LV Thạc sĩ_Market Segmentation, targeting and positioning of hanoitourist travel company

ACKNOWLEGEMENT While writing the thesis I have received valuable support from many people to whom I am indebted However, shortcomings and mistakes in this are my own responsibility First of all, I would like to thank all my MBA professors from the Solvay Business School (Universite Libre De Bruxells, Belgum) and from National Economics University (NEU), the Program Directors, Coordinator, and Class Teachers…who have provided me a good chance to study and complete my MBM course I would like to express special thanks to …., PhD, my thesis supervisor, who provided valuable advice, guidance and insights, which help to improve the quality of my thesis I am indebted to all the members of Hanoitourist Travel Compamy especially Mr ….who have helped me in collecting information and data for my thesis My thanks also go to my group mates for their continuous encouragements and company over the two- year course, and shared views on the subject of this study Finally, I would like to thank my family, especially my mother and my wife for encouraging and giving me comfortable conditions for writing the thesis EXECUTIVE SUMARY Nowadays, positioning is considered as a key to success in the market, it is a bridge linking the market with marketing mix plan and to ensure the harmonization and consistence with other strategies of a company To success in positioning, the first steps are segmentation and choosing the right target customer groups and competitive edges After targeting, the company needs to create differentiations and use Marketing mix to implement the positioning strategy The differentiations are more important and more difficult in tourism travel market This is a high quality service industry where customers care much about making an investment or purchasing decision The differentiation is partly illustrated in what market perceives the firm or its products different from others- the question of positioning Hanoitourist Travel Company, a subsidiary of Hanoitourist Corporation - one of the top ten leading tourism companies in Vietnam and the biggest one in the North of Vietnam The company has been a member of top ten Travels Company in Vietnam 2001, 2002 2003,and 2004 However, since 2005 up to now, Hanoitourist has lost the position in the top ten tourism company in Vietnam although company’s turnover is still rising Almost Company’s customers never come back again, not a concrete reason – according to report of sales team Maybe, customers were mistaken between Hanoitourist Travel with other members of Hanoitourist Corporation and sometimes with Mother Company On the other hand, company’s problem maybe is the way they approaches customers There is no differentiation which was creased among Hanoitourist and other even the company’s name and logo The Board of Director of Hanoitourist have tried also some marketing strategy but have achieved no results Therefore, Hanoi Tourist Travel Company (Hanoitourist) will be studied as a case of positioning in Vietnam tourism market This study aims at investigating the process of Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning of Hanoitourist to answer the following questions: How has Hanoitourist Company been executed Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning? What are the problems in Hanoitourist’s marketing mixes which need to be improved? How does Hanoitourist Company should to gain success in Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning? This thesis attempts to propose approaches and solutions to position of Hanoitourist in best accordance with market circumstances, company’s features and strategies, and target segment From marketing point of view, some recommendations are offered for success positioning of the company, which includes improving the process of positioning, implement positioning strategy through marketing Mix 7Ps Finally, this study, through focusing on a particular company and in a specific application of positioning, aims to provide a picture of the whole Vietnam tourist travel market In addition, through the research of travelers and other relative subjects, it is hoped to bring additional information for marketing managers and executives in their operations, which is practically feasible INTRODUCTION Rationale Vietnam’s tourism industry has growth rapidly The National Administration of Tourism predicts that Vietnam will welcome 4.5 millions foreign and 19 million domestic tourists during 20081 It will be million foreign and 23 million local tourists, earning revenue of 4.5 billion USD by 2010 The Vietnamese government has also recognized that the tourism sector is a key pillar for economic growth Tourism produces sound employment opportunities for the local population, especially in areas that lack hardcore industrial development Tourism is also a good marketing tool to advertise Vietnam image for all over the world To this end, the government are implementing policies to develop tourism sector such as abolishing tourist entry visa for visitors from key tourism market; opening new direct flights to and from other countries to attach more tourists from Eastern Europe, Japan, Korea… focusing on investing in infrastructure in popular tourist regions In the stream of that development, Hanoitourist Travel Company (Hanoitourist) is a subsidiary of Hanoitourist Corporation (a state owned corporation), established since 1998 and operates in providing tourism services In recent years, the company’s business has become more difficult due to strong competition among tourism brand names Moreover, after Vietnam become member of WTO, a lot of foreign tourism companies with strong financial resource will join Vietnam tourism market To overcome this difficulty, the company’s Board of Director is looking for a new business orientation to adapt to market change How to gain competition advantage, how to success in positioning are the current duty of Hanoitourist’s Board of Director It is also the big question for the leaders of travel agents in Vietnam tourism industry For myself, research on marketing activities in Vietnam tourism market is very interesting It is an opportunity to apply my gained knowledge during the master course to find out the feasible solutions for a tourist company (Hanoitourist) That is reason why I chose “Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of Hanoitourist Travel Company” as the topic for my graduation thesis Objectives The major objectives in conducting this research are:  Identify major factors for attracting tourist attention  Segment tourism market and identify Hanoitourist’s target customer group On the basis of this analysis, the research also attempts to:  Recommend a way to effectively positioning Hanoitourist Travel Company’s products and services in Vietnam tourism market by proposing it’s marketing mix Question of study To achieve the objectives of the thesis, the following question needs to be answered:  How has Hanoitourist Travel Company executed Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning?  