Marketing Management

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................
Environmental appraisal analysis for Ski Club in Great Britain................................................
Introduction to the marketing plan and its objectives......................................................3
PESTEL Analysis of the Ski Club of Great Britain..........................................................4
POLITICAL.................................................................................................................4
ECONOMIC................................................................................................................4
SOCIAL.......................................................................................................................5
TECHNOLOGICAL....................................................................................................6
ENVIRONMENTAL...................................................................................................6
LEGAL.........................................................................................................................7
SWOT Analysis................................................................................................................7
Competition......................................................................................................................9
Two new target markets appropriate to The Ski Club in the U.K. market...............................
Market Segmentation......................................................................................................10
Market Targeting............................................................................................................12
Target Market 1: Children as motivator for lapsed and new skiers................................12
Target Market 2: Restarting lapsed skiers......................................................................13
Product Positioning for Target Market 1 and Target Market 2...................................13
Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix and Marketing Budget....................................................
Marketing Strategy for The Two New Target Markets...................................................15
Proposed Marketing Strategy Matrix.........................................................................15
Marketing Mix Four Ps of Marketing for Two New Target Market......................17
Gantt Chart and Marketing Communications.................................................................19
Marketing Budget...........................................................................................................20
References................................................................................................................................
Web References........................................................................................................................

Executive Summary
The Ski Club of Great Britain (Ski Club) which is a private non-for-profit company which
has been operating with the objectives of promotion of participation in skiing,
snowboarding and all other forms of snowsport and related activities. Until few years
back Ski Club had tremendous success which was only to be hit by the recession period
and changes to the demographic factors in the snowsport industry. In 2012 with over
30,000 member coming from England, Wales and Scotland Ski Club was able to provide
services to their members at a higher standard compared to other organisations or groups
related to the industry of snowsport. Since the club was founded in 1903 it has been in a
central role to the development of the rules of competitive ski racing and then it was able
to incorporate different packages, facilities into what they offer to their members. Snowsports are enjoyed by over one million British tourists each year. However, the industry
faces a number of issues in the short- and medium-term. The ski industry relies on the
environment for its very existence. To date, sustainable tourism has been led by the sunbased sector with little action by the snow-sports industry. With over one million ski
tourists in Britain, there is great potential to influence a significant proportion of the
population. Tourists identify a pristine environment as a key requirement for an enjoyable
holiday. This provides an immediate incentive for the industry to protect the local resorts
and mountains. In the longer term, the industrys reliance on regular, heavy snowfall
makes it particularly susceptible to global warming.

Environmental appraisal analysis for Ski Club in Great Britain

Introduction to the marketing plan and its objectives
Since the recession took a major blow in world financial market, during the last five years
industries in UK went through a declining trend. In that Ski industry no different to other
industries where it showed a significant facts to demonstrate the way they were losing the
market share in terms of leisure. Even the other sports industries were able to enjoy a
growth later on, even after the recession effects cleared off, the ski industry remains flat.
Number of research institutes and analysts conducted their studies about the growth and
market opportunities in order to understand and explain the economic situation with an
intention of predicting the future of this Ski sports industry as it continue to experience
the downward trend.
In most of the studies conducted a clear message was conveyed regarding the industrys
ability to sustain growth where number of implications have been shown about challenges
and impact by macro-environmental forces to them in achieving a sustainable growth.
Even more concerns were raised on being in the most dynamic economic environment in
the recent history, Snowsports industry will be left behind easily and will lose their
market share in the leisure industry they are operating at. The objective of this marketing
plan is to identify practicable marketing solutions and strategies by understanding the
following:
1. Understand the macro-environmental factors that Impact the growth of the Ski Club in
Great Britain with the use of:
a. PESTEL tool analysis by (PESTEL is a mnemonic for political, economic,
social, technological, environmental, and legal.)
b. Evaluate the four elements of the Ski Club in Great Britain through SWOT
analysis (SWOT stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats.)
2. Identify two new target markets substantiated by facts to support rationality along
with clear market objectives.
3. Develop differentiated marketing mixes for each target market including study of
brand positioning, 4Ps strategy, promotion mix, and a financial plan for the next three
years)
4.
3

