Analyzing Marketing Strategies: A Case Study of Thomas Cook Group

This report analyzes the marketing strategies employed by Thomas Cook Group within the travel and tourism sector. It discusses core marketing concepts, assesses the impact of the marketing environment (political, economic, social, technological) on Thomas Cook's operations in destinations like Morocco and Egypt, and examines factors influencing consumer motivation and demand. The report also delves into the principles of market segmentation and its application in marketing planning. Furthermore, it evaluates the role of marketing as a management tool, emphasizes the importance of strategic marketing planning, and discusses the relevance of marketing research and market information for managers. The report also considers the product, price, and place elements of the marketing mix, applying the concept of the total tourism product to Thomas Cook. Finally, it assesses the integrated nature and role of the promotional mix and proposes an integrated promotional campaign for Thomas Cook's summer 2017 holidays.

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Table of Contents
Task 1....................................................................................................................................................3
Discuss the core concepts of marketing for the travel and tourism sector..............................................3
Assess the impact of the marketing environment on individual travel and tourism businesses within
Thomas Cook Group and tourist destinations concerning Morocco and Egypt.....................................4
Factors affecting consumer motivation and demand..............................................................................5
Principles of market segmentation and its uses in marketing planning..................................................6
Task 2....................................................................................................................................................7
Understand the role of marketing as a management tool in travel and tourism......................................7
Analyze the importance of strategic marketing planning for a selected travel and tourism business.....7
Discuss the relevance of marketing research and market information to managers in the travel and
tourism sector with reference to Thomas Cook Group..........................................................................8
Assess the influence of marketing on society......................................................................................10
Task 3..................................................................................................................................................11
Discuss issues in the product, price and place elements of the MARKETING MIX with reference to
Thomas Cook's Summer 2017 holidays to Morocco and Egypt..........................................................11
Product............................................................................................................................................11
Price.................................................................................................................................................11
Place................................................................................................................................................12
Promotion........................................................................................................................................12
People..............................................................................................................................................13
Physical Evidence.............................................................................................................................14
Apply the concept of the total tourism product to an individual travel business such as Thomas Cook
.............................................................................................................................................................15
Task 4..................................................................................................................................................16
Assess the integrated nature and role of the promotional mix.............................................................16
Plan and justify an integrated promotional campaign for Thomas Cook summer 2017 holidays.........17
References...........................................................................................................................................19
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Task 1
The activity of marketing is very important for every travel and tourism sector. The main
activity of marketing is that a company delivers their products to its customers. To maximize
and to increase the sales for the business, these activities will help the tour and travel
companies. To get high customer satisfaction, the travel and tourism companies try different
practices to help the industry. According to this the concept of the travel and tourism sector
for their marketing is understand by the subsequent research report (Law, 2009).
Thomas Cook, who was found the organization Thomas Cook & Son in the year of 1841. The
head branch of the company is situated in the Europe. This is one of the most successful
travel agencies in the world. To make the proper conclusion of the segment Thomas & Cook
will be the appropriate choice.
Discuss the core concepts of marketing for the travel and tourism sector
The marketing process is required to fulfill the demands and needs of the customers. The
company can build up its image to provide the services of good qualities to its customers. To
understand the usefulness of serviceable products Thomas Cook first evaluate the product
before launching it in the market. However, the evolution of products become a major
component for the company. In this way, the company comes across to the customers’ needs
and their preference about a travel destination (Law, 2009). According to research, it is noticed
that the principle of marketing contents the product evaluation as a major concept of
marketing. Another important concept is a manufacturing process. In this process, the
companies identify the current trends and customers' needs according to globalization.
According to the customers' requirements, Thomas Cook started delivering efficient and good
services to customers. From many years the company has been providing good products to
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customers. Many customers don't like to visit different places by tour package. So such
services are provided by the company. So the various benefits which are provided by the
company such as facilities of different multi-stared hotels, and affordable discounts on hotels
and travel bookings (Law, 2009). Apart from these, the company offers excellent fooding and
restaurant service to their customers. These are the most important marketing concepts for
Thomas Cook & Son to attract and retain their new and existing customers.
