MARKETING AND DIGITAL LANDSCAPE
ABSTRACT
The following report on marketing and the digital landscape is a focus on Shearings Leisure Group. This report aims at finding out the company’s marketing situation, plan and strategies. It also analyses the use of media and publicity in marketing and the extent to which these options have been useful. The PESTEL and SWOT analysis is done in this to paper provide a clear view of the position of the company on the business level. Therefore, this paper can conclude that the company, Shearings Leisure Group, is qualified and actively operational in the tourism sector. The only challenge that it is facing is the global pandemic, Covid-19.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This report investigates the marketing plans and strategies of Shearings Leisure Group and how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected their operations. Shearings Leisure Group is a company that specializes in travels and accommodations to tourists. This company is a subsidiary of Specialist Leisure Group together with other companies such as Wallace Arnolds and Bay hotels. Shearings has coastal and country hotels. The 115 years old company is a leading tour escort company and has since offered jobs to several people. The hotels can accommodate approximately 1.1 million customers at ago, and the revenue collected before the pandemic represented soaring profit margins. The virus pandemic has resulted in the loss of jobs since the hotels are all closed due to the lockdown imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus.
2.0 DISCUSSION.
2.1. Market Situation Analysis:
Shearings Leisure Group has been operating for the last 115 years. This company is in charge of giving escorts to tourists and accommodating them. The company has many subsidiaries that help them sell their services to people who want to experience different cultures and cuisines. Shearings is only certified to serve in the tourism industry, and this makes their main benefactors by foreigners. Their target audience is, basically, any person that wishes to have a new and luxurious experiment. They do not give age or gender specifications. Since they have a package and payment options, anyone that can afford their services can access them. It does not matter whether it is from savings or high incomes. However, the current pandemic has changed all their functions, thus paralyzing their income.
2.1.1. SWOT Analysis.
The company, Shearings, has its strengths and weaknesses. These are the strengths of this company. There are attractive destinations and cultures in their areas of choice. Their facilities make travelling across the zones easy and safe. Their accommodation services are secure and appealing to those who prefer luxurious vacations. They enjoy a variety of unique and high-quality resources that are not available in all markets. These strengths have since been reduced by the effect of the virus. The weaknesses of the company are the following. The marketing strategies of this company are not appealing to the receptors. This means that they spend a lot on marketing but do not reach the audience in a relatable way. Their marketers are not innovative enough to stand out among the best. The quality of their services cannot be compared to those companies that do best in the tourism industries worldwide. Their personnel have been termed as lowly skilled and unable to deliver all services satisfactorily.
The opportunities and threats of the company are as follows. They have a foreign market in the digital world. Partnering with more prominent investors could be ideal for the growth of their business to a global level. This step can be taken by seeking partnership with those companies that excel in tourism in the European Union. The company should pay more attention to issues concerning environmental sanity and the change in demography. They should also pay more attention to specific details of culture and involve the locals in delivering it. The threats facing this company are also vast. The company focuses too much on marketing and does not work on their brand development. Climate change and global warming also act as a threat since the seasons are not as chronological as they were before. Global competition is a threat because people will always value the best business. This fact gives no room for mistakes. Finally, the unpredictability of political stability can ruin a tourism business since people will not tour a place that is facing security difficulties. This threat is currently closing travel and tourism agencies since health is more important than new experiences.
2.2. External Factors Affecting the Company:
Shearings has been profoundly affected by the pandemic. All the six external aspects of the PESTEL analysis have contributed to the closure of business in this company. These aspects are political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors. Politically, the laws made by the government of the UK concerning business operators have influenced these companies. In a bid to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus, the government issued a mandatory rule that all public places be closed unless they offer essential services. The institutions that provide critical services include the hospitals, supply markets, police stations and chosen government offices. Schools, worship places and hotels were all shut down since their services can be postponed. Just like other non-essential businesses, the implementation of this rule has brought losses to several companies.
Economically, the spending rate of customers on tourism services has dropped drastically. This drop can be attributed to the rules put in place for the fight against the pandemic. The isolation and social distancing rules do not give room for the operation of tour guides around the country. The cash rate has, therefore, dropped. Shearings is a company that functions using money. When there are no bookings and turnouts, the company income deteriorates, and losses are incurred. Without funds, the company can no longer pay its employees and maintain its assets at the same time. Due to these challenges, the company had to lay down thousands of employees and protect itself and its assets. This economic hitch has affected both the employers and employees of Shearings Leisure Group.
Socially, Shearings is forced to restructure its strategies to accommodate all the aspects of the social environment. The elements under the social factors include; religion, education, social class, and many more. The pandemic has not changed much in these factors since the religion, social class and levels of education have not affected the tourism industry in significant ways. These aspects have influenced many other sectors but not the income of the companies in the tourism sector. The companies in the tourism market face a sidelining from the economy at large since the pandemic declared their activities as threats to the healthcare system.
