Emirates Airline: CRM Techniques and Promotional Mix Strategies Report

This report, prepared for the Marketing Director of Emirates Airline by a Marketing Consultant from A Business Consultants Ltd., evaluates the effectiveness of the airline's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) techniques and promotional mix strategies. It defines key terms such as CRM, market orientation, and customer centricity, and examines specific CRM techniques employed by Emirates, including the Skywards loyalty program and the Windows 8 CRM application, assessing their effectiveness and identifying areas for improvement. The report also analyzes Emirates' promotional mix, encompassing advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations, and suggests strategies for future promotional campaigns. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing current CRM techniques and promotional strategies to improve customer engagement and market position. The analysis is based on an understanding of the airline's operations and market position. The report also includes detailed analysis of the effectiveness of various marketing techniques adopted by the company, suggestions to improve the current techniques, and a detailed overview of the company's promotional mix strategies.

RUNNING HEAD: Marketing
Marketing

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Key Terms and Definition...............................................................................................................2
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)..............................................................................2
Market Orientation.......................................................................................................................3
Customer Centric.........................................................................................................................3
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Techniques...............................................................3
Range of CRM techniques...........................................................................................................3
Range of CRM techniques for Emirates Airline and its effectiveness........................................4
Recommendations for improving current CRM techniques............................................................5
Promotional Mix Techniques..........................................................................................................6
Promotional mix...........................................................................................................................6
Promotional mix techniques.........................................................................................................6
Evaluation of current promotional mix strategies........................................................................8
Other promotional mix strategies.................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
As a Marketing Consultant for A Business Consultants Ltd., the following report has been
prepared to be addressed to the Marketing Director of Emirates Airline. This report evaluates the
effectiveness of CRM techniques currently used by Emirates Airline for developing their market
orientation and customer centric objectives along with some recommendation for improving
CRM. This report also evaluates the promotional mix techniques adopted by Emirates Airline
along with some suggestions regarding a promotional mix strategy which could be utilized by
Emirates Airline in the future.
Emirates is a Dubai based airline which was founded in the year 1985. Today Emirates has
become one of the largest airlines in the world. It aims at offering their customers the comforts of
most efficient and latest wide-body Aircraft in the skies. Emirates have a growing network of
global destinations, regionally inspired cuisines, industry prominent inflight entertainment and
world- class service.
In order to make its offerings more promising to the target audience, Emirates group has
positioned itself on the basis of psychographic and geographic segmentation. Brand equity is
witnessed in the marketing strategy of Emirates Airline. For the purpose of attracting the
customers, various promotional drives have been initiated such as frequent flyer program.
Moreover, loyalty programs such as Skywards have been introduced for encouraging the loyal
customers for making the continuous use of the services of Emirates Airlines which in turn will
provide them with redeemable points which could be utilized in future.
Key Terms and Definition
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Customer relationship management can be defined as the strategies, practices and technologies
used by the companies for the purpose of managing and analyzing customer interactions and data
throughout the lifecycle of a customer with the objective of helping in improving sales growth,
customer retention and customer service relationships. Customer relationship management can

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also be explained as a process with the help of which all the aspects of customer identification,
creation of customer knowledge, structuring customer relationships and influencing their
viewpoints of the business and its products (Peelen, 2008).
Market Orientation
Market orientation can be defined as the philosophy adopted by a company which focuses on the
discovery and meeting of the needs and wants of its customers with the help of a product mix. In
other words, market orientation is a corporate business philosophy that puts the satisfaction of
the customers at the priority, taking into consideration the importance of other market factors
(Lambin, 2013). For example, market orientation of a car company would require research
regarding the needs and wants of the customers in a car instead of followings the trends adopted
by other manufacturers. This in turn will assist in improving sales and relationship with
customers.
Customer Centric
The term customer centricity can be defined as a strategy with the help of which the development
and distribution of the goods and services of a company is aligned with the current and future
requirements of a selected set of consumers with the view to maximize their long-term financial
value to the firm (Fader, 2012). In other words, customer centric is an approach adopted by the
businesses for the purpose of focusing on the creation of positive experience for the clients. For
example, McDonald’s responded to the changes in customer tastes by serving only chicken that
are not raised up with antibiotics. In this way, the analyses of the customer data and interactions
resulted in customer retention thereby improving the relationship with customers.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Techniques
Range of CRM techniques
A variety of CRM techniques can be adopted by organizations. Some of them are explained
below:
Building up a comprehensive viewing of “customer journey” map- Gathering of data related to a
customer assists in formulating the marketing strategy of the company with regard to customer

