Learning Reflection

Posted: September 9th, 2013

Learning Reflection

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Learning Reflection

Every firm seeking to enter or have a competitive edge in a new market or existing market has top adopt a number of business strategies that will prove beneficial in its respective business domain. One of the most fundamental areas that an organization pays close attention to is marketing. By marketing, a company is able to sell itself and its products to its potential customers, clients, suppliers, investors and stakeholders. There are specific fundamentals that a company marketing its products and services has to follow. These specifics are known as the four Ps of marketing and they comprise product, price, promotion and place. These criteria are adapted by most marketers in the world and have proved beneficial to them in selling their respective products and services.

The four Ps can be applied effectively to the type of service being marketed. For instance, tourism services, which are most common, can benefit from the producer-oriented model. The first P, which denotes Product, is the most valid. The common services that the tourism firms offer to their customers are facilities and experiences in recreation and hospitality. A quality experience for tourists can be pleasant surroundings and good restaurants. The services to be provided by the tourism firm have to be based on the preferences of the customer but not on the wants of the service provider or the competitors. The second P represents Price. For the tourism firm to establish fair prices for the customers and fair gains, it must enhance fair pricing strategies, which can promote off-season, peak and non-peak period sales, longer stays and combined packages such as rooms and meals. It must also consider value proposition by knowing the prices charged by competitors for similar services and ensure availability of substitutes mostly for lodging.

The third P denotes Promotion. Promotion refers to the communication methods marketers use to disseminate information to different customers about their product or service. Tourism firms can adapt promotion strategies such as advertising, sales promotion and public relations to encourage potential tourists. Similarly, word of mouth can also be essential if the tourism firms provide excellent services to current customers, which enables them to communicate informally about the respective firms to other people. The last P represents Place. Place refers to the provision of a product or a service to customers in a place that is convenient for them. Tourism firms can take advantage of convenience by using franchising strategies to provide services to different customers in different locations.

An example of a tourism business in United States is the Trek America Company. The company employs various strategies including the four P’s of marketing to market their services in the country. The firm has been in the tourism sector achieving an experience of 40 years in providing tourism services to people aged between 18 and 40, who are majority in population. In terms of price, the company uses pricing strategies aimed at delivering their services to the customers. The firm mostly adapts a cost leadership strategy, which involves provision of cost effective tours and adventures. The firm in terms of the place factor involves planning for the anticipated trips, travel to the designated sites, departure and recollection. They ensure customers have adept knowledge regarding their destinations by providing qualified tour guides, trip-planning essentials such as maps, site attractions and information on lodging, food and superior reminders and souvenirs.

The promotional strategies utilized by Trek America involve mostly advertising strategies. Advertising strategies comprise the provision of company brochures and the creation of a website that is social and provides resourceful information on the company. By employing marketing strategies, a firm is able to ensure that it creates value for itself and surplus value arising from the satisfaction gained by customers from using the respective products and services.