Marketing Plan Report: British Airways Expansion Strategy

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a marketing plan for British Airways, evaluating its current marketing strategies and proposing improvements for international expansion. The report begins with an introduction to marketing planning and its importance, followed by an evaluation of British Airways' existing marketing approaches. It then explores various auditing techniques and their impact on the airline. The core of the report focuses on developing a marketing plan for launching new services, including competitor analysis, the 5C and marketing mix analysis, and recommendations for pricing, distribution, and communication. Furthermore, it identifies and discusses the main hurdles in marketing planning, such as organizational barriers and ethical issues. Finally, the report examines ethical considerations in marketing, including consumer ethics and their influence on marketing planning, and recommends ways for British Airways to address these challenges and implement effective marketing strategies. The report concludes with references to relevant academic sources.

Marketing Planning

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Evaluation of BA:..................................................................................................................3
1.2 Techniques for auditing and their effects:.............................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Evaluation of main hurdles in marketing planning................................................................5
task 3................................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Marketing plan to lunch a new services.................................................................................7
3.2 Importance of marketing plan in strategic planning process.................................................9
3.3 Techniques for new product development.............................................................................9
3.4 Recommendation for pricing, distribution and communication mix ..................................10
3.5 Factors affecting effective implementation of marketing plan............................................10
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Ethical issues that influence marketing planning.................................................................11
4.2 Response of BA on ethical issues........................................................................................11
4.3 Consumer ethics and its impact on marketing planning......................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13
2

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is one of the key activity that supports organization in getting success, in the
absence of effective marketing planning companies fail to survive in the corporate market. It is
business document that consists of strategy and tactics of business. The main purpose of creating
marketing plan is to provide direction in order to reach the business objectives (Chaffey, Smith
and Smith, 2012). Present report is based on the British Airways PLC (BA) which is working
tremendous in the airline industry. Recently board of directors have planned that company is
having great potential and can expand in the global market significantly. Top authorities are
planing tom offer quality products and services to the passengers so that profit of the company
can get enhanced.
Current assignment will discuss the changing perspective in marketing planning. Several
techniques for organizational audit will be examined in this study deeply. Various internal and
external factors t hat influence the business activities will be illustrated in this report. Main
barriers in the marketing planning will be discussed in this current assignment (Fahy and Jobber,
2012). In addition, description of several ethical issues that influence marketing plan will be
illustrated in this study.
TASK 1
1.1 Evaluation of BA:
British airways is using good marketing strategies but as the technology is very advance
today there is a need to bring change or modify the existing strategies in order to compete
internationally. There are many ways through which British Airlines can do more effective
marketing and can reach to maximum number of customers. The company can do the strategic
planning which involves deciding in advance what has to b done and how the company will do
the market segmentation. For this a good research of the market needs to be done so that the
company can identify the key customer and plan their sales accordingly(Shamma and Hassan,
2013). Advertisement also play an important role in today's world as through advertisement
company can reach to maximum customer and therefore company should keep the advertisement
very attractive so that it can make maximum customers. After advertisement it is observed that
3

digital marketing is contributing so much in the promotion of any product or service. Through
digital marketing more and people come to know about the product and show interest in it. It is
very easy way of promoting the product as websites are made and customer can just visit those
websites and get the whole information sitting at home. In the aviation companies branding also
help so much in the marketing process as brand comes with a promise to give its best services
and build the companies goodwill in the market. Apart from these strategies the British Airways
can also use the efficiency factor as a medium of promotion like increasing the fuel efficiency by
keeping steeper landing paths,flying more slowly,reduction in plain vapour trials fuller plane
occupancy etc. This help in building good image of the company and also help being cost
effective. World class speaker phones should be used to convey message to the passengers as it
gives the good image of the company(Richey and et. al., 2014).
1.2 Techniques for auditing and their effects:
 Auditing is a very important part of any business or organization as it can be used
as a means of obtaining evidence of regulatory companies. In auditing of aviation
companies audit of any department can be done like in the commercial
operations,emergency medical service,gliding ballooning,parachute parachute operators
etc. Different techniques of auditing are :
 Inspection : It involves examining the records,verifying the authentication of
transaction,check weather the classification of financial transactions are done under
correct head or not. The auditor goes through the various financial records and see there
is no wrong entry is done for the personal benefit and if the auditor finds any mistake he
goes in the details of that transaction(Lee, Kuo and Muhos, 2015). This is the verification
of documents similarly physical verification is also done by the auditor. In this the
physical item is check against the quality and quantity.
 Observation: In this the person doing the audit observe the functioning of the
organization that how work flows in the organization specially the cash transaction that
weather ever ting is done with full transparency or not. This technique is used to check
the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
 Inquiry:It is a technique in which the auditor ask organization related questions from the
employees and other person who are connected with the organization
4

