MKT101FC Marketing Fundamentals: Topdeck Travel's External Environment

This discussion post analyzes the marketing environment of Topdeck Travel, focusing on how external factors impact its marketing strategies and overall business. The analysis identifies business competition and demographic trends as the two most significant external factors affecting Topdeck's operations. The company's narrow focus on a specific age demographic (18-39) is identified as a limitation, and the increasing competition within the tourism industry further complicates its market position. The post then proposes strategic recommendations for Topdeck to adapt to these environmental changes. These include broadening its target market to include a wider age range and expanding its service offerings beyond core tourism services to include hospitality, entertainment, and other related services. The objective is to enhance customer satisfaction and build competitive advantage. The provided references support the analysis of the marketing environment. The assignment is a response to a discussion forum post as part of the MKT101FC Marketing Fundamentals course.

Running head: MARKETING AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
MARKETING AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: A CASE STUDY OF
TOPDECK TRAVEL
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1MARKETING AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Explicit Marketing Environmental factor/force and its potential impact on Topdeck Travel
As opined by Powell and Osborne (2015), the business corporations are required to take
into account the external environmental forces or forces for the formulation of their marketing
strategies or for that matter the marketing measures adopted by them. Armstrong et al. (2018) are
of the viewpoint that business competition, governmental policies, natural forces, demographic
factors, technological factors and others are some of the most important factors which affect the
marketing practices followed by the business corporations and also impact their business as well.
In this relation, it needs to be said that the factors of business competition and demographics are
the two most important factors which impact the marketing strategies and the business operations
of Topdeck Travel.
Topdeck Travel focuses on the customers related to the age bracket of 18-39 years of age
for the tourism and travel related services that it offers to the customer (Topdeck.travel, 2019).
However, presently it had been seen that the individuals related to all age bracket like to indulge
in tourism or travel (Mendola & Volo, 2017). Thus, it can be said that the focus of the company
under discussion here on this specific demographic had substantially narrowed down the scope
of the business of the company and thereby adversely affected its growth. In addition to these,
the mushrooming of travel agencies or companies in the last few years had also substantially
intensified the competition within the tourism industry by enhancing the choices or for that
matter the number of options that are available to the customers (Stylidis, Belhassen & Shani,
2017). In the light of these aspects, it can be said that these two are the major factors Topdeck
needs to take into account for the formulation of its marketing strategies and also its business
activities.

2MARKETING AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Best responses to the change in the Marketing Environment
Topdeck Travel in order to overcome the problem of changes in demographic trend need
to modify its target market or for that matter the segment of the population on which it is
presently focusing for the tourism services that it offers. This will help the concerned company to
enhance its customers and thereby earn a higher amount of profitability. More importantly, in
order to overcome the business competition that Topdeck faces it needs to enhance the range of
services which is being presently offered by it. For instance, Topdeck along with the tourism
services that it presently offers to the customers can offer hospitality, transportation,
entertainment, food and beverage and other similar services to the customers. This will help
Topdeck to effectively satisfy the different needs of the tourists and thereby earn their
satisfaction or loyalty which in turn would help it to enhance the amount of profitability earned
by it. These two measures are important for Topdeck since it will help it to earn or gain
competitive advantage as well in the longer run by helping it to enhance its customer base, its
profitability and also the scope of its business as well.

3MARKETING AND EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
References
Armstrong, G. M., Kotler, P., Harker, M. J., & Brennan, R. (2018). Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson UK.
Mendola, D., & Volo, S. (2017). Building composite indicators in tourism studies:
Measurements and applications in tourism destination competitiveness. Tourism
Management, 59, 541-553.
Powell, M., & Osborne, S. P. (2015). Can marketing contribute to sustainable social
enterprise?. Social Enterprise Journal, 11(1), 24-46.
Stylidis, D., Belhassen, Y., & Shani, A. (2017). Destination image, on-site experience and
behavioural intentions: path analytic validation of a marketing model on domestic
tourists. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(15), 1653-1670.
Topdeck.travel, (2019). Topdeck Travel. Retrieved 26 August 2019, from
https://www.topdeck.travel/