Abstract
The concept of rational behaviour assumes all consumers engage in rational buying behaviours which becomes the basis for any future analysis of consumer patronage towards a particular type of product or utility. For the tourism industry, this means that customers have a certain “limit” to the amount they are willing to pay on a particular travel package based on the rates that the company has allotted for them. It must also be noted that the concept of preferences is based on the fact that each individual consumer has his/her own personal preference towards a particular service or product that is currently available in the market from which they are able to derive the greatest amount of total utility/ satisfaction. It is based on these factors that this paper delves into the marketing strategies that have been developed to both address the concept of consumer rational behaviour and preference when it comes to purchasing travel packages online.
Introduction
The ultimate goal of marketing is to be able to properly target products to the consumers who want to buy them. As such, in order for the travel agency “We take you there Travel” to create sales for certain products or services, what is needed is to examine the current market and customers and determine why a product or service is not selling and revise strategies accordingly in order to target the correct market segment or to encourage buying behaviour.
Market Examination
In order for the travel agency to survive in the current age of digital marketing and online purchases, it would be necessary for the company to develop an online presence that would attract customers to their site and develop a certain level of momentum involving the number of visitors per day (Hassanli,Brown & Tajzadeh-Namin 2013). The reason behind this strategy is due to the continued growth of online purchases and transactions wherein consumers have increasingly used E-commerce as their preferred method of purchasing due to its convenience and its ability to empower consumers to conduct multiple transactions within a single session (Pao, Wu and Pan, 2010).
E-Commerce, an abbreviation of the term electronic commerce, is a way in which business transactions such as the buying and selling of products is conducted over the internet. Due to its widespread proliferation with thousands of users being added to the online browsing population on a daily basis, the breadth and depth of the internet is not to be underestimated (Huang & Chuang, 2013). Combined with methods of online advertising and marketing, some websites attract millions of users per month which can result in an increased level of sales due to the convenience of the process (Kim, Kim and Yoo, 2012). It is due to this that the following marketing objectives have been created:
- Create an online marketing strategy that will encourage high rates of visitors per month to the website of “We take you there Travel”
- Create a means of engagement with past customers
- Implement a method by which “We take you there Travel” can immediately capitalize on consumer interest regarding a particular vacation package
- Create a sustainable online community around the “We take you there Travel” site in order to encourage future sales after the initial marketing period is over.
Action Plan
Various forms of consumable media in the form of print ads, billboards, commercials, online marketing campaigns and a plethora of other types of advertising initiatives are rife with the images of various popular individuals showing just how prevalent product endorsements are in the advertising campaigns of numerous companies (Huang, Yung and Yang, 2011). The logic behind this particular method of advertising stems from the fact that people are more likely to purchase a product or utilize a particular service if they see someone else happily using it. Studies even show that the likelihood of product patronage goes up astronomically if it is seen that a pop culture icon is utilizing a particular type of product (Christodoulidou, Connolly & Brewer, 2010).
This speaks volumes of the influence of pop culture on consumer buying behaviour however it is also indicative of the fact that companies are aware of what causes consumers to purchase a particular product and act accordingly in order to exploit it (Wu & Jang, 2013).
Yet, the inherent problem with using popular culture celebrities is the fact that they are often quite expensive and demand millions of pounds in fees. This cannot be done by “We take you there Travel” since it is still a relatively small organization and cannot provide the millions of pounds needed to create a celebrity ad campaign. An alternative strategy that this marketing plan has devised that overcomes this particular problem utilizes YouTube stars as a means of promoting the “We take you there Travel” company. On average, YouTube stars such as Ray William Johnson, Philip DeFranco, Shane Dawson and others like them often generate millions of views per video, greater even than some shows on cable television. Furthermore, these shows are watched by a global audience encompassing countries such as the U.S., China, Russia, Australia, and various states within the European Union.
This would enable any marketing campaign that centres on the use of such YouTube stars to in effect target a wide range of consumer markets at a relatively low cost. YouTube stars in general do not demand a lot of money for placing ads within their show; it is usually the case that by providing a promotional code or a link in the description of the video, the company that created an advertising contract with them usually pays on the basis on the number of clicks.
