PROJECT REPORT

ON
“IMPACT OF MARKETING STRATEGIES ON TRAVEL AND
TOURISM”

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD

OF THE
BACHELOR OF
COMMERCE (H)
2019-22

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

Ms. Vrinda Rawal
Faculty
VSBS, VIPS

SUBMITTED BY:
Ishan Aggarwal (06817788819)
BCOM(H)

Vivekananda School of Business Studies

Vivekananda Institute of Professional studies
AU Block (Outer Ring Road) Pitampura, Delhi- 110034
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
 I, Ishan Aggarwal (06817788819) , from BCOM(H), Semester-6 of
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi hereby declare that the
final project report entitled, Impact of Marketing Strategies on Travel
and Tourism is an original work and the same has not been submitted to
any other institute for the award of any other degree and the instructions as
provided by the faculty were duly incorporated.

Signature of the student: Ishan Aggarwal

ii
CERTIFICATION
 This is Certified that the final project report submitted in partial fulfillment
of Bachelors of commerce (Honours), completed by Ishan Aggarwal,
Enrolment No. 06817788819 has been completed under my guidance and is
satisfactory.

Ms. Vrinda Rawal

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I ISHAN AGGARWAL Enrollment No. 06817788819 from BCOM(H)- 6
Sem ofthe Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Delhi hereby
declare that the Project Report entitled “Impact of Marketing Strategies
on Travel andTourism” is an original work and the same has not been
submitted to any other Institute for the award of any other degree. I would
also like to pay my sincere gratitude towards my project guide, Ms. Vrinda
Rawal for helping me in this project work and the instructions as provided
by her were duly incorporated.

Signature of the student: Ishan Aggarwal

iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
India is the most dynamic and fast growing online travel market in the APAC
region. The online travel market in India has witnessed tremendous growth and
is attracting large number of national and international players. Private equity
players have made huge investments in the online travel agency (OTA) segment
in the past two years.

The online travel market in India has witnessed tremendous growth and is
attracting large number of national and international players. Private equity
players have made huge investments in the online travel agency (OTA)
segment in the past two years. The online travel market, as we all know is
overcrowded.

The fantastic Travel Deals at www.thomascook.in also allows the programming

of Thomas Cook India at very low and provides excellent deals on the flight
reservation. To book your airline tickets low cost Thomas Cook to learn about
fantastic travel deals at www.thomascook.in , you can go online and search for
deals and discounts.

The user-friendly website offers you all the information in minutes you can
easily book your Thomas Cook India. The site can help you learn about new
offers and discounts offered by different airlines and may also provide
discounted tickets business class.

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Topic Page No.

Student Declaration ii

Certificate iii

Acknowledgement iv

Executive Summary v

Chapter- 1: Introduction 1

Chapter- 2 : Review of Literature 13

Chapter- 3: Research Methodology 41

Chapter- 4: Finding & Analysis 45

Chapter- 5: Conclusion 56

References 60

Appendix 61

vi

Chapter- 1:
 INTRODUCTION

1
The research aims towards analyzing the Marketing strategies adopted by
“Thomas Cook”.

Thomas Cook has stayed ahead of the curve by adopting innovative marketing
strategies in their marketing mix to break through the clutter of brands offering similar
services. The key highlight of their marketing strategy is the multi-faceted approach in
devising content which serves different objectives for the brand.

Although the brand has been successful in building a huge community of followers on
Facebook, they have been lagging behind in terms of engagement scores. The Brand
still needs to explore the beauty of platforms such as YouTube and Pinterest to the best
of their potential. Thomas Cook is slowly picking up on Twitter with unique
campaigns and hashtags which trend almost every time they plan.
Thomas Cook has managed to integrate their offerings seamlessly with several
occasions and events. The ideation and conceptualization of campaigns across
platforms is simply flawless.

The brilliant execution of the campaigns has definitely helped the brand in expanding
their reach as a result Thomas Cook is much more than just a travel portal or a famous
pioneering brand – it has emerged as the undisputed online leader, with its share of the
travel market extending to more than 50% of all online sales, a fact evinced by the
trust placed in it by millions of happy customers.

Nurtured from the seed of a single great idea – to empower the traveller – Thomas
Cook is a one-stop-travel-shop that offers a range of best value products and services
along with cutting-edge technology and dedicated round-the-clock customer support.
Over the years, Thomas Cook has revolutionized the travel industry, consolidating its
position in the market as a brand recognized for its reliability and transparency.
Thomas Cook has always been proactive in their efforts to strive towards excellence
be it market research , understanding consumer behaviour , new product development
or marketing its bouquet of products and services. In the current era where in digital
media is imperative for any E-Commerce brands success, Thomas Cook has been one

2
of early adopters to incorporate social media in their marketing mix. Let us take a look
at how the brand leverages social media to connect with travel enthusiasts and
maximize the reach of their products/services.

Thomas Cook’s follows an integrated marketing & media strategy across platforms.
The Content Bucket includes a mix of high definition and engaging posts which cover
the array of services brand offers along with this Thomas Cook launches campaigns
and contests which are tailored according to recent offers and occasions. While the
company tries its level best to interact and engage with the target audience of
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Pinterest the percentage of engagement in relation to
number of followers is very average. The Brand follows a unified and consistent tone
of communication throughout, delivery of content varies according to dynamics of the
platform in use.

3
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE

Objectives :
The present research revolves around the following broad
objectives: ⇦ To analyze the marketing strategies of “Thomas
Cook”
⇦ To identify weaknesses in these marketing strategies, if any ⇦ To analyze
the level of customer satisfaction towards services provided by “Thomas
Cook”

Scope of the Project Work:

The scope of this study is limited to customers who use on-line ticketing facility
in New Delhi and NCR area

4
PROFILE OF THOMAS COOK

Nurtured from the seed of a single great idea - to empower the traveller – Thomas
Cook went on to pioneer the entire online travel industry in India. Thomas Cook has
revolutionized the travel industry over the years. This is the story of Thomas Cook,
India’s Online Travel Leader.

Thomas Cook, India’s leading online travel company, was founded in the year 1881 by
Thomas Cook. Created to empower the Indian traveller with instant booking and
comprehensive choices. It aimed to offer a range of best-value products and services
along with cutting-edge technology and dedicated round-the-clock customer support.
After consolidating its position in the market as a brand recognized for its
reliability and transparency, Thomas Cook started its India operations in Mumbai,
1881.

With the foresight to seize the opportunities in the domestic travel market, brought on
by a slew of new airlines, Thomas Cook offered travellers the convenience of online
travel bookings at rock-bottom prices. Rapidly, Thomas Cook became the preferred
choice of millions of travellers who were delighted to be empowered by a few mouse
clicks!

Thomas Cook’s rise has been lead by the vision and the spirit of each one of its
employees, for whom no idea was too big and no problem too difficult. With untiring
innovation and determination, Thomas Cook proactively began to diversify its product
offering, adding a variety of online and offline products and services. Thomas Cook
also stayed ahead of the curve by continually evolving its technology to meet the ever
changing demands of the rapidly developing global travel market.

Steadily establishing itself across India and the world, Thomas Cook simultaneously
nurtured the growth of its offline businesses like its franchises and affiliates
simultaneously, augmenting the brand’s already strong retail presence further.

Today, Thomas Cook is much more than just a travel portal or a famous
pioneering brand - it is a one-stop-travel-shop that offers the broadest selection of
travel products

5
and services in India. Thomas Cook is the dominant market-leader with
412.58cr revenue (2015), a fact evinced by the trust placed in it by millions of
happy customers.

Remaining reliable, efficient and at the forefront of technology, Thomas Cook’s

commitment and customer-centricity allows it to better understand and provide for its
customers’ diverse needs and wants, and deliver consistently. With dedicated 24x7
customer support and offices in 20 cities across India and offices in Mumbai (in
addition to several franchise locations), Thomas Cook is there for you, whenever and
wherever.
Thomas Cook’s Products:

• India Holidays
• International Holidays
• Foreign Exchange
• Education Forex
• Insurance
• Visa & Passport Services, Flights, MICE, Centre of Learning (education
& training)

Travel Industry in India

The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of
growth among the services sector in India. The third-largest sub-segment of the
services sector comprising trade, repair services, hotels and restaurants contributed
nearly US$ 187.9 billion or 12.5 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
2014-15, while growing the fastest at 11.7 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) over the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. Tourism in India has significant potential
considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and
places of natural beauty spread across the country. Tourism is also a potentially large
employment generator besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the
country.

