their customers. Therefore, value offerings such as tours and trips to eco-tourism parks and natural sites such as the Kakadu National Park, the cultural interaction with the indigenous community, their festivals and artwork, locally manufactured handicraft and other souvenirs, wildlife and bird watching, fishing etc, are all unique selling points of the resort which are unavailable elsewhere. However, the management expects the resort not to rely solely on these factors as its competitive edge and hopes to implement measures that will enable factors such customer service and satisfaction, quality of service and value for money to become its unique selling points.
Potential Products: The resort is considering a drift towards the corporate sector, aiming to develop the resort as a centre for corporate meetings, conventions and events by offering suitable premises such as convention halls, auditoriums, meeting rooms etc, at attractive prices as well as eliminating the accessibility barrier by offering logistical support such as its shuttle service.
The resort will ensure that its product offering is in line with sustainable practices by ensuring that the trips and tours to Kakadu National Park and indigenous settlements are conducted on transport which has hybrid powered engines. Moreover, guests would be requested to abstain from activities such as littering, smoking or engaging in any other non eco-friendly activity during their trips to these locations.
7.6 Pricing Strategy: Price refers to the amount of money charged for a product or service including the benefits that go with that product. The pricing strategy is largely determined by market positioning and undertakes factors such as the costs associated in the development, production, distribution and promotion of the product. The pricing strategy for the resort is devised keeping in mind the marketing ethics for price determination, so that the business’s relation with its customers does not get affected. The pricing strategy for the resort’s services and products is as follows:
- The resort will adopt a status-quo pricing objective by keeping and maintaining prices in line with its competitors and competing in the non-price areas of the marketing mix such product, place and promotion. The resort will make use of its competitive advantages to tackle the competition.
- The price-setting method adopted by the resort would be competition-based pricing where pricing is done according to how much competitors charge for similar products. The priority of the resort would be to price relatively below competition or at worse equal to competition so that more customers choose the resort over its competitors in terms of similar services provided.
- The market entry pricing strategy would be market-penetration pricing, which involves setting a relatively low price initially to attract large number of buyers and a large market share, followed by high sales volume resulting in low costs. Once the resort establishes itself as a strong brand, price levels would be gradually increased in the long-run, without the fear of losing customers as they would be accustomed to the brand and would not mind paying a bit more money for the high quality and level of service.
- The standard rooms which will include a single-bed with other amenities would be priced at AUD $80 per night, with a complimentary break-fast. All other meals would be charged for.
- The Family room which will include double-beds as well as a Queen-size bed along with other amenities would be priced at AUD$ 140 per night, also with a complimentary breakfast and all other meals being charged for.
- The Luxury Suite which will be a self-contained luxury apartment, will be priced at AUD$200 per night and would include a complimentary breakfast and lunch, with dinner being paid for.
- Trips to eco-tourism destinations such as the Kakadu National Park would be a day-long trip with transportation facilities and a 4-member team of guides(from the indigenous community) and would cost AUD$100 per person including food and beverages, guide charges, transportation charges.
- Trips to the indigenous settlements, would involve a cultural show, a guide through the indigenous way of life, artwork, etc also accompanied by guides (from the indigenous community), with food and beverages supplied and transportation facilities offered, costing AUD$150 per person.
- The Shuttle service that will run from Darwin City Centre and Darwin International Airport to the resort and vice versa will cost AUD$5 per person per trip.
- The resort will keep a small fraction of 2% from the sales proceeds of souvenirs manufactured by indigenous craftsmen with the remainder going to the actual craftsmen, as part of the general well-being of the indigenous community.
- The resort will charge a rent of AUD$ 1500 per month from the different brands and businesses that use the resorts premises to sell their products and services.
- The above quoted prices are basic prices and may be subject to reduction in case of group discounts and other special deals and packages as per the promotional strategy.
7.7 Distribution Strategy: The distribution strategy will decide who, when, where, why and how its products and services will be made available to its customers. The distribution strategy of the resort is as follows:
- Bookings for rooms can be made online on the resort’s website’s online booking mechanism.
- Bookings can also be made over the telephone, with payment being done by EFTPOS.
