Comprehensive Marketing Plan Analysis: British Airways (University)

This report provides a detailed analysis of British Airways' marketing plan, encompassing various aspects of its strategic approach. It begins with an introduction to British Airways, highlighting its global presence and challenges, such as revenue losses and employee relations. The report then delves into marketing planning, reviewing changing perspectives and evaluating BA's ability to plan future marketing activities. It includes a SWOT analysis to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, along with an examination of organizational auditing techniques and external factors like PESTEL analysis. The report further assesses barriers to marketing planning and explores strategies to overcome them. It also outlines a marketing plan for launching a new service, emphasizing the importance of marketing planning in strategic planning, new product development, and recommendations for pricing, distribution, and communication. Additionally, the report addresses ethical issues influencing marketing planning, providing examples of BA's response and consumer ethics' impact. The analysis covers organizational capabilities, external factors, barriers, and ethical considerations, providing a holistic view of BA's marketing strategies.

Marketing Planning
University
Marketing Planning
By
Date
Name
Lecturer’s name

Marketing Planning
Contents
Introduction:................................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...........................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Using relevant theories, review changing perspective in marketing planning...................................4
1.2 Evaluate BA’s ability for planning its future marketing activity..........................................................4
1.3 Examine techniques for organizational auditing and for analyzing external factors that affect
marketing planning..................................................................................................................................5
1.4 Carry out organizational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect marketing planning in
BA............................................................................................................................................................6
Task 2...........................................................................................................................................................7
2.1. Assess the main barriers to marketing planning...............................................................................7
2.2. Examine how organizations may overcome the obstacles to marketing planning............................9
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Marketing plan for the launch of a new services for BA..................................................................10
3.2 Marketing planning is essential in the strategic planning process for BA........................................11
3.3 Examine techniques for new product development........................................................................12
3.4 Recommendations for pricing policy, distribution and communication mix for the new product...12
3.5 Explain how factors affecting effective implementation of the marketing plan have been taken into
account..................................................................................................................................................13
Task 4.........................................................................................................................................................14
4.1 Explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning................................................................14
4.2 Examples of how BA responds to ethical issues...............................................................................15
4.3 Examples of consumer ethics and their effect on marketing planning in BA...................................16
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................17
References.............................................................................................................................................18
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Marketing Planning
Introduction:
British Airways is a significant International Airlines, and it provides their flights to 590
destinations and in 135 territories. The organization is mainly operated from Gatwick and
Heathrow. The company has faced many difficulties like 535 million pounds revenue loss for the
reason of employee relationship and strike problem of the employees, lack of International
marketplace analysis and the other things. So, the only scope to win over these difficulties is to
apply and maintain an effective marketing strategy for successfully carry on the company. The
British Airways includes some techniques such as security and safety of the stakeholders,
customer relationship, improvement in technological instruments, employee relationship and
much more. The British Airways is a global airline of full service, and it offers low fare rate all
the year round with the comprehensive global route map flying from and to the centrally situated
airports.
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Marketing Planning
Task 1
1.1 Using relevant theories, review changing perspective in marketing planning.
A marketing plan is a multiple tool that helps the management to recognize everything about the
company. This indication shows the management the flaws of their plan and how to achieve their
aims and redefines the way in a new product or new marketplace against the opponents. A good
market plan must comprise with the deliberation of new perspectives. The BA has noticed that
their service is only affordable for the noble people, then they have taken the decision that their
service must be provided to a large number of individuals rather than upper class. They have
changed their notion in marketing planning by applying new strategy, and this becomes helpful
for the company(Aaker, 2013). They have reduced boarding rate as many people can afford the
BA flight quickly and this process grabs the attention of the commoners and then the company
makes more profitable business than other competitors.
Marketing planning has been subjected to changes in terms of orientation since long time.
This changing perspective has been due to variabilities in demands and taste of customers.
Unlike traditional business activities where marketing planning aimed to sell maximum goods,
the current ones are based on customer orientation. The modern day theory of marketing
planning is push vs. pull. It is based on pulling or attracting customers towards the company with
help of qualitative information. It also includes simultaneous use of surveys and strategies that
help in achieving respective feedbacks for improving the product and service. This automatically
reflects the changes in marketing planning perspectives of business organisations like British
Airways.
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Marketing Planning
1.2 Evaluate BA’s ability for planning its future marketing activity.
Organizational capability can be defined by the company’s core competence, strengths,
weaknesses, synergetic effects, resources, and behavior. It shows the capacity of the organization
by which they can use their strength against the weaknesses and make new opportunities to face
the external environment. The organizational ability of BA for planning future activities are- core
competence, brand effect, a uniqueness of the company, synergistic effects, global network,
resources and behavior of the company, high prices, weaknesses, availability of the flight when
at a particular time, good quality service of the company, etc.