 Analytical Procedure: In this various analysis of the accounting results are done to check
the profitability and growth of any organization. For this purpose ratio
analysis ,reconciliation,marginal costing,standard costing is done.
External factors that affect marketing planning are
1.Political Factors: There is so much of involvement of government in the aviation sector in form
of security high taxes,competition and trade practices. Also the aviation companies has to make
required changes at the time of war or any other emergency(Wrenn and Mansfield, 2014.).
2.Environment factors:Customers are aware about the fact that the airline companies are
contributing in the issues related to environment. Therefore now major part of passengers prefer
to travel in the eco friendly airlines this it is observed that many aviation companies has come
up with eco friendly aero planes that use bio fuel.
3.Social Factors:With the increase in the purchasing power of the middle class trend of going out
in holidays has increased. The passengers have many option with them to choose their traveling
package from different airline and therefore the prices are kept low due to high competition in
the aviation market
4.Technological Environment:This factor has proved to be a blessing for the airline companies.
Now the passengers can book there ticket sitting at home and can get the latest prices of the
concern airline which has made the work more easy for both the passenger and the company.
5.Legal Environment: Different countries have different rules and regulation for the aviation
companies for the safety and security of the passengers and they are needed to be strictly
maintained by the company which increase the running cost of the airlines companies.
TASK 2
2.1 Evaluation of main hurdles in marketing planning.
While doing the marketing planning the company faces various hurdles due to the
external as well as the various internal factors which never remains constant. There are different
hurdles in the marketing planning some are organizational barriers and these barriers arise
because it it very difficult to get the employees who are totally loyal towards the company and
give their best. Sometimes the planning department fails to priorities the companies objective
and give more stress on less important activities There are other ethical issues in the marketing
like loyalty transparency placement etc. Selective marketing is used by the employees due to
5

their personal reasons they avoid the potential customer which is a big loss for the company.
Other issues in the marketing are related to the pricing in which price fixing,price wars,price bias
related practices are adopted which affects the marketing of the services or product. Apart from
these business also face barriers in the marketing due to negative advertising of the product,more
concern regarding the safety of the product service being offered,also the taste and other
controversies(Hung, Chang and Kuo, 2013). As there are many close substitutes available in the
market the customer sometimes get confused as which is best for him and end up in having
mixed information of all the related products. Due to this the customer can not decide as which
product should he opt for and therefore it also become a hurdle for the company to reach its
ultimate customer. Other factors like the demographic factors which keeps on changing like the
growth rate,people switching from one lace to another sex ratio etc. also effect the marketing
planning as it is important to study these factors before starting the marketing planning otherwise
the planning not help to satisfy the the customers in the best manner. Economic factor also
affects the marketing planning as at the time of rescission the purchasing power of the customer
reduces which directly affect the demand in the market and therefore the profit and margin of the
company also gets affected. Above all the government policies also have major effect on the
marketing strategies as government has given many laws related to different sectors and these
laws need to be maintained while doing the marketing of any product.
In order to overcome these marketing barriers company can do the proper planning by
taking the expert advice analyzing the alternatives and by taking charge of every action in
advance as planning help the organization in minimizing the risk that may occur in the future
also the employees should be given the feeling of belonging with the organization. Team
building should b done so that they do not cheat by adopting wrong practices in the marketing
process with the organization and give their best .The organization should keep proper track on
its marketing team and keep the prior records so that the results can b compared with the present
result and deviations should be properly analyzed. Help of latest technology should be taken to
do the effective marketing and make stand in the market where there are many firms in the same
business(Ivanov and et. al., 2015).Proper analysis of the market mix should be done as this will
help the business to formulate good marketing strategies regarding the placement of the product
that which place can give maximum output to the business than the product that which product
6

