Marketing Plan Analysis and Development for British Airways

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of British Airways' marketing plan. It begins with an introduction to marketing planning and its changing perspectives, followed by an evaluation of BA's ability to plan future marketing activities. The report examines organizational auditing techniques using SWOT and PESTLE analyses to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. It then assesses barriers to marketing planning and suggests strategies to overcome them, utilizing appropriate theories. A significant portion of the report focuses on developing a marketing plan for the launch of a new service, including pricing, distribution, and communication strategies, while also addressing implementation challenges. The report concludes by exploring the influence of ethical issues and consumer ethics on marketing planning within British Airways, offering valuable insights into the airline's strategic approach.

MARKETING
PLANNING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
1.1 Review the changing perspective in marketing planning................................................3
1.2 Evaluate BA ability for planning its future marketing activity........................................4
1.3 and 1.4 examine techniques for organizational auditing..................................................5
TASK 2......................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Using appropriate theories, assess the main barriers to marketing planning and examine
how BA may overcome these barriers...................................................................................7
TASK 3......................................................................................................................................7
3.1. Based on your analysis in Task 1; write a marketing plan for the launch of a new
services for BA.......................................................................................................................7
3.2. Explain why marketing planning is essential in the strategic planning process for BA. 8
3.3. Using BA, examine techniques for new product development.......................................8
3.4. Justify recommendations for pricing policy, distribution and communication mix for
the new product......................................................................................................................9
3.5. You are required to explain how factors affecting effective implementation of the
marketing plan have been taken into account........................................................................9
TASK 4....................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Using BA, explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning............................10
4.2 Analyse examples of how BA responds to ethical issues..............................................10
4.3 Analyse examples of consumer ethics and their effect on marketing planning in BA. .10
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Marketing planning can be defined as the plan made by the organization to aware the
customers about the products and the services which they will render to their customers. it is
the strategy made by the organization which include all process starting from promotion,
pricing , distribution etc. this report talks about the British Airways which is one of the
largest airlines in the United Kingdom and it is known for its luxurious survey which they
provide to their customers. Further, swot and pestle analysis is carried out to know the factors
which will directly or indirectly affect the functioning of BA. On the other hand, barriers of
marketing planning and the solutions related to it will be described effectively. Besides this, a
new product will be developed and for that the whole marketing plan will be carried out to
effectively market their product.
Company’s overview
British airways are the largest airline in the United Kingdom according to the size of
the fleet. If it is measured by the passengers then it is the second largest airline. The
organization was established in the year 1972 and it is operating in the industry from very
long time. in the year 2007, the organization purchased 12 airbus, 24 boeing, this shows the
financial capability of the firm. On the other hand, it is famous for the marketing which the
firm perform to attract their customers. In the year 1989 the musical theme was used for the
advertisement as this attracted the customers towards the promotion which was made by
British Airways (About British Airways, 2017). Besides this, they are in relation with the
Saatchi and Saatchi agency which are famous for creating advertisement. Through this, it can
be witnessed that the organization put emphasis on the advertisement and marketing of the
products and the services. Other than creating the advertisement, British Airways is the
official airline of the Wimbledon championship and even it was the partner of the Summer
Olympics 2012. This shows that it is giving its presence in all the fields. It is the contributor
in main events which are held in England.
1.1 Review the changing perspective in marketing planning
Marketing planning is one of the crucial functions of the functions. The organization
can attain success if they are effectively planning their marketing activities. But according to
the increasing competition and changing the needs of the customers, concept of marketing
planning has been changed significantly.