- A Smartphone application has been launched which offers booking services as well as information regarding the location of the resort, prices, facilities and the latest deals and packages on offer.
- Bookings can be made at any of our partner travel and tour operators as well as airline companies with special discounts being offered to customers coming to us through our partners.
- A shuttle service as mentioned before would be operated, comprising of a fleet of 5 large luxury buses, operating on a route from Darwin City Centre and Darwin International Airport to the resort and back 8 times a day.
- Information centres in Australia operated by Tourism NT and overseas by our partner airlines and travel operators will provide complete information regarding the NT, as well as the resort, besides offering booking facilities.
- As part of its sustainability policy, the above mentioned shuttle service and any other transport owned by the resort will be powered by hybrid engines to reduce fuel emissions. Partners would also be encouraged to embed sustainable practices in their daily operations.
- All printing material provided at the information centres, travel operator and airline outlets, such as brochures, pamphlets, and air and bus tickets would be made from 100% recyclable paper.
- The distribution strategy would also be aimed at finding local suppliers which would help to reduce the emission resulting from logistical activities.
7.8 Promotional Strategy: Promotion is a vital component in the marketing mix of any business’s product or service. This is because no matter how good the quality and level utility provided by a product is, people are not going to buy it unless they are aware and constantly reminded that it exists, through different means of promotions. It also helps to target the right group of people to use the product or service and re-use it multiple times. The resort’s sustainable policy will also be integrated with its promotional strategy. The promotional campaign which includes various promotional methods such as advertising, direct marketing, public relations etc would be prepared along a sustainable line that is it will promote the use of sustainable practices, would be focused on environmental issues, inform the customers about the sustainable practices of the resort. It would be ensured that the promotional campaign is socially responsible, highly ethical in terms of promoting their value offering to the customers.
Measures would be taken to ensure that all the printing material that the resort uses in its promotional campaign is made by using 100% recycled paper. Moreover, the use of polythene bags would be avoided, with paper-made shopping bags being used instead. The resort’s promotional strategy will comprise of the following promotional techniques:
7.8.1 Public Relations Strategy: These are activities that are aimed at building and developing relationships with specific audiences, controlling and managing a company’s image and influencing attitudes. Specific audiences include customers, shareholders, government and special-interest groups. The management at the resort aims to make use of the public relations strategy to in order to promote the resort in the following ways:
- Providing financial assistance, training as well as entrepreneurial advice to business men from the indigenous community.
- Setting up an employment quota of at least 40% for the indigenous community.- Promoting the sustainable practices as outlined in the sustainability policy.- Sponsoring local as well as major sporting events across Australia and overseas. - Carrying out fundraising activities and charity work for the underprivileged and
making donations. This would involve setting up schools, providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to the underprivileged in places like Africa. A separate charity organization would be established under the resort’s brand name for this purpose.
- Creating an online blog or forum for discussing travel and tourism related issues. Similarly, the resort’s group would be created on social networking sites such a Face Book and Twitter, this will provide the resort with a platform to interact with its customers and share all the latest developments and useful information regarding the business with them such as latest deals and offers as well as customer reviews about the resort. The members of these groups, blogs and forums would be included in the resort’s customer database and would be later communicated with when carrying out direct marketing activities.
- Public Relations activities aimed at promoting sustainable practices such as a campaign to reduce wastage of water or using renewable sources of energy would be carried out by educating the general public on the importance of issues affecting sustainability as per the sustainability policy.
7.8.2 Advertising Strategy: Advertising is a paid form non-personal communication using mass media tools such as TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, and Billboards etc. It is a cost-effective method for reaching large audiences. However, there is no feedback involved. The advertising strategy of the resort will be designed to attract the attention and interest of the consumer and prompt them to visit the resort. The advertising message would be decided; the target audience and the appropriate means to approach the target audience would be decided. The advertising strategy of the resort will include the following:
- The advertising message of the campaign would be the provision of luxury 5-star accommodation in the heart of an eco-tourism environment which would be manipulated in different ways to attract different audiences.
