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The recent alliance with Emirates may be considered as an example of geographical segmentation as they have moved their hub and central operations from Singapore to Dubbed to target a different and larger segment of consumers I. E Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Figure 6 indicates that SANTA is the preferred domestic airline among a substantial portion of Australian business travelers. It is apparent that domestic travel represents a large segment to KANATA which should continue to target as a prime Figure 6 (AC research, 2012) 6. SANTA positioning: Positioning is an effort to influence consumer perception of a brand or product relative to the perception of a brand or product relative to the perception of a competing brand or product. Its objective is to occupy a clear, unique & advantageous position in the consumer’s mind (Objectifications. Mom, 2014) SANTA had positioned itself differently by developing a marketing mix (using product, place, price & promotion) that sets it apart from other airlines & offers competitive value to its customers.
Let’s see how SANTA has tried to position itself differently in the airline industry: 1. Service : Santa has launched a new brand positioning – uniform the reason we fly’ – as the airline sets out on what marketing boss Lewis Pulled today described as “the most multi-channel, multi-dimensional campaigns ever launched in Australia. A Santa AWAY and a Boeing 8737 will have he “Spirit of Australia” slogan changed to “Spirit of Australians”. Consumers will be asked to upload their names in the hope of having them appear as one of hundreds emblazoned on the planes. Umbrella, 2012) SANTA is trying here to position itself as a carrier completely focused towards satisfaction of it’s customers with special attention to Australian citizens which is why the slogan is changing from “Spirit of Australia” to “Spirit of Australians” as they represent a major segment of their business growth . The promotion factor of the marketing mix was used for positing the brand name. Figure 7 (umbrella, 2012) 2. Product: SANTA is investing to ensure that the fleet that carries it’s passengers to all destination remains one of the most advanced in the world.
Over the next 10 years, the Santa Group has committed capital investment worth around IIS$17 billion* in more fuel efficient, next generation aircraft, such as the Airbus AWAY, Boeing 787 Dream liner and Airbus AWAY neo. Fleet renewal will offer the greatest fuel-efficient aircraft (Objectifications. Com, 2014) 3. The airline company is trying here to position itself through focusing on the product in order to remain competitive n the market and gain competitive advantage Figure 8 (Centrifugation. Mom, 2014) 7. 0 Buyer Behavior: Buyer Behavior understands the needs of customers, what motivates them to purchase, and how to influence the buying process to ensure that your products or services are on the list. Understanding customers will help to develop and distribute products, as well as getting the right price point and developing successful promotional activities. (Cam. Co. UK, 2014) Santa could tailor its promotions based on the below buyer behavior patterns: 8. 0 Marketing Strategy and Planning:
Marketing strategy and planning is the advertising and marketing efforts for the coming year; it includes a statement of the marketing situation, a discussion of target markets and company positioning and a description of the marketing mix you intend to use to reach your marketing goals (Entrepreneur, 2014) Marketing planning process consists of 7 steps which include : understanding the corporate mission and objectives, conducting a detailed marketing audit using the ups,developing marketing objectives, developing marketing strategies, preparing a marketing plan and integrating the plan with all other elements of the marketing plan.
It is important to note that a marketing plan should be documented in order to compare outcomes year after yearly Santa had unidentified it’s strength,weaknesses,opportunities and threats based on which the company now is capable of solid corporate mission and objectives statement in order to have clear vision of the company. The company needs to focus on the core competencies to add customer value which will in turn reflect back to the shareholder.
This as mentioned earlier requires professional planning of the marketing mix (ups) to meet customer needs. Porter’s Five Forces is a impel managing tool which provides the threat forces towards distracting customers away from the business. Let’s analyze the possible forces which may relate to Santa : Figure 9 (Harvard Business Review, 2014) 1 . Threat Of Substitute Products : Santa needs to analyze carefully the alternative competitor airlines in the market and analyze what might attract customers towards other airlines.
They might need to focus on what lacks them in comparison with other airlines and what key elements does Santa have that gives them competitive advantage. 2. Bargaining powers of Buyers : With the increasing technology customers can now easily compare airlines and get easy access to various promotions to different airlines websites and get to know different prices, promotions and extra benefits. The widely spread of airline forums such as reliability. Et has opened wide doors for customers to speak loud and get feedback and advice from previous travelers regarding a particular airline. Santa needs to ensure high alcove new entrants : Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines are discussing more strategic alliances which could result in more flights to Australia that would, in turn, eat onto Santa declining market share, particularly in international operations (International Business Times, 2012) 4.
Bargaining powers of Suppliers: would reflect in the process of all supplies to SANTA including but not limited to fuel, technology, catering, engineering… Etc which represents a challenge in terms of increasing costs to the airline. Figure 10(Superciliousness’s. Com, 2014) Conclusion: The airline industry is a fast changing industry with lots of increasing growing competition in the market due to introduction of new entrants, segmentation of the market towards high income and low income travel and changing travel trend.
Santa a well established company in the airline market with very strong capabilities, people and fleet has all the potential to stand as a leading airline, however it has two major challenges which consist of strict government regulations with regards to foreign capital interference and decreased passengers share due to new local entrants to the market which are backed up by strong mergers with different carriers resulting in a stronger route network.