Marketing and Strategy for Smart Travel Corporation

Marketing strategies are those techniques that can be deployed by a business organization in any sector to increase its sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors. In this regard, according to du Toit (2016), the strategies deployed can include the basics, as well as the short and long-term activities that will be conducted with the aim of achieving the marketing objectives of an organization. The formulation of marketing strategies entails the understanding of the various strategic constraints that are likely toe affect the business from within (internal) and from outside (external). Specifically, in the view of du Toit (2016), the marketing strategies include the specific actions and steps that an organization will take to ensure that objectives are met. These actions can be either economic, technological, political or legal.

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Smart Travel Corporation seeks to venture into the transportation market in Nigeria. In order to succeed in this field, the company will have to formulate several marketing strategies and indeed, engage in marketing activities that will help the company maintain a competitive advantage. As a result, this paper will seek to state the corporate mission of Smart Travel Corporation and how that mission aligns with the provision of railway transport services to the residents and business people of Lagos and Abuja. Specifically, the various ways that will be used to market the railway line services internally and externally will be explored. The methods that the organization will deploy in order to wage off competition will also form part of this paper. Moreover, the brand effectiveness of the product will be assessed. The behaviors and demographics of the targeted consumers will be evaluated as well as the unsatisfied need that the railway transport services will seek to fulfill. Finally, the fixed and variable costs, as well as how they fit into the organizations short and long term goals will be explained. Indeed, the pricing strategy that is most appropriate for smart travel corporation will be discussed.

Branding and Idea Concept

The corporate mission of Smart Travel Corporation is to provide affordable and convenient means of transport to its customers. Additionally, the organization also engages in providing affordable services that meet the needs of contemporary consumers in Nigerias main cities. In this regard, the organization has been involved in the provision of those services in the road transport via its buses that move to different parts of Nigeria. In this regard, the present service of providing cheap and convenient railway transportation for the tourists and business people of Abuja and Lagos will help the company further its corporate mission. Specifically, the railway transport sector has been ignored for some time with the key players in the sector dealing with obsolete and outdated trains that do not offer contemporary services to the current needs of the residents and tourists (Tolley & Turton, 2014). In this regard, the aim of providing this transportation service will be in line with the organizations corporate mission of the provision of affordable, quality, and convenient means of transport.

The marketing of the companys services locally and internationally will be critical to the success of the venture that Smart Company Corporation wished to engage in. In this regard, the affordable and contemporary railway services nationally and internationally will be marketed via the means of advertisement. This will be through the traditional as well as social media (Tolley & Turton, 2014). In this regard, the organization will contact the major international media such as BBC and Aljazeera so that they collaborate for the sake of advertising their products. Additionally, the company would contact the national television channels who will advertise the services to the Nigerian citizens. The organization will have to share their service provision through the social media by advertising what they offer as well as the costs that they charge. Additionally, The Company would consider using celebrity endorsement by contacting major celebrities who will endorse the railway transport services that the company will offer. According to Tolley & Turton (2014), this will ensure that people around the world are aware and indeed, assured of the quality and affordability of those services.

Smart Travel Corporation is differentiating from competition so that its services can be a step ahead of the competitors. The company is doing this through offering exceptionally quality services on its existing market of road transport. The reputation and strong brand that has been built over the years nationally and internationally ensures that the company has its own consumers (Odeleye, 2012). Additionally, the other competitors charge a relatively higher price that will enable the company have a competitive edge. The speed of the new and improved railways services will be a factor that will make the organization competitive as the consumers will able able to transport their goods for a shorter time than they did before (Odeleye, 2012). Indeed, those travelling will not have to complain about traffic jams, as the railway line will not be subject to that. All these advantages will ensure that there is differentiation of competition between the company and its business rivals.

The company has aligned its mission of affordable and convenient transportation services by charging cheap prices for their services. Specifically, the current railway transport system is obsolete and, therefore, not convenient as it can break down easily. As such, the major competitors will be the road transporters. However, they charge much more for their services due to the traffic jams and the amount of time wasted on the roads (Ademiluyi & Dina, 2011). However, Smart Travel Corporation will be cheaper as it will not spend any much time on the roads. This issue of affordable provision of transport services is in line with the mission of the company of providing affordable, quality, and convenient transportation for its consumers. In this regard, those business people will pay for much lesser for using the railway lie to transport their goods from Lagos to Abuja than when they use road transport or even the air. Indeed, the pricing of the companys product greatly aligns with the market position and corporate mission of the organization.