- 2 separate advertisements would be made with the assistance of advertising agencies. One for the domestic customers and the other one for international customers. These advertisements would be broadcasted on all leading news and entertainment channels across Australia, as well as in other countries on channels with the highest viewership. The advertisement would also be available on the resort’s website as well as video broadcasting websites such as YouTube and social networking websites such as Face Book and Twitter. An audio version of the advertisement would be broadcasted on radio stations.
- Advertisements would also be published in nation-wide circulated newspapers such as The Herald Sun, in different types of magazines (travel and outdoor etc) and magazines with an international readership such as Times and Newsweek. Still adverts would be posted on the internet in a similar fashion as were the visual adverts posted.
- Advertisements would be placed on billboards situated at prominent locations such as train stations, stadiums, airports, city centres, shopping malls etc.
- Advertisements would also be placed in the tourism NT’s information centres both domestic and abroad, travel expos, in the retail outlets of partner travel operators and airlines such as Flight Centre and Tiger Airways.
7.8.3 Direct Marketing Strategy: Direct Marketing is a form of advertising in which physical marketing materials are provided to consumers in order to provide them with information about a product or service. Direct marketing does not involve online, visual or audio advertisements. The direct marketing strategy of the resort will involve the following approaches:
- Using the information gathered in the resort’s database of existing customers as well as the database for potential customers gathered online through social networking websites, blogs and forums, a direct mail pack would be mailed to the customers either in a material form or electronically.
- The direct mail pack will contain a monthly newsletter by the name of “The Voyager” which will discuss issues such as recent developments, special offers, visit by dignitaries, travel tips and information, future plans that the resort has or plans to undertake. It will also include a letter from the head of the marketing department which will summarise the contents provided in the mail pack. The mail pack would contain a reply paid envelop and customers would be encouraged to provide feedback. Other contents included would be pamphlets, brochures, goodies such as card magnets, stickers, key chains etc.
- Distribution of travel brochures at exclusive events such as travel expos, as well as at tourism NT’s information centres, at travel operator and airline retail outlets.
- Brochures and pamphlets would also be distributed at any event the resort sponsors such as sporting events, fundraising dinners etc, where the resort would be represented by a stall of its own.
- Carrying out SMS marketing by texting customers on the database regarding latest offers and deals.
- Telemarketing would be done by calling customers and informing them about the latest value offerings and encouraging discounts on prompt bookings to attract the customers. This would most likely be outsourced to minimize costs.
7.8.4 Sales Promotion Strategy: Sales promotion activities are intended at providing extra value or incentives to the sales force, distributors and most importantly, the consumer. It helps to stimulate sales at times when it is static or declining. The sales promotion strategy of the resort is as follows:
- Offering coupons containing special deals and discounts on the facilities of the resort. For example, free meal vouchers, discount coupons on trips to the indigenous settlements etc.
- Holding contests and competitions online on the website and on Face Book or Twitter and rewarding winners with gift hampers. To ensure public interest remains high, all participants would be provided with other types of small goodies such as mugs T-shirts, caps, pens etc depicting the resort’s logo.
- During quite seasons, when the level of visitation is low, the resort will come up with special deals offering up to 25% discount on room prices and 35% on eco-tourism trips.
- Expanding into new market segments and providing them with a suitable value offering such as the young and the restless as well as attracting corporate customers when visitation from major target segments is low.
- It also aims to offer discounts to all customers for the first 3 months after its inauguration by offering discounted room prices, free breakfasts and lunch for customers staying in different types of rooms.
- In order to encourage customers to revisit, the resort plans on offering promotional material such as spa coupons, meal vouchers, recreational vouchers which offers the mentioned facilities for free but can only be redeemed on the next visit.
7.8.5 Sales Strategy: Person to person communication involves a situation in which the seller assists and persuades the prospective buyer to purchase the company’s product or service. Even though it is expensive, yet it is one of the most effective forms of promotion. The resort plans on hiring sales personnel that will perform the duties of personal selling at various locations within and outside Australia. The duties of the sales personnel would be to carry out personal selling activities at any event sponsored by the resort, in travel expos, at airports, shopping malls, tourism NT’s information centres or at any other public hotspot. They will be required to perform door-to-door selling, whereby sales personnel will spread out in a designated area and go to each house in that neighbourhood, promoting the resort and convincing prospective customers to make a booking.
