Introduction
This paper offers two marketing based perspectives; one in favor of the establishment of an aquarium near the Family Arena and the second against such a development. The decision to develop an aquarium has to be based on a market research. Such a research was done on existing aquariums whose basic characteristics are as shown in the table below.
Aquarium: Product Value
The decision to build or not to build an aquarium near the family arena should be based on customer value of the aquarium. Value from a product is benefits from using the product compared to cost of acquiring the product. In simple terms, the first concern is whether the aquarium will serve any real customer need or not.
A product’s value is highly dependent on customer needs and wants. Customers purchase a product based on what value they ascribe to it. Value in a customer’s mind is either a projection or a tested reality based on previous experiences (Escalas & James 381). Basically, some customer’s buy a product believing that based on its described qualities; it is going to serve a given purpose satisfactorily.
Other customers buy a product based on experience i.e. given they have used the product or a similar one or a product from the same company that was satisfactory, they assume whatsoever they are buying in the now is going to be satisfactory. People visit aquariums for a number of reasons.
Above all, many people visit aquariums to see for themselves some rare aquatic animals or because of the relaxing feeling associated with watching animals in an aquarium. Based on these two reasons, it is clear that aquariums offer real value to customers or serve a meaningful purpose in the lives of the clientele.
Aquarium: Marketing Strategy
The success of a business is largely dependent on the marketing strategies it adopts. Marketing strategies are the ways through which an organization engages limited resources to maximally use opportunities in the market and generate awesome profits. A good market strategy is one developed around customer interests.
If an organization sustainably responds accurately to customer needs, there is high likelihood it will have a sustainable competitive edge over its competition. To understand whether the aquarium would be successful or not, it is worthwhile focusing on the key energies and resources available and how they can be used to generate sales for the aquarium.
Further, it is important to understand market characteristics that would counter the aquarium’s marketing efforts. Considering the different aquariums already in existence, niche marketing would be an appropriate strategy. Most of the already existing aquariums have specialized in a given niche e.g. Adventure aquariums serves those interested in an encounter with sharks.
Customer characteristics are an important element to consider when designing a product or a marketing plan for a given service (Arvidsson 34). A marketing plan has to respond to the market characteristics especially customer interests.
Therefore, market research is very instrumental in determining worthiness of a business idea, how a business is doing and how the business is likely to behave in the future. Collecting customer related information is very important and thus should be an on-going process in any given organization. Customer surveys provide raw data on which marketing decisions can be based or decided.
One of the first things to be considered when developing a marketing strategy is how to segment the target market. Market segmentation plays an important role in differentiating customers based on their characteristics. A market can be segmented based on demographics, geographical differences, economic power, and in the case of services, time availability is an important consideration. Market segmentation helps answer to the question “what kind of customer’s are we targeting”.
Therefore, to understand the kind of market the aquarium can target, it is good to first consider what kind of people have access to the aquarium. There is Lindenhood University in the neighborhood, there are residential, there are retail stores, some office, a park and a marina. Basically, the neighborhood attracts people from all walks of life.
However, different kind of packages and market communication would have to be developed that responds to the needs of differences in the general domestic market. For example, university students have different characteristics from the retailers or shoppers at the retail stores. Market segmentation would have to be done along price ranges and visitation periods. By so doing, time of visitation and price become the major market segmentation criterions
If the aquarium is to be set up, the major concern of the marketers would be to maximize visitation. One step towards maximizing visitation would consist in positioning the aquarium properly. It is easy to maximize visitation to the aquarium through proper positioning.
One way of properly positioning the aquarium is to define its uniqueness in the context of an attractive neighborhood. Therefore, it is easy to sell the aquarium when there are added attractions such as the park, marina, and great residential and other powerful institutions. Therefore, the aquarium can be sold as the unique beauty at the heart of a unique neighborhood.
Marketing Mix
The traditional elements of a market mix are place, price, product and promotion. Considerations with regard to the four Ps are very important in making clear whether the aquarium project is viable or not. Considering the products, an aquarium with rare species of aquatic animals can attract numerous visitors.
Therefore, product cannot be an issue. When it comes to the place, the location is ideal given the aquarium is to be located in the vicinity of other attractions such as park, Marina, residential, retail stores and university. This other attractions make the aquarium accessible.
Pricing would prove a headache for the developers. The cost of setting up an aquarium is very high. The cost of setting up existing aquariums ranges from between 3 million to 1.5 billion. Additionally, there are operating costs and advertising costs that are also relatively high.
However, an aquarium attracts a diverse range of customers. This allows for adoption different pricing strategies. Pricing will be a big concern when it comes to the aquarium. As a first class facility, it should attract premium pricing. However, to attract customers, the pricing has to be very attractive (Kotler & Keller 117). A low entry pricing strategy is always good enough but it may communicate a lack of quality in the aquarium.
Therefore, the aquarium will best use a value pricing strategy. There are many avenues and media through which the aquarium can be promoted. What would matter is choreographing the market communication in a way that is responsive to customer characteristics and company interests.