Assess the impact of the marketing environment on individual travel and tourism businesses
within Thomas Cook Group and tourist destinations concerning Morocco and Egypt
According to the research, the marketing environments have their direct effect on travel and
tourism sectors from the beginning. It is noticed that the micro and macro environments
create a great impact in the business. The internal functions and operations are affected by the
internal and external factors of the environment. In the market to build a position Thomas
Cook at a time of recession decreases its price. To reduce its price can make a huge change in
the travel and tourism business. It affects the customers a lot. In the tourism sector, people
purchasing power decreases in demand for tourism.
Environmental factors that are affecting the tourism sectors in Egypt:
Political factors
Egypt has presidential politics which makes the country stable. However, the rules and
regulations are very much unlike from the UK. Thus, Thomas Cook and Sons should have to
change their business practices in the Egypt. In this way, the political factor is making a great
impact in the tourism sectors in Egypt (HOWELL, 2011).
Economic factors
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The economic geography of Egypt is different from U.K. The GDP of Egypt is less than the
GDP of U.K. So the company cannot fix the price as they have in U.K. Otherwise they
cannot fulfill the needs of customers. So if they want to build a marketing position in Egypt,
so they have to reduce the price (HOWELL, 2011).
Social factors
Every country has their social activities. The United Kingdom and Egypt are having their
different social culture. Egypt is mainly based on the Islamic people and U.K is based on
Christians. Therefore Thomas Cook should understand the preference Egypt's people. In this
way, they have to rearrange their tour packages in the country.
Technological factors
The infrastructure of Egypt is comparatively lower than U.K. in other words, U.K more
technically developed with advanced infrastructure. Thomas Cook is always continuing their
business with a great technological improvement. However, Egypt is not so developed
country. Therefore, Thomas Cook has to face great problems in Egypt’s tourism sector. So
the technological problem is an important factor for tourism in Egypt (Chon, 2015).
Factors affecting consumer motivation and demand
Consumers are affected by the globalization and trends mostly. In this way, the changing
needs and global effects on new trends are motivating the customers to avail any service from
the tour companies (Chon, 2015). In this way, there are some key factors that are affecting
buyer’s behaviours. Among them the most important factors are:
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Service price: service price plays a great role in motivating a customer. Competitive price of
services in the hotel and tourism industry can change a buyer’s activity.
Service quality: service quality can change a customer’s movements (Awan, 2014). However,
according to the service quality and its improvements customers will show their interests.
Principles of market segmentation and its uses in marketing planning
Market segmentation is must needed to make any marketing plan for any tour and travel
company like Thomas Cook and Sons. Besides that, the market segment includes four parts
such as geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation. In addition,
geographic segmentation includes environmental position or geographical location for
business expansion. Demographic segmentation covers gender, age, income, religion,
nationality and family of people. Moreover, psychographic segmentation includes
psychological aspects which influence customer purchase behaviour. Furthermore,
behavioural segmentation divides a large scale of population according to their behaviour and
pattern of decision making choices. Market segmentation can give a clear idea of the
customers and to whom the company should target. Segmenting can give a basic knowledge
of customer’s needs and their preferences. According to the customers and the market
position, the travel companies can develop their marketing process and create appropriate
plan for the marketing. In case of Egypt, the market segmentation is very much important to
understand the customers and their needs (Awan, 2014).
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Task 2
Understand the role of marketing as a management tool in travel and tourism
According to many significant types of research, the role of the strategic marketing planning
is an essential factor for the development of travel and tourism industry. In addition, Thomas
Cook is one of the giant tour industry of the UK and in this management report, various types
of factors that influence the importance of marketing planning of tourism industry will be
discussed through proper arguments and justification (Medlik, 2003).
Analyze the importance of strategic marketing planning for a selected travel and tourism
business
There are different types of factors which are involved in the marketing planning of travel
and tourism industry such as e-marketing, a dynamic market and network structure,
experiment models and designing and usage analysis. On the other hand, in order to improve
the organizational performance, the travel and tourism industry should focus on the strategic
customer relation, brand identity and marketing theories and concepts.