In order to evaluate the abilities of British Airways for planning its future marketing activity s
SWOT analysis has been performed as follows:
Strengths
 The company being a public sector
enterprise has been ruling the airline
industry for more than 90 years.
 British Airways has very strong brand
reputation.
 The company is supported by
government in major activities.
 BA has its own separate engineering
branch which helps in maintaining the
fleet and in efficient management of all
the airline activities. Large amount of advantages from
technology have been catered by the
organisation which supports
Weaknesses
 British Airways is largely dependent on
the domestic markets for acquiring
financial benefits.
 The Employee Unions' and their
activities like collective bargaining and
disruptive breakdowns results in large
amount of damage for the organisation.
 There is less amount of global
penetration that is lack of efficient
approach towards the global markets is
a major weakness in today's
competitive atmosphere.
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Marketing Planning
amalgamation of business with latest
developments.
Opportunities
 British Airways holds great
opportunities of expanding the business
functions to international markets. The government support that has been
catered by organisation can be utilised
for increasing pressure over small
players.
Threats
 The competition in both domestic and
foreign markets is increasing which is
quite threatening for British Airways.
 The strict regulations which have been
developed by government when not
favouring the organisation can have
significant negative impact over the
functioning.
1.3 Examine techniques for organizational auditing and for analyzing external factors that affect
marketing planning.
The customers or the passengers of BA are the keystones of the marketing technique that
connected with auditing and investigating the organizational and external factors like a market
environment of BA. These factors are accumulated first, then explained correctly. The regulatory
factors are:
Company objectives and mission: the main aim of BA should meet the target customer and target
market for carrying on their business efficiently. They should fix their target, and then they
should follow the path to the way of achievement. BA, the largest airways in the UK, is situated
in London, provides their flights to 400 cities regularly. They should intend to create repeat
passengers for business or travel passengers(Bogomolova, 2011).
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Marketing Planning
Company resources: management construction, information technology, and finance are
including in this. That also states the relationship between capital funders, partner, and stuff.
Existing customers: passengers’ satisfaction, expectations, dissatisfaction, relationships are
included in this.
Marketing environment can be identified by the PEST and SWOT analysis. PEST analysis helps
to impact on company's activities, and the SWOT analysis helps for the assessment of future
situation and culture of the BA. The management should understand the requirements,
behaviour, and motivations of the prospective customers.
The SWOT analysis technique helps in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats which are associated with a company or subject. This clarity regarding the present
functioning helps in undermining facts that are both degrading and reducing the quality of
performance. British Airways should use this tool whenever internal functioning is to be
evaluated. Furthermore, PESTEL covers the political, economical, social, technological,
environmental and legal factors that form the external business environment of an organisation.
The use of this tool helps in meeting customer requirements and actual market status of the
concerned sector.
1.4 Carry out organizational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect marketing
planning in BA
For carrying out corporate auditing and analyzing the external factors that affect the marketing
technique of BA is needed the SWOT analysis. The SWOT symbolizes strength, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. The chief aim of the management is to take advantages of
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Marketing Planning
opportunities and strengths of the market and meanwhile to reduce the defects and remove the
threats. The forces of the British Airways are-
Market share: the British Airways possess more than 50% exchange business in the UK, and that
is the most significant strength to compete with the other airlines all over the globe.
Skilled and expert employee: the BA possesses maximum able and competent employees that
help for the development of the company.
Quality procedures and processes: the British Airways provides the high-quality process and
procedures when the passengers avail their flight. Before boarding on, they also get the better
facility than the others(Cadle et al., 2014).
Business location is strength of the BA, as the airport is situated in the heart of the UK. Other
strengths are new and innovative service provision, maintaining brand loyalty, etc.
The weaknesses are- they have suffered heavy losses due to lack of International market and the
authority sometimes fail to break down the internal issues and cannot make long lasting
solutions. They also have opportunities for technological innovation, resistance potentiality of
the staffs and management both and the partnership going with the other big airlines, etc. they
also have threats like ever changing, and dynamic marketing atmosphere, loss of vital workers
due to business strikes, weather, natural calamity and Icelandic ash are also the crucial threats for
their business.
The external analysis of British Airways in context of the marketing planning of company has
been performed as follows:
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Marketing Planning
Political: The tax decisions, political reforms, policies formulated by government, etc. are the
major political factors which directly affect the business organisation. British Airways being a
public sector enterprise is not majorly affected by these changes but can be affected if there is
unfavourable situation.