The aquarium can only develop if it focuses its efforts on the customer. The customer focused approach considers commodity characteristics in entirety, the cost of producing and distributing the commodities, the convenience in the channels of distribution and market communication characteristics. Focus in the marketing mix is on satisfying customer needs. As already indicated, the aquarium is conveniently placed. All the marketers will have to focus on is right marketing communication.
One development that the aquarium developers can take advantage of is online marketing. Although an Aquarium has products in the form of the different aquatic animal species displayed, marketing in an aquarium is more like marketing a service. When it comes to service marketing, apart from the four Ps already indicated, an additional 3ps i.e. people, physical evidence and process have to be put into consideration.
On line marketing is an avenue through which customers can interact with the rare species on the web. These can be done through use of good 3D shapes and photos on the marketing websites. The internet is a very important marketing tool in our world of today. It helps towards fast market penetration.
Through good pictures and messages on the internet, many individuals can be accessed. As for the process and people, developers would have to look into employing professionals in running aquariums that will help customer visitations to always be a remarkably.
CRM
One of the critical determiners in the success of an aquarium is customer relations management. Most managers, around the world, appreciate the need for good customer relations management mechanisms in their organizations. Proper customer relations management cements fruitful interactions between customers, prospective customers and the organization. The success of a start up is largely dependent on how it interacts or transacts with customers. CRM has to communicate and demonstrate value for customer’s money.
Customer relations management is largely automated in most organizations around the world. Use of information technology tools and other technologies that allow for automation of processes is very important. With the help of information technology, most organizations are able to automate and synchronize business processes thus meeting customer needs more optimally.
CRM strategies are not just software installations but rather encompass everything about the organization that comes in contact with clients (Vaman 59). In a big way, CRM takes into account all efforts in customer care and support.
For the aquarium to be high class, it would have to adopt CRM tools. Once CRM tools are adopted, they will be very instrumental towards streamlining customer handling efforts.
CRM tools helps in marketing effort management thus streamlining sales. Consequently, productivity especially in the sales department is increased due to proper customer handling. Another advantage of adopting these tools is they ensure customer loyalty and retention. When all the mentioned benefits become effective, expenses due to customer dissatisfaction are reduced and a company’s profitability improves.
Once the aquarium adopts CRM tools, it will be able to identify and thus properly profile its customer base. By so doing, the sales force will have an easy and sure way of identifying key leads that they can follow and close meaningfully. CRM tools allow for use of multiple channels to prospect and identify customers.
More importantly, the tools further allow for tracking thus being able to measure marketing performance on the different channels. Through monitoring of metrics such as number of clicks, number of responses or revenue collected, marketing can conclusively determine amount of interest generated by given campaigns and resulting revenue.
This aquarium is to be developed in the context of other projects. Through use of integrative ERP software, managing of the projects will not be hard (Vaman 98). Through interlinking the different small projects in the bigger project, the whole planned project becomes one system.
As already discussed, under marketing strategy, positioning the aquarium in the context of other developments increases the value for customers. This is so because whoever comes to either aspect of the project e.g. the retail stores has the privilege of easy access to the other facilities.
In conclusion, adoption of CRM tools and their implementation would mean the aquarium being elevated into a context of a larger complex program. This is important for positioning of the aquarium.
Secondly, integrating marketing processes of the aquarium with the marketing efforts for other products lessens marketing costs while increasing prospect range. Instead of targeting only people who would be interested in the aquarium per se, the range covers even those who may have retail stores as a primary interest but then visit the aquarium as an added consideration.
Challenges to Aquarium Development
The main challenges that would bedevil the development of the aquarium are from three fronts; public opinion about aquariums, stiff competition from established aquariums and challenges in creating value for aquarium visitors Due to so called animal rights activism, aquarium development faces public backlash in some quarters.
Building a competitive edge for an aquarium is largely dependent on how rare the species are and capacity to build a unique customer experience for visitors to the aquarium. How to make the customer experience superior to other already established aquariums can be a very daunting consideration.
Finally, due to challenge in marketing segmentation, it may not be easy communicating with the market and attracting the desired customers. These are the challenges that are likely to form basis for opposition against the establishment of an aquarium.
Heavy PR Expenditure to Pull Off Project
There is a high likelihood that there will be opposition against the establishment of the aquarium. In the recent past, there have been outcries with regard to animal rights.
The proponents of animal rights argue that aquariums are a stressful environment for animals (Armstrong & Botzler 459). This kind of opposition would sincerely affect and even frustrate the marketing efforts for a new aquarium. The public opinion on a product matters a lot. Starting a project on which there is already remarked public opposition is a suicidal marketing venture.
A considerable number of people in and around Europe are opposed to the development of aquariums. Many opposed to such developments argue that there is no reason of having such a project when videos of the same animals could provide a perfect view or footage on the same. Taking pictures of the rare species in their natural environments is better than capturing the animals and holding them hostage in aquariums.
Aquariums are not ideal dwelling places for the aquatic animals. It is for this reason that many of the animals die and thus have to be replaced on a regular basis. Therefore, rather than aquariums being good places for the conservation of rare species, they actually lead to extinction of the same. Some take the argument further and point out that, even crew filming the rare species in the seas stress the natural habitats of those animals (Armstrong & Botzler 461).