This averages to around $1,000 or less on select advertising and promotional deals; this is a vast difference when compared to the millions demanded by A-list stars within Hollywood. You also have to take into consideration the fact that YouTube stars can come from a variety of different countries wherein they have a distinct level of popularity with the local populace. Based on this, a marketing campaign could spend 1/5th the amount of money that would normally go to an A-list star yet reach 20 times the intended audience demographic by utilizing a select marketing strategy devoted to using YouTube stars from specific regions that cater to the audience demographics that the campaign is attempting to appeal to.
Combining the action plan with the website
The best way in order to fully utilize the viewership of a YouTube star is to have them sponsor “We take you there Travel” by having them mention the travel agency then have them point to either a banner location on the screen, a promotional code the viewers can use to get discounts or a link in the description of the video where viewers can go and visit a website detailing the various packages of “We take you there Travel” that they can avail of.
This is often the strategy Netflix uses on either the Philip DeFranco show or on the show “Epic Meal Time” in order to gain a substantial amount of subscribers to their services. The same strategy can be utilized on select YouTube stars from specific regions and through multiple shows. By examining the viewership range and what type of viewers normally watch a particular YouTube star, the marketing campaign will be able to determine what star to use, how long should the promotion period last for and will be able to monitor the overall effectiveness of the campaign via the number of clicks on the link, the number of people watching the video or the sheer amount of times the promotional code is used.
Vloging a Sponsored Vacation and Connecting it to the Site
One potential avenue of approach is to arrange for an all expenses paid trip for the YouTube star to a selected UK location that “We take you there Travel” offers a package to where they can vlog their experience to their viewership. Vlogging is a term that is a result of combining the words “blogging” (referring to act of publishing personal thoughts and experiences online for complete strangers to read) and “video”. The vlogs of YouTube stars often generate a substantial degree of views due to the current obsession over “reality viewing” wherein people want to watch people living their lives as it unfolds.
By having YouTube stars vlog their experiences within a vacation spot for a few days, this in effect acts as type of commercial which showcases the amenities and overall appeal of the location. Since it comes from a personal perspective and not through a telegraphed and obviously one sided view of the UK based location, this in effect generates a unique appeal to the market segments that the marketing campaign is attempting to target. It must also be noted that the YouTube stars in question could also be potentially convinced to host their shows with a live background of the UK location in question. This enables the marketing campaign to more effectively capture a larger audience without having to increase the amount of money paid to the YouTube star since they are already on an all expenses paid free vacation.
Site functionality Overview
Front Page
The basic look of the front page of the proposed site for “We take you there Travel” can be seen below:
The homepage of the site will feature the various vacations taken by YouTube stars that have been sponsored by “We take you there Travel”. Each video will represent a particular package tour or location that “We take you there Travel” already sells and each video will detail the experiences of the YouTube star with the trip in general. They will highlight the places they visited, the food they ate and their general experience during the trip itself. Visitors to the site will be brought there with the YouTube star providing links in one of their channel videos or by providing the domain name of the site itself. Once on the site, the visitor will click on the video of their favorite YouTube star and will be immediately brought to a page where they can view the entirety of the sponsored vacation.
An example of the page that the site visitor will be brought to can be seen below:
Sample Video Page
The page that the visitors will be taken to will showcase the video of the YouTube star on vacation. At the bottom of the screen will be a list of the various places that they visited while on top will be the title of the video itself. On the right hand side will be a series of text that detail the general description of the tour package that they took along with the various prices and different packages that “We take you there Travel” can provide for their customers. The reasoning behind this particular means of marketing is that it capitalizes on the immediate fascination of customers regarding the vacation spot that their favourite YouTube star visited. By immediately providing a means for them to know more about the package and the general details associated with it, this could result in a greater likelihood for package sales to occur.
Sample Sales Page
The sales page of the website enables visitors to use their credit cards to make an immediate purchase of a tour package. While this does not include the cost of the flight getting to the location itself, the package would include several different selling points such as the cost of transportation within the location as well as having the tour guide and lunches all taken care of. One possible way in which “We take you there Travel” could earn extra income through each individual sale would be create an exclusivity contract with several local hotels and transportation groups wherein in exchange for going primarily to these businesses for the needs of their clientele, they would provide the travel agency with a small commission for each individual sale. (Wu & Tsou, 2011) This should help to boost the income of the agency alongside the payments received for the travel packages.