What are the problems in Hanoitourist’s marketing-mix which need to be improved?  How does Hanoitourist Travel Company should to gain the success in Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning? Vietnam National Administration website Scope of study To solve the objectives of thesis, scope of research include the marketing activities of Hanoitourist Travel Company and some detail of mother company (Hanoitourist Corporation) Researching deeply on the Business activities of Hanoitourist Travel Company from 2003 – 2007 and their plan from 2008 - 2010 Research Methodology Analytical, comparison and summarization methods are the basic methods applied Supported for this, field study in collecting and analyzing collected data and desk study in related publications made important effects Major model applied in this includes: Marketing mix, Maslow, and SWOT mode Its will give a full picture of market and competition for efficient positioning In order to answer the questions above, the thesis also have been chosen to carry out survey and case studies through carrying out in-depth interviews with Hanoi tourist people, distributors and dealers, tourist area receptions; and surveying by sending questionnaire to potential customers in Hanoi, Danang and Hochiminh city Data for processing comprised of secondary data through publications, internal and external reports of related tourist services such as newspapers, tourism data and the internet Primary data on the other hand collected through market survey by questionnaires and interviews on wide range of customers and the managers of Hanoitourist Travel Company As for the purpose of thesis, both qualitative and quantitative researches were carried out: Qualitative research According to Blackstone (1992) a qualitative approach enables to analyze the wholeness of the respondent’s reaction, which give rise to a more comprehensive understanding In-depth personal interviews are mostly unstructured but direct for gathering information In some cases, deeper questions are put to focus on what the respondent knows best (i.e question to the boss of resort about travel companies that they contact with) The purpose of an in-depth interview is also to uncover the underlying motivation of the respondent’s attitude, preferences and behavior To get qualitative data, in-depth interview were carried out with Hanoitourist personal, customers and managers of tourist areas in Ha noi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh city Positioning and targeting is even new to almost Hanoitourist and of course there is no question direct to targeting and positioning but questions regarding to their customers groups, price strategy, product portfolio, promotion plan… that will enable to analyze their policy which affect to their market segmentation, targeting and positioning In-depth interview carried with 20 Hanoitourist personal as they all relating to plan and implement sale and marketing strategy Ten interview carried with consumers at agencies and 20 managers of resorts in Hanoi, Danang and Hochiminh city Quantitative research: Quantitative in nature, and involves research which is concerned with gathering statistics to describe what is happening In this, it is answering questions such as Who?, Where?, When?, and How? Answers to these questions are usually sought through the use of questionnaires The quantitative methods was used to see “outsider view” about Vietnam tourism, being evidenced by the result of in-depth interviews and sale figures, it seems that there is a change in customers perception toward tourist services in the market and may exit a different ranking system between consumers and travel agencies in the main important attributes of products so a questionnaire was designed to check this assumption One hundred questionnaires have been sent to potential customers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city to get information which used for analysis The outline Introduction: Chapter I: Literature framework will present the knowledge on segmentation, targeting and positioning framework and also about characteristic of tourism product which help to understanding the theories and the studies of the researchers This enable author to identify a gap and outstand for topic of study Chapter II: Hanoitourist Travel Company - reality of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning: Which will mentions the detailed analysis of Vietnamese business environment, Hanoitourist’s products and services; customers; and competitors It also focuses on the marketing execution (Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) and resulted from survey to bring out achievements and Company business’s problems, which will be solved in chapter III Chapter III: This chapter focuses on Recommendations for Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of Hanoi tourist Travel in Vietnam tourism market Conclusion References Appendix CHAPTER I: LITERATURE FRAMEWORK This chapter will present the concept of Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP), tools and other related concepts as the theoretical foundations for the thesis Firstly, the author will present full mode process of Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning include steps