Words: 1849
dentifying or the process of finding out what the consumer wants, needs or expects. Anticipating or looking forward, that is what will the consumer want, need or expect this time next year? Satisfying or meeting the customer requirements and expectations, that Is, providing the right product, at the right time at the right price. Profitability should be the end result of marketing, either via increased sales, increased market share or introduction ‘The Marketing Concept’ has evolved over a relatively short period of time and I have shown the time scales Involved In the flow chart below.
The main differences between these Orientations are that: Production Orientation is geared around manufacturing efficiencies therefore there Is a restricted range of choice for the consumer. Sales Orientation Is geared around selling large quantities and varlets of products the suppliers deem the consumer wants. Marketing Orientation finds out what the consumer wants, produces the consumer whilst generating an acceptable level of profit margin for the supplier.
Although organizations today have moved more towards Marketing Orientation like both the Sales and Production Orientation there are limitations to the Marketing concept. The cost of marketing could be spent more effectively elsewhere within the organization. Marketing activities may distort the demand, that is, those organizations with the biggest marketing budget get the largest share of the market place through advertising. Those organizations with the strongest ‘strap line’ or USPS (Unique Selling Point) gain the lion’s share of the market place.
These environmental factors are those which the Zoo has far more control over. The most effective tool for analyzing the Macro environment is that of a PESTLE and the analysis relating to Chester Zoo is shown in Appendix 1 . Micro environmental factors should be examined and analyses individually. 1 . Stakeholders Appendix 2. – the Stakeholder analysis relating to Chester Zoo is shown in 2. Competitors can be direct or indirect, that is, other Zoos or other tourist attractions. Analysis of competitors should not be generic but specific to the service provided.
For example, analysis of the food outlets; facilities and rest areas should be carried out at each of the Zoo’s competitors. Michael E Porter created a theory/ tool in April 1979 for understanding where the power lies in a business situation and hence identifying whether a business has the potential to be profitable or not. If we were to apply the Porter’s Five Forces Model to Chester Zoo it would be as follows: Threat of Entry or New Entrants: Low risk as this is a specialist market, any new attraction of a similar size would have significant setting up costs both in terms of finance and time.
Licenses would need to be applied for, animals sourced and staff with the relevant expertise recruited. Power of Buyers: This is heavily dependent on the economic situation the country finds itself in, but currently as the I-J and most of Europe is in the middle off recession this presents a high risk as there is low disposable income which could reduce income from admission sales. Example, catering suppliers would have very little power as there are several alternative suppliers, that is, supply outweighs demand.
However suppliers of the livestock would have high power as they are providing a unique product and therefore demand outweighs supply. Threat of Substitutes: This is a high risk in the current economic climate as disposable income is reduced and therefore consumers will consider which attraction they visit carefully as will be considered to be a big expenditure from their limited disposable income. Within the Northwest alone a consumer has the choice of Blue Planet Aquarium, Chester Historic Town, Blackball Pleasure Beach and Knowingly Safari Park.
Competitive Rivalry: Chester Zoo will need to analyses what competitors offer to make heir product or service more appealing to consumers, for example, family discounts or indoor activities and understand whether they can match or better this offer. Competitive Rivalry would be a high risk if the relevant research is not carried out and the results of the findings not put into action. The customers visiting Chester Zoo are not all the same, nor do they all have the same needs, wants, likes and dislikes.
For an organization like Chester Zoo to accommodate all the requirements of their customers they would need to provide a bespoke product which is not only costly but also unrealistic. Hence an organization s a result of market analysis and analysis of macro and micro environmental factors needs to target a specific customer base, within marketing this process is known as market segmentation. According to Tom Cannon (1997) market segmentation can be defined as: “the strategy whereby an organization partitions the market into sub-markets (segments) which will respond in similar ways to marketing inputs. 2 Cannon believes that segments are more alike and that as a result of this can therefore be reached with a specific marketing mix. There are several categories by which a market can be segmented and some of these are as follows: Geographical – this form of segmentation assumes that the climate; population levels; income level and natural factors will vary on a regional basis. However it also assumes that customers within these regions will be affected similarly by the variations and therefore have common characteristics when it comes to influencing their buying patterns.