6
Market Size

• The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) has grown steadily in the last
three years reaching around 4.48 million during January–July 2015. Foreign
exchange earnings (FEEs) from tourism in terms of US dollar grew by 3.2 per
cent during January-July 2015 as compared to 1.9 per cent over the
corresponding period of 2013. FEEs during the month of July 2015 were Rs
11,452 crore (US$ 1.74 billion) as compared to FEEs of Rs 10,336 crore (US$
1.57 billion) in July last year.
 • Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) between January-July 2015 were US$ 11.41
billion compared to US$ 11.06 billion in the same period last year. The growth
rate in FEEs in rupee terms in January-July 2015 was 6.9 per cent.

The tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 15 sectors in India to attract the
highest foreign direct investment (FDI). During the period April 2000-May 2015, this
sector attracted around US$ 8.1 billion of FDI, according to the data released by
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

With the rise in the number of global tourists and realising India’s potential, many
companies have invested in the tourism and hospitality sector. Some of the recent
investments in this sector are as follows:

Fairfax-owned Thomas Cook has acquired Swiss tour operator Kuoni Group's

business in India and Hong Kong for about Rs 535 crore (US$ 85.6 million) in

order to scale up inbound tour business

• US-based Vantage Hospitality Group has signed a franchise agreement with

India-based Miraya Hotel Management to establish its mid-market brands in
the country.

• Thai firm Onyx Hospitality and Kingsbridge India hotel asset management firm
have set up a joint venture (JV) to open seven hotels in the country by 2018 for
which the JV will raise US$ 100 million.

7
• ITC is planning to invest about Rs 9,000 crore (US$ 1.42 billion) in the next
three to four years to expand its hotel portfolio to 150 hotels. ITC will launch
five other hotels - in Mahabalipuram, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and
Colombo - by 2018.

• Goldman Sachs, New-York based multinational investment banking fund,

has invested Rs 255 crore (US$ 40.37 million) in Vatika Hotels.

• Japanese conglomerate SoftBank will lead the Rs 630 crore (US$ 95.6
 million) funding round in Gurgaon based OYO Rooms.

• MakeMyTrip will acquire the travel planning website Mygola and its assets for
an undisclosed sum, and will together look to focus on innovating the online
travel segment.

The Indian government has realised the country’s potential in the tourism industry and
has taken several steps to make India a global tourism hub. Some of the major
initiatives taken by the Government of India to give a boost to the tourism and
hospitality sector of India are as follows:

• Government of India plans to cover 150 countries under e-visa scheme by the
end of the year besides opening an airport in the NCR region in order to ease
the pressure on Delhi airport.

The Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) scheme enabled by Electronic Travel

Authorisation (ETA), launched by the Government of India on November 27, 2014 for

43 countries has led to sharp growth in usage of the facility. During the month of July,

2015 a total of 21,476 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 2,462 during

the month of July, 2014 registering a growth of 772.3 per cent. During January-July,

2015 a total of 1,47,690 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 14,415 during

January-July, 2014 registering a growth of 924.6 per cent.

• The Government of India has set aside Rs 500 crore (US$ 79.17 million) for the
first phase of the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation

8
Yojana (HRIDAY). The 12 cities in the first phase are Varanasi, Amritsar,
Ajmer, Mathura, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Vellankani, Badami, Amaravati,
Warangal, Puri and Dwarka.

• Under ‘Project Mausam’ the Government of India has proposed to establish cross
cultural linkages and to revive historic maritime cultural and economic ties
with 39 Indian Ocean countries.

India’s travel and tourism industry has huge growth potential. The medical tourism
market in India is projected to reach US$ 3.9 in size this year having grown at a
CAGR of 27 per cent over the last three years, according to a joint report by FICCI
and KPMG. Also, inflow of medical tourists is expected to cross 320 million by 2015
compared with 85 million in 2012. The tourism industry is also looking forward to the
expansion of E-visa scheme which is expected to double the tourist inflow to India.
Rating agency ICRA ltd estimates the revenue growth of Indian hotel industry
strengthening to 9-11 per cent in 2015-16. India is projected to be the fastest growing
nation in the wellness tourism sector in the next five years, clocking over 20 per cent
gains annually through 2017, according to a study conducted by SRI International

Online Travel Industry in India

India is the most dynamic and fast growing online travel market in the APAC region.
The online travel market in India has witnessed tremendous growth and is attracting
large number of national and international players. Private equity players have made
huge investments in the online travel agency (OTA) segment in the past two years. The
buzz of Web 2.0 is every where in almost all sectors. Indian online travel industry is
booming since 2004… It’s getting bigger and tougher as new competitors are entering
at a faster pace. The online travel market in India has witnessed tremendous growth
and is attracting large number of national and international players. Private equity
players have made huge investments in the online travel agency (OTA) segment in the
past two years. The online travel market, as we all know is overcrowded.

9
Some facts:

◻ Total tickets available for sale (Only Domestic) per day are :

275,680 ◻ Total Ticket Sold by all OTAs per day = 51690

◻ Market size for Indian OTA Industry in Domestic Flights: 9000

crores approximately
◻ Nearly 40% of the tickets sold are through OTA.

◻ On an average, every aircraft in India does 5.6 flights per day If airlines could

further manage route optimization and do 1 more flight per day, at 6.6 flights per
 day, OTA Industry Sales will be up by 15%

Main Reasons for: Growth of Online Travel Industry in India:

◻ Growth of internet

◻ Growth in low-cost carriers

◻ Secure payment mechanisms

Main Challenges
◻ Low margins & high operating costs

◻ Poor internet and credit card penetration

Trends

10
◻ Competition in online ticket booking is moving away from air to non-air

segments ◻ Online travel going mobile: changing e-travel to m-travel

◻ OTAs looking for offline counters leveraging on their brand

value ◻ Meta search engine is the latest innovation in online travel

Broad areas of Online travel industry in India:

1. Ticket booking - Air & Non Air

2. Tele Reservation
3. Car Rentals
4. Tour Packages

◻ Air travel dominates the current online travel industry in India with 60%+ market

share. Railway bookings are also now a days increasing and has a 20%+ market
share in online travel industry in India.

◻ Non-air ticket booking segment is growing fast with the entry of Indian Railways

in online space (www.irctc.co.in) and many OTAs providing online bus ticket. ◻
Large number of hotels have online portals for booking their inventory.

11
◻ Demand for tour packages have increased both among domestic and

international tourists.

Players Overview:
 ◻ Online travel market is the most crowded arena in the E-commerce segment
with many new players entering this space.
◻ Makemytrip, Yatra, Cleartrip and Travelguru are the leading players in the

OTA segment.
◻ IXIGO, Ezeego1 and Zoomtra are the leading meta search engines in online travel.

◻ With the existing competition online travel space is sure to see consolidation in the

coming years.
◻ One can expect numerous acquisitions and buyouts to happen as cash
rich international players are entering the market.
Added to that airline companies like Spice Jet, IndiGo and KingFisher in India

are coming up with their own portal Rang7, which will affect OTA’s

12
.

Chapter- 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW 13

MARKETING STRATEGY

Sales are the lifeblood of a business, without sales there would be no business in the
first place; therefore it is very important that if a business wants to succeed, it should
have a marketing strategy in mind. The primary objective of marketing is to improve a
company's sales by predicting and modifying your target customer's purchasing
behavior and patterns. Marketing is very important as it not only helps to boost sales
but it also helps a business to draw new customers while at the same time retaining
older ones. There are a variety of marketingal strategies that a business can use to
increase their sales, however it is important that we first understand what a marketing
 strategy actually is and why it is so important. Marketing includes several
communications activities that attempt to provide added value or incentives to
consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate
immediate sales. These efforts can attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or
purchase. Examples of devices used in marketing include coupons, samples,
premiums, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, contests, rebates, and sweepstakes.

A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can
be communicated clearly to the target market. An organisations marketing strategy can
consist of:

Advertising: Is any non personal paid form of communication using any form of
mass media.

Public relations: Involves developing positive relationships with the organisation

media public. The art of good public relations is not only to obtain favorable publicity
within the media, but it is also involves being able to handle successfully negative
attention.

Sales promotion: Commonly used to obtain an increase in sales short term.

Could involve using money off coupons or special offers.