Economical: Recession and inflation are two brutal economic conditions that affect the
functioning of every business organisation irrespective of their functioning sector. British
Airways will be affected by increase in interest rates or by trade restrictions and regulations. The
company's marketing planning is also affected by deviating prices and rates of goods due to
changing purchasing power of customers.
Social: Society comprises of cultural beliefs and traditional values which are inherited by a
person or group. British Airways marketing planning is affected by social attributes if any sort of
activity is not in compliance with the beliefs of society. The taste and preferences of customers
which are subject to continuous change also contribute to effect on marketing planning of BA.
Technological: With increasing use of technology by lame individuals, there is a significant
increase in demand of customers that companies should manufacture products and services
which support the use of latest technology. Hence, British Airways' marketing planning is
affected by technical developments
Environmental: The growing rate of environmental damage has caused business enterprises to
change their processing and functioning techniques in such a way that there is no negative
implication over environment. The marketing planning of BA can be affected negatively if there
is any sort of environmental damage or implication.
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Legal: Legislations and regulations are developed for monitoring the activities of business in
entire market and concerned industrial sector. If marketing planning and activities of BA are not
aligned with the legal frameworks then legal factors will create complications for the company.
However, company when agrees with legal policies and frameworks then BA will not experience
any sort of complications in terms of legal factors.
From the analysis that has been performed both internally and externally, it is evaluated that BA
is experiencing good growth and support in the domestic markets. However, the company did not
explore international markets on a large scale. Further, there is a significant impact of economic
factors and political considerations over the marketing planning of British Airways.
Task 2
2.1. Assess the main barriers to marketing planning.
A great marketing planning and strategy are required significantly, and the planning and strategy
are the most critical components for any company. However, there are some barriers of
marketing preparation for sometimes. There are different examples such as:
Failure of cooperation in the management: if there are some problems between the managers
and authority in the organization like British Airways, then the marketing planning and strategy
may face some barriers or difficulties to sustain their business quickly. When the financial
department and the human resource management department are not interested in sharing their
goals and resources, the whole business may face some diminishing situation. The non-
cooperation between the administration in the organization can create a worse situation as the
marketing struggle will be lost by the non-cooperating system in the management and
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staffs(Donoghue, 2013). The non-cooperation can be experienced when suppliers or external
entities are not complying with business policies of BA. This further delays the execution
process of marketing planning.
Lack of inspiration of change: if the marketing manager cannot motivate their employees and
other staffs correctly, and if those persons don’t feel the requirement to overcome or face the
threats and difficulties, then the overall business may be affected by this barrier. Another
problem is when the employees cannot be interested in grabbing the opportunities that have
emerged in the company by taking a real marketing planning; it can create a main barrier to a
good marketing strategy. Without innovation the respective marketing strategy will not be
successful. Customers are more attracted towards strategies and activities which have unique
attributes in them. Lack of inspiration for changes results in Barrier to marketing planning of
BA.
Lack of knowledge and skills: All the employees of the British Airways should be skilled and
knowledgeable for utilizing the advance technological equipment. The marketing manager
should also have the skills and knowledge to develop a successful business strategy. Without
proper efficiency and wisdom, the marketing manager may lead the company to some silly ideas
and plans. The prepared plan which has been produced by company will not be executed and
applied appropriately when there is lack of knowledge and skills amongst the employees. Hence,
BA can experience this as a major barrier to marketing planning.
Overconfident with difficulties solution: if the manager shows some overconfidence to solve
some problems within the marketing management of the company, then it can create some
inappropriate or flawed solutions of the complications. This is one of the main barriers to the
marketing planning of the organization.
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2.2. Examine how organizations may overcome the obstacles to marketing planning.
Various procedures help the company to overcome the barriers to the marketing planning. The
different techniques are-
Strategy before tactics: the marketing manager should make some tactics before implementing
strategies for carrying on the business of British Airways. The manager creates some tactics by
surveying on the marketplace, and he should identify the potential harm or benefit that the
company may face afterward. After completing his survey on the position and situation of the
market, then the manager should confirm the policy as a strategy for their business.
Informed values of marketing: as a marketing manager, he should take the responsibility to
inform about the facilities of the British Airways to the consumers as the customers make their
attention to the privileges on their flight journey to the various destinations as they wish. This
technique makes the company policy impressive as the passengers will be well aware before
their boarding(Expanding opportunities for women entrepreneurs, 2008).
Scan the market thoroughly: the marketing manager should scan the environment in where they
have to deal with the customers from a different economic condition. The marketing manager
must notice on the facilities provided by other airlines; then they have to set their budget as they
can grab more passengers along with middle-class people also and this will be helpful for the
company for gaining more profit.
There are other techniques for applying these the marketing manager can overcome the
difficulties quickly, such as: establishing market within the operations, making construction
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