Since the early 90s, Smart Travel Corporation has been operating a fleet of buses, running from Lagos to Abuja. With its ability to offer quality road services and a solid work ethics, the company has been rated as one of the leading road transport players across the country (Ademiluyi & Dina, 2011). Therefore, the customers have identified with the companys brand through the road transport industry. Due to the quality and affordable services that the organization has provided in the road transport industry, it has built a very strong brand that will be a boost for the railway transport industry (Ademiluyi & Dina, 2011). Indeed, despite the railway transport services being a new venture for the company, the consumers have already identified themselves with the Smart Travel brand. As a result, the brand of the company is very effective.

Defining Product or Service Need

The targeted consumers of the railway transport services are the traders who sell their products in the cities of Lagos and Abuja. In this case, they have goods that needs to go to the market in the shortest time possible as some of them can expire within a very short period. Additionally, the tourists who visit the two cities require the railway as they are bored by staying on the traffic jams when using the road transport system. Therefore, this service offers all that as it will enable the farmers and traders to move their goods between the two cities within a very short time and at a very an affordable cost. Additionally, the tourists have the behavior of exploring new areas. As such, the railway line would offer them an opportunity to do that because it will pass through various areas.

The railway transport service offers cheap, quality, and convenient railway transport that does not exists in the transport industry. In this regard, the existing railway lines and trains are obsolete; therefore, these new and improved trains would offer quality and convenient transport to the consumers (Akwara, Udaw & Ezirim, 2014). Additionally, there is a need for a means of transport for the traders that is convenient for them and that which is not costly at the same time. Due to the nature of their products and the small profits that the get, they need a transportation means that will offer them convenience and save on the costs of transport. This need will be fulfilled by the services that will be offered by Smart Travel Corporation.

The traders and residents of Lagos and Abuja seek information about transportation from their friends who are in the same business. Tourists use the internet to search for various means of travelling between the two cities. Additionally, they use the social media to communicate on the various companies that offer the services. In this regard, they discuss on which company offers the best services and which is the most convenient. Additionally, traders have various discussions and face-to-face meetings. As a result, they have to transport their products to the markets every day. However, there are issues with the obsolete trains breaking down. Therefore, according to Akwara, Udaw & Ezirim (2014), some of their products are spoilt as the train might delay for several hours and even a day. Therefore, the services of railway transport by the farmers and traders are frequently used on a daily basis.

The choice of the farmers, traders, and tourists as the target is the best choice for a variety of reasons. First, they will provide market for the railway transport services, as they will be using them on a daily basis. As a result, there will be some form of guarantee that the organization will be having customers for their services on every single day. Secondly, the farmers will enjoy the use of these services, as they will be cheaper and convenient for them. In this regard, they will be assured that their products will reach the market fresh and without any undue delays. More importantly, the tourists that are also chosen as target markets will enjoy the railway transport services, as they will offer them an opportunity to explore the various forests and areas of Nigeria without any fear of attack.

Pricing

Several costs will be involved in the venture. Specifically, the offering of the railway transportation services by Smart Ventures Corporation would involve various costs, which are mandatory for every business organization undergoing such a venture. These costs are fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are those, which do not vary with the amount of goods and services that the organization would produce (Dolgui & Proth, 2010). In the current situation, the costs would not depend with the number of consumers that the railway transportation would transport. Under this category are the leasing of the trains and wagons. Additionally, the monthly salaries of the train crew would fit into this category. The other category would be that of variable costs. In this regard, according to Dolgui & Proth (2010), these costs vary with the variations in the output of the organization. In this regard, they would be depended on the number of consumers that would use the railway transport system for the company. In this category are the costs of fueling the train. The variable costs involved are far much smaller than the expected return in a period of one year. These costs fit into the companys short and long-...