 Customer viewpoint- In the earlier time, BA airlines concentrated on the particular
countries or the cities. But due to the increasing competition, they are planning to
expand their services in 7 new destinations. This is because the customers demand is
increasing. To make the airline successful, the firm will be required to attract the
customers by making them aware about the services (Aurelian and et.al., 2010). In the
past time, marketing was not given emphasis because the customer approached the
BA for fulfilling their needs and requirements. But with the changing time, it is
required by the organization to lure the passengers by carrying out aggressive
advertisement.
 Developing competitive advantage- the concept of marketing planning has been
totally changed because it was used as a tool for promoting the services. But now
marketing planning has become a strategy for creating competitive advantage. In case
of BA, they need to focus on the marketing strategy because it is perceived that if the
marketing of the services are carried out effectively then the product will also be good
(Lovelock, 2011). In the previous time, the competitive advantage was dependent
upon the supply chain or the product, but at the present time, marketing planning has
been used to develop competitive advantage.
1.2 Evaluate BA ability for planning its future marketing activity
Marketing planning is the strategy which requires finance, human resources, and
physical resources to carry out the future planning for BA. If there are effective resources
with the firm then they can effectively plan their strategy to conquer the competitors. In case
of BA, as it is one of the oldest airlines so it has several abilities which can help in planning
the marketing activity (Shankar and et.al., 2011). In case of finance, it has huge amount
which the organization can spend on its marketing activity. As for promoting the services, the
organization need finance so that they can adopt different sources through which they can
make the passengers aware regarding the services which they will be render to the individual.
On the other hand, brand recognition is also one of the most important ability which is
possessed by the British airways. It is very beneficial that all the passengers recognize the
brands as this helps the organization to easily attract the customers. In this case, through the
marketing planning they are not required to make the passengers aware about the brand but
they will direct promote their services (Wang and Pizam, eds., 2011). Besides this, with the
positive brand image, the customer will easily trust the services provided by the airlines.

On the other hand, BA posses the efficient workforce they have employees who are
expert in their work. Besides this, the organization is further known for its technical and
engineering department. British Airways have effectively adopted the technology regarding
the customer services and other means to provide convenience to the individual. This will
help the organization in effectively making marketing planning with the help of their
engineers. These are the abilities which are possessed by the BA which will help in planning
marketing activities.
1.3 and 1.4 examine techniques for organizational auditing
Organizational auditing is important for the organization to analyze and evaluate the
areas which need to be focused by the firm. Besides this, this is essential because BA can
identify their actual position in the market. Further, organizational auditing will help to
analyze the weak areas which need improvement (McDonald and Wilson, 2011). The
organizational auditing will be carried out by using SWOT and PESTLE analysis.
Strength
 It has more than 90 years experience
in the airlines field. It is operating its
services in 170 locations.
 It has the strong engineering tea, to
maintain the aircraft fleet if any
problem arises (Kobylanski and
Szulc, 2011).
 The major strength is that it has
support of the government.
Weakness
 The major weakness that more than
50% of the revenues comes from the
UK market.
 They are operating their activities
worldwide but still, there are several
undeveloped countries where the
airlines have not planned their
operations.
Opportunity
 They have huge opportunity to
expand their market in the developing
countries because the needs and
demands of the infrastructure are
increasing.
 There are several opportunities for
the BA to expand their market as
small players are exiting the industry
Threat
 Government rules and regulations are
changing in the short period of time.
They have raised the pay, safety and
security which are hampering the
operations and the firm has to spend
more money (Sadjadi, Yazdian and
Shahanaghi, 2012).

due to government rules and
regulations.
Pestle analysis
 Political analysis- This factor includes the taxes which are made by the government.
Due to the unstable environment of UK, the government focused on the saving the
finance. This affected the expansion of the BA.
 Economical analysis- due to the less purchasing power and less credit facilities for the
customers, the individual have not gone for the holiday trips. This affected the profit
and the growth of the British Airways.
 Social- cultural factors- The target of this airline is basically the individual who are
going for the holiday trips. This is because they are flying to many destinations so
they can fulfil the need and requirements of the customers. Besides this, they are
ahead in the competition with the domestic budgeted flights of Europe as they
provided the customers with the better services (Whalen and Holloway, 2012).
 Technological factors- BA have introduced the self service and the check in machines
so that the customers do not have to wait in the long line. As it can save ample of
minutes of the customers.
 Legal factors- There are several legal factors which affects the operations of the
business. The airlines and the transportation facilities are controlled by the legal
norms. BA comes across the infrastructure facilities and the slot capacity which are in
the hands of the government (Shankar and et.al., 2011). According to the slot only,
the organization is required to make the schedule of the flights.
 Environmental factors- The airline industry has huge impact on the environmental
factors. Due to the increasing global warming and the environmental issues, the
government had made the regulations to curb down the radiations which come from
the aircraft. Besides this, they are also focusing on reducing the emissions so that air
pollution can be reduced to a great extent.