As a result of the many opposing interests, especially the animal rights champions, huge public relations campaigns would drain the resources of the organization. Maintaining the good public image of the aquarium would require investing heavily in fighting opposing views.
However, there is no guarantee that the public relations efforts will boost and guarantee good performance at the aquarium. Data from other aquariums indicates that their advertising budget ranges between 321 247 and 5 Million US dollars. This is indicative of the fact that aquariums spend a considerable amount on advertising.
The advertising costs are high due to need to a low customer base. Instead of pouring money into the development of the aquarium, which is likely to be derailed in bad public image and opinions, some other business idea could prove more beneficial.
Relative Aquarium Visit Value
Due to economic hardships, owing to a recently experienced economic down turn, individual customers are very keen on value for their money. If they are to spend their money on anything, it has to be a product that makes a difference. Unique products sell very easily and raise or attract attention faster than goods that are readily available wherever and whenever. Considering the aquarium, one would wonder what meaningful value it would offer the clientele.
When designing value, it has to be what cannot be easily substituted by some other cheap substitute. This consideration is supported by data collected from existing aquariums. The cost of maintaining aquariums is between 1, 809, 000 and 46 Million. On the other hand attendance ranges between 250, 000 and 3 million visitors in a year. Simple arithmetic shows that visitors have to be charged at a premium if cost and mark up is to be realized.
Considering given substitute sources of value that customer’s seek to visit aquariums, one would be understood in arguing that return on investment in aquarium is not high enough. In determining a competitive edge, the five forces of Porter are very handy. According to Porter (115) organizations in an industry are influenced by five forces.
The five forces include “power of substitutes, competition rivalry, and threat of new entries, supplier power and buyer power” (Porter 115). Considering the aquarium sector or industry, supplier power is high, buyer power is high, and threat of substitutes is also high. Given recent economic downturn, individuals have many cheaper alternatives to visiting an aquarium. For example, individuals might find it more beneficial to visit a friend or hit the gym than visit an aquarium due to relative value allure in the face of dwindling fortunes.
Competitive advantage
One of the key concerns of marketing is to develop and sustain a competitive edge. A competitive edge is build based on models and plans adopted by an organization in the face of a changing or dynamic market (Sanchez & Heene 21). However, most importantly, it has been shown that a competitive edge based on internal capacity or resources is more sustainable than a competitive advantage based on classic rationalistic models (Wernerfelt 176).
Resources in an organization are framed by the 5ms of management i.e. materials, manpower, methods, measurement, and man hour. When a company or organization has better developed human resource (people), good material sources, and uses time optimally, employs the right measures and expertise, it is more likely to succeed against competition that lapse in either of the areas. People play a very critical role in assuring success of an organization (Peteraf 187).
A competitive advantage in the aquarium industry is largely dependent on how rare and diverse aquatic animals at the aquarium are. Secondly, customer experience is of crucial value. Therefore, the developers should consider what unique species or features they are going to infuse into this aquarium.
Clientele interested in aquariums is not very widely spread i.e. in many people’s list of interests; visiting aquariums is not one of them and if it appears, it is more likely to come close to last. For those to whom visiting an aquarium is a major thing, the more sophisticated the aquarium the higher the allure.
Considering the mentioned factors, marketing an aquarium becomes a very big challenge. The developers would have to consider the availability of interesting species of aquatic animals that are of interest to the target clientele. Secondly, the developers have to consider relative distance between the aquarium they intend to construct and other aquariums.
Thirdly, considering available resources e.g. space for aquarium, the developers have to consider whether the space is enough to develop a large enough spectacle that would outcompete other aquariums. Tourist clientele to an aquarium are major revenue sources. Therefore, to the extent they can be lured away from already established aquariums, to that extent success is likely to be registered.
However, considering the possibilities, other aquariums have been in operation for long. They have already established a well defined rhythm that domestic tourists and other visitors identify with. They have learnt tricks over time that a start up does not have advantage of. They have seasoned employees who understand the trade inside out and above all, have already established or collected attractive animals into their fold. From this point of view, it would appear like creating another aquarium with a competitive edge is an insurmountable task.
Conclusion
Despite the possible challenges a new aquarium is likely to encounter, the setting up of a new aquarium is an idea that should be pursued. Performance of an aquarium is dependent on only two factors i.e. kind of animal species available and customer experience developed. If the two elements can be developed well enough, good performance of the aquarium is guaranteed.
Looking at the attendance data from other aquariums, attendance is not dependent on total square feet of aquarium, advertising budget, and cost of establishment or date of establishment. For example, Aquarium pacific is only 16000sqft but it attracts more visitors than Oregon Coast which is 100000sqft.
Mystic aquarium has an operating budget of 25M but attract far less attendance than Tennessee aquarium that operates on a two million budget. Therefore, as long as the developers are sure of providing unique species in the aquarium and also build a team that will develop a spectacular or awesome experience, the project should go ahead.
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