Personal selling: Selling a product service one to one.

14
.
Direct Mail: Is the sending of publicity material to a named person within an
organisation. There has been a massive growth in direct mail campaigns over the
last 5 years. Spending on direct mail now amounts to £18 bn a year representing
11.8% of advertising expenditure (Source: Royal Mail 2000). Organisations can
pay thousands of pounds for databases, which contain names and addresses of
potential customers. Direct mail allows an organisation to use their resources
more effectively by allowing them to send publicity material to a named person
within their target segment. By personalising advertising, response rates increase
thus increasing the chance of improving sales.
There are three types of marketing strategies: Push, Pull, or a combination of the
two. A push strategy involves convincing trade intermediary channel members to
"push" the product through the distribution channels to the ultimate consumer via
promotions and personal selling efforts. The company promotes the product through
a reseller who in turn promotes it to yet another reseller or the final consumer.
Trade-promotion objectives are to persuade retailers or wholesalers to carry a brand,
give a brand shelf space, promote a brand in advertising, and/or push a brand to
final consumers. Typical tactics employed in push strategy are: allowances,
buy-back guarantees, free trials, contests, specialty advertising items, discounts,
displays, and premiums.

A pull strategy
attempts to get consumers to "pull" the product from the
manufacturer through the marketing channel. The company focuses its marketing
communications efforts on consumers in the hope that it stimulates interest and

15
demand for the product at the end-user level. This strategy is often employed if
distributors are reluctant to carry a product because it gets as many consumers as
possible to go to retail outlets and request the product, thus pulling it through the
channel. Consumer-promotion objectives are to entice consumers to try a new
product, lure customers away from competitors’ products, get consumers to "load
up" on a mature product, hold & reward loyal customers, and build consumer
relationships. Typical tactics employed in pull strategy are: samples, coupons, cash
refunds and rebates, premiums, advertising specialties, loyalty programs/patronage
rewards, contests, sweepstakes, games, and point-of-purchase (POP) displays.
 A 'combination' marketing strategy is just that; it is a combination of a push and a
pull strategy. It focuses both on the distributor as well as the consumers, targeting
both parties directly. It offers consumer incentives side by side with dealer
discounts.

Methods of Marketing

Some of the most common methods used in marketing strategies include:

• Coupons

• Price discounting
• Gift with purchase offers
• Sweepstakes

• Sampling

• Mail in offers and rebates

• Refund and premium offers
• Group promotions
• Frequent user/loyalty incentives
• Point-of-sale displays

A New Marketing Strategy for E-Commerce

16
The Internet is not a new concept it has been around for over 30 years. In the early
1980’s, the government split the Internet into two sections, one for government use
and one that was designed to promote education and research. Since that time the
Internet has boomed, reaching over 30 million households and organizations around
the world. As the Internet expanded it moved into doing business orientated
functions, such as selling products over the Internet. This concept has become
known as e-commerce. E-commerce today represents a 300 billion dollar industry.
This is why it is an important area to be concerned with from a businesses
standpoint. This huge market is an awesome place for organizations to promote
themselves and to contract business through. Since the expansion of e-commerce,
organizations have run themselves thin; the demand from customers is so great, that
many sites can’t keep up with the demand. Not being able to match the demand in
the future will destroy the confidence of customers, in this already intangible means
of commerce. For this means of commerce to continue to attract customers and keep
them, they need to focus on satisfying each customer. On the other hand there is
fierce competition and creating demand is essential for many companies to survive.
Applying the marketing mix to e-commerce issues, recommendations can be drawn.

There are numerous articles that deal with both the marketing mix and e-commerce,
but none attempt to combine them. According to Marcia Jedd, the biggest problem
with e-commerce now and in the future is delivery (Jedd, 2000). Residential
deliveries cost delivery companies three times as much as deliveries to business,
because residential areas are less dense (Jedd, 2000). Also dealing with delivery, the
residential deliveries are much more expensive due to inability to create economies
of scale (Jedd, 2000). Some experts believe that information technology is a must in
improving logistics and supply chains (Ayers, 1999). In recent years, numerous
types of information systems have been developed to increase efficiency of logistics,
such as warehousing, inventory, and delivery operations (Ayers, 1999).

17
Advantages of E-commerce
E-commerce has many advantages for most organizations that choose to use this
means of operation. One of the biggest advantages is it allows reduced warehousing
and inventory cost due automation. Ecommerce is also independent of size, for the
most part; any organization can operate over the Internet. The Internet also reduces
the advantage of large companies over small companies, because it somewhat levels
the playing field (Wilder, 1998). Organizations can reach global areas that would
have been otherwise difficult. This is good because it allows global communication
and products to people who can’t purchase your product in their home region. E
commerce companies will also increase their accessibility, it creates a twenty- four
hour operation, and this allows people to shop when it’s convenient to them (Pallab,
1996). E-commerce also increases advertising and it allows a broader scope of
segments. It also is self-selective, me aning people who are on your site are
interested; they want to learn about your organization or product (Wehling, 1996).
Maybe the biggest advantage of e-commerce is its one to one marketing (Wehling,
1996). E-commerce also allows organizations to gather information on its customers
or potential customers. It’s also a unique form of marketing research that is fairly
inexpensive (Pallab, 1996).

Problems of E-commerce
With such rapid growth of the Internet, distribution has become a difficult task for
companies to manage. With such an increase in demand, many companies are not
able to handle the number of orders efficiently. The demand is putting a burden on
the inventory handling process, packaging, and residential delivery functions. Some
of the distribution problems are not the fault of e-commerce companies, but the
delivery service they choose. The delivery companies are not handling the increase
in demand efficiently, but their customers blame the e-commerce company. This
problem is vital for an organization to overcome; customers will evaluate the total
experience of the online purchasing as a whole. For example, if a product is
purchased, and the e-commerce company does everything correctly but the shipper
doesn’t perform their task properly, it will affect the technical outcome of the

18
satisfaction level. Customers will rate the transaction as a whole, so choosing
the correct shipper is vital.

Many transactions are done via the Internet, which can take an especially long time.
Customers will at some point forget the transaction if they are required to wait
extended periods, especially if the product is accessible at local retail vendors.
Managing the time required for a customer to complete a transaction affects
potential sales (Harvard Business Review, 2000). Many times why customers don’t
finish the transaction is due to extended wait of finalizing the transaction (Harvard
Business Review, 2000).
The lack automated inventory and shipping systems are problems for e-commerce
companies. This lack of technology really stresses the ability of a firm to meet the
demands of customers in a concise time period. According to a Federal Express
executive, many companies will crash before they upgrade to automation logistic
systems (Wilson, 1999). Many of the early e-commerce companies outsource their
order checking and distribution functions (Haywood, 1989). This is proved to be a
problem for some companies because of shipping cost has proved to be a big
deterrent of customers buying online and warehouse and distribution systems were
not set up to handle e-commerce business. Internet sites can also be hard to find for
some patrons, which can deter potential customers from buying online. Even if the
potential customer knows what they want, finding the web site that offers the best
price can be a lengthy task. Using search engines such as Yahoo or Excite can help,
but they search in a very broad manner, sometimes it takes too long to find the web
site. This may cause buyers to buy the product at local retail vendor (Mardesich,
1999). According to Resource Marketing, their research confirms this problem. In
their recent study of 45 search sites, only one third proved to generate relevant sites
(Mardesich, 1999).

When a customer does find a product that they want, it is difficult to get a phys ical
grasp of the product (Mardesich, 1999). There is a lot of intangibility when
purchasing online, such as buying items that are sold in sizes. Not being able to try

19
on products is a barrier that e-commerce must overcome to increase sales to
compete with local retail outlets. Although e-commerce separates itself from the
traditional retail outlet, it still must compete with them. For example, when
purchasing an item online, the price of the actual good offered is often cheaper
online, but the high cost of shipping decreases the advantage for buying online. If a
compact disk cost five dollars on line and then cost six dollars to ship, it ends up
costing about the same amount as priced in local retail outlets (Wilson, 1999).
Customer service online is a current drawback of e-commerce. Many companies
have poor online service. According to Resource Marketing, their results show that
only 10 out of 45 sites offered fair warranty and return services (Mardesich, 1999).
 E-commerce companies also must deal with seasonal changes; their inability to
handle high demand periods, such as Christmas is an important challenge. Not
handling the demand increase effectively reduces the confidence of online buyers or
potential online buyers. Some e-commerce companies have been involved in
unethical marketing tactics. E-commerce company, Buy.com has been under fire for
false advertising (Foster, 1999). With Buy.com using tactics such as, bait-and
switch, it reduces the image of e-commerce as a whole. Buy.com is also known to
post really low prices to lure customers into the site, and then tell the customers that
the promotion has expired (Foster, 1999). Some companies are also selling their
customer list, creating dissatisfaction among current online buyers. External factors
are something that affects the entire industry.