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interaction. This also helps in tracking the needs and wants of the target audience (Knox, Payne,
Ryals, Maklan & Peppard, 2007).
Creating Loyalty Programs- CRM software can be utilized for finding out the accounts
responsible for creating most revenue. The information can be utilized for creating loyalty
programs for the respected customers which will create a memorable experience for them (Al-
Azzam & Khasawneh, 2016).
Personalizing the interactions- Personalization of interactions will significantly impact both
purchase and post-purchase relationship with the customers. The satisfied customers will further
refer the services on various other platforms.
Range of CRM techniques for Emirates Airline and its effectiveness
Skywards- Emirates Airline utilizes Skywards as one of the CRM strategy. It allows the
customers to gain and spend Skywards miles with Emirates and a variety of partners along with
the enhancement of their travel experience with various advantages and services that make their
trip more rewarding (Marathe, 2015).
The effectiveness of Skywards loyalty program is visible in the continuation of the program for
17 years and increasing members which are now estimated to be 20 million. The program has 15
airline partners and 49 hotel partner brands which covers approximately 4,30,000 properties
across the globe. Since the incorporation of the program in the year 2000, the members of
Emirates Skywards have redeemed above 245 billion miles on hotel stays, rewards flights and
biggest events in the world. This has significantly resulted in better customer service which
increased loyalty of the customers and reduced customer dissatisfaction (Writing, 2018).This
was therefore established as the benchmark in the competitors who also adopted similar loyalty
programs for increasing their loyal members. Now, the average of 2,20,000 new members are
welcomed every month worldwide (Emirates, 2018). The top five countries with the largest
customer base include UK with 2.6 million members, US with 1.8 million members, Australia
with 1.7 million members and India and UAE with 1.4 million members each (Klophaus, 2016).

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The ineffectiveness of the technique lies in the fact that this was becoming less profitable for
Emirates with each successive day. Therefore, relevant changes are made on frequent basis for
reducing the miles earned on less expensive economy tickets and for making it harder for
upgrading Economy tickets to Business class. Moreover, similar programs have also been
initiated by the competitors which have become threat for Emirates airline.
Windows 8 CRM application- Emirates airline has created a Windows 8 based CRM
application on tablet computers which were rolled out on the planes. The app is developed for
laptops but by way of making the accessibility of the program for tablets, the concentration on
customer experience by the flight crews became easier. Emirates believe that the recording of
flight incidents by the crew provides full picture of customer feedback. All types of information
were captured ranging from positive customer feedback to complaints regard the food. (McKoen,
2018). The technique was effective as emails were sent to 26 departments regarding all the good
and bad things. This provided the management with all the information regarding what is
happening on the flight. This technique significantly improved the number of customers using
Emirates airlines due to increased focus of the airlines on the satisfaction of the customers
(Khodakarami & Chan, 2014). The concerns of the customers are taken into consideration by the
management including the type of food preferred, etc.
The ineffectiveness of this technique lies in the fact that an application cannot beat the actual
recording of the customer experience by the crew members. The application suffers from the
threat of failing anytime. Moreover, some of the important recordings are always missed out by
the CRM application. The success of the application has created various competitors in the way
of success of Emirates Airlines. The weakness of the CRM application is that till the time
feedback is received by the management, the flight is already over which dissatisfies the
customers and also affects customer retention.
Recommendations for improving current CRM techniques
There is always a need for improvement in each and everything. Similarly, the current CRM
techniques also have a scope of improvement.
 Today’s market is suffering from strong competition. Therefore, the Skywards loyalty
program needs to lower down the highly set marks on which the miles are provided to be