has maximum demand in the market with the available competition present in the same product
type after that what will be the best price of the product after analyzing the price of the other
substitutes available in market. After deciding about the product place and price the promotion of
any product is also very important as if the product is effective but is is not promoted properly it
is of no use as no will get to know about how good the product is until it is marketed to the
public. In order to overcome the barriers the marketing planner can take the help of internet as it
gives the best results and vast knowledge about the trend and demand in the market.
TASK 3
3.1 Marketing plan to lunch a new services
As British Airways is planning to expand its business for both passenger and cargo
services to new destinations. It is assumed that by offering quality services to new destination
BA will be able to generate more revenues as compare to previous year. Providing quality
services in new destination will help in gaining competitive advantage to the entity. For the
marketing plan BA will have to invest approx £500,000 (Pulendran, Speed and Widing 2015).
Description of marketing plan for launching new services are described as below:
Current situation analyses
Competition is very high and it is very difficult for the organization to survive. Before
launching cargo services to consumers it is necessary for the British Airways to analyses the
situation of market. Cited firm will have to do 5C analyses and marketing mix analyses. Through
this organization will be able to identify the demand of passengers in particular locations
(Sashittal and Tankersley, 2015). By this way entity will be able to offer them required products
and services. In addition, situation analyses will help the organization in knowing the potential of
market and accordingly it will be able to plan its further operations.
SWOT analyses
Once BA has identified the situation and market then after it needs to identify the
strength and weakness of the company. Before spreading news of cargo services cited firm will
have to analyses its strength and weakness. That would help in utilizing the resources
significantly and it will be able to plan for minimizing the loop fall (Wrenn and Mansfield,
2014).
Segmentation, targeting and positioning
7

It is t he next phase of marketing planning, in this BA needs to decide segment in which
cited firm wants to enter. It should go with most profitable segment. After that marketing
manager of the British Airways has to target the consumers. As cargo services are used by
average and high income people so it should choose appropriate medium of targeting the
potential buyers. Once the target market is decided by the entity then after it should have to do
marketing mix analyses and has to develop products and services as per the needs of users
(Hung, Chang and Kuo, 2013). It will help in attracting more consumers towards the brand.
Objectives
British Airways have to set its objectives so accordingly it can plan the activities. As
cited firm wants to expand its business across the world in order to gain high profit.
Marketing strategies
BA needs to use appropriate marketing strategies that can help in attracting more
passenger towards the products and services. By this way purpose of launching a new service
will be accomplished significantly. Cited firm is planning to use relationship and online
marketing strategy. That would help in attaining the goal of the company and it gives huge
success to the organization (Ivanov and et. al, 2015).
Financial planning
Overall budget of the marketing plan is decided by the BA is £500,000, according
marketing manager will allocate the funds to each activity.
Implementation and controlling
It is the end stage of marketing plan in which BA has to implement the activities and has
to monitor them closely. It is necessary to make effective control over those. That would help in
identifying the drawback of current plan so manager will be able to improve those mistakes
immediately (Lee, Kuo and Muhos, 2015). That would support in attaining the goal of the
organization soon.
3.2 Importance of marketing plan in strategic planning process
British Airways is aiming to gain high profit and expansion of business in many other
locations. For that it is necessary to make effective marketing plan so that this objective can be
fulfilled. Sound marketing planning is essential in the strategic planning process for BA.
Significance of marketing planning are described as below:
8

 With the help of marketing planning cited firm will be able to avoid uncertainties of the
business. By this way critical situation will not get raised in the organization. That would
help in smooth running of business (Richey and et. al, 2014).
 Proper planning can assist in preparing all activities well by this way BA will be able to
accomplish their objective soon.
 Marketing manager of BA always involve the employees in the planning process so that
they can share their feelings about consumers perception and needs. It would develop
good relationship with the workers and conflicts situation will get reduced. Satisfaction
level of workers will get enhanced and they will put their best efforts for the welfare of
the company. (Shamma and Hassan, 2013)
 Marketing planning is essential in strategic p0lanning process because it would support in
minimizing unproductive initiatives thus, company will be able to attain its objectives
soon.
3.3 Techniques for new product development
British airways is planning to develop a new product for attracting more consumers in
order to gain high profit. There are several techniques that can help cited firm in development of
new products in the organizations: Testing technique: BA is working well and consumers of the cited firm are satisfied. But
for developing a new product cited firm will have to modify its existing products as per
the need and desires of passengers and it needs to test it in the market. This products
should be available for the limited time duration (Ethical Consumer issue. 2007). This
tool will support in identifying the reaction of consumers whether they are liking the new
product or not. That would help in analyzing the worth of the product before launching it
into market. Apart from this testing will assist in identifying the issues, sales fault etc. so
managers of BA will be able to improve their mistakes.
 Observation: That is another strategy of product development. BA can observe buying
behavior of consumers and accordingly it can forecast the sales of developed products.
By this way company will be able to know about needs and desires of users and it will
offer them products accordingly (Shamma and Hassan, 2013).
9