The sales staff would generally be dressed in the resort’s official uniform, when at a public place, would manage a stall containing all the necessary promotional material and would describe the resort’s value offering in a polite manner.
In order to ensure feedback is received, they would be provided with contact cards with their names, contact number, the resort’s customer helpline number, which they would be supposed to provide to the customers. They would be provided with proper training in selling techniques at the time of their induction, which would span over a week.
7.8.6 Packaging Strategy: Packaging plays a pivotal role in the promotional campaign of any product. Recent studies suggest that customers are often motivated into buying a product by the product’s packaging rather than its contents. An exceptional product under a dull, unattractive, packaging is less likely to be sold more as compared to an average product with a colourful, attractive packaging. Moreover, packaging ensures the health, hygiene and safety values that a product promises to provide. Since the resort provides a service, there would be no packaging strategy in regards to the core and actual product. However, augmented products such as souvenirs, gift hampers provided to customers as per promotional activities, are packaged in boxes of bright green colour with the resort’s logo on them. Where boxes are unnecessary, shopping bags would be used of a similar design and colour scheme.
As part of the sustainability policy, it would be ensured that all packaging material is made from 100% recycled paper and the unnecessary use of polythene bags is avoided to the maximum extent.
7.8.7 Partnership: Partnerships play an integral role in the success of any business. In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, a business cannot afford to isolate itself and operate solely, hoping for success. Partnerships leverage certain mutual benefits to businesses which the businesses could not have achieved single-handedly and even if they would have, they would not have done it efficiently and effectively. For example, the management at the resort wanted to reach out to the visitors travelling through low-cost air-craft carriers, so it made a partnership agreement with Tiger Airways to provide 5% commission on each individual sale that it makes through their passengers to Tiger Airways. In return, Tiger Airways carries out the promotional activities of the resort, encouraging its passengers to stay at the resort by offering them discount vouchers. Therefore, partnerships will enable the resort to improve the way in which it offers its services, target new customers and expand its corporate presence both domestically and abroad.
Partnerships will also be developed with travel operators such as Flight Centre and Expedia in Australia as well as globally. As per the partnership agreement, these operators will encourage their customers to visit the resort, whereas the resort in return will provide 2% commission on sales achieved from these customers. A similar approach to partnership will exist internationally; however, commission percentages may differ.
As per the sustainability policy, the resort will also include clauses in the partnership agreement which limit the carbon footprint of the resort and its partners. For example, the partnership agreement would require Tiger Airways to ensure that greenhouse emission as a result of its operational activities is minimized and brought down to a safe level.
Partnerships will also be developed with educational institutes and training providers such as Kangan Institute to train the employees in the areas of hospitality, customer service and selling techniques.
7.9 Services Marketing: There is a considerable difference between a service and a product. Due to its intangible nature, a business may face difficulties in selling a service since it is harder to control and maintain consistency. Moreover, it cannot be saved for peak seasons, unlike a product. Since customers do not leave with a tangible item, they may even value the service differently. The following elements of the marketing mix should be considered when a business is providing a service:
7.9.1 People: The resort’s staff would be provided with specific uniforms to wear during working hours. The male members of the staff would wear a black, formal suit whereas female members will wear black coats and skirts. The uniforms would have the resort’s logo printed on them with a badge that displays their first names.
All staff members including sales personnel will go through a two-week training program at the time of their recruitment offered in partnership with Kangan Institute. As part of the program, the staff members would be trained to exhibit a warm, welcoming, polite and courteous nature, trained in the areas of addressing customer needs and queries, hospitality, as well as briefed about the different systems that are in place within the resort. The sales personnel in addition, would undergo a separate program in which they would be taught interpersonal skills and selling techniques.
Regular staff meetings will discuss the team’s progress in terms of customer service and hospitality and as part of the monitoring process, data would be collected about their performance, with the high performing employees being rewarded with the ‘Employee of the Month” award, given bonuses, a day off from work or free meal or recreational vouchers.
