Marketing Mix 7 Ps

Product Price Promotion Place

People Physical evidence Process

Target
customers
i.e tourists

https://www.lemax.net/blog/how-to-increase-sales-in-a-travel-company-8-tips-for-better-sales-
performance/
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https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/103149/1/JBE%202011-05[1].pdf#page=62

https://prezi.com/hsj70ibk_t8u/7-ps-of-tourism-industry/

https://www.managementstudyguide.com/seven-p-of-services-marketing.htm

https://www.slideshare.net/manc14/tourism-marketing

https://www.academia.edu/9492907/Tourism_Marketing_7_Ps
PRODUCT:

Planning of the marketing of Tourism is unlike the advertising of other products, reason being,
that whatever is being offered is firstly intangible and is rather a consumption of an experience.
Hence, the product here is a service (tourism), that is heterogeneous and more fragile. Due to
this, there is a lot more room for customizing the service being offered according to the
requirements of the customer, and also the definite customer encounter. This also means that
more often, the customer will walk away from the tourism offering, merely with a memory of it
or the entire experience. But on the other hand, a lot for customization might forsake the
standard delivery of the service in hand and negatively affect the service quality. Therefore, aa
rather focused attention has to be given while designing this sort of a service offering.

Communicating and interactively defining the distinctive characteristics of the product to its
consumers is the vital slice of successful marketing.. for Traverse Pakistan, the product entails
two components:

 Attributes like room, breakfast and lunch deals, transport, scenic value, cultural assets of
the destination, handicrafts, seasonal local festivities etc
 Benefits that a consumer attains as a consequence of buying the product/service such as
enjoyment, relaxation, exploration and learning.

Currently, Traverse Pakistan iis offering two kinds of packages which are as follows:

 Public package that includes fixed number of days with a fixed price along with single end
point. This is basically for the students or young groups travelling together.
 Customized package in which the customer can choose where to stay, which transport
to use and then the price is decided upon this by the agency. This entertains the corporate
sector customers and also foreigners.

In addition, Traverse Pakistan can categorize their product in the following manner;

 Family/group customized package

 Couple package
 With/without food packages
  Packages with tourist guide

Instead of trying to get into a competition or imitate their competitors, Traverse Pakistan should
focus more on highlighting the unique benefits of their product/service. It is also recommended
that the agency should ask their existing satisfied customers for a brief review in which they
highlight all the positive features of the experience they have had by utilizing the
product/service of their agency. By posting such positive reviews on their website, Facebook page
and Instagram, they can reach out to a vast number of potential customers. Also, they can bundle
up their travel components into exclusive travel products/services by merging different
products/services into an exceptional travel experience. Several packages can be created and
better price can be offered by combining flight/transport, hotel, food and an activity together.
By doing so, the customers will get a complete travel adventure, and the agency will have the
chance to sell far more travel items and services rather offering them individually. This can be
done more efficiently by using a travel operator software.

PRICE:

Estimating the price of a service is a far tougher task than the pricing of goods and products.
While determining the price of the former mentioned, the overhead costs needs to be factored
in very carefully. Thus, Traverse Pakistan not only has to charge for the service they are providing,
that is tourism, but also need to calculate the cost of the entire experience being provided. The
concluding price for the service will therefore be reached by adding a markup for a satisfactory
profit margin. Having the correct information about the break-even point is a good point to begin
with, whereas Traverse Pakistan, being a start up, should take up the market penetrating strategy
by keeping the pricing low for now than the expected strategic pricing in order to establish their
credibility, brand name and also to attract volumes.

The pricing components for Traverse Pakistan includes the following:

  The actual cost of providing the service/product that includes the transportation, rooms,
food, and other activities being offered
 Overhead costs
 Industry standards
 Profit margin
 Value of money
 Brand image
 Seasonal pricing
 Last minute pricing
 Rack rate