The chapter then reviews step by step the process that starts first with market segmentation and market targeting steps Various types of positioning strategies as well as the important steps in building a product positioning strategy are also exhibited in this chapter Finally the author will review the marketing Mix Ps and 7Ps, the different between two model and also about characteristic of tourism product I.1 Process of Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning If we assume that everyone’s needs are the same People’s diverse interests and backgrounds divide them into many different groups with distinct needs and wants This is known as market fragmentation The implications of market fragmentation are enormous for marketers Generally, the same product and marketing strategy will not appeal to everyone Marketers must balance the efficiency of mass marketing2—marketing to all possible customers in a market, regardless of the differences in their specific needs and wants—with the effectiveness of offering each individual exactly what he or she wants Marketers must decide whether to use more of a shotgun or more of a rifle approach when developing strategy The rifle approach is called target marketing strategy—dividing the total market into different segments based on customer characteristics, selecting one or more segments, and developing products to meet the needs of those specific segments Figure I-1: Step in Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Source: Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, 1994 I.2 Market Segmentation If a marketer decides to use the target marketing strategy, the overall market must first be segmented Market segmentation is dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who have distinct needs, characteristics, or behavior and who might require separate products or marketing mixes A market segment consists of a group of consumers who respond in a similar way to a given set of marketing efforts Segmentation is a way of life for marketers Since you can’t please all of the people all of the time, you might as well take your best shot Segmenting the market is often necessary in both consumer and business markets In each case, the marketer uses one or more ways or bases to segment the total market into homogeneous groups, each with different needs and wants Chapter – Consumer behaviors and Marketing Strategies I.2.1 Bases for Segmenting Consumer Markets: a Geographic Segmentation Geographic segmentation is dividing a market into homogeneous groups based on their locations or geographical units such as nations, states, regions, counties, cities, or neighborhoods This type of segmentation has been practiced for hundreds of years Many companies localize their marketing mix strategy to fit the specific needs of individual regions, cities, and even neighborhoods Firms also target areas with high population density These companies should monitor census data and migration patterns in order to determine future population and shifts in consumer tastes Residence location within a geographic area is an important segmentation variable Climate is another important segmentation factor Geographic segmentation provides useful distinctions when regional needs or preferences exist The climate has huge effect to tour business in Vietnam tourism market, for example There are two different weather types of summer and winter in the Northern Vietnam It is very cold with less than 10ºC in the winter in the northern Meanwhile, it is 34 ºC - 35ºC in the Southern area at the same time The different climate characteristics between two parts of Vietnam lead to the different tourism demand of the two main customers group b Demographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation is dividing a market into homogeneous groups based on demographic variables such as age, gender, family size, family life cycle, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, and nationality The most common and popular way to segment consumer markets is by utilizing demographic factors Consumer needs, wants, and usage rates often vary closely with demographic variables Demographic variables are also easier to measure than most other types of variables Even when market segments are defined using other bases, their demographic characteristics must be determined in order to evaluate the size of the target market and to reach it efficiently Gender Gender segmentation is dividing a market into different groups based on gender Gender segmentation has long been used in clothing, cosmetics, toiletries, magazines and also in tourist activities Segmenting by gender started at a very early age When segmenting the market by gender, marketers need to make sure they are targeting correctly Women now make up approximately half the potential market for consumer electronics, for example Some companies market the same product successfully to both genders Other marketers may start by targeting one gender and later switch to targeting both Catching the development of different gender demand, some travel firms in Vietnam such as Viettravel tailors HealthBeauty Packages, a special tour for gentle Income and Social Class The distribution of wealth is of great interest to marketers because it determines which groups have the greatest buying power A common basis for segmenting the consumer market, therefore, is income Many companies target affluent consumers with luxury goods and convenience services Social class is the overall status, rank, or social standing of groups of people within a society according to the value assigned to such factors as family background, education, occupation, income, and residence location People who are within the same class work in similar occupations, have similar income levels, and usually share common tastes in clothing, decorating styles, and leisure activities Income is not always a primary determinant Family characteristics, such as the occupations and incomes of one or both parents, have been the primary influences on social class Many products and stores are designed to appeal to people in a specific social class Working-class consumers tend to evaluate products in more