Applying the Marketing Mix

Product
One of the main issues of concern is the intangibility of purchasing online. The
intangibility is caused by not being able to focus on tangible aspects when purchasing
online. The customer can’t actually touch or feel a product, which increases the risk of
the purchase. The key to reducing intangibility is creating tangible cues that the
customer recognizes. Creating a positive brand image will reduce the risk (Kurtz,

20
1998). For example, buying a product that has a quality image will reduce the risk
for customers. Companies need to focus on creating a positive and reliable brand
name.

Stressing the actual or perceived benefits received from the product can also reduce
intangibility. Relaying to the customer that they will be very satisfied with the benefits
of the product is important. For example if a company sales golf clubs online, they
want to stress concept that they will hit the ball farther and straighter, which will allow
the person to increase their enjoyment when playing golf. Also, focusing on the actual
components of the product is important. Explaining the benefits of the clubs grip and
shaft in the product will also redirect the attention away from the intangible aspects.
Focusing on advantages of buying on line is also important for companies to achieve
increased sales. On the web site it is important to convey the convenience of buying
your product online. Conveying the message that your product is conveniently
accessible, lets the customer understand that they don’t need to stand in lines or deal
with other customers. Long lines and other customers can keep customers from buying
or decrease the amount they are willing to purchase. Explaining the convenience of
buying on line is a good way to reduce the problem of intangibility.

There are some instances where the convenience of online buying can be diminished.
When the customer finally decides to purchase a good it’s important for this
transaction to be quick and concise (Foster, 1999). The quicker this action can be done
accurately the better. If it takes a long time for this action, customers may defect and
buy the product through a local retail outlet. Companies need to be aware of this and
implement the proper technology to assure that this barrier is minimized. Since
products can’t be seen in person, it creates a barrier between the company and the
buyer. A possible way to overcome this factor is through technology. By providing
actual pictures of the product, it will allow the customer to get a better understanding
of the products. If the web site has high quality pictures, it will reduce the perceive
risk, which can increase the sales for a company. Products that are produced in
different sizes, such as clothing, create a problem for companies. Customers that want
to buy the product may not because they are not sure how the product will fit. This
creates a problem for the company, it is important to have a lenient return policy, but

21
even more importantly, they should purchase software that helps in sizing (Mardesich,
1999). This software will allow customers to input their measurements and the web
site will recommend which size is best for them (Mardesich, 1999). This type of
technology will reduce the risk involved, which will increase the number of products
sold.

The service involved is also a barrier that must be understood and managed correctly
(Mardesich, 1999). Having a lenient or fair return system will lower the perceived risk
involved. The customer is more likely to purchase the product if they know that
returning the product will be of minimal hassle and at no expense. Providing the high
service is directly related to increasing sales. Companies should also pay the postage
to have the product returned. Paying the postage will again, lower the perceived risk,
will most likely help in stimulating sales. Of course, this can only prove to be
beneficial if the product doesn’t have a high defective rate.

Place
Some of the distribution problems are uncontrollable at this point in the life cycle of
the Internet. In some instances the problem of delivering the product to the customers
isn’t the fault of the online company. Nearly every online company does choose to
outsource the delivery function, which at this point is the most efficient. Online
customers are having a difficult time satisfying their customers, because of something
that isn’t their fault. The company that the y select to ship their product isn’t handling
the demand. For high volume companies this can be easier to solve.

There is a definite need for companies to manage the relationship with the shipping
companies. The bigger the company the more power it posses in the supply chain.
They have the ability to hurt the shipping company by choosing to change shippers.
Even though there are few shipping companies, the online company can claim they
will switch, if their quality of service doesn’t increase. By threatening a switch, it will
hopefully create better service for a large company.

22
One of the biggest problems with online buying is the lack of automated inventory and
warehousing systems (Wilson, 1999). The lack of automation really hinders in the
efficiency and speed of meeting the customer needs. For small companies, it is a good
idea to outsource the warehouse and distribution functions, because they aren’t
efficient enough to meet customers’ needs. Outsourcing will reduce the actual profit,
because it is expensive (Wilson, 1999). Over time it will prove to be beneficial,
because it will help in building loyalty. The most important thing to understand is
choosing the correct outsourcer. Companies want to pick an outsourcer that isn’t
overbooked with clients so they can efficiently handle demand requirements.
Large online companies really need to consider automating the inventory and
warehousing functions. This may be the best way to stay competitive in the future. The
use of logistics consultants is a good strategy to assist in choosing an automated
system that matches company needs. Large companies that use outsourcers should
look into instituting their own logistics system. Even though it is working for the
company, it may be reducing profit (Wilson, 1999). Each part of the supply chain
makes a small profit in the online commerce. The actual sale of the product makes a
small profit, the warehousing makes a small profit, and the packager makes a small
profit. Add up these areas and that means there is a larger profit to be made by taking
over these functions (Wilson, 1999). If a company can do these functions themselves
they will increase their profits, because they can do it cheaper than an outsourcer.

For companies that don’t outsource, automation is important in staying competitive.

For example, in an article from Transportation and Distribution, Nortel Networks
found they couldn't reduce their total cost by implementing their own procurement
system (Transportation & Distribution, 1999). The new systems resulted in increased
accuracy in packaging and inventory functions, and increase speed in the distribution
system. Nortel Networks was able to process package weight information, compute
package and shipping cost, and create a carrier complaint label in less than four
seconds (Transportation & Distribution, 1999). The old system ran continuously just to
keep up with demand, but the new system, can do the same job in sixteen hours, with
99.8% accuracy (Transportation & Distribution, 1999). Managing warehouse

23
systems can be improved through the use of software. Warehouse-management
software systems are now available for online companies to purchase (Gilber, 1999).
Companies such as EXE Technologies and Yantra are offering e-commerce order
fulfillment packages (Gilber, 1999). These software packages can increase the
efficiency by handling orders and tracking the delivery function. These are possible
solutions that a company can do to implement automation in the company.

Price
Price is very important when dealing with e-commerce problems. Price can be a key
issue when trying to increase demand or when decreasing demand. Price is definitely a
weapon of choice by many companies (Holden, 1998). The two typical pricing
methods are skimming and penetration. Skim pricing is charging a high price when the
product is relatively new, in hope of making more profit. Penetration pricing is
deployed to capture a large market share. The theory is based on creating a large
market share, by being lower than competitors (Holden, 1998). To increase demand, e
commerce companies need to focus on penetrating the market. This will work best for
products that are in the introduction and growth stage (Holden, 1998). If the product is
near the maturity stage, lowering the price won’t increase profits very much. For
relatively new products, offering the product below competitors will increase demand.

Pricing of a product can reduce demand without reducing profit. If an online company
is doing very well, but isn’t able to keep up with the current demand, it may be smart
to actually raise the price of the product. This will do two things; it will keep profits at
the same level, but allows the logistics department to handle the orders more
efficiently. If companies can’t keep up with demand, it will reduce the satisfaction of
the customer, which will reduce the loyalty of the customer. A solution to keep
customers happy is by reducing the demand through increasing the price, which will
lower the number of purchases.

24
Reducing the purchases will allow the company to match demand; in return it will be
easier to keep current customers. It is believed that keeping current customers is five
times cheaper than finding new ones (Haywood, 1989). When raising the price, it must
be by a marginal amount, enough not to cause switching of loyal customers. Doing this
will allow a company to keep the same profit and manage demand more efficiently.
This solution may want to be done until the company can acquire an automated
system.

Price bundling, which is packaging products together for one price (Kurtz, 1998).
Using this tactic can be beneficial when doing business online. This can increase sales
for a company, because customers feel the y are getting more value for their money.
Increasing the value will reduce the risk for customers. Reducing the price by say
10%, it can allow a company to increase sales. Sometimes this can be done with a
product that is trying to be liquidated. This is a chance for the company to accomplish
two things: increase sales and reduce unwanted inventory.