Demographic Segmentation – involves dividing the population by age; gender; family size; ethnic background and levels of education. All of these segments will have Gee-Demographic Segmentation – this method of segmentation combines geographic ND demographic segmentation as it is believed that similar households in particular regions display the same buying patterns. Cryptographic Segmentation – divides the population on the basis of social class, lifestyle or personality.
Each of these categories will influence a customer’s buying behavior. For example, lifestyle would determine what type of breakfast cereal bought depending on whether the consumer was health conscious or not. Behavioral Segmentation – looks at behavior patterns, frequency of purchase and brand loyalty, that is, one segments of the market may always buy a particular brand whereas another, for example, a family may buy whatever is on offer at the time of purchase.
Multivariate Segmentation – involves dividing a market not Just by one category (which can lack precision and provide limited value) but by multiple categories which enables an organization to be more specific in creating their marketing strategy as they are able to target their audience with more precision. Segmentation has various benefits for Chester Zoo such as: adding precision to the way in which their consumers are reached; focusing competitive efforts more effectively than their competitors and increasing their understanding of the market.
In relation to Chester Zoo different segmentation would need to be used for such services as catering and the gift shop. I would propose that the following segmentation criteria are used for each of these services. Service Segmentation Criteria Catering Demographic, for example look at a family restaurant and an adults only restaurant. The Gift Shop Cryptographic in particular lifestyle and personality. Demographic, the shop should be aimed at families. Once the process of segmentation has been completed an organization needs to make a decision about who it is going to target.
Targeting strategies can vary according to the product or service provided. Concentration Strategy is used when an organization identifies a very specific segment of the market to target. This strategy is sometimes known as ‘niche- marketing. For example, Propose target and exclusive segment of the market for cars specifically on the needs of a distinctive group of customers. Undifferentiated or mass marketing is used when an organization targets the entire market with one product.
One of the benefits of this type of marketing is that is creates economies of scale, however if also assumes that all consumers are the same and doesn’t take into account their differences. Selective or Differentiated marketing is used by larger organizations such as car manufacturers, for example, the Volkswagen Group. This type of strategy involves the use of a different approach to target a variety of products at a variety of segments in the marketplace and devising a separate marketing mix for each segment.
With reference to Chester Zoo I would use selective marketing by identifying 3 different segments: Families, Educational Establishments and sponsors. All of these segments would require a different marketing mix as each has different requirements. Within the educational segment the targeting strategy could be fractionated even further as the requirements of a University Students differ greatly to those of a Primary School child. Once the market has been segmented and a particular segment been targeted Chester Zoo will need to understand the buyer behavior within the targeted market.
Buyer behavior refers to the analysis of the decision making process behind purchasing a product or service. Prior to making a purchase, particularly where there is a choice a consumer will make a series of decisions about their purchase. It is generally accepted that a purchaser is not an individual person but often will involve two or more people known as the ‘decision-making unit’ or DAM. Within a DAM there are several roles which are adopted by the members. USERS – the people who will ultimately use the product, for example at Chester Zoo these will be the visitors.
Hence in order to market Chester Zoo to a family with young children the campaign should focus on: Value for money Catering for children of all ages. Indoor and outdoor things that can be done. Ease of access from the motorway network and train stations and the large amount of parking. Fun for all the family. Conservation and animal welfare and the fact that the money from visitors is invested into conservation projects and the first class animal upkeep.
Positioning a product or service involves identifying the key variables which are deemed to be important to the customer. In order to assess the key variables market research is a useful tool to understand the motivations behind buying a certain product, for example, price, quality or ease of use the most important factor when purchasing a washing machine. A positioning plan should go through various stages: their needs; create a marketing mix to develop the image of the product and promote the positive image to customers.
In relation to Chester Zoo the positioning of a family cafe should be as follows assuming that the two key variables are price and quality. High Price Not Healthy Chester Zoo 1 Toby Carvers Healthy McDonald’s Chester Zoo 2 Gregg Kingsbury Sandwiches Homemade Picnic Chester Zoo 1 is the positioning perceived by consumers Chester Zoo 2 Target positioning, that is, priced to cover costs and a small amount of profit; reasonable enough to encourage business; healthy enough to meet Mum’s requirements but not so healthy it is not attractive to children.