activity: travel brochures

The travel brochure activity challenges students to identify how marketing practitioners manage the customer, organisation, market, and product considerations. Although this activity could be undertaken in a number of industries the travel industry has been chosen as it is easy to access physical brochures and easy to download PDF brochures. Furthermore, this activity provides a practical example of how one highly competitive industry [the travel industry] deals with the challenges of an aggregate product that has a high degree of customer and organisational involvement. Travel is also of interest to many readers – and more revealing than many industries.

After sourcing the travel brochures – students should employ the travel brochures to identify the philosophy and theory outlined within themarketingconcept [e-book] and identify how marketing practitioners communicate the unique product value proposition. 

It is also worth considering the influence of situational factors [COMP].

The best brochures are the glossy print brochures [e.g., Contiki]. However, collecting a printed travel brochure may not be feasible for all readers – some countries do not have printed travel brochures and a number of readers may be some distance from a travel agency. If you are having difficulty accessing a glossy print brochure then it is best to download a PDF version of the brochure. To make comparisons it may be prudent to source brochure from distinct and distinguishable market segments [e.g., Contiki – Cunard].

considerations

This is an important learning activity. Once you have accessed your travel brochures [online brochures are also suitable] you should then analyse each brochure with the 3 mega-marketing concepts in mind.  Although this activity is designed to reinforce learning, it generally uncovers that readers need to revisit what they studied earlier in the e-book [HINT search the e-book for key words].

  • When would travel be an autocratic decision and a syncretic decision?
  • Identify and discuss the product considerations that are apparent in the brochures
  • Identify core product, expected product, augmented product – perhaps potential product
  • Identify and discuss the product components
    • Goods [%] Services [%] Ideas [%] Experiences [%] Place [%] People [%]
  • Is the presentation of the brochure in keeping with the price [higher quality brochure for more expensive product offerings]?
  • Should the product, under consideration, be classified as: convenience, shopping, specialty, or seminal product classification?
    • Under what circumstances would travel be a seminal product?
  • Is travel a desired or unsought product – are there circumstances when it could vary?
  • In an era of social media is travel a public or private product?
  • As a product when is travel a necessity and/or a luxury?
  • Discuss how travel could meet biogenic and/or psychogenic needs?
  • Generally are the benefits of travel functional or hedonic?
  • Who or what is the recipient; is it directed towards people and/or possessions?
  • Does the travel product involve communication of information?
  • Does the travel product involve mental stimulus?
  • In the brochure under consideration demonstrating a low-price or a product augmentation strategy?
  • Are market segmentation strategies employed? Explain and identify the segment[s]?
  • How does the organisation target/position to different segments?
  • Are there different pricing levels for different customer segments?
  • Are you able to identify the 3-time zones of the buyer decision process?
    • Pre-purchase
    • Product delivery
    • Post-purchase
  • Identify the typical customer journey through the buyer decision process
  • What techniques are employed to help the customers estimate value?
  • How does the brochure influence expectations and satisfaction?
  • What types of risks could you anticipate and how are they managed?
  • How is the product experience delivered [think blueprint for each part]?
  • What are the product considerations?
  • How does the brochure deal with the product considerations?
  • What are the material and non-material product components?
  • Is the service component provided by people – provided by equipment?
  • Does the brochure suggest contact with other people?
  • Does it show types of people a customer might encounter?
  • Are people important to the delivery of the product?
  • Would you consider it low – high contact?
  • Is there any evidence of a process?
  • Is there any evidence that there is a blueprint?
  • Critical incidents that need to be blueprinted
  • Front stage activities – back-stage activities
  • Evidence of roles, script & control
  • Are other customers important to the delivery of the product?
  • Does the brochure contain rules [terms & conditions] defining acceptable customer behaviour?
  • Are there different pricing levels for different levels of demand?
  • What are the patterns of demand and causes?
  • Is there a product promise?
  • Is it backed by a product guarantee?
  • Is there a link to an Internet site to provide further information and advance customers along the salespipeline?
  • Is there interaction with the marketplace and/or marketspace?
  • Do the brochures provide physical evidence of professionalism, credibility, confidence, reassurance, and trust?
  • Does the brochure identify a booking process, cancellation and refund policy, illness?

 

 

error: Alert: Content is protected !!