TUI Group Marketing Analysis: Strategies, Mix, and Future Plans

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MARKETING ESSENTIALS
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Table of Contents
LIST OF FIGURES.............................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 4
LO1.................................................................................................................................................5
P1 AND P2.................................................................................................................................. 5
M1 AND M2............................................................................................................................... 7
INTERRELATIONSHIP OF FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTS..........................................................7
LO2.................................................................................................................................................9
P3............................................................................................................................................... 9
MARKETING MIX....................................................................................................................9
M3............................................................................................................................................12
LO4............................................................................................................................................... 14
P4 AND M4.............................................................................................................................. 14
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................14
SITUATION ANALYSIS........................................................................................................... 15
MARKETING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................... 16
MARKETING STRATEGY........................................................................................................17
IMPLEMENTATION...............................................................................................................18
ACTION.................................................................................................................................19
CONTROL............................................................................................................................. 19
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 20
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REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................21
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: TUI Group Logo...............................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Interrelationship between Departments........................................................................8
Figure 3: Marketing Mix...............................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a set of activities adopted by an organization for communicating its products or
services in the market. It includes all those activities that are performed in an organization for
creating the demand for its products or services and delivering it to the customers (Armstrong
et al., 2015). In this report, the importance of marketing in the travel and tourism industry has
been studied. The travel and tourism industry deals with travel, accommodation, and
entertainment of the tourists.
TUI group is one of the leading tourism groups in the world which is headquartered in Germany
(TUI Group, 2019). The firm was established in the early 1900s and has been growing ever
since. TUI is one of the strongest tour operators with about 1600 travel agencies in the major
holiday destinations. The TUI Group has served about 27 Million customers are committed
towards sustainable tourism.
Figure 1: TUI Group Logo
[Source: TUI Group, 2019]
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LO1
P1 AND P2.
Marketing is a widely used process through which the organizations ensure that its products
and services are being sold in the market (Baker, 2016). It constitutes of all the activities
through which the organization creates awareness regarding its products and services so that
they are consumed by the customers.
The marketing concept includes four basic concepts through which the organization attains the
marketing goals. The first concept is the product concept which deals with the development of
product or service as per the requirement of the customer so that the product or service is
easily accepted in the market (Fahy and Jobber, 2015). The second concept is the production
concept through which the manufacturing and development of product or services are done
efficiently and effectively. The selling concept deals with the promotional activities done by an
organizational for the selling of the product or service. The societal marketing concept deals
with marketing the social benefits that are being provided by the product or service in the
market.
With the high growth rate in the travel and tourism industry, marketing has played a vital role
in the TUI Group. There are various roles and responsibilities of the marketing function in the
TUI Group, some of which are as follows:
 Determination of Consumer Needs
The marketing function assisted the TUI Group in understanding the needs of the
customers so that they can provide the services accordingly. The proper understanding
of the expectations of the customers assisted TUI Group in developing services which
provide utmost satisfaction to their consumers (Mullins et al., 2013).
 Developing a Marketing Strategy
Through the marketing function, TUI Group is able to develop an effective marketing
strategy which assisted the firm in the rapid growth and gaining a huge consumer base
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over the years. The marketing function determined the needs of the customers and then
developed marketing strategies through which they can create the demand for their
services in the minds of the customers.
 Monitoring Competition
The marketing function also determined the competition level in the travel and tourism
industry or TUI Group so that they can evaluate the key areas through which they can
gain the competitive advantage in the market (Gillespie et al., 2015). Marketing function
assisted TUI Group in understanding the position held by them in the market and
reflected various methods through which it can capture a higher market share.
 Communication of the Product
Through the marketing function, TUI Group was able to communicate the services
provided by their organization. It is very important for an organization to communicate
about the quality services provided by them so that customers are rational in choosing
their preferred service provider (Kotler et al., 2015). The marketing function also
communicated about the various promotional offers to the customers so that they can
avail the services of the organization.
 Matching Needs with Goals of the Organization
Another important role played by the marketing function in TUI Group is maintaining
the harmony between the needs of the customers and the aims and objectives of the
organizations so that while fulfilling the needs of the customers, the organization does
not deviate from its organizational objectives.
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M1 AND M2
Marketing plays a very significant role in the travel and tourism industry. The TUI Group has
gained customer loyalty by not just maintain consistency in their quality services but also by
branding their organization through the marketing function (Morrison, 2013). Marketing
function has driven the awareness of quality tourism among the customers so that they can
value the high-quality services provided by TUI Group and gain higher customer satisfaction.
INTERRELATIONSHIP OF FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTS
The marketing department of TUI Group has been able to mark its success due to its
interrelationship with the other functional departments of the organization, some of which are
as follows:
 Human Resource Department
The human resource department and the marketing department of the TUI Group have
maintained a strong interrelation among themselves. The marketing department of the
TUI Group requires man force that is being provided to them by the human resource
department (Moutinho and Vargas, 2018). Recruiting and selecting the right person for
the right is essential so that TUI Group can expand their customer reach. Thus the
marketing department of TUI Group has a strong relationship with the human resource
department.
 Finance Department
The finance department of the TUI Group also has a strong relationship with its finance
department (Ganesan, 2012). Being a travel and tourism giant, TUI Group has to ensure
that the cost incurred in the promotional activities is rewarded with the equivalent
returns or not. Also, the finance department of TUI Group manages the accounts and
incomes of the organization through which the marketing department determines the
budget for their marketing strategy.
 Operations Department
The operations department of TUI Group also has an interrelationship with the
marketing department. It is essential for the TUI Group to maintain the harmony
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between the both because the promises that are being made by the marketing
department in their promotional campaigns are to be fulfilled by operations department
by providing high-quality tourism services to their customers (Lovelock and Patterson,
2015). The operation department of TUI Group also ensures in providing customer
services to their tourists to enhance their travel experience. Keeping in focus on the
capabilities of the operations department, the marketing department promotes their
services.
Figure 2: Interrelationship between Departments
[Source: Morrison, 2013]