Promotion
Promotion is an important part when selling the product; it is a necessary function for
e-commerce companies. This is one of the key facets in acquiring and keeping
customers. Keeping and acquiring customers is important, but more attention and
money needs to be spent on the place factors, such as warehousing and distribution
functions (Foster, 1999). Some of the budget promotion money should be spent on
developing better relations with distributors. Creating a strong bond with the delivery
carriers will enhance the value of the company. This can be done through personal
dealings with vendors. Doing such things as taking their representatives to events or to
dinner can build a loyal relationship. These activities are inexpensive means that can
really give an advantage to an e-commerce company.

Some troubles for e-commerce companies are the inability of customers to find the
web page. If they can’t find the web page, it creates a barrier in achieving increased
sales. The current technology of search engines, such as Yahoo and Excite, are very
broad in nature (Mardesich, 1999). When looking for a specific company it will bring

25
up a vast variety of topics. It takes a while to narrow down the possible entries to find
the intended company (Mardesich, 1999). Reducing the time spent looking for a web
site can increase the satisfaction of the customers. If they must spend twenty minutes
looking for a particular site, they may stop before they find it. A company can use
promotion to combat these problems. The best way to combat the problem is using
promotions that give the web site address. If the product is high involvement, using
advertising that is in magazines and newspapers should b e efficient. For high
involvement goods, people actively search for possible solutions to their problem. If
the product is low involvement, people will not be actively searching for the product,
so marketing activities must be intense. This can be accomplished by getting a large
number of advertisements into television and radio vehicles.

Another possible marketing vehicle is using hyperlinks (Wehling, 1996). Hyperlinks

allow a direct passage from another web site. This makes it very easy to find a
particular web site. Hyperlinks are usually most efficient when implemented on a web
site of similar material. In addition, there is no need to alienate customers or potential
customers through marketing tactics. False or unethical marketing as become an issue
in recent years, it isn’t uncommon to find many of these web sites. This can be just
puffery or it can be full blown bait-and-switch tactics. Buy.com has built a reputation
in participating in false advertising on their web site (Foster, 1999). This is definitely
something e-commerce companies need to get away form. With growing popularity of
ecommerce, the more this is done the more it will create havoc in the future. With
increase volume in online buying, there will be more restrictions and patrolling of
false and unethical promotions. With increase in online buyers, it will increase the
importance of word-of- mouth communications, which can cause problems. Doing
this type of promotion will decrease the confidence and loyalty of customers, which
will reduce sales in the future. A company’s profit is directly related to customer
loyalty, and these types of promotions will decrease loyalty. The question is clear, do
they want to make a profit in the short run or be able to make a profit in the long run?
It is obvious there is a huge market in e-commerce, and there is a definite need for
effective management. The only way for a company online to be successful in the long
run is dealing with problems and making corrections. With many barriers

26
involved in e-commerce, companies must be able to effectively and efficiently manage
each phase of the marketing mix. Companies can’t afford to just focus on two or three
areas. This is not enough. Focusing on just product and place, will not accomplish
goals in the long run. Each component must be evaluated periodically and managed
effectively. The reason why evaluating each phase periodically, is that with such a
diverse and technology driven area, elements are constantly changing. Scanning the
environment is a must to stay competitive and efficient. In conclusion, the company
can only be as good as its weakest link, each area is as important as the other is
integration among the four areas is vital.
 27
MARKETING STRATEGY IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY

The travel industry is a very competitive one, and in order to succeed, you must keep
trying new marketing plans to get the attention of prospective customers. Hotels have
a perpetual need to fill rooms, keep conference rooms booked and staff busy and be on
the lookout for the next big gathering that will help them add more profit to the
bottom line. Developing new marketing and promotion ideas is critical to the
success of any hotel.
Become the Town Hub

1. One of the things that can help a hotel stay profitable is a healthy relationship
with other businesses in the area. A promotion that could be run with the other
businesses may be special, where hotel guests are offered a variety of special
coupons to local restaurants and nightclubs for discount food, admission and
drink rates. There could also be coupons for other local entertainment
destinations such as museums, movie theaters and amusement parks. Creating
the impression that the hotel is an active hub for the other leisure spots in the
city can help to bring in more people from out of town that are looking for
things to do during their stay.

Offer Discounts to Air Travelers

2. If your hotel is close to the local airport, then you may be able to use that to put
together an attractive package for conventions and holiday travelers. Work with
the various airlines to include your hotel at a discounted rate when the traveler
books a flight with that airline. Offer larger-scale discounts to conventions that
use those particular airlines as well. One of the more effective ways to
advertise these rate specials is through travel agents and travel clubs. This can
be a particularly effective promotion if it helps to fill rooms during what would
normally be your slow time of year.

Offer Free Amenities

3. Travelers are always looking to get the best deal possible and one of the
marketing strategies that hotels have been using with great success are
free

28
amenities. These amenities can include a free continental breakfast or breakfast
buffet to each guest, a free newspaper left at each guest's door and even a
concierge service that helps guests get their dry cleaning done and find
over-the-counter medication. To stand out from the rest, you can create your
own list of free amenities; some ideas that may help gather interest in your
hotel may be a souvenir bathrobe, a free drink at the hotel bar or
complimentary shuttle service to some local places of interest.
One of the four major elements of the marketing mix is price. Pricing is an important
strategic issue because it is related to product positioning. Furthermore, pricing affects
other marketing mix elements such as product features, channel decisions, and
promotion. While there is no single recipe to determine pricing, the following is a
general sequence of steps that might be followed for developing the pricing of a new
product:

1. Develop marketing strategy - perform marketing analysis,

segmentation, targeting, and positioning.
2. Make marketing mix decisions - define the product, distribution,
and marketing tactics.
3. Estimate the demand curve - understand how quantity demanded varies
with price.
4. Calculate cost - include fixed and variable costs associated with the product.
5. Understand environmental factors - evaluate likely competitor actions,
understand legal constraints, etc.
6. Set pricing objectives - for example, profit maximization,
revenue maximization, or price stabilization (status quo).
7. Determine pricing - using information collected in the above steps, select
a pricing method, develop the pricing structure, and define discounts.

These steps are interrelated and are not necessarily performed in the above
order. Nonetheless, the above list serves to present a starting framework.

29
Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Mix

Before the product is developed, the marketing strategy is formulated, including target
market selection and product positioning. There usually is a tradeoff between product
quality and price, so price is an important variable in positioning.

Because of inherent tradeoffs between marketing mix elements, pricing will

depend on other product, distribution, and promotion decisions.

Estimate the Demand Curve

Because there is a relationship between price and quantity demanded, it is important to

understand the impact of pricing on sales by estimating the demand curve for the
product.

For existing products, experiments can be performed at prices above and below the
current price in order to determine the price elasticity of demand. Inelastic demand
indicates that price increases might be feasible.

Calculate Costs

If the firm has decided to launch the product, there likely is at least a basic
understanding of the costs involved otherwise, there might be no profit to be made.
The unit cost of the product sets the lower limit of what the firm might charge, and
determines the profit margin at higher prices.

The total unit cost of a producing a product is composed of the variable cost of
producing each additional unit and fixed costs that are incurred regardless of the
quantity produced. The pricing policy should consider both types of costs.

Environmental Factors
Pricing must take into account the competitive and legal environment in which the
company operates. From a competitive standpoint, the firm must consider the
implications of its pricing on the pricing decisions of competitors. For example,
setting the price too low may risk a price war that may not be in the best interest of

30
either side. Setting the price too high may attract a large number of competitors
who want to share in the profits.

From a legal standpoint, a firm is not free to price its products at any level it chooses.
For example, there may be price controls that prohibit pricing a product too high.
Pricing it too low may be considered predatory pricing or "dumping" in the case of
international trade. Offering a different price for different consumers may violate laws
against price discrimination. Finally, collusion with competitors to fix prices at an
agreed level is illegal in many countries.

Pricing Objectives

The firm's pricing objectives must be identified in order to determine the

optimal pricing. Common objectives include the following:

• Current profit maximization - seeks to maximize current profit, taking into

account revenue and costs. Current profit maximization may not be the best
objective if it results in lower long-term profits.