E-marketing: with the help of the technology and IT system, the travel and tourism industry
can impress and grab their customers directly. Besides that, Thomas Cook is one of the
famous travel destination and includes effective strategic marketing planning. As a result,
they are in the top position in their competitive truism industry (Medlik, 2003). Thus, the
tourism industry is very much influenced by social, regional, demographic and economic
environment. On the other hand, a complex marketing planning includes strategic customer
relation which is a part of the product creation. Although, with the help of the e-marketing
concept, Thomas Cook able to interact with customers which evaluate customer indicates,
customer lifetime value orientation, customization of the selling process.
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Strategic customer relationship: the strategic relationship with the customers is playing an
essential role in the travel and tourism industry. Besides that, it is one of the successful
strategic marketing for sales and clients prospects. In order to synchronize, organize and
automate the business process, technology is playing an important segment. Although,
through customer service, marketing, and technical support, Thomas Cook able to locate,
attract and win new customers (Sharpley, 2006).
Brand value: in the marketing planning, the role of brand value has a huge significance.
Aside from that, Thomas Cook is one of the fast growing travel agency in the UK and
includes lots of customer support. In addition, the potential customers are always attracted by
the strong brand value(Rowley, 2006). In other words, the customers are always searching for
most reliable and trustworthy travel agency in order to complete a tour destination. Moreover,
with the help of the brand value, Thomas Cook able to attract more customers who
effectively help to increase the organizational profitability.
Discuss the relevance of marketing research and market information to managers in the travel
and tourism sector with reference to Thomas Cook Group
In order to implement appropriate marketing planning, the management of an organization
needs to focus on the current market opportunities. In addition, the current market
opportunities are isolated through proper market research. In this section, the managers are
playing an essential role (Sharpley, 2006). On the other hand, there are various types of
marketing research processes are explained in numerous books and journals such as
qualitative and quantitative research. In the quantitative research process, the management of
an organization collects the primary information from the customers through the interview, e-
mail, and telephonic interview. Along with that, in the interview process, the researcher able
to collect the primary information with the help of questionnaire including multiple answer
choice (Walker and Harding, 2006). Apart from that, the qualitative research process includes
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the information of secondary resources such as books, journals, articles, documents, and the
internet. These two marking research process would be implemented by the managers of
Thomas Cook Group in order to increase the performance of the organization. Talking about
the sector of travel and tourism, the effective marketing research process is quantitative data
collection(Rowley, 2006). In addition, the managers of Thomas Cook Group need to prepare
the questionnaire includes marketing aims and objectives. Along with that, with the help of
this questionnaire, the research who appointed by Thomas Cook Group can collect the
response of the customers. After collecting the response of the customers, the managers need
to analysis the collected information for accurate data. Besides that, the managers of Thomas
Cook Group always require paying more attention to the preference of the customers.
Therefore, the customer behavior is also an important factor which is influenced by social,
democratic, economic and geographic elements. Each and every element of the customer
behavior is interrelated with marketing research and marketing information. According to
social factor, most of the customers would like homes like service from the tour and travel
companies. So, the management of Thomas Cook Group needs to focus on the social
requirements of their customers (Walker and Harding, 2006). Besides that, according to
geographic factor, the customers prefer similar surround environment for a visit. In addition,
the economic factor is one of the critical issue faced by both the organization and the
customers because most of the customers want deluxe service at a low price. In other words,
the customers basically price sensitive so, the management of Thomas Cook Group needs to
pay more attention to the price of service offered by the organization.
Moreover, in order to attract most of the customers, the management of Thomas Cook Group
needs to conduct a market survey and collect the value response of their customers. In
addition, the managers of Thomas Cook Group also focus on the current market opportunities
to increase the profit of the organization(Inghilleri and Solomon, 2010).