utilitarian terms such as sturdiness or comfort rather than style or fashionability They are less likely to experiment with new products or styles because they tend to prefer predictability to novelty People in one social class may aspire to a higher class and therefore exhibit buying behavior common to that class rather than to their own Luxury goods often serve as status symbols Marketers need to understand the concept of social class and develop effective product and communication strategies that appeal to these different segments Social class also plays an importance role in tourism market Many travel firms tailor their products in specific social class such as MICE tour, businessman tours Hotel and airlines also divide normal class and business class for high income customer Race and Ethnicity A consumer’s national origin is often a strong indicator of his preferences for specific television programs or magazines, foods, clothing, and choice of leisure activities It is also very important in tourism travel market Customers come from different nationality will have different demand in choosing a tour Almost travel companies segment their foreign market base on race and Ethnicity In Germany for example, specialist travel agencies have sprung up to cater for huge foreign travel demand created by the “gastarbeiter” 3- guest workers from countries such as Turkey and Yugoslavia – who return home periodically for their holidays c Psychographic Segmentation Psychographic segmentation is dividing a market into similar groups based on psychological characteristics, values, and lifestyles Psychographic data are useful to understand differences among consumers who may be statistically similar to one another but whose needs and wants vary A lifestyle is the pattern of living that determines how people choose to spend their time, money, and energy and that reflects their values, tastes, and preferences It is a person’s pattern of living as expressed in his or her activities, interests, and opinions Lifestyle captures something more than the person’s social class or personality It profiles a person’s whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world Psychographic segments usually include demographic information such as age or gender, but the richer descriptions that emerge go well beyond these characteristics Marketers have also used personality variables to segment markets Some travel companies, for instance, have developed specialist villa holiday catering for young professionals (the so-called “yuppies”), while other organizations have packaged tours “come back old battlefield” for veterans in Vietnam d Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation is dividing a population into homogeneous groups based on how they act toward, feel about, or use a product People may use the same product for different reasons, on different occasions, and in different amounts User Status: One way to segment based on behavior is to divide the market into users and nonusers of a product This can be expanded to ex-users, potential users, first-time users, and regular users Benefits Sought: A powerful form of segmentation is to group buyers according to the different benefits they seek from a product Benefit segmentation requires finding the major J C Hollway * RV Plant, Marketing for Tourism, pages 52 benefits people look for in the product class, the kinds of people who look for each benefit, and the major brands that deliver each benefit Usage Rate: Markets can also be segmented into light, medium, and heavy product users According to the 80/20 rule4, 20 percent of purchasers account for 80 percent of a product’s sales This means that it makes more sense to focus on the smaller number of people who are really into a product rather on the larger number who are just casual users Occasions: Occasion segmentation is dividing a market into homogenous groups based on occasions when buyers get the idea to buy, actually make their purchase, or use the purchased item Occasion segmentation can help firms build up product usage Many products are associated with specific occasions, whether time of day, holidays, business functions, or casual get-togethers Many marketers prepare special offers and ads for holiday occasions Businesses often divide up their markets according to when and how their offerings are in demand Annually, at the end of April, almost of travel firms in Vietnam launch promotion for thirty day of April and the first day of May These are legal holiday of Vietnamese and the beginning of summer holiday Loyalty Status: A market can also be segmented by consumer loyalty Consumers can be loyal to brands, stores, and companies Buyers can be divided into groups according to their degree of loyalty A completely loyal consumer buys one brand all the time By studying its less loyal buyers, the firm can detect which brands are most competitive with its own By looking at customers who are shifting away from its brand, the company can learn about its marketing weaknesses Companies may attract non-loyal consumers by putting their products on sale e Multiple Segmentation Bases Marketers rarely limit their segmentation analysis to only one or a few variables They use multiple segmentation bases in an effort to identify smaller, better-defined target groups I.2.2 Bases for Segmenting Business Markets: Like consumer markets, B2B markets have a wide variety of customers and usually require market segmentation The overall process of segmenting business markets resembles consumer market segmentation, but it divides the markets using different criteria a Geographic Segmentation: As noted above, geographic segmentation is dividing a market into homogeneous groups based on their locations or geographical units such as nations, states, regions, counties, cities, or neighborhoods This type of segmentation has been practiced for hundreds of years and is applicable to business markets as well as consumer markets b Demographic Segmentation: As with consumer markets, demographic characteristics define useful segmentation criteria for business markets Firms can be grouped by size, sales revenues, or by number of employees c Customer-Type