• Current revenue maximization - seeks to maximize current revenue with no

regard to profit margins. The underlying objective often is to maximize
long term profits by increasing market share and lowering costs.
• Maximize quantity - seeks to maximize the number of units sold or the number
of customers served in order to decrease long-term costs as predicted by the
experience curve.
• Maximize profit margin - attempts to maximize the unit profit
margin, recognizing that quantities will be low.
• Quality leadership - use price to signal high quality in an attempt to position
the product as the quality leader.

• Partial cost recovery - an organization that has other revenue sources may seek
only partial cost recovery.

• Survival - in situations such as market decline and overcapacity, the goal may be
to select a price that will cover costs and permit the firm to remain in the
market. In this case, survival may take a priority over profits, so this objective
is considered temporary.
31
• Status quo - the firm may seek price stabilization in order to avoid price
wars and maintain a moderate but stable level of profit.

For new products, the pricing objective often is either to maximize profit margin or to
maximize quantity (market share). To meet these objectives, skim pricing and
penetration pricing strategies often are employed. Joel Dean discussed these pricing
policies in his classic HBR article entitled, Pricing Policies for New Products.

Skim pricing attempts to "skim the cream" off the top of the market by setting a high
price and selling to those customers who are less price sensitive. Skimming is a
strategy used to pursue the objective of profit margin maximization.

Skimming is most appropriate when:

• Demand is expected to be relatively inelastic; that is, the customers are

not highly price sensitive.
• Large cost savings are not expected at high volumes, or it is difficult to
predict the cost savings that would be achieved at high volume.

• The company does not have the resources to finance the large capital
expenditures necessary for high volume production with initially low profit
margins.

Penetration pricing pursues the objective of quantity maximization by means of

a low price. It is most appropriate when:

• Demand is expected to be highly elastic; that is, customers are price sensitive
and the quantity demanded will increase significantly as price declines. • Large
decreases in cost are expected as cumulative volume increases. • The product is
of the nature of something that can gain mass appeal fairly quickly.
• There is a threat of impending competition.

As the product lifecycle progresses, there likely will be changes in the demand
curve and costs. As such, the pricing policy should be reevaluated over time.

32
The pricing objective depends on many factors including production cost, existence of
economies of scale, barriers to entry, product differentiation, rate of product diffusion,
the firm's resources, and the product's anticipated price elasticity of demand.

Pricing Methods
To set the specific price level that achieves their pricing objectives, managers
may make use of several pricing methods. These methods include:

• Cost-plus pricing - set the price at the production cost plus a certain
profit margin.

• Target return pricing - set the price to achieve a target return-on-investment.

• Value-based pricing - base the price on the effective value to the customer
relative to alternative products.

• Psychological pricing - base the price on factors such as signals of

product quality, popular price points, and what the consumer perceives to be
fair.

In addition to setting the price level, managers have the opportunity to design
innovative pricing models that better meet the needs of both the firm and its
customers. For example, software traditionally was purchased as a product in which
customers made a one-time payment and then owned a perpetual license to the
software. Many software suppliers have changed their pricing to a subscription model
in which the customer subscribes for a set period of time, such as one year.
Afterwards, the subscription must be renewed or the software no longer will function.
This model offers stability to both the supplier and the customer since it reduces the
large swings in software investment cycles.

Price Discounts

The normally quoted price to end users is known as the list price. This price usually is
discounted for distribution channel members and some end users. There are several
types of discounts, as outlined below.

• Quantity discount - offered to customers who purchase in large

quantities. 33

• Cumulative quantity discount - a discount that increases as the cumulative

quantity increases. Cumulative discounts may be offered to resellers who
 purchase large quantities over time but who do not wish to place large
individual orders.

• Seasonal discount - based on the time that the purchase is made and designed to
reduce seasonal variation in sales. For example, the travel industry offers much
lower off-season rates. Such discounts do not have to be based on time of the
year; they also can be based on day of the week or time of the day, such as
pricing offered by long distance and wireless service providers.

• Cash discount - extended to customers who pay their bill before a

specified date.
• Trade discount - a functional discount offered to channel members for
performing their roles. For example, a trade discount may be offered to a small
retailer who may not purchase in quantity but nonetheless performs the
important retail function.

• Promotional discount - a short-term discounted price offered to stimulate sales.

Data mining techniques like clustering, decision trees etc. have been widely used for
successfully segmenting and targeting customers across various industries. Data
mining provides an effective approach to discover and understand patterns in customer
behavior thereby helping the decision maker to better group customers. The on-line
travel intermediary sector has witnessed a surge in patronage over the past three years.
It is estimated that more than 50% of all travel bookings happen on-line in the USA
and Europe. The migration towards on-line travel intermediation continues unabated
and large online intermediaries like expedia.com, Travelocity.com etc. are expanding
fast to cater to the emerging demand. However, being a highly competitive industry,
there is a mushrooming of small intermediaries concentrating on niche segments and
offering products at a cheaper rate. The competition between the intermediaries and
suppliers and the service providers in the on-line travel and tourism booking industry
is also quite well known. It is in this context that segmentation and targeting of on-line
enquires become very critical for success. All enquiries do not get converted in a
transaction since customers have a choice of
34
looking at different sources for competitive rates and offers. It is therefore important
for intermediaries to understand what types of enquiries get converted so as to target
their offer to increase the enquiry conversion rate.
Today’s Traveler
• The majority of travelers use search engines to research their trips. • In
addition, half of all travels use destination sites of specific cities, states, or
countries. • Nearly as many use company sites: airlines, hotels, rental companies
and packaged tour sites.

• Commercial sites include the online businesses such as makemytrip.com

and makemytrip.com

Reaction of the Industry

• The industry has realized the Internet’s tremendous potential as a global
information portal and as a conduit for ecommerce which creates unique
marketing opportunities for both products and services.

• Among all the available marketing channels, the Internet has the greatest
potential to reach a global audience in the most efficient and cost effective
way.

• However, the Internet’s magnitude also creates a formidable dilemma for every
online marketer: “How can I harness the power of the internet to reach my
target market(s) in a managed, cost effective manner?”

Promotion on the Web

Some of the important ways of promoting on the web are :
• Submission of the optimized sites to top and relevant Search Engines and
Directories. Understanding the relationship between the search engines is also
of utmost importance.

• Promoting the site through various PayPerClick Search Engines and

Campaigns. • Promoting the site through Banner Ads, PopUps, PopUnder, and
Skyscrapers.

35
• Using email to promote your special offers on products/services to
 existing customers.

• Creating an Affiliate Program to increase links to your site and also sales.
• Newsletters, Press Releases.

Search Engine Positing is Marketing, Not Technology!

In a world where search properties are changing, our sites are changing and our
business goals are changing, search engine positioning is an ongoing, iterative process.
It is the use of marketing techniques, translated through technology, to capitalize on
the behavior of our potential customers. We need to work to place our Web site's
products and/or services in the path of their search behavior. We need to understand
this vital difference, to sustain and succeed. Hence, for successful Search Engine
Positioning, site optimization should be a process of optimizing, submitting,

registering, positioning, monitoring, and maintaining.

Need for Bookers, not Lookers

Positioning our site in the top slots of search engines isn't enough. The story doesn't
end by getting lot of traffic to the site, but it begins here. We need sales. It is always
nice to have more visitors to the site, but what we really need is bookers and buyers.

Industry Stats on Look to Book ratio

Conversion rates (look to book ratios) serve as an important indicator of the travel
website functionality, the effectiveness of the eCRM tools deployed, the breadth and
uniqueness of the travel products offered, the loyalty factors, etc. The higher the ratio,
the better. Average conversion rates for most online travel sites is between 5%8%.
This indicates that 92%95% of the website traffic falls into the category of "Lookers
Only", which means that most of our online travel marketing dollars spent are a waste.

36
This can increase the Look to Book ratio:
• Proper placement of the recommendation engine is an important tool to facilitate
 the buyer's decision making process and increase the conversion rates. It can
significantly improve the overall user experience.

• Sites should be truly unique... No Flash, nothing fancy, just attractive,

quick downloading, informative web sites that WORK!

• Sites should be a portrayal of the slogan "Go There, Before You Get There! " We
need to allow viewers to preview a property’s external features and internal
amenities as well.

• To encourage repeat visitors, "sticky" features (newsletters, discussion

boards, special offer sections, etc...) should be included on the site.

• Many visitors feel more comfortable talking with a live help. This gives
more chance for closing a sale.

• A small effort of putting the TOLL FREE number at a prominent place on all
the pages of the site will do the trick.