All customer satisfaction surveys would include at least one question based on the performance and behaviour of staff members in order to capture the relevant form of feedback
As per its sustainable policy, the resort aims at incorporating a unit on sustainability in all of its training programs to provide employees with the knowledge and awareness in regards to sustainable practices. Performance measurement tools designed specifically to monitor employee performance in regards to sustainability will be developed besides the regular performance measurement tools and based on the data collected from these tools, the employees would then be either rewarded or corrective actions would be taken. Examples include, number of sustainability violations in a week such as reported incidents of smoking in non-smoking areas etc.
7.9.2 Process: Processes or systems are an extremely important part of the marketing plan of any business. It is due to these processes and systems that a business operates smoothly and in an effective, disciplined manner. Absence of processes and systems would mean that there would be no coordination amongst staff members; no one will know what to do. In simple terminology, the business will be like a ship stuck in a storm without a rudder. The following is a list of all the processes and systems that would be put in place as per the marketing strategy:
-Booking Systems: An effective booking system needs to be in place to ensure that customers can book rooms at the resort with ease and that there is no confusion on both the customers’ end and the resort’s end regarding the issue of vacancies and the booking of wrong rooms etc. The booking system will enable customers to make bookings of rooms over the internet, the website will offer personalised options such as the type of room, inclusion of any additional facilities besides the basic facilities offered, room view etc, as well as through the telephone. The personal details of customers who make these bookings will be stored on the resort’s database and customers would be allotted a booking number for identification purposes. Moreover, customers will have the option of paying the amount for their stay in advance through online funds transfer services, over the telephone whereas
for those customers choosing to pay at the time of departure, EFTPOS , cheque and cash services would be provided through the reception.
-Customer Service Systems: This is one of the most important systems as far as the hospitality industry is concerned. The customer service system will work in conjunction with the booking systems which will provide information as to when will the customer arrive, their expected length of stay at the resort, their preferences and their date of departure. With this information in hand, the customer service system can carry out house-keeping duties such as room cleaning services prior to the customer’s arrival as well as at any other time on the customer’s demand. Customers would be provided with a Customer Service number, which they can use to contact customer service staff through telephone sets in their respective rooms regarding recreational facilities as well as order them to perform house-keeping services such as laundry, room cleaning, providing food and drinks, dealing with any technical issue that may arise in electronic devices or any other customer query that may arise. Customer support staff will also deal with potential customers or customers who have not yet been to the resort by providing them with information about room prices, facilities, transport options etc. Feedback surveys and questionnaires would be provided to customers in their rooms to gain an idea about the customers’ perception on the level of customer service the resort provides.
The customer service systems would be designed to embed sustainable practices in them such as air-drying clothes, providing room service only on request, using bio-degradable cleaning products, switching off electronic devices when not in use, making use of durable and recycled glass, paper, plastic and aluminium products while serving customers.
-Operational Health and Safety Systems: The purpose of putting OHS systems in place is to ensure the safety of staff and customers present at the resort against any unexpected hazard or incident such as fire, gas leaks, water spillages etc. OHS equipment such as fire alarms, fire extinguishers, sprinklers, oxygen masks and emergency exits are place at various locations on the resorts premises and a 2-member team of medical staff is also present to provide first aid assistance. All public areas as well as the rooms of the resort would be made “non-smoking zones” for the comfort of non-smoking customers and to reduce the risk of a fire, those customers wishing to smoke would be directed to designated and covered smoking areas, which would further facilitate sustainability.
The central hospital in Darwin’s helicopter service has been acquired to provide logistical and medical assistance during emergencies. OHS booklets, evacuation procedures and manuals are placed in all rooms for customers to read, be aware of the potential hazards and risks that might occur and be prepared to protect themselves in the best possible manner.
-Security Systems: The customers at the resort need to be provided with a sense of security which is part of the core principle of the resort of providing comfort and peace of mind to its
customers. For this purpose, security systems are put in place. A team comprising of 10 security officers would be present at every resort, to guard the resort and deal with issues such as theft, robberies, and quarrels and to manage the flow of people during emergencies. Moreover, CCTV cameras are placed at various locations across the resort to monitor the activity of staff and customers, keeping in mind the privacy laws and regulations. Any customer or staff member behaving in an unsocial manner would be handed over to and dealt by the security staff. Regular patrolling would be done by security personnel to ensure the situation is under control.