TASK 2
2.1 Using appropriate theories, assess the main barriers to marketing planning and examine
how BA may overcome these barriers
There are some theories which can be used in British Airways to assess the barriers in
marketing planning which can help to develop a strong marketing strategy for the
organisation. There are many barriers which are complicated and very puzzling when it
comes to customer during marketing planning is taken into consideration. The theories used
are SWOT analysis and PESTEL analysis through which they will come to know about the
barriers in the British Airways, by looking at the strengths, weakness, threats and
opportunities of the organisation (Hakimpoor, Tat and Arshad, 2011). And even by knowing
the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal thing going on in the
organisation. Sometimes it is also enables to identify its own target market. It makes you
think about both long and short term strategies of the market. It also gives the clearness about
what to do and which marketing tools must be applied. There are some strategies which are
planned and are bad and they leave the customer with a bad marketing and communication.
To overcome through these barriers in British Airways there are some strategic
planning which are very important for the management. The barriers which create problems
are analysis through which we can know about weakness strength etc (Lee and Kotler, 2011).
There are some task which are analysed and are overwhelmed by the amount of information
on the large basis and can help in overcoming with the issues that create barrier, even if these
information has lot of problems in it, it may create a barrier can be resolved. They tell us
what to do and how to do and analyse the problem by using theories which helps the
managers to process the strategic analysis. They set the agenda for overcoming by setting the
agenda which as barrier related to it.
TASK 3
3.1. Based on your analysis in Task 1; write a marketing plan for the launch of a new services
for BA.
On the basis of SWOT and PESTEL analysis there are some marketing plan which
can be launched for the new services for British Airways. The strength of the organisation is
very important if they want to generate some new services. As being strong the strength is
important part. The weakness may overcome by ignoring all the barriers and creating new

services by deleting all the weaknesses. To generate new services they must know about the
opportunities which are to be generated by including new things which are important for
British Airways. And by overcoming the threats they can know about all the negative things
which are to be ignored while generating new services (Terpstra Foley and Sarathy, 2012).
Every organisation has political factors which influenced and are affected by the marketing
strategies but they can also be overwhelmed for new services. They comprise the regulations
and legal issue in the organization. They also have an economic factor which is
internationally and locally affected in business. Their impact on nature is very competitive
which are faced by the British Airways. Social and environmental factors are related to with
are level of production. Technological factors are important for the competitive advantages,
which reduces barrier and has minimum efficiency in the level of production (Smith and
Zook, 2011).
3.2. Explain why marketing planning is essential in the strategic planning process for BA
The marketing plan is very important and has a wide process in which whole British
Airways or a part of it is involved in the marketing strategies. The relationship between both
has a purpose in which marketing planning and strategic planning are involved. The
objectives, strategies and goals are measured as planning in strategy. They are designed to
provide and achieve departments and individuals goals and objectives (Aurelian, Adrian and
Petronela, 2010). Strategic planning has external and internal opportunities and effects which
are considered while creating the strategy and tactics. They help in identifying new
opportunities and new competitive threats as well. There are some steps which are involved
in strategic planning process which includes marketing planning. They identify the whole
SWOT analyses and help to achieve the overall planning and goals of the British Airways.
The directions for this plan are giving by including both planning and strategic planning and
provide the proper direction to the organisation (Lovelock, 2011).
3.3. Using BA, examine techniques for new product development
The techniques used for new product development in British Airways they must have
the idea which are related to market research, competitors, customers etc. this involves
screening of such ideas in which they know what new product should they bring in the new
market and there should be no waste of such products. British Airways must know about the
concept of developing and testing in which the organisation comes across all the feasible
ideas and take over those ideas which are target oriented (Kobylanski and Szulc, 2011). They
must be aware of marketing development and strategies about how the product or services