Technologically, the entire tourism industry lags due to traditional ways of marketing. Several sectors had not embraced the digital forms of marketing. They used paper flyers that were only available at their receptions. The pandemic proves that websites and social media accounts are necessary for every company, regardless of the industry. People now rely on information found online before making decisions. Shearings can consider marketing itself intensely in the available platforms online. This move could help the company to gain more clients online now that the lockdown state is easing and businesses are picking up gradually. Embracing both traditional and digital ways of marketing is a considerable move in this era of advancing technology.
Environmentally, the pandemic has not altered the activities of Shearings Leisure Group. The company has reduced the amount of waste that is disposed of since there are no consumers of the goods and services that they have to offer. The number of bookings for the hotels and the escorts reduced, which means that there are no people to use and dispose of items. In a way, the environment has benefited from the pandemic. Without the pollution from the incineration of waste, noise and disposal of sewage, the population gets fresher air and more productive grounds for the people that utilize it. The company should, therefore, embrace safer ways of correlating to their surrounding in a way that those who live around will not notice a difference when they become operational. This step is the right way of maintaining a good rapport within borders and beyond.
Legally, the pandemic has interfered with the operational business of Shearings. The legal aspects include laws such as consumer, health and safety laws. The rules that are put in place to control the virus are not flexible enough to permit the smooth flow of activities in the tourism sector. Regulations put in place by the government cannot be overlooked by any business person since this will provoke questioning from the clients. Every business has to ensure that it is law compliant to get support from a government and its citizens. This does not exclude the companies in the tourism sector, such as Shearings. To get profits from a business over a long period, a company has to adhere to all the six aspects of a business’ external environment.
2.3. Marketing Options:
For a tourism company like Shearings, embracing marketing strategies is ideal for selling policies and marketing a brand. The options that one has are as follows. Researching the culture of the surrounding community helps the company to know which dishes to prepare and how to entertain and educate the tourists. An example is a Hawaiian dance, the hula and the Kenyan Maasai culture. The coastal and mainland areas with attraction are each represented by signature traditions that need to be showcased to the world. The company needs to partner with local charities and businesses to earn loyalty and cooperation from the locals. Thirdly, the company can register on directories and listings that are used by all corporations as a reference point. Finally, the company can give discounted charges to its customers as a way of maintaining good relations and solidifying their loyalty. These are just the traditional options of marketing.
The digital marketing options for Shearings are as follows. The company has the option of selling their tour packages on social media platforms. This way, their electronic flyers get to a broader customer base and attract more people who could be interested in buying their services or investing in the business. In this technological era, information spreads faster online. Advertising on Google is another recommendable approach. This option ensures that an advert appears on as many sites as possible. The user does not get to choose whether to remove the advert or read it; viewing is obligated. Finally, the company can give promotional discount codes that benefit all parties. A good deal is not easy to reject, especially if there is no other deal that beats it.
2.4. Digital Marketing:
This form of marketing involves the sharing of a company’s products to promote their business. These adverts, unlike the traditional bureaucratic ways, have enabled people to save information in their gadgets without the fear of bulky luggage. These adverts are done through platforms such as websites, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, televisions, electronic mails and radios. These examples are just a few amongst the many options available in the digital landscape. Digital marketing is essential because the information is transferred very fast, and to as many people as a site can welcome in a minute. They are not bulky to move and can be stored easily. Referring to them is always easy as long as one can access the site where they saw the advert.
3.0 CRITICAL THINKING.
The current pandemic has affected Shearing Leisure Group in the sense that the company has lost all its sources of income. This is because the virus is transmitted through contact with an infected person. Tourism agencies are public places; hence, differentiating an infected person from a healthy person is not easy. To prevent getting infected and risking death, people have opted to postpone their leisure activities until the pandemic is over. This means that the company will not get clients until the disease is no longer a life threat. If the company proceeds to hold its activities and risk facilitating infections, then it will be violating government policies and the trust of people. In any case, it will be permanently out of business even before the pandemic is dealt with. All the procedures should be observed to ensure the safety of clients and the continuity of Shearings’ business.
4.0. CRITICAL THINKING MODEL.
Fig 1.0. Model showing the critical thinking analysis of Shearings Leisure Group
5.0. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.
To conclude, Shearings Leisure Group has proven to be a well-founded tourism and travel agency. The company has managed to stay relevant in the industry and has only been brought down by the international threat that has also affected every other business. It is recommended that the company balances its attention on marketing and the brand. The marketers can work more on their innovative skills and their abilities to deliver services to their clients. The company can also prioritize delivering fundamental aspects of a culture to stay relevant for a long time. To crown it all, the company should embrace the digital market to reach a bigger audience.
References
Appendices
Figure 1.0 – Critical thinking analysis model.