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Marketing
Finance
Human
Resources
Operations

LO2
P3
The marketing mix is a process through which the organizations decide a combination for
various functions of marketing for the achievement of marketing objectives of the firm (Kotler
and Armstrong, 2015). It classifies the importance of the various marketing functions which
would enhance the marketing process. TUI Group has also implanted the marketing mix in the
process.
Thomas Cook is a major leader in the industry of travel and tourism. Thomas cook was
established in the 1800s and is established in London, UK. The firm is well known for its holiday
packages and providing high leisure to its customers. The concept of the marketing mix of TUI
Group and Thomas Cook involves four elements, which are described as follows:
MARKETING MIX
 Product
TUI Group has a huge range of tourism packages which covers the packages for
accommodation, travel, food, etc. The efficiency of the products offered by TUI Group is
highly efficient because of which they are expanding their business by adding new
locations and feasible travel packages for the customers (Khan, 2014). The firm serves
about 27 million customers. TUI Group focuses on providing a seamless experience to its
customers by providing them a high quality of travel services. Thomas Cook also has
very organized tour packages and also has an airline of its own to provide feasible
traveling packages to the customers.
 Price
TUI Group has adopted competitive pricing strategies to provide their services in the
travel industry. The firm has developed various packages for touring across the globe
which ranges from easily affordable packages to premium packages (Riaz and Tanveer,
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2012). Along with a wide range of services in affordable prices, TUI Group also maintains
high-quality services to sustain in the highly competitive market. Thomas Cook, on the
other hand, has adopted the pricing policy of medium premium pricing for the
profitable growth of its company.
 Place
Being a major leader in the tourism industry, TUI Group has its accessibility for touring in
numerous locations. Also, the firm has about 1600 travel agencies through which they
provide traveling services across the globe (JAIN, 2017). They have about 280 hotels in
all the major touring destinations. Therefore, TUI Group has strong accessibility to the
place function of the marketing mix. Thomas Cook has also marked its presence in
numerous countries and has a reach to the major traveling destinations in the world.
 Promotion
TUI Group generates its major business by implementing huge promotional plans. The
firm provides discounted offers during the heavy touring seasons to attract customers.
Also, the use of various advertisements platforms like television advertisements, radio
advertisements, social network advertisements, etc. are done by the organization
(Eavani and Nazari, 2012). Promotion plays a very vital role in the marketing mix of the
TUI Group so that they can create awareness of their services and products to the
customers. For the creation of brand awareness, Thomas Cook implements an
aggressive marketing policy by launching innovative campaigns by using digital
platforms of promotion.
 People
In the tourism industry, people play a very vital role in the development of an
organization. TUI Group has ensured that the internal and external people associated
with the organization are satisfied. The internal people include the complete staff,
directly or indirectly working for TUI Group (Kotler and Armstrong, 2015). The external
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people include business relations and customers. The firm ensures that they do not face
any problem in dealing with the organizational and all their problems are solved.
 Process
TUI Group uses a customer friendly process through which the customer can access the
services provided by the firm at any point in time. The employees of the TUI Group are
given efficient training to ensure the highest productivity in the delivery of their tourism
services (JAIN, 2017). Also, the firm provides with the customer support service so that
any issue faced by the customers can be easily resolved and does not affect the
efficiency in their touring experience.
 Physical Evidence
TUI Group is very specific in providing the services to its customers so that the slightest
possibility of any hindrance is eliminated. Physical evidence is a major function of
marketing through which the customers are attracted the highest in the tourism
industry. The logo used by the TUI Group also resembles a smile through which they
indicate their efforts in providing a happy experience to their customers.
Figure 3: Marketing Mix
[Source: JAIN, 2017]
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M3
All the factors of the marketing function that are adopted by the TUI Group assist the firm in
the achievement of the organizational objectives. Through providing packages which produce a
high value of money to the customers, the firm achieves its objective of the firm (Wirtz and
Lovelock, 2016). TUI Group has also focused on adopting price strategies which are affordable
to the customers through which they are directed towards the achievement of the
organizational goals. TUI Group has been providing its services to customers from about 1600
travel agencies across the globe. Marking their presence to the most viewed destinations in the
world, the mixture of the place function in the marketing mix of TUI Group has been the most
important one. Through expanding its reach to the customers, the firm has been constantly
growing which directly leads to the fulfillment of the aims of the organization.
The promotion mix used by the marketing function of TUI Group is also a major driver towards
the achievement of the organizational objectives of the firm. The efficiency of the promotional
campaigns that are being run by TUI Group enables the customers to take the quality services
at affordable prices (Morrison, 2013). Through the promotional activities of TUI Group,
awareness of the quality services that can be received by the customers is made and is fulfilled
by TUI Group. The mix of physical evidence of TUI Group is also very efficient. The firm provides
attractive packages to the customers so that they can relish the brand loyalty.
The mix of people that are being used by TUI Group is also very crucial and important for the
achievement of the organizational objective. The largest pillar behind the success of TUI Group
is the efficiency of the people working in the country and the high-quality experience that has
been provided to the customers. Together, they hold a major positive impact on the
organizational aims (Ciriković, 2014). Also, the process which is being followed by TUI Group for
delivery the quality tourist services to its customers is very high which enables the organization
to sustain its employees as well as the customers.
For the achievement of the organizational goals, there are various other tactics that are being
used by the TUI Group. The first and the basic tactics used by the firm is the development of an
action plan which strategies the activities to be performed by the members to provide high
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