Market segmentation, targeting and positioning, being technically separate elements of strategic marketing plan, are in practice closely interrelated (Fyall&Garrod, 2005, p.99). For the purposes of the following assignment I will consider market segmentation, targeting and positioning with regard to touristic products. The product I am going to concentrate on is a one-week summer bus tour to France from Belgium. In order to create the plan of the tour, it is necessary to understand which categories of clients can be potentially interested in spending one week in France in summer.
With regard to tourism-related choices it is recommended to conduct segmentation, basing on tourist’s motivation, concerned with all the types of services, which compose the product under study (Zhang&Marcussen, 2007, pp.10-12). Such criteria as motivation by destination (e.g., transport, nature, weather, possibilities for particular activities), by accommodation (e.g., camp, luxury hotel near the sea), by tourism markets (nature, safety, clean country), participation in activities at destinations (e.g., cultural and sports events) can be used in order to segment the market, knowing just the destination of the tour.
Visiting France in summer can be associated both with enjoying nature and visiting historical and cultural sights, it is possible to provide both an accommodation in some kind of camp and in any type of hotel. Furthermore, wide variety of events is available in different regions of France. Nevertheless, it is impossible to elaborate on a complex touristic product, so that an extremely wide range of needs and wants are satisfied.
Thus it is important to conduct proper targeting. As the tour is going to take place in summer, when both parents and kids have vacation, it is worth targeting families, creating the product, which will be able to take into account the needs of both parents and children. Creating a family tour is a good idea to specify the target and make a tour different from all the others on offer. In other words, after we have identified that our target is represented by families, who would like to spend time with their children during vacation, we can start up with positioning out product as the best one to fit the target. According to Crampton, Fakey and Lue (1992), positioning in tourism involved getting to know potential target’s perceptions of the strong features of the destination by comparison with specific features of competitive destinations and emphasizing them in terms of marketing strategy (p.24). For the purposes of positioning the product under study I would like to suggest stressing such peculiarities of France as a destination country as good weather, the chance to combine visiting historical and cultural places of interest with the ones, dedicated to children’ entertainment (e.g., Disneyland).
Furthermore, with regard to pricing and promotion strategies it is worth considering the chance to offer families discounts for each extra member, so that extra benefit can be obtained in case more family members and relatives are engaged. As for distribution means, it is necessary to remember that families with children are likely to visit specific places, therefore, distribution can be concerned with such places as children’s cafes, fitness centers, swimming pools etc.
Concluding I would like to once more stress the importance of understanding the sequence of actions, when elaborating on market segmentation, targeting and positioning, while designing a product.
References
Crompton, J. L., Fakeye, P., and Lue, C. (1992). Positioning: the example of the lower Rio Grande Valley in the winter long stay destination market. Journal of Travel Research, 31(2), pp. 20-26.
Fyall, A., Garrod, B. (2005).Tourist marketing: a collaborative approach. Clevedon Hall: Channel View Publications
Zhang, J., Marcussen, C. (2007). Tourist motivation, market segmentation and marketing strategies. Retrieved 27 December 2013 from http://www.crt.dk/media/tourism_motivation_and_marketing_strategies_denmark_jie_zhang_carl_henrik_marcussen_crt_2007.pdf