Segmentation: Customers can be grouped by broad categories such as manufacturers, service providers, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, wholesalers, or retailers They can also be divided by industry d End-Use Application Segmentation: End-use application segmentation focuses on the way in which a business customer will use a product Each different end use may dictate unique specifications for performance, design, and price e Purchasing Situation Segmentation: Another approach to segmenting business markets centers on the purchasing situation Organizations use more complicated purchasing procedures than consumers Firms structure their purchasing functions in specific ways For Pareto’s Priciple – the 80/20 rule; from F.John Reh some B2B marketers, this may be the best way to segment the market Some companies designate centralized purchasing departments to serve the entire organization Others allow each unit or location to handle its own buying A supplier may have to deal with one or with many different buyers or buying center participants Each of these different situations results in different buying behavior I.3 Market Targeting After various market segments have been identified, one or more target segments or target markets need to be selected Target markets are market segments on which an organization focuses its marketing plan and toward which it directs its marketing efforts Members of the targeted segment share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve The target market is the market segment selected because of the firm’s belief that its offerings are most suited to winning those customers A company should target segments where it can have a competitive advantage—the ability to outperform the competition, thereby providing customers with benefits the competition can’t The company should have distinctive competencies that will create a competitive advantage in the minds of these consumers I.3.1 Evaluating Market Segments Viable target segments should satisfy the following requirements: Members of the segment are similar to each other in their product needs and wants and different from consumers in other segments The size and purchasing power of the segment can be measured in order to decide if targeting this segment is worth it The segment is large enough to be profitable now and in the future Marketing communications can reach the segment The organization can adequately serve the needs of the segment The firm has the expertise and resources to satisfy the segment better than the competition; the firm has a competitive advantage I.3.2 Developing Segment Profiles After evaluating the different segments, the marketer should have identified which ones are viable It is helpful to generate a profile of each one in order to understand the needs of segment members and to look for business opportunities The segment profile is a description of the typical customer in the segment The profile might include customer demographics, location, lifestyle information, and a description of how frequently the customer buys the product Saigontourist is very strength in customer information system, by collecting, storing and analyzing customer’s information, it give a clearly description of the typical customer in each segment I.3.3 Choosing a Targeting Strategy A basic targeting decision is how finely tuned the target should be: Should the company go after one large segment or focus on meeting the needs of one or more smaller segments? Target marketing can be carried out at several different levels Companies can target very broadly, very narrowly, or somewhere in between Four targeting strategies are explained below: Figure I- 2: Different level of Target Marketing Undifferentiated (mass) marketing 10 (CPD) where employees see their professional learning as a lifelong process of training and development Quality can be improved through motivate policies When employees feel happy, they will try more in work and well effect to product’s quality The last thing for now: for many customers the person who provides the product is the company So Hanoitourist should interest in the people factor on distribution system These may be either 'internal' or 'external.' The internal sales person would take an order by telephone, e-mail or over a counter The external sales person would be working in the field Process Process is an element of service that sees the customer experiencing an organization’s offering The process of giving a tour and behaviors of those who deliver are crucial to customer satisfaction Issues such as waiting times, the information given to customers and helpfulness of staff are vital to keep customers happy Cl ie n t s e r vi c e s Booking Registered booking Signed contract Tour organized End of tour Figure III-1: Tourism process – Author’s recommendation The customers are not interested in how your business runs, but how the system works So the recommendations those are: Hanoitourist should build a standard for their products It must be implemented by every member include outsource and distributors It starts from providing information to customers, collect customer information, and tackle information… When coming to operate, it must be regular check by the manager All part in the company must be join in There a regular training to staffs especial tour guides team It is ensured the information providing to customers is the same For example, The information introduced to customers about the history of Hanoi by every member of Hanoitourist must be the same 54 To satisfy customer, the behavior and helpfulness of staff must be the best level Hanoitourist should quickly build an information system to get feed back information from customer Having a bonus policy to encourage the good implemented person Physical evidence Physical evidence is the material part of a service Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues There are many examples of physical evidence, including: Packaging; Internet/web pages; Paperwork; Brochures; Furnishings; Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles); Uniforms; Business cards; The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters); Mailboxes and