Implementing Proper Pricing
One approach that should be considered by the tour company when approaching consumer relationships is to take into account business cycles and market slumps and adjust prices accordingly. Pricing is a critical element of successful marketing; in good times and in bad slumps many companies do not focus enough on getting their pricing right (Ching-Chiao & Ching-Fu, 2012). It is based on this and the cyclical cycle of business that companies should consider proper pricing strategies when selling particularly hard to move products. This takes the form of taking into account the physical value of the product being sold as well as various non-tangible elements that consumers take into consideration before they will be willing to pay for a product (Waranantakul, Ussahawanitchakit & Jhundra-indra, 2013).
For example, the state of the housing market in the U.S. is at an all time low however there are still individuals who are in need of homes. In such cases, developers need to take into account the physical cost of the home itself and factor in the current housing slump before creating a price range for a particular apartment or home (Bennett & Chi-Wen Kevin, 2005). It is based on this that it can be said that the greater the amount of non-tangible assets that are taken into consideration by the customer before making a purchase the greater the need for companies to fix prices in accordance with what is necessary to sell the product itself.
As such, the website should also implement a system where there are reduced prices for particular packages during the off-season (Moisescu & Bertea, 2013). By doing so, this enables the company to have a continuous flow of income even during seasons when business would in effect dry up (Nicolas, 2013). Negotiations between the various hotels, transportation groups and restaurants could also be implemented so as to reduce costs and make the package more attractive during seasons where few customers go to them (Lin & Fu, 2012).
Customer Video Page
The concept behind the customer video page is that customers that have successfully paid for a package on the previous page can get up to 10 percent of their package fee back through a customer promotion program. The program itself is actually rather simple, a customer that has successfully paid for their tour package will be offered 10 percent off if they vlog and edit a video of their tour. All they would need to do is create a short 5 to 10 minute video of their trip in various locations.
They would highlight certain interesting places, good things to eat and what events other potential customers might want to try out should they take the same tour package. By doing this particular means of promotion, this enables potential customers to see the experiences of other people that have gone on a tour package that was sold by “We take you there Travel” and makes it more likely that they will also attempt to purchase a vacation as well (Chiappa, 2013). As an added bonus, depending on the number of people that purchase a vacation through the payment link directly on the left side of the customer video, a customer may get up to 100% percent off the price of their trip. This particular facet of the customer video page is to encourage people to submit high quality videos which would encourage site visitors to buy the tour packages.
Community Development through Online Forums
Another of the developments that will be implemented is the creation of an online travel forum that would enable visitors to communicate with each other, create guides for travelling to certain locations for festivals or to generally share their experiences with one another. By implementing an online forum system, this adds another level to the marketability of the “We take you there Travel” company since it becomes a focal point for the continued existence of an online community that enjoys to travel and talk about the different tour sites they went to (Marinković, Senić, Kocić & Šapić, 2013). The various experiences and guides that would be listed on the forum would help to inspire other people to travel as well resulting in more revenue for the company in the long term.
A loyalty program is a structured marketing effort meant to encourage loyal buying behaviour for a particular service or product. It is utilized as a means of increasing sales by ensuring that a client/customer will continue to come back to that particular company in order to patronize what they are selling. Normally, the medium utilized when it comes to loyalty programs comes in the form of loyalty cards, reward cards, advantage cards or other similar cards which ensures consumers can avail of a certain discount when shopping at a particular store or in some cases “points” which can be accumulated and redeemed later on for a prize.
This concept will similarly be utilized in the case of “We take you there Travel” since a special page can be created where customers that continue to show patronage for the site’s services can register and avail of different prizes and rewards that come with being loyal to the site (Al-Weshah, Alnsour, Al-Hyari, Alhammad & Algharabat, 2013). This can be very helpful to ensure long term loyalty since some of the possible prizes come in the form of free vacations or large discounts on their next trip.
Conclusion
Consumers are inherently aware of how much in the way of marginal utility they are able to derive from successive use/consumption of a particular product or service. It must also be noted though that the amount of marginal and total utility derived from a particular product or service differs based on each individual consumer group since they all have individual tastes, preferences and ideologies. Such factors need to be taken into consideration when designing the pricing and content of the tour packages on the website so as to appeal to a wide variety of possible consumers.
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