will be launched within the market and lying out marketing mix strategy of the product and
the segmentation, positioning and target strategy and expected sales and profit. The British
Airways has a great idea about the product and the financial worth in the long run of the
product, and knows about the cash flow and expects a perfect life of the product. Testify the
new product and presents the selection which are made by the target market and see if they
need any change in the new product (Lovelock, 2011). And if everything in the test is normal
then they can launch the product within some region so that they can develop marketing mix
strategy and can monitored and modified if they need some changes.
3.4. Justify recommendations for pricing policy, distribution and communication mix for the
new product.
The British Airways uses various policies, distribution channels and communication
mix for the new product to enter in the market. Their pricing policies are different which are
available for every class of people for their services. They maintain their policies and gives
then the value which are provided by company. Their strategies are such that their customers
are the decision makers and they decide about the price or the total amount they need to
spend (Sadjadi, Yazdian and Shahanaghi, 2012). Customers can buy their ticket at a very
base amount without any extra value added benefits and they can even use different services
that the customer requires. Their main channel of distribution is through call centres or the
agents or the online website. They also emphasizes on the accessibility of location through
fast and smooth transaction. The communication mix processes are through various channels
form where they operate their work.
3.5. You are required to explain how factors affecting effective implementation of the
marketing plan have been taken into account.
The factors which are affecting the implementation of the marketing plan which are
taken into consideration are the current economic conditions which affect the economic and
political factors which are implemented in marketing plan. They reduce the prices and makes
changes in them. They increase the employment so that they can achieve higher level of
satisfaction to the customers (Wang and Pizam, eds., 2011). They take into consideration the
growth and the potential in the market and strategy planning. They are more focused on the
percentage of market plan which involves all the positive and negativity of the market.

TASK 4
4.1 Using BA, explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning
There are ethical issues which are influenced by the marketing planning in British
Airways and they deal with issues which are practised in the way of code of practise, they
believe that those fuels that outcomes are harmful for the atmosphere, which can damage the
environment (Whalen and Holloway, 2012). They influence the need of such policies to
prevent the ethical issues such as email policy. Their systems work on the marketing planning
of the organisation which deals with different concept or strategies. The relationship between
customer and British Airways must be closer so that they can solve all the issues which are
destroying the marketing planning and strategy.
4.2 Analyse examples of how BA responds to ethical issues.
The examples through which British Airways response their ethical issues by various
ways they deals with the issue through emails which gives information about the delays of
flight or any changes occurs in their schedule. When they send their emails they are very
careful and secure about their protection and prevent their emails by being hacked because
many people use their email for business purpose (Hakimpoor Tat and Arshad, 2011).
Customer feels secure and safe when they are communicating British Airways and they
provide them with certain password which is connected to wifi. They use code of practices
and gives writing email to customers. The worker and the employees alert about the
something wrong going in the administration. There are some whistle blowing systems which
are used and allows the workers reporting any activities which are going wrong. This could
involve the email internet which are not used for any attention or misuse it (Lee and Kotler,
2011). The main examples here are code of practises, email, and use of intranet.
4.3 Analyse examples of consumer ethics and their effect on marketing planning in BA
British Airways need to make the ethical policy in such a manner by which no
consumer will harm. Company also need to give weight in their policy as per the code of
ethical conduct. BA needs to know the desire and demand of the consumers and
subsequently make operational plan. Company’s core values highlights the significance of
making business with full of integrity and will need to take the accountability to do what is
ethically right. Ethical conduct is nothing but how company connect with their consumers
(Smith and Zook, 2011). To fulfil with their regular compliance with country’s Code of

Ethics, BA ethics policy should be designed to access employees, consumers and other
stakeholders to raise their concern for reporting the company’s ethics related committee. If
the company’s ethical norms are great then it will lead to have the competitive advantage
over the competitors. Company’s marketing planning policy would be highly influenced by
their good ethical behaviour with the consumers. This will also pull the prospective
consumers to take the BA services. The health and safety issues of consumers and their
employees are to be considered at the highest priority by the BA. And company also need to
frame the investor redressed grievances so that the company will redress the consumer’s
issues that will give the positive effects on the marketing planning.
CONCLUSION
From the report it can be concluded that British Airways is the successful
organization but to compete with the rival companies, the firm is required to carry out the
analysis which can help in identifying the threats and weakness. Further, with the help of new
product development, the organization can effectively expand their target customers. Besides
this, they can also retain the users which are using their services.

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