As per the sustainable policy, the batteries used in the wireless handsets and torches provided to security staff would be rechargeable rather than being disposable.
Disciplinary Procedures: These procedures would generally include a professional code of conduct which would be referred to whenever there is a disciplinary violation by a staff member. The code of conduct would then be sourced for the violation that has been committed and corrective measures would be taken to rectify the violation. This may include handing out warnings to staff members if they fail to demonstrate punctuality, behave in a manner unapproved by the organization, commit theft or engage in physical or verbal conflicts with their co-workers or customers or in some cases, even terminating their employment.
Clauses in the employee code of conduct would be included which would involve corrective actions against employees who violate the clauses pertaining to sustainability.
Transportation Systems: The transportation systems would involve the scheduled departure and arrival timings of buses. Each bus driver would be provided with a wireless handset with which they will be contacted by the head office. Similarly, in case of any problems such as a mechanical fault in one of the buses, the driver can inform the head office about the problem, tell his/her location and request for assistance. There would be a total of 8 journeys from Darwin City Centre and Darwin Airport to the resort and vice versa on a daily basis. Transportations systems will also work in conjunction with the information centres, which will provide customers with the arrival and departure schedules of these buses. The timetable would also be posted online so that customers can check it through their laptops or smart phones. Tickets for these bus journeys can be purchased online, at one of the many information centres or just before boarding the bus.
As mentioned above, all of the resort’s transport vehicles would be equipped with hybrid engines, the paper used in printing bus tickets would be made from 100% recycled paper and the batteries of wireless handsets would be rechargeable rather than disposable.
7.9.3 Physical Evidence: Physical evidence can be defined as the material part of a service. Since the resort offers a service, it will need to find other more materialistic and tangible ways in which it can do the branding and promotion of the business. Physical evidence should demonstrate the core values and principles of the business. The resort ensures on doing this in the following ways:
- The premises have been designed in line with the resort’s mission statement that is providing luxury, comfort, healthy entertainment combined with the ecotourism services it provides. Large areas of the premises will be decorated with trees and plants, greenbelts, gardens to promote sustainable practices by the resort, its environment and eco-friendliness policies. Systems would be put in place to ensure that the level of pollution such as noise, air, sound, light, water soil, visual and personal pollution such as smoking are minimized. One such example would be the provision of designated smoking lounges and the declaration of public areas of the resort as smoke-free zones. These practices will help justify the resort’s claim as being a venue of healthy activities situated in a healthy environment.
- Recent studies and researches indicate a rise in consumer awareness on sustainability issues. They also indicate that consumers are less likely to do business with organizations inefficient in regards to their sustainability. Therefore, the resort aims at achieving a 5-star eco rating in terms of its sustainable practices which will help expand its competitive advantage as well attract a lot more visitors.
- The components of a 5-star eco rating and the way in which the resort will achieve them is discussed as follows:
- Energy: The resort will conserve energy by using natural air-circulations and fans instead of air-conditioners, where possible, using natural light during the day, minimizing the use of fossil fuel powered machinery, vehicles and equipment by purchasing hybrid powered transports as part of its fleet and solar powered generators. Solar panels would be installed to provide solar power which will constitute 50% of the energy source, clothes in the laundry would be air-dried, dishes would be washed manually instead of dishwashers, and energy efficient and low-wattage appliances such as energy-saver light bulb, LED light bulbs would be used for lighting purposes. Linens, tablecloths, napkins etc would be changed upon request and lights would be switched off when not in use
- The resort aims at conserving water by installing low-flow faucets and showerheads, low water use toilets, using table mats that can be wiped instead of being washed, use biodegradable laundry detergent, dish soap and hand soap, treating swimming pools with chlorine-free processes, installing a sewage water treatment plant to re-use sewage water for watering gardens, plants and greenbelts.
- Recycling and waste: The resort aims at recycling and reusing the waste generated as a result of its operating activities by using durable, recyclable items such as cups, glasses, dishes, tableware and storage items. Buying fresh grocery from local producers to reduce emissions from transportation activities. Buying in bulk to
reduce packaging as well as recycling glass, paper, plastic and aluminium for reuse, minimizing kitchen waste and serving water in glasses rather than in bottle, while at the same time ensuring cleaning products are bio-degradable.