PESTEL Analysis of the Ski Club of Great Britain

POLITICAL
Great Britain is considered to have a more strong, stable and a highly democratic
governance which have been able to plan their economy well over the past years and
decades to face any negative impact in the global financial world. Only the everlasting
terrorism all over the Europe have been a drawback for travel and tourism industry and
act as a threat to it. As the new Brexit plan come into play more concerns will be raised in
terms of political stability where exiting Euro will lose the support from European Union.
Hence, all these factors are affecting all relevant industries including the snowsports and
outdoor recreational activities (BBC News Magazine, 2016).
The government of Great Britain have initiated number of plan recover number of
industries from the decline where specially the tourism industry with number of price cuts
in order to attract more and more foreign travelers with promotion activities of tourist
attractions all over the country and influencing citizens to take up leisure activities more
and more by providing incentives to these industries.
ECONOMIC
A recent article which was published by Deloitte discussing the economic contribution of
tourism in UK showed that there is a high relationship between the tourism economy and
other industries concluding that tourism activities create remunerations to several sectors
(Deloitte and Oxford Economics, 2014). The estimated contribution to the GDP is 4% for
direct impacts and 5% for indirect impacts (Visit England, 2014). In the same study
conducted it shows that for every 1% increase in total expenditure in UK tourism, the
employment is expected to increase by 0.89%.
In terms of tax revenue coming from the UK tourism industry has been given an
estimation to be around 6.7 billion per year through VAT, APD, corporation tax, income
tax, government contributions (Deloitte and Oxford Economics, 2014). Leisure industry
is expected to continue at the same rate for the next ten years where by when it comes to
overall tourism industry it is expected to contribute as high as 12.4% of UK GDP forecast
which is translated to 4.6 million jobs in UK. As tourism and leisure industry to take a
key part in the UK economy and also to take 13.2 percent of UK employment government
4

now gives a high attention to these areas compared to earlier days. As a result Ski
industry which falls into this category can have these government can actions can have a
significant impact on Ski Clubs activities. As a conclusion, the travel and tourism
industry in Great Britain has a significant contribution to the national economy and
perceived to have a direct correlation with the growth of snowsports industry.
SOCIAL
In September 2015, the Ski Club in Great Britain has announced the release of their
findings of their annual consumer research report. As per this report industry will
experience a growth which will mainly be through their existing members who are
expected to continue their membership with the Ski Club in the next season as well. In
this report it also discusses about old adults skiers who are have not participated into any
ski activities in the past few seasons but indicates that they will come back in the near
future. Also in the report it discusses about how the customer satisfaction is improving
regarding the leisure industry and also regarding the ski sports industry as a whole where
concerns were raised regarding the price and flight experience which are causing
discontentment, which needs to improve (Begg, 2015)
In terms of consumer behavior studied by analysts, they identified a strong connection
between the proficiency of skier and sales. In these studies it was revealed that sales and
level of participation in skiing moves along with the proficiency of the skier. When the
level of confidence in the skiers are high they will try to invest in their snowsports
activities where it was also identified that the that advanced skiers have higher level of
enthusiasm compared with beginners and intermediate. Along with that a research
published by the Ski Club of Great Britain how different demographic trends have a huge
impact on the industry and it was identified that decline in female skiers is more evident,
male participants replaced family ski with group of friends, decline of sports interest
among the young people, health constraints in mid 40s, and significant decline in family
and school holiday trips.
Apart from these another study conducted by the analysts identified that the industry will
continue to show signs of failure and the growth stability will not happen very soon. As
identified the challenge in this will be further substantiated with how the industry market
will move in the next few years. As the snowsports industry is highly depending on the
existing members there is a high of risk future generations completely exiting the industry
5

without a replacement. As a solution it was identified there should be a significant effort