37
Marketing Strategies Adopted by Thomas Cook
India's leading online travel company, today demonstrated its commitment by striving
for the highest level of customer services and rolling out The Thomas Cook Promise.
The Thomas Cook Promise will guarantee hassle-free travel with a slew of services,
making the entire Thomas Cook experience memorable. Thomas Cook keeps its
promise! - Guarantees Best Airfare - Thomas Cook is offering best deals including
International airfare sale where one can book an international flight and be assured of
the most competitive fare price. If any other company is offering a better fare, then
Thomas Cook will match the same.

Exceptional Rewards for the customers: Thomas Cook has added a lot of special
offers to make its customer’s travel with Thomas Cook even more profitable.
Exclusive discounts & special offers on mobile phones, flowers, jewellery, gadgets or
pizzas & much more….for example:

• iPod Shuffle 1 GB 3rd Generation Rs 2499/-

• Samsung Latest i450 Music edition mobile handset Special price for
Thomas Cook Customers Rs 13,299/-

• Sony Ericsson W200i Mobile handset Special price for Thomas Cook
Customers Rs 4688/-

• Phillips DVD - Home Theatre Special price for Thomas Cook Customers
Rs 8499/-

• Onida 17 Liter Microwave Special price for Thomas Cook Customers Rs

2749/- • Onida DFX 5957 L 5.1 DVD player Special price for Thomas Cook
Customers Rs 2449/-

• Kodak Easyshare Camera C 713 Special price for Thomas Cook Customers
Rs 6199/-

• Apple iPod Nano 4GB Special price for Thomas Cook Customers for Rs 8200/-

38
• Nikon L11 Digital Camera Special price for Thomas Cook Customers for Rs
7499/- & Accessories worth Rs.2,435 Free along with the camera • Assured
Refund within 72 hours: Thomas Cook assures refund on cancellation within
3 working days after receiving the request. If the refund is not being processed
within the specified time, then a gift coupon worth Rs 250 will be given to the
customer.

• Zero Cancellation fees: Thomas Cook will not charge Thomas Cook
Cancellation Fee of Rs 160 for online cancellation and Rs 310 for the
cancellation of offline requests.

• Instant Cancellation: Customers can get the cancellation processed instantly by

initiating it online through the My Bookings section

• Secured Transactions: Thomas Cook’s payment gateway is VeriSign Secured

and assures secure e-commerce, communications, and interactions for web
sites, intranets, and extranets.

• Free Visa Assistance: The Thomas Cook team of expert help customers with the
formalities of applying for their visa without charging any additional service
fee.

• The customers just need to book ticket to any destination and the customer
executives will assist them with the whole process. Earn Thomas Cook Miles
As a part of its loyalty programme, a customer can earn a certain number of
points on every confirmed flight or hotel booking on. The points can be
redeemed for discounts on any other Thomas Cook travel product.

• We at Thomas Cook not just offer the best travel deals of the industry but also
have the ability to surprise and delight the customer by anticipating their
prospective needs.Since its inception in 1881, Thomas Cook has been a
company, which not only adapts the latest technology, but also focuses on
product and service innovation. This can be well estimated by the fact that in
the last couple of months Thomas Cook has introduced several new services
such as flexible payment facility across product categories, best price

39
 guarantees on holidays, cash back on companions travel and the upgraded free
travel card. Thomas Cook Promise is yet another initiative to instill trust and
confidence of the customer in the company thereby ensuring a long lasting
relationship

. Thomas Cook ties up with eBay India: Thomas Cook and eBay India
(www.ebay.in), India's leading e-Commerce marketplace, today signed a strategic deal
to promote the products of Thomas Cook across eBay India. As a part of this deal,
Thomas Cook will be featured as a recommended travel website on eBay India’s
homepage. In return, Thomas Cook will offer the customers of eBay India the option
to search and book travel products - domestic & international flights and domestic
hotels.

Thomas Cook has also been the recipient of several prestigious awards
and recognitions

• Thomas Cook Strategic Deal with Yahoo! India: Thomas Cook and Yahoo!
India signed a strategic advertising partnership to promote Thomas Cook
across Yahoo! India. As a part of this deal, Thomas Cook will be featured as
the recommended travel website on Yahoo! India homepage. In addition to the
dedicated link to Thomas Cook from the Yahoo! India homepage, Yahoo! India
will provide dedicated display advertising inventory to Thomas Cook on its
Homepage, Finance and News sections. Thomas Cook will also be featured as
the Knowledge Partner on Yahoo! Answers for Travel category. We are
confident that all of these initiatives will help in Thomas Cook gain increased
awareness in Indian market through Yahoo! India”.

• Thomas Offer Great Travel: If you have been stagnating your travel plans for
a long period because of cost, then it is time to end the stagnation of the plans and
the India Thomas Cook plot. You can now get airline tickets Cheap plot that will
Thomas Cook India. You can also get fantastic Travel Deals at www.
Thomascook.in it can be convenient for you to plot your holidays in your budget.
With the introduction of new airlines, passengers can now get airline tickets cheap
travel and not have to worry that the tickets cost. The fantastic Travel Deals at
www.thomascook.in, also allows the

40
programming of Thomas Cook India at very low and provides excellent deals
on the flight reservation. To book your airline tickets low cost Thomas Cook
India to learn about fantastic travel deals at www.thomascook.in, you can go
online and search for deals and discounts. The user-friendly website offers you
all the information in minutes, you can easily book your Thomas Cook India.
The site can help you learn about new offers and discounts offered by different
airlines and may also provide discounted tickets business class. This way, you
can comfortably travel by plane and need not worry about breaking your
budget with your Thomas Cook India. Because passengers can find fantastic
travel deals Thomas Cook online itself, they are no longer necessary to visit the
office of the company for a low cost airline tickets. No longer depend Travel
Agents Travel information they provide and can get online at all. If you need
information on domestic flights for India Thomas Cook or the need to obtain
airline tickets low cost international travel, you can get into this web of travel.

41
 Chapter- 3:
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

42
Primary Data: Interviews and Questionnaires with the customers who use on-line
ticketing facility in Delhi NCR area, in addition to the officials of Thomas Cook in
New Delhi.

Secondary Data: News Papers, books, internet, Reports, Business

magazines Tools: Bar Diagrams, pie-charts, tabulation Sampling method:

convenient sampling method

Sample size: 100

Target audience: Customers who use on-line ticketing facility in Delhi and NCR
area and the officials of Thomas Cook.

The research methodology comprised of primary and secondary data

collection through questionnaires and various other means.

The observations were specific in nature and were subject to certain

predefined attributes.

3.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Major objective of the study is to get insight regarding marketing strategy of Thomas
Cook with regard to factor ssuch as Price ,Quality ,Customer satisfaction
,Popularity of products etc

To get information about company’s brand, its image and awareness. To

study the marketing strategies of Thomas Cook.

43
To study the weaknesses and the loopholes in the strategy of the company and give
valuable suggestions.

3.1.1 PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of the Problem is to find out the

Marketing strategies.. 3.2 MODE OF DATA COLLECTION

Broadly there are two methods of data collection:-

● Primary data collection method

● Secondary data collection method

Primary data collection method: - Primary source of data implies collection of

data from its source of origin. It offers you first-hand quantitative information
relating to your statistical study.

I have collected primary data through:-

● Questionnaires

● Interaction with the respondents

Secondary data collection method: - secondary source of data implies

collection of data from some agency or institution which already happens to
have collected the data through statistical survey(s). It does not offer you
first hand information relating to your statistical study. You are to rely on the
information which already exists.

I have collected secondary data from:-

● Internet

● Books

● Magazines

44
3.3 SAMPLE DESIGN

For the research activity to turn out into a success, I surveyed 50 respondents
that include Ghaziabad residents, customers in NCR region.

3.4 LIMITATIONS

The main limitations are:

 Sample Size: To know the market, the sample size of customers should be big
enough so that it represents the “POPULATION”.

The above was not possible because of shortage of time and less number of
customers in the market who can give authentic information about Accord segment
market.

Area Covered: I covered our Ghaziabad, and NCR region. The analysis of
this area was not enough to know the whole Indian Market.

Time factor: Research has been undertaken in 8 weeks time. This is too less
to study and analyze the market.

Cost factor: Questionnaire has been filled by those only which could be easily
accessed. Those who can be important to this research may have been left out
because of Cost constraints.