- Land and nature conservation: The resort aims at conserving the natural beauty of the surrounding in which it is located by minimizing tree removal when construction activities take place, minimizing the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, maintaining an organic garden and orchard as source of supply for groceries, using biodegradable products, taking additional measures to protect wildlife habitat and landscaping the resort premises with plantation.
- Community: The resort believes in minimizing the negative externalities while maximizing positive externalities. In simple terminology, it believes in giving back to the community. It will ensure this through the hiring of indigenous people, buying from local suppliers, re-investing part of the resort income on community welfare, inaugurating community welfare projects such as opening schools, installing water-filtering plants in indigenous villages, providing entrepreneurial advice to indigenous businessmen, paying staff above the minimum wage rate, educating the staff as well as local community members on sustainability issues and practices, providing staff members with sustainable transport to work.
- The interior of the resort would also be decorated in line with the eco-friendliness policy and the physical layout, internal signage, the ambience which includes the temperature, colour, sound, smell, music and noise, the spatial layout (the way in which the furniture is arranged) will all be adjusted to provide a comfortable and relaxing environment. For example, bright green wallpapers would be placed on the walls and the seat cushions would also be of the same colour.
- The uniforms of the staff members would contain the resort’s logo and so will any other merchandise that the resort provides charges for or provides free of cost. For example, notepads, pens, shirts, caps, envelopes, mugs, towels as well as the buses and other vehicles owned by the resort.
- The website and groups on social networking sites would be designed to include the core colour scheme of the resort, which is bright green with the resort’s logo to facilitate brand recognition.
- Packaging such as boxes and shopping bags provided to customers by the souvenir shops will depict the resort’s logo and colour scheme.
- Similarly, brochures, pamphlets and business cards would also be designed in this manner.
8.0 Resource requirement in terms of the 7Ps: The resource requirement section of the marketing plan will include an action plan in terms of all the 7Ps of the marketing mix spanning over a period of 6 months which is illustrated in a table format below:
Action January February March April May JuneProduct:
Form agreements with Kakadu National Park to provide trips to our guest
5th-11th
Form agreements with indigenous community elders to provide cultural services to our guests
9th-15th
Carry out Market Research and identify target markets
15th-31st
Carry out a cost and benefit analysis and product feasibility studies
1st-7th
Prepare a sustainability and a corporate policy
14th-18th
Develop and implement a product branding strategy
14th-19th
Develop and implement a product positioning strategy
26-29th
Price:Gather data about competitor
5th -8th
prices.Appoint a team to decided pricing objectives and strategies
10th-12th
Finalize the price and other quotations
Before 3rd March
Place:Purchase premises for the resort
11th-17th
Commence construction
Starts on the 20th
Ends on the 30th
Create website and launch the Smart Phone application
3rd-5th
Form partnerships with airline companies and travel operators both domestically and globally to facilitate accessibility
6th-10th
Open information centres
1st-28th
Purchase 5 buses as part of the shuttle service
15th-20th
Promotion:Initiate the promotional campaign
20th
Sponsor a local footy match
25th
Organize fundraising dinners
14th 15th 17th 19th
Contact an advertisement
agency and prepare audio, visual and print advertisementsPromote the advertisement using mass media tools such as TV, internet , Radio, Billboards etc, domestically and globally
Starts on the 24th
Ends on the 30th
Prepare direct mail packs, including the newsletter. Post them through mail or electronically. Customer database would be used
Starts on the 19th
Ends on the 30th
Distribute pamphlets and brochures operating from stalls located in public areas and travel expos
21st-29th
Conduct an SMS campaign
14th-20th
Organize games, contests online and give away complimentary gift hampers
17th-27th
Appoint sales personnel and conduct a personal selling campaign. For
5th-15th
example, door-to-door selling, selling in public areasForm a team and assign them with the designing and promotion of the packaging of resort merchandise. For example, souvenirs
7th-11th
Form partnerships locally and abroad with airlines and travel operators to promote the resort’s services
19th-29th
Form a partnership with Kangan Institute for the purpose of training programs
25th-28th
People and Process:Recruit, select and induct staff
11th-20th
Order staff uniforms
1st-7th
Provide induction and training
1st-25th
Assign a task force to develop policies and procedures. Example, OHS,
8th-24th
Security, Customer Service, Booking processesEmbed sustainable practices in the processes
5-7th
Prepare an employee code of conduct
9th-11th
Implement the prepared processes and procedures
19th-21st
Physical Evidence:Achieve 5-star Eco Rating
Starts on the 14th
Ends on the 17th
Design the physical layout (interior & exterior) in accordance with company logo and colour scheme
23rd-28th
Provide a suitable ambience
20th-30th
Print the resort’s logo on all merchandise
17th-24th
Design the website and social networking pages as well as other promotional material in accordance with the resort’s logo and colour
scheme
8.1 Evaluation and Control: The action plan above would be regularly reviewed and evaluated to make room for any necessary amendments or delays/gaps caused by unforeseen circumstances. The evaluation and controlling of this action plan would be done through:
- Regular team meetings conducted on a weekly and monthly basis, with monthly team meetings involving discussions about major issues.