3.4 Recommendation for pricing, distribution and communication mix
Distribution, price and communication are three main factors that can influence the mind
of consumers to great extent.
British Airways should use market penetration strategy for its new product and cargo
services. In this strategy cited firm needs to offer lower price cargo services in the starting phase,
lower prices will attract more users towards the brand, It will help in gaining attention of
customers to great extent, once people start liking the products and become loyal them after cited
firm should increase the prices. Because people are liking the product and services thus, they will
still buy the products of BA. It will enhance profit margin of the organization. Once, new
product has established in the market then cited firm should increase prices more that would
increase profit of the company. Because in that stage people would have become loyal and they
will buy the higher price products of BA (Lee, Kuo and Muhos, 2015).
Direct distribution strategy is can be recommended for the British airways. It can directly
deal with final users and can eliminate the mediators. By this way it will not have to pay
commission to the agents thus cited firm will be able to offer cheaper products to the consumers.
It can deal through online marketing or through websites with the final users. That would reduce
operational cost and will increase profit of the organization (Ivanov and et. al, 2015).
Social media would be better for the BA in order to enhance communication with the
consumers. Facebook, Twitter etc. will support in making good coordination with the passengers,
through this it will be able to make them aware with the new products. That would help in
achieving goal of the company.
3.5 Factors affecting effective implementation of marketing plan
There are several factors that affect the implementation of marketing plan, these are
described as below:
Economic condition: If the country is suffering from inflation or recession then in such
situation buying power of consumers will get down. By this way implementation will be costly
for the BA and people will not buy such costly products and services,. Thus cited firm will not be
able to accomplish its objectives.
10

Budget: Funds play a significant role in the carrying out of plan. If company is not
having proper budget for the implementation then it would not be able to execute the prepared
plan significantly (Sashittal and Tankersley, 2015).
Competitors: it is another factor that create problem in the implementation. For instance
if before implementing the plan competitors have changed their strategies and prices then cited
firm will have to modify the complete plan. Otherwise, it will not give desired result s to the
organization.
TASK 4
4.1 Ethical issues that influence marketing planning
Ethical issues are such activities which are conducted by the firms and that is against the
law. Wrong attitude can not be accepted by the corporate world and that can give huge loss to the
organizations. For instance advertisement is given by the BA is hurting any particular
community culture then it would be against the norms and that would affect the business of
company. Cited firm has to provide same products and services, as organizations has discussed
in the advertisement (Ethical Consumer issue. 2007).
If entity is offering damaged products or poor services then it can cause problems for the
enterprise. Addition of any wrong punch line in the advertisement is completely unethical and
that can influence the marketing planning because people will oppose this thing and cited firm
will have to modify their operations. It is necessary that BA gives respect to its consumers and
treat them well. If company fails to do this then it may harm its brand image and can cause huge
loss to the organization (Chaffey, Smith and Smith, 2012).
4.2 Response of BA on ethical issues
Ethical issues can be created due to poor advertisement, miscommunication, products
mistakes etc. British Airways needs to give proper respond to the ethical issues by this way it
will be able to enhance its brand image and it will support in running business ethically. For
instance if cited firm has provided damaged goods to the consumers then organization needs to
immediate take action on it and has to replace the product and services. BA should promote the
brand by following government regulations (Sashittal and Tankersley, 2015). That would help in
reducing ethical issues in the workplace and that would make consumers positive towards the
11

brand. It needs to follow trade description act 1968 so that it can avoid problems in the
organization.
4.3 Consumer ethics and its impact on marketing planning
Consumer have rights to buy good quality and products and services by the organization.
But for instance BA does not meet this criteria then whole planning will get failed. Because
people will not liker the poor services of BA and they will be negative towards the brand. For
that cited firm will have to modify its planning soon so that it can accomplish its objective. Apart
from this if managers of employees are behaving well with the customers then it may create
conflict situation (Wrenn and Mansfield, 2014). That would affect the marketing planning and
organization will have to face huge loss. For instance if cargo services of the British airways is
harming the environment due to fuel then it will create negative impact on the marketing plan
and cited firm will not be able to achieving its objective.
12