A good technique to stay forward from the competitors will be offering a great price for a wide
range of quality services, car rentals, tickets for excursions or other amusements. Therefore
combining several different sources into an exclusive travel experience will take the service of
Traverse Pakistan to a next level. In addition to this, as long as the seasonal pricing is concerned,
using a fusion of pricing throughout the year to incorporate high, low and shoulder season is a
more typical method for the tourism businesses to accommodate diverse levels of demand due
to the particular time of year, which therefore should be taken into account by the agency. As
for the Last Minute Pricing, Traverse Pakistan can offer discounts on the regular daily prices to
advance booking and sponsored on last minute booking platforms. Moreover, creating packages
with corresponding tourism partners in their area or with a value added element, will also prove
to be a good way to arouse demand without having to offer discounts. The agency can also
consider striking up contracts with local businesses to provide a complete package and ultimately
sharing the business with each other; getting into deals with them by trying to get their
service/product at a “net” rate so the final packaged service better for the customers rather than
if they would’ve procured each element of the package separately.
PROMOTION:
Since the manner in which the service is being provided can simply be imitated by the
competitors, promotion turns out to be very important in distinguishing the service offered by
Traverse Pakistan in the minds of the target market.

the most valuable consideration to keep In mind here, while opting for communication tools and
channels for the agency are:

 What is the finest communication channel that should be used by Traverse Pakistan, that
will reach their target market?
 What is the major objective behind the communication?
 Which channel will prove to be the most effective for communication?

Flyers for local promotions:

Traverse Pakistan can place flyers strategically across the KLI cities (Karachi – Lahore - Islamabad)
to begin with. For instance, at the local airports and also at Deawoo bus terminals, they can
engage the incoming travelers and be the first one to directly market their business. Also the
agency can engage the opportunity by distributing the brochures/flyers at universities especially
before the semester break, summer breaks and at local restaurants and hotels etc.

Booklets and Brochures:

Brochures and booklet type print media is a perfect way to communicate with their customers
for tourism business. They can be designed in a thoughtful manner to convey to the customers
what Traverse Pakistan is offering in a concise, clear and alluring way. Designing a handbook that
list the beautiful sights and locations to visit, and by aesthetically decorating these sort of print
media with photographs of hots spots and location attractions of the destinations being offered,
can certainly attract customers.

E-marketing:

In additional to the tradition brochures, the agency should design e-brochures that can reach
masses through internet, that will provide information to their customers and travel agents etc.
Tourists from almost all age groups are now using the social medio networks, where they share
their experience, exchange their views and talk about their travel and also express their
preferences. In order to keep the customers engaged on the social media and also to motivate
a further greater number of potential clients, the marketing team can post videos, images,
statuses or ask questions to trigger conversations. To reach the mass audience, they can advertise
through Instagram and Facebook and run paid promotions on the relevant pages. Also, doing
collaborations with travel bloggers who have a great number of followers can also be beneficial
and can ultimately result in an increase in the number of customers.

To grasp its audience, Traverse Pakistan is advised to tie up with tourism board or get on their
panel so that they can take part in their travel fairs and bazaars that are held every now and then
to promote local tourism. For promotion of any tourism destination, Public relation also plays an
important role. They can also offer sales promotions during the off season, in order to motivate
people to take up the trip due to the add on facilities and better prices. Also, sales promotions
for groups travelling together, the greater the number the better the package, discounts for
couples and families can also be beneficial for the business. In addition to it, Traverse Pakistan is
advised to up-sell the services being offered, therefore providing an entire experience rather than
a single service. Suggesting add-on products/services on top of a regular standard package, will
prove to be a basic straightforward technique of increasing their profits per customer. For
instance, if the customer is travelling to Hunza, they can offer breakfast, lunch and dinner to go
with it. this can be best done by exploring and trying to find out what their customers want.

PLACE:

As the delivery of the service of tourism is synchronized with its production and it cannot be
stored or even transported, the service’s location holds a great importance. Deciding upon the
point of sale is a major decision for every business, whether its service based or product based.
Hence Traverse Pakistan should give special attention to where their service will be provided or
where and how the first customer encounter will take place. For instance, whether it shall only
operate online, or through the sales agents, or they should have an appropriate service outlet.
They currently have their office in Sector E11 in Islamabad and also through their facebook page.
E11 is a populated sector and also their market place is huge but without a proper car park, which
might serve as a hurdle as when the customers visit their office, they would be agitated by the
fact that they might not find a spot to park. Majority of their current customers are being
entertained through the Facebook page and also through their website.