- Performance measurement tools such as Key performance indicators, Gantt charts, progress reports, performance reports (budgeted vs. actual) and milestone charts etc.
- Analysing feedback received from team members who are assigned different duties and responsibilities.
9.0 Business growth and development: The vision statement of the resort states that the resort wants to be a leading provider of nature and culture based eco-tourism, combined with a luxury. Business growth and development are key issues identified by the management and it hopes to achieve the two through constant planning activities. The resort hopes to achieve business growth and development through the following ways:
- Promoting innovative practices within the business and investing in technology to ensure it remains competitive.
- Diversifying the product range to ensure continuous profitability and expanding into newer segments to increase its market share. For example, targeting backpackers and corporate customers, introducing new recreational services such as Para-sailing, quad-biking, jet-skiing etc.
- Investing in sustainability to expand on its competitive edge and attract more customers.
- Investing further in staff training and development to ensure the level of customer service and hospitality provided by staff members is up to mark at all times.
- Spending extensively on brand development and promotional strategies, to stay competitive.
- Expanding operational capacities to achieve economies of scales. - Taking over similar small and medium-sized business in the Asia-Pacific region.- The management plans on opening a second resort of a similar nature in Pakistan.
The advantage being low cost of setting up the resort and operating it, relaxed taxation policies, close proximity to Middle-eastern and South-Asian countries.
10.0 Records: It is essential for every business to maintain its records. This is because good record keeping provides timely and accurate data which helps the business to function more efficiently, thus increasing the profitability of the business. Records come in handy in the preparation of financial statements, provide documentary assistance in order to monitor, evaluate and control performance, help identify past trends and issues and the way they were resolved, as a source of hard, tangible evidence during critical times when references
are needed to be provided, monitoring progress, making comparisons with estimates and during audits etc. Below is a list of the records that would be maintained by the resort:
Financial Documents:
- Bank Statements- Balance Sheets- Profit and Loss Statements- Profit Budgets- Cash Flow Statements- Cash Books- Deposit Books- Cheque Books- Bank Reconciliation Statements- Debtors Records- Creditors Records- Asset Register- Wages and Salary Records- Business Activity Statements- Quote Book- Invoice Book
HR Documents:
- Workplace policies and procedures- Employment Contracts- Weekly Rosters- Offer of employment- Employee Code of Conduct- Induction Checklists.- Enterprise business agreement (EBA)- Annual Leave Application Forms- Medical History of Employees- Police and Reference Check Forms
Marketing Documents:
- Marketing Plan- Marketing Strategy- Marketing Mix- Market Research Findings- Questionnaires, surveys, focus-group sessions findings- Promotional Plans.- SWOT Analysis, PEST Analysis- Competitor Analysis- Research proposals- Product Life Cycle.
Operational and Administrational Documents:
- Copies of Bookings- Tickets and Vouchers- Contact numbers of suppliers, agencies, customers- Schedules and timetables of activities such as trips and tours, shuttle bus service- OHS manuals- Security manuals- Laundry receipts- Kitchen dockets- Housekeeping log books- Customer satisfaction surveys
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