45

Chapter– 4:

FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

 46
PRIMARY FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

1. Are you aware about the marketing strategy in the online travel industry?

◻ Yes 88 per cent

◻ No 04 per cent

◻ No response 08 per cent

Analysis: As regards the awareness level of the officials regarding the marketing
strategy in the online travel industry, 88 per cent of the respondents were aware
about it showing a very high awareness level.
2. For what purpose the customers mostly use our services?
◻ Rail booking 22 per cent

◻ Air booking 50 per cent

◻ Hotel booking 10 per cent

◻ Other purpose 08 per cent

◻ Do not know / can not say------------------------- 10 per cent

Analysis: The customers mostly use the services of Thomas Cook for airline
bookings. However, the site also benefits substantially from other ancillary
business.

48
3. Do we offer discounts to our customers as part of marketing
strategy? ◻ Yes 93 per cent
◻ No 02 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say --------------------------05 per cent

Analysis: It has been ascertained from the response that the discounts offered
by Thoms Cook is part of their larger marketing strategy.

49
4. Do you think that the company benefits from this marketing
strategy? ◻ Agree 45 per cent
◻ Strongly Agree 35 per cent

◻ Disagree 08 per cent

◻ Strongly Disagree----------------------------------- 05 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say -------------------------07 per cent

Analysis: The respondents, benefits from the discounting strategy adopted by
it.

50
5. Do you agree that the company benefits from the tie up strategy with various
banks and financial institutions?
◻ Agree 40 per cent

◻ Strongly Agree 35 per cent

◻ Disagree 10 per cent

◻ Strongly Disagree ----------------------------------- 05 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say --------------------------10 per cent

Analysis: The respondents have agreed that the company benefits from the tie up
strategy with various banks and financial institutions like the SBI and the
Barclay.

51
6. Does our company adopt strategies like pop ups and online
newsletters? ◻ Yes 50 per cent

◻ No 20 per cent ◻ Do not know / Can not say

---------------------------------- 30 per cent

Analysis: Thomas Cook resorts to marketing strategies like pop ups on websites
and online newsletters.

52
7. Do you agree that the company benefits from this marketing
strategy? ◻ Agree 38 per cent
◻ Strongly Agree ----------------------------------25 per cent

◻ Disagree 20 per cent

◻ Strongly Disagree------------------------------- 10 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say ---------------------07 per cent

Analysis: The respondents, benefits from the strategies like pop ups on websites
and online newsletters.

53
8. Do you agree that the circulation of messages in the mobile networks benefits
the costumers of the company?
◻ Agree 37 per cent

◻ Strongly Agree 20 per cent

◻ Disagree 20 per cent

◻ Strongly Disagree --------------------------------------- 15 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say ------------------------------08 per cent

Analysis: The respondents were of the opinion that the circulation of messages in
the mobile networks benefits the company i.e www.thomascook.in

54
9. Do you believe that the marketing strategy of Thomas cook is unique to make
it different from others like MakeMyTrip?
◻ Yes 67 per cent

◻ No 20 per cent

◻ Do not know / Can not say --------------------13 per cent

Analysis: The respondents were of the opinion that the marketing strategy of
Thomas Cook is unique to make it different from others like MakeMyTrip..

55
10. Future of Thomas Cook?

◻ Very bright future ahead---------------------------------- 30 per cent

◻ Challenging future ahead---------------------------------- 40 per

cent ◻ Bleak future ahead----------------------------------------- 12 per

cent ◻ Do not know / Can not say -------------------------------- 18

per cent

Analysis: Given the present market scenario in the online travel industry,
Thomas Cook has a smooth but challenging future ahead.

56

Chapter– 5:

CONCLUSION
 57
As regards the awareness level of the officials regarding the marketing strategy in
the online travel industry, 88 per cent of the respondents were aware about it
showing a very high awareness level.

▪ The customers mostly use the services of Thomas Cook for airline bookings.
However, the site also benefits substantially from other ancillary business.

▪ It has been ascertained from the response that the discounts offered by
Thomas Cook is part of their larger marketing strategy.

▪ The company says the respondents, benefits from the discounting strategy
adopted by it.

▪ The respondents have agreed that the company benefits from the tie up strategy
with various banks and financial institutions like the SBI and the Barclay.

▪ Thomas Cook resorts to marketing strategies like pop ups on websites and online
newsletters.
▪ The respondents, benefits from the strategies like pop ups on websites and online
newsletters.

▪ The respondents were of the opinion that the circulation of messages in the
mobile networks benefits the costumers of the company i.e
www.thomascook.in

▪ The respondents were of the opinion that the marketing strategy of

Thomas Cook is unique to make it different from others like MakeMyTrip.

▪ Given the present market scenario in the online travel industry, Thomas
Cook has a smooth but challenging future ahead.

▪ The fantastic Travel Deals at www.thomascook.in also allows the programming

of Thomas Cook India at very low and provides excellent deals on the flight
reservation.

58
▪ To book your airline tickets at low cost and to learn about fantastic travel
deals at www.thomascook.in, you can go online and search for deals and
discounts.

▪ The user-friendly website offers you all the information in minutes you can
easily book your Thomas Cook India.

▪ The site can help you learn about new offers and discounts offered by
different airlines and may also provide discounted tickets business class.
 59
SUGGESTIONS

The following suggestions could be made for the better performance of Thomas Cook:

Review of everyday offers at signage, websites, flexboards whether they are

updated properly or not.

Flexbords should be displayed properly on the roads and on every gate

 entrance. More offers and extra benefits should be there to get the major sales.

Better employee satisfactions should be there to get the sales.

The staff should be well informed about the offers and discounts before any
fake commitments.

Increase the brand awareness in society to increase the sale.

Interaction should be there between employees and customers.

The commitments should be real and all promises should be done on time..

New offers should be given to the registered member to get the best sales
output.

60

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books Referred To
India today may 2015; leisure and living April 2015 marketing management by Philip
Kotler, c r Kothari research methodology, Business world may 2010 marketing
Management by dessier.

(i) Fennel A David, Ecotourism:

(ii) Gour Kanchilal, Indian Tourism
(iii) Aronsson Lars, the Development of Sustainable Tourism.
(iv) Tearfund (2009) ‘Tourism an Ethical Issue,
(v) United Nations Environment Programme
(vi) Tourism Market Trends: 2009 edition.
(vii) Pro-Poor Tourism Strategies
(viii) Holiday Purchasing Patterns Market Assessment,
(ix) Travel Trends: A Report on the 2009 International Passenger Survey.
(x) Tearfund guide to tourism: Don’t forget your ethics,

Site Referred To
www.thomascook.in
(i). www.google.com
(ii). www.One97 world.net
(iii).www.chinatelecom-h.com/eng/business/dataninternet.htm
(iv). www.thomascook.in

61

ANNEXURE
1. Are you aware about the marketing strategy in the online
travel industry?
◻ YES

◻ NO

2. For what purpose the customers mostly use our services?

o Rail booking
o Air booking
o Hotel booking
o Other purpose
o Do not know / can not say

3. Do we offer discounts to our customers as part of marketing

strategy? o Yes
o No
o Do not know / Can not say

4. Do you think that the company benefits from this marketing strategy?
◻ Agree

◻ Strongly Agree

◻ Disagree

◻ Strongly Disagree

◻ Do not know / Can not say

62
5. Do you agree that the company benefits from the tie up strategy with
various banks and financial institutions?
◻ Agree

◻ Strongly Agree

◻ Disagree

◻ Strongly Disagree

◻ Do not know / Can not say

6. Does our company adopt strategies like pop ups and online
newsletters? ◻ Yes
◻ No

◻ Don’t Know/ Can’t Say

7. Do you agree that the company benefits from this

 marketing strategy?
◻ Agree

◻ Strongly Agree

◻ Disagree

◻ Strongly Disagree

◻ Do not know / Can not say

8. Do you agree that the circulation of messages in the mobile networks

benefits the costumers of the company?

◻ Agree

◻ Strongly Agree

◻ Disagree

◻ Strongly Disagree

◻ Do not know / Can not say

63
9. Do you believe that the marketing strategy of Thomas cook is unique to
make it different from others like MakeMyTrip? ◻ Yes

◻ No

◻ Don’t Know/ Can’t Say

10. Future of Thomas Cook?

◻ Very bright future ahead

◻ Challenging future ahead

◻ Bleak future ahead

◻ Do not know / Can not say

64