PEOPLE:

This will include perpetually, the front line people, and it is where the tourism service will either
do very well or fail miserably. Thus, it is of utmost importance that all the employees who will be
directly dealing with the customers perform the superlative service delivery consistently. The first
impression of the front line people must be very impressive, whether they are face to face or
behind the screen or even on the phone call; the manner in which they engage the customer,
cater to their needs, solve their queries and how welcoming they are, all in all influence the
customers decisions to either avail the service or not.

Moreover, due to the power of word-of-mouth advertising in the industry of tourism, service
brilliance is a dominant factor. As Traverse Pakistan is majorly operating online, even through
the website, providing the live chat option and giving it a human touch will certainly make the
customers feel that they are important and being served with the best available facility. Also,
training the employees who are working in the customer service department, must be trained
well in the particular subject especially within the domain of conflict management and how to
win the customer and not letting them go empty handed. In addition to this, they should have
the complete knowledge about the destinations being offered, the hotel where the customers
will be staying (whether it’s the public package or the customized one), the kind of transport
being provided, the local hot spots and sight seeing and excursions etc.

Competence of the employees, at all levels must be observed and monitored carefully. They
should also give away unbiased progressive feedback that should be based on the expected
standards aiming to assist the employees so they improve their performance.
PROCESS:

There are several sorts of processes that are involved in operating a tourism business. These are
planning, strategizing, training, purchasing, distribution and service delivery etc. it is therefore
essential for Traverse Pakistan to make sure that these processes are carried out in a proper
manner and are also well planned so that the business runs smoothly and if some problems
emerge, they are immediately dealt with.

The process of delivering a service is of utmost importance as it certifies that the same standard
is repetitively being delivered to the customers. Having a detailed service blueprint is also helpful
in this regard, that provides even the smallest details of the service delivery process.

If we take in account the website of Traverse Pakistan, that has been designed on “self-service”
criteria, where the customer selects the package, the dates etc all by themselves like a regular
tourism website, the following process takes place:

Customer Customer enters Customer

opens the the tour details makes the
website (destination, dates, online payment
package etc)

Upon confirmation, On departure

the customer date, customer
receives the booking arrives at the
reference numbers departure location
and other details and starts the
from the agency journey
If we look at how the operations are carried out at the physical office, upon arrival the customer is greeted
by the front line staff and is inquired about what particularly is he/she looking for. Then according to their
demand, they are informed in detail about the destinations being offered and the packages that would
cater to the customers need. They are also informed about the pros and cons of each destination, their
hot spots, famous sight-seeing points and locations etc. Then the booking is done and confirmed once
the customer pays the due amount. These are all the front line operations. Simultaneously, the back end
operations are also taking place. For instance, if a customer wants to fly by air, the employee will check
with their business partner or the airplane whether there are any tickets available during that time period.
Then the hotel and other local transport and tour guide will also be taken onboard for the particular dates
for their availability and booking. All these steps should be well synchronized with one another in order
to deliver a smooth and hassle free service to the customer.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:

The physical evidence for Traverse Pakistan denotes to more “tangible” traits of the operations
being carried out by the agency. For such businesses, somehow making the service tangible is a
great way of giving away inspiring vibes and at the same time allowing the potential customer to
visualize a positive glimpse of what they should expect from the service provider in regard of the
quality and type of service they will be receiving. The physical evidence further boosts the
customer experience.

For the physical office, the well enhanced waiting areas, the sofas, the inside temperature,
background noise, how the customer is being engaged while they have to wait for their turn etc;
all of these factors influence the subconscious of the customer that, as a result motivates him/her
to make the final decision whether to avail the service or walk away being agitated.

As for the website, how user-friendly and well designed the software interface is, will also
influence the customer choices. Whether the website is too difficult to work on, or too many
steps are involved in making a selection, also if there is no live chat option, how will customer
figure out what to do in case they are stuck at one point or they feel that they are left alone
without any support or help from the company at the back.
In this era, when the smart phone has become the most common and useful gadget that we
humans have, Traverse Pakistan can take full advantage of it by developing an “available for all”
kind of mobile application. Almost all the players in this business, internationally, have developed
apps where customer can make bookings and reserve tours while “on the go” without going
through the hassle of opening a laptop or even visiting the office, as in these times especially
time is really money. Therefore, customers these days rely on such apps a lot that provide both
convenience and efficiency. Traverse Pakistan should take full advantage of this opportunity in
hand.