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Assess the influence of marketing on society
There are lots of people living in the society, and they have an individual preference. On the
other hand, the cultural predilections and desires of the customers are the main factor of
marketing. Besides that, with the help of marketing, the management of an organization able
to select various types of promotional activities to a large public. In addition, the demand of
the customers can be formed within a certain population, and if the effectively marketing is
conducted then, people started to realize that it is essential and will demand itself. In other
sense, marketing does not address pre-existing requirements, and the mind of the people is
potentially expanded by the management(Inghilleri and Solomon, 2010). The market's
performance is effectively driven and determined by the marketing. Along with that, with the
help of the marketing campaign, the economic growth can be stimulated in a particular area.
In addition, the marketing is one of the significant element of the modern economics. The
public interest can also be successfully driven by the successful marketing. Besides that, in a
distinct society, marketing can be used as a successful business tool by an organization.
Along with that, without the contribution of marketing, an organization cannot survive in this
competitive world. Moreover, marketing provides a way to expand the business in a specific
society including public consciousness. Thus, through effective marketing, the customers
have a clear idea about where to spend their money(Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius, 2011).
This section is based on the marketing concepts of tour and travel industry. In addition,
various types of factors of strategic marketing planning are discussed. Besides that, the
concept of marketing and influence on society is also explained in this section(Kerin, Hartley
and Rudelius, 2011).
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Task 3
Discuss issues in the product, price and place elements of the MARKETING MIX with
reference to Thomas Cook's Summer 2017 holidays to Morocco and Egypt
The marketing mix is one of the significant element of the strategic marketing planning of
Thomas Cook's Summer 2017 holidays to Morocco and Egypt. Besides that, there are several
factors are involved in the marketing mix such as product, price, place, promotion, people,
process and physical evidence (Van der Westhuyzen and Van der Merwe, 2001).
Product
The product is the mix of intangible and tangible components. Besides that, the tourism
product, which is must be experienced. The perspectives of the area travel to the destination,
the convenience and office and in addition the diversion at the destination all shape the
tourism tour package. On the other side, it is a composite tour package mix of fascination,
offices, and transportation. Thus, Thomas Cook Group should focus on each of these parts
has its particular importance in the tour package mix, and without even single segments, the
tour package mix is fragmented(Middleton, Fyall and Morgan, 2009).
Price
Pricing of the visitor tour package is an unpredictable matter given its composite nature.
Lands in Morocco and Egypt area as the destination influences the pricing choice. Besides
that, pricing in tourism is a mind boggling process. In the meantime, regularity figure and
fluctuating interest can't be overruled. Although, pricing incorporates the costs of different
measurements like Air Travel, Hotels, Bus, Railways and so forth and all are integrated into
tourism package. Thus, the destination of pricing in some other firms is to bring an actual
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market share, to counteract rivalry, and to deal with the value flexibility of demand(Grant,
2012). Pricing additionally relies on upon the geographic area of the destination such as
Morocco and Egypt. Pricing likewise relies on upon seasonality which is the most important
figure pricing. In order to match request and supply, managers attempt to get either
markdown. In addition, pricing is additionally given contenders pricing which is a subject to
government directions. Thus, the most recent method of achieving the customers is through
Internet because ticket booking can be possible through the internet and installment is made
with Visa.
Place
Distinctive dispersion procedures can be chosen for Tourism marketing. Tourism as a tour
package is circulated as travel. Apart from that, the Web is likewise utilized broadly. Unique
distribution systems might be selected to mirror the organization's worldwide destinations. In
addition, the broker might be visiting administrators, who purchase tourism products in mass
and make them accessible to travel operators who are retailers (Alsharif, 2012). Expansive
travel organizations like Thomas Cook as they go about as wholesalers and these wholesalers
likewise go about as a retailer. The scope of customer's products, which are purchased by the
visit administrators are carrier seats, in the settlement, transport for nearby touring, and so
forth they may likewise offer straightforwardly to clients.
Promotion
Promotion helps in intensifying the term of stay, recurrence of a visit by providing new
vacationer products in a similar nation to zones, which have remained undiscovered or
incompletely tapped. Apart from that, the marketers need to utilize the different parts of
promotion ideally, so they prevail with regards to expanding the quantity for chronic clients.
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