many others As companies grow, they generally seek for themselves a more professional standard of conduct and, therefore, are more sensitive about their public image A company seeking longterm survival can not afford to ignore their physical evidence, which able to effect to the company image Hanoitourist was uninterested in the company’s website, no invest in press brochures, and head office is set in old headquarter of Hanoitourist Corporation That is the reason why a lot of customer not know about Hanoitourist or confused between Hanoitourist Travel and Hanoitourist Corporation To success in position Hanoitourist should change the present situation First of all, Hanoi tourist should choose another domain for their website which difference mother company name The new website must be update regularly to become advertising and providing company’s information to partners and customers The second, Hanoitourist needs to design an impressive brochure, which shows a professional company image to customers The travel brochure is probably the most important single item in the planning of tourism marketing To have a brochure which is distinctive and attractive, Hanoitourist should pay attention in it style and layout Brochure is the tangible evidence that the consumer has of company’s promises, unique benefits, financial and management strengths, and its style Travel brochures now can follow a pattern of three sections: introduction pages, content pages and “extro” or exit pages The introduction establishes the company’s style, makes statements about policies and commercial practices, promotes unique selling points, etc The contents pages are almost always arranged in sections defined by destination country Hanoitourist leads with their strongest destination which they want to emphasize for The third section will contains details of booking conditions, extraneous information, insurance schemes and all the other small print aspect required by law and by regulatory bodies Furthermore, the design of the brochure cover is possibly the most important aspect in persuading the customer to consider any product The choice of design is a difficult one which should be cared so much Staff’s uniform also one of the most importance this people industry It express professional in the work and a differentiation of the company with others competitors in customer’s mind Uniform designs have to satisfy some criteria such as: convenient, beauty, unique and impression Staff must be happy and proud when wearing the company’s uniform III.3.3 In terms of Focusing As the analysis above, person is the most important factor in the success of a travel firm While others competitors have from 150 to 300 staffs (not include outsource), their business just focus on inbound sector, which bring to huge profits Hanoitourist just has total 80 staffs, 55 trying to be best in three main sector: inbound, outbound and domestic Almost staffs complain about overload in their work Another hand, Vietnam is having a good opportunity to develop tourism industry Among foreign traveler grow at high rate bring to travel firms the huge profits It is the best chance of Hanoitourist to develop inbound services and build their image in customers’ mind Furthermore, Hanoitourist have more advantages than others competitors such as: good relations at government level; special price because Hanoitourist Corporation have preferential policies to their members That is why, author recommends building two positioning strategy: At first, short-term policies, it can be called “Focusing policy” In this strategy, the decision is taken to concentrate on inbound sector By catering for individual market in this way, and adapting products to meet the precise needs of those markets, the company reduces the competition it faces and becomes, in effect, a “big fish in a small pond” Within these markets, the company can develop an advertising campaign or product differentiation In this way, Hanoitourist can avoid the danger of trying to all things well but excelling in none… It means focusing all resource to develop inbound sector which will be advertising campaign combine with promotion strategy on time The profit gain in this period will be plough back to build company’s image, staffs training to improve product’s quality The second, when Hanoitourist has a strong brand image, believes in the quality of its products and has the financial strength to survive a price attack, it may well ride out the threat, or it can counter-attack by improving product quality, or by heavy promotion With a sufficiently distinctive product, it may even be possible for the company to increase the price and hence the psychological distance between its own products and those of the competition It is the time Hanoitourist can enlarge and develop others products and services such as: outbound, domestic…etc However, to implement the long-term strategy, Hanoitourist has to develop their human resource equally 56 CONCLUSION An outstanding product and the self- confidence of the marketer on the product’s world-class reputation not ensure success The marketer can think of its product and brand name is the best one but consumers might have different opinions Marketer sometimes has to change its positioning strategy to meet with consumers’ critical needs to be successful The study has examined the fact of segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) of Hanoitourist and its execution The author realizes that in the modern world today, to be successful at STP, marketer has to become an outside-in thinker rather than an inside-out thinker It means marketers have to go into customers’ mind and understand what they really need before building a STP strategy In the situation of tourism travel industry, customers have multi choice a tour and have a lot of sources to get information They care a lot of thing when decide to purchase such as company reputation, price, safety, value add…If they are not satisfaction one time, they never come back again Another hand, the loyalty of tourism customer is low In the case of Hanoitourist, the company can not keep the customer because they not have a differentiation Hanoitourist