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redeemed. For the purpose of staying competitive in the market, the benefits arising from
spending the miles should also be increased in order to attract more customers (Karamata,
Chroneos-Krasavac,& Soldic-Aleksic, 2017).
 Skywards loyalty program should launch some innovation every year along with some
changes in the various plans for different premium members after taking into
consideration the benefit of the members.
 Some improvements should be made on constant basis in the Windows 8 CRM application
in order to bring continuous improvement in the application for enhancing the experience
of the customers on the flight such that it can track the requirement and needs of the
customers.
 Windows 8 CRM application should be programmed such that instead of updating the
management regarding the good and bad experiences of the customers at the end of
flight, it should inform the management regarding the experiences in between the flight
so that steps can be taken for the improvement.
Promotional Mix Techniques
Promotional mix
Promotional mix is the use of advertisement, techniques, sales promotion, personal selling, trade
fairs, point of sale displays, public relations and direct mail to create customer awareness and
influence them to buy. It is used to maintain and increase demand for goods and services. The
objective of promotional mix is to increase sales, boost repeated sales, remind customers of
existing products and encourage retailers to promote products. The several tools which facilitate
the promotional objective of a firm are known as promotion mix. The aim of promotion mix is to
inform, persuade, image creation and re-assurance.
Promotional mix techniques
The promotional techniques of company are very competitive. The slogan of Emirates airline “
Fly emirates keep discovering” is attractive enough.
Advertising:

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Advertising is paid form of non-personal presentation. Emirates airline tries to build a pull
strategy wherein customers are influenced to try service of company at least once. Emirates
airlines advertise through various ways. The advertisement for the company is managed by
Motivate publishing for magazines and Spafax for TV advertisement. The company uses print
ad, digital advertising and support media. The company has signed up Jennifer Aniston for the
global advertising push. It spends huge amount on securing global TV spots for the promotional
campaign. It has increased presence in the US market and has been regarded highly regarded
international airlines. The company uses red colour in it’s logo which represents prosperity,
confidence and leadership.
Personal selling:
Personal selling is the traditional form of promotion mix. In this technique face to face
interaction is made between company representative and customer. It is used to influence
customers to use service of airlines. Under this campaign Emirates airline makes use of internet
and mobile marketing. The company uses own website and fan pages to stay connect with
customers. The fan pages like Facebook and Twitter helps company to stay close to customers
(Beik & Galbraith, 2016). The company has also launched mobile applications to build
memorable experience with customers.
Sales promotion:
Emirates airline offers various sales promotion tools. The promotion campaign of company
creates thrill among target customers. The campaign of company known as “First flight bonus
mile” creates huge response among customers. The company also offers various discounts,
coupons and other promotional tools. Skywards is one of the viral promotions of company where
it offered the more customers fly, more they get.
Public relation:
Emirates airline did public relation campaign on their 150th anniversary at Melbourne. The idea
behind camapaign was to deliver public realtion campaign to support sponsorship of Melbourne
cup festival. It generated $25,743,968 million which is the most remarkable result generated in
seven year partnership of world class luxury airline (Dinçer, Hacıoğlu & Özdemir, 2015).

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Direct marketing:
Emirates reach direct to customers without any intermediary. The company made customer
database through the tablets on board. It helps to collect information. Emirates send new offers
and discounts depended on the usage of exclusive services avail by customers. The company do
not personal selling. But for some regular clients, it provides experienced service to their clients
(Wafik, Abou-Shouk & Hewedi, 2017).
Evaluation of current promotional mix strategies
Advertising:
Emirates airline advertises in newspapers, magazines, billboards and on TV channels. The
company uses advertising to increase brand awareness in various markets. It is the traditional and
old method used by company for promotions. This technique has been successful because
advertisement is the most popular method and awareness can be spread in all age groups.
Advertisement works well as the amount spend by company results in achieving objectives of
company. The advertisements such as wonderful life and Dubai welcomes the world has spread
brand awareness in various markets.
Personal selling:
The company is less involved in personal selling. The company has huge number of customers.
In this case personal selling cannot be successful in dealing with each customer. Emirates can
only provide experienced service to a few regular clients. In this scene personal selling is not
successful for company. So, the company has less contribution in personal selling. In the
personal selling company makes use of social platforms and online applications (Alam, Faiz &
Aftab, 2015). The customers of old age group are not much comfortable in using such options
which results in dissatisfaction among employees. It is also threat for the company when the
customers of competent airlines write negative remark about the services of company (Thao,
Wozniak & Liebrich, 2017). It affects brand image of company. When it comes to selling
Emirates believes in direct marketing. So, Emirates has been unsuccessful in using personal
selling as promotional tool as it does not work well for company.
Sales promotion:

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Emirates have been successful in various sale campaigns. It offers various discounts, deals and
coupons as a part of promotional tool. The sales of company are expected to high when the
company enables sales promotions. Emirates achieves good level of sales by it’s various
campaign such as first flight bonus mile and skywards. It has significantly increased number of
travellers during sale promotion period. Emirates offer the best prices and opportunity to pick
price of choice on the flexible dates. It also offers various gifts to children on board. The sales
promotion has also build strong customer relationship with passengers (Jeng, 2016).
Other promotional mix strategies
Emirates can also make use of other promotional mix strategies other than the discussed above:
Corporate image:
Corporate image is similar to public relations except it is more direct in nature. It shapes the
image of company in a unique way. Corporate image is related to branding. Emirates airline can
be benefitted by using corporate image as it stops declining of sales trend because of poor
perception of customers about service of company. The company can make use of this campaign
to fix it’s image after crash of aircrafts or such incidents (Shaw, 2016).
Sponsorship:
Sponsorship deals with the image of company. It can take place when the Emirates link itself to
any event which puts good impact in the community. It puts impression company is giving abck
something to public. It can be a non-charitable event where the service of the company closely
relates to sponsoring a team. It helps in brand enhancement if it is done with other strong brand
name. It can also help Emirates to enter into niche market (Redpath, O'Connell & Warnock-
Smith, 2017). This technique is cost effective.
Internet presence:
It is the best way use internet for promotional techniques by providing relevant data on website.
It contains factual information of company about it’s services. Emirates can establish online

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presence to compete with other airline services. If the sites are optimised then the sales will
increase. Establishing presence on internet can be a big key for company to promote it’s services
(Vij, 2017).
Above and below the line:
Above the line includes tactics to reach mass audience. It can be used for new as well as for
established business. It uses traditional form of advertising such as TV, radio, print media and
internet to reach customers. Below the line includes advertisement other than TV, radio and
print. There are sales promotion, sponsorship, public relations, direct marketing and
merchandising which are used in below the line technique. To enhance sales of Emirates it uses
below the line which is more effective (So, King, Hudson & Meng, 2017). It also helps to attain
other benefits from promotional activities. It increases the number of selling services many
times than above the line technique. It is also possible to measure the accuracy of below the line
media.
AIDA:
AIDA is acronym of Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. It is the founding principle of day to
day marketing and advertising. Emirates can use Aida for marketing, but it needs to follow all
the four steps of AIDA otherwise company can fail. It attracts attention of customers and
persuades them to take action (Marathe, 2015). These four steps of AIDA can make customers to
use service of company.
Awareness: It helps to create brand awareness with service of company. It grabs attention of
customers.
Interest: It is the challenging stages in AIDA. It generates interest in the benefit of service of
Emirates. It creates sufficient interest to encourage customers to research for products and
services.
Desire: Through emotional concern the service can show brand personality. It converts liking of
customers into want. It develops a favourable outlook towards company.

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Action: It moves the buyer to interact with the company and take next step. It includes
downloading brochure, making phone call and engaging in live chat (Lohmann & Spasojevic,
2018).
Conclusion
Emirates Airlines have achieved success in the airline industry due to the adoption of various
CRM techniques and promotional mix. This report focused on the range of CRM techniques
adopted by Emirates Airline along with their effectiveness and ineffectiveness. In the above
report, promotional mix strategies used by Emirates have been discussed which are advertising,
personal selling, sales promotion and public relation. Further the critical evaluation of
promotional strategies has been done. It shows how they work and are successful or unsuccessful
for the company. Other promotional strategies are also introduced which Emirates can use for
further promotions. These are sponsorship, internet presence, corporate image, above and below
the line and AIDA. These strategies can significantly enhance sales of company.
References
Alam, M., Faiz, M. and Aftab, M., 2015. Mobile Marketing: A Study of Buying
Intention. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 7(3), pp.218-226.
Al-Azzam, A. and Khasawneh, R., 2016. Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM):
A Strategy for Customer. Strategic Uses of Social Media for Improved Customer Retention, p.45.
Beik, N. and Galbraith, J., 2016. Fan identification and the perception of the sponsor-team fit:
The case of Emirates Airlines and Arsenal FC.
Dinçer, H., Hacıoğlu, Ü. and Özdemir, A., 2015. Financial Implications of Relationship
Marketing in Airline Business. Handbook of Research on Behavioral Finance and Investment
Strategies: Decision Making in the Financial Industry: Decision Making in the Financial
Industry, p.405.