case is one time to indicate that STP strategy must come from customer A subjective decision of Hanoitourist’s leaders in segmentation, targeting and positioning of the company leaded to a chain of mistake in their business The author examined the practice segmentation, targeting and positioning of Hanoitourist in recent year Marketing theories were used to analysis the wrong of market segment, targeting and positioning Combining with survey result, author has given some recommendations to improve the present situation of the company It may be usefulness for others travel firms in the Vietnam tourism travel industry 57 REFERENCES Jean-Pierre Baeyens, Solvay Business School, Universite Libre De Bruxelles, An Introduction to Marketing, 2005 Philip Kotler, Marketing Insights from A to Z, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, 2003 Philip Kotler, Linden Brown, Steward Adam, Gary Amstrong, Marketing, Pearson Education Australia, 2004 Roger Brooksbank, The Anatomy of Marketing Positioning Strategy Marketing, Intelligence & Planning, Vol 12 No 4, MCB University Press Limited,1994 Jack Trout and Al Ries, Positiong: The Battle for Your Mind, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, USA, 2001 Philip Kotler, Gary Amstrong, John Saunders, Veronica Wong, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, USA, 1999 Modular MBA Marketing, University of Nottingham Website, www.nottingham.ac.uk, 2006 Philip Kotler, Marketing Essentials, Vietnamese version, Statistics Publisher Davis W Cravens, Strategic Marketing, 6th Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill 10 J C Hollway * R V Plant 1992, Marketing For Tourism, PITMAN PUBLISHING 58 APPENDIX Head office Hanoi Capital 18 Ly Thuong Kiet Str., Hoankiem, Dist Tel: (+84.4) 824 3011 Fax: (+84.4) 824 3012 Email : inbound@hanoitourist-travel.com info@hanoitourist-travel.com Ho Chi Minh City 72 Ton That Tung str., Dist.1 Tel: (+84.8) 925 2843 Fax: (+84.8) 925 2844 Email : saigon@hanoitourist-travel.com Da Nang City 77 Nguyen Chi Thanh Str., Hai Chau Dist Tel: (+84.511) 887 750 Fax: (+84.511) 887 751 Email: danang@hanoitoursit-travel.com 59 QUESTIONNAIRE Part 1: Personal Details: Identification Year of birth: Sex: ○Male Nationality: Marital status: ○ Single Number of children: Profession: Revenue ○Female ○Married ○Widowed ○Divorced A Trip detail: How many time you travel each year (by type of travel) ? Type of travel Time 1-3 3-5 5-7 >7 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Short holiday (weekend) Adventure Long holiday (summer/winter) Combination of holidays and business trip Other How many days is enough for each type of holiday? Indochina tour Asia countries tour Vietnam travel package Europe tour China tour Other 1-3 days 3-5 days 5-7 days 7-9 days More than 10 days ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please rate your interest for type of travel : Trip Beaches Moutain Binking Trekking Adventure Cultural and natural heritage trip Historical and political trip Religional trip M.I.C.E Open tour Do not include Include a few Normal Include a lot ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 60 Which type of trip will you choose for you and your famille? Why? (You can make plurieus choices Trip Preferences Tick Reason of choice Short domestic tour ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ - Mini-group organized yourself - Opentour - Tour guided Long domestic tour - Mini-group organized yourself - Opentour - Tour guided Tour to other contry - Mini-group organized yourself - Opentour - Tour guided For preparation for the trip, how you find down the informations? Usually Sometimes ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ - Friends, colleagues - Press and media - Internet - Tourist agency - Other Rarely ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please rate your interest for those factors which influence on your choice of tour for your family Price Promotion High reputation tour High reputation company Safeness Service added value Staff’s attitude Other Do not include Include a few Normal Include Include a lot ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 61 Please rate your interest for those factors which influence on your choice of travel company Reputation of the travel company User-friendly system booking tour Price policy Promotion Diversification of the services and the products Agent ‘s quality Distribution system Other Do not include Include a few Normal Include Include a lot ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please rate the criterion influence to quality of tourist service Itineraries, visited places Airport Airline company Transportation Hotel Food of restaurant Receptionist Guide Transaction point Other Do not include Include a few Normal Include Include a lot ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please rate you interest in using an other time the same travel company Do not include Include a few Normal Include Include a lot ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Preferential treatment for regular customer ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Other ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Satisfaction Guide Tour organization model Receptionist and relationship with customer 62 10 Travel company offer a new product with a reasonable price Do you use it? How and why? Your answer Tick - Of course ○ ○ ○ ○ - May be - Not sure - Nerve Reason B Company information 11 Please rate your knowledge about those travel companies Nerve hear about Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour Know about it Regular customer ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 12 Please rate your comment about quality of these companies Price High Normal Cheap ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour Quality High Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Low ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 13 Which is the avantage of these companies? Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Hanoi Toserco Red tour Vidotour Price Tour quality Agency system ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Good Profes communi -sional -cation ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Personnal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 63 C Hanoitourist travel company 14 Do you know about Hanoitourist: - Nerve hear about it : - Hearing sometime : - Know through Hanoitourist’s adventisement campaign: - Already use Hanoitourist service : -Regualar customers of Hanoitourist : ( Question for only customer of Hanoitourist) 15 When you know about Hanoitourist? …… 16 From now, you have used its services? If yes, how many time? 17 Which Hanoitourist image is in your mind? - Nam of the company : - Logo : - Uniform of the staff : - Tour qualify : - … 20 Please rate your comment about Hanoitourist through the above factors: Comment Staff Impression of the logo Product and services Organized Competence Promotion policy Advertisement campaign Customer’s relation Very good Good Normal Worry Need to be improved ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 64 QUESTIONNAIRE (Used for people working in tourist place) How long you work in this site? …………………………………………………………… Does the tourist field is your main cours at school? ○Y ○N Which position you assume now? Please rate your knowledge about those travel company: Never hear about Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Hanoi Toserco Red tour Vidotour Know about ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Regular customer ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please rate your appreciation about those travel company: 4.1 Price and service quality Price High Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour Quality Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Low High ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Low ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 4.2 market share and staff Market share High Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Quality of staff Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Low High ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Low ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ 65 4.3 Competence in tour organization and logo, brand name Logo, brand name Competence in tour organization Impression Normal No impression Good Normal Bad ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour Do you know Hanoitourist: - Nerve hear about it : - Hearing sometime : - Know through Hanoitourist’s adventisement campaign : : - Have been partner : - Have been partner for longtime : Please rate your evaluation on those point about Hanoitourist High Company reputation Easy in booking Price Promotion Full services Quality of staff Agency system Customer’s ralations Transportation Other ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Bad ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ If your relative prepare for their holiday, which travel company you present for them? Why? For your opinion, in the future, which type of tour attract most tourism ? 66 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HANOITOURIST STAFF A Personal detail Position Time working for Hanoitourist Branch of learning Training organized by Hanoitourist that you participed How many traning? Monthly or annually B Company and industry information Please rate your evaluation on those point about Hanoitourist High Company reputation Easy to booking Price Promotion Full services Quality of staff Agency system Relationship with customer Transportation Company website Other Normal ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Bad ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Please mention Hanoitourist advantage competitive? To have a good communication strategy, what does Hanoitourist have to do? (for only marketing poeple) Please rate on market share of those companies: Travel company Exotissimo Saigontourist HanoiTourist Travel Viettravel Red tour Vidotour Market share High Normal Low ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Which travel company have you good impression (not include Hanoitourist)? Why? 10 Which travel company listed on the question 8, is the direct competitor of Hanoitourist ? 11 Your comment for the company or for the tourism industry : 67 TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMARY INTRODUCTION .3 1.Rationale 2.Objectives 3.Question of study 4.Scope of study 5.Research Methodology .4 6.The outline CHAPTER I: LITERATURE FRAMEWORK I.1 Process of Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning I.2 Market Segmentation I.3 Market Targeting 10 I.4 Market Positioning .12 I.5 Characteristic of tourism product 21 CHAPTER II: 23 HANOITOURIST TRAVEL COMPANY – REALITY OF SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING .23 II.1 Vietnam Business Environment and Tourist Market Environment 23 II.2 Company’s overview 27 II.3 Company's Marketing Execution (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) 29 II.4 Competitors Analysis 36 II.5 Company Images in Customers’ Mind 40 II.6 Hanoitourist’s Problems in Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning 45 CHAPTER III: 46 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING OF HANOITOURIST .46 III.1 Changes in Business Environment 46 III.1.1 Changes in External environment .46 III.1.2 Changes in Customer Behavior 47 III.1.3 Competitive trend .47 III.2 SWOT Analysis 48 III.3 Recommendations to improved Hanoitourist’s marketing strategy 49 III.3.1 In terms of improving segmentation, targeting and positioning of Hanoitourist 49 III.3.2 In terms of Marketing mix 7P’s 50 III.3.3 In terms of Focusing 55 CONCLUSION 57 REFERENCES 58 APPENDIX .59 68 68 68 ... Hanoitourist Travel Company and some detail of mother company (Hanoitourist Corporation) Researching deeply on the Business activities of Hanoitourist Travel Company from 2003 – 2007 and their plan... II: Hanoitourist Travel Company - reality of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning: Which will mentions the detailed analysis of Vietnamese business environment, Hanoitourist? ??s products and. .. Hanoitourist is out of list of top ten international travel company in Vietnam market II.3 Company' s Marketing Execution (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) II.3.1 Segmental execution Hanoitourist