to improve customer relationship and use technology as a means for a more personalized
service. These studies can draw a conclusion that snowsports industry will most likely fail
market share in the tourist sector if demographic restrictions and consumer behavior will
not be addressed appropriately from the marketing perception.
TECHNOLOGICAL
Global warming has been a serious topic over the past few years around the globe where
for an industry like snowsports the significant of it very high. Because of that industry is
now highly occupied with equipment to create artificial snow to respond to the
degeneration in snow density. The new technologies have made these needs a possibility
to achieve where in some of the resorts they have been able to establish indoor winter
activities such as ski slopes and other sport facilities. Indoor has a good effect to attract
beginners by giving tutorials and trainings as well as first time skiers below 7 years old.
Even with these considering that the industries are highly relying on technologies it can
be understood that the upcoming generations need to experience virtual snowsports
rather than the real snowsport activities the industry is more like experience losses than
profits in the future.
ENVIRONMENTAL
The Alpine region which is the most preferred destination by skiers of Ski club recently
affected highly by the climate change and is warming three times the global average rate
as identified. In comparison to other tourism sub industries snowsports is highly relying
on the climate conditions and temperature, and weather (The Ecologist, 2011). With a
history goes back to few decades the temperature in UK is higher by 1 degree and further
warming is expected highly for the next decades.
The UK governments climate risk assessment identified flood risks as the major hazard
along with water resources and extortions to biodiversity and habitats (Hicks and Ranger,
2012). Climate change has become a server threat to the snowsports industry recently for
UK and it has started to respond with artificial snows. In Switzerland, Austria, and north
eastern US, mass production of artificial snows have started due to business becoming
more and more unsustainable even during Christmas and New Year times. In Scotland,
the skiing industry has become even more vulnerable as a reason of these climate changes
6

and country is expected to experience this in the future as well. he skiing industry could
disappear along with other industries and could impact an industry worth 30 million per
winter season. This could impact employment loss, agriculture, summer tourism, and the
countrys economy as a whole (Edinburg News, 2015). After identifying and studying all
these factors it can be largely assumed that climate change have a major effect the
snowsports industry and its just a matter of time before it completely wipe out the skiing
industry in UK. The industry need to anticipate and think outside the box to address the
issue of global warming.
LEGAL
In the recent past years, Ski Club of UK have faced few of liability issues which have
caused due participants facing injuries, loss, and even death. In a press release by the Ski
Club of Great Britain in January 2015, the court rules against the club to favor the French
authorities about in relation to Art.L.2121 of the French Code du Support. As per this
article, the club leader is legally required to have appropriate qualifications to lead a
skiing group if remuneration is received. After 50 years offering the service, the
volunteers cannot lead and instruct the skiers in France which can be a great disadvantage
to the club considering their history in the sports industry. (Ski Club Great Britain, 2015).
As the court ruling will have a huge impact in this industry and the operations carried out
Ski Club, such as now being able to operate in a country like France which is considered
as one of the world forerunner in the snowsports industry means that the judicial system
differences among countries in Great Britain can impact the industry. With Brexit coming
into play the significant of theses ruling can be even severe where industry is now highly
required to look for alternatives if they fail to operate in certain countries.

SWOT Analysis
Considering different macro environmental factors related to the ski club, the SWOT
analysis will be as follows:
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
As Ski Club has been operating since 1903, they Even if the Ski club has a strong marketing and
have been able to build highly strong relationships promotional tools, club is said to lack a proper
with their customers and to be a leader in the marketing segmentation plan on the services they
industry along with their highly conventional and offer and there have been no initiatives to increase
strong marketing and promoting tools.

the number of customers rather than the retention

of the existing customers.

Loyal members to the club generating a high

revenue since 2009 to the club and club has the

The club have had no vision in the recent past to

ability to increase the subscription fees of existing identify and capture the young market and no
customers and keep their membership to the club. innovation in preparing advertisements over the
This has become a possibility with the Ski Club social media.
offering

membership

rewards

and

significant

discounts which also continues to strengthen its Club has failed to increase the revenue in the last
relationship with its members.

few years which is primarily coming from the

membership fees.

The Ski club is known to have a strong marketing

potential with the volunteering staff they have where Income from new members and income from
to backed it up by the strong brand reputation in the other indirect sources have not been developed
industry of snowsports.

well in the past even if the the club has an

immense prospective for growth.

Also Ski Club is occupied with a website which has

numerous number of visitor and the club has already
brand named the world of snow reports and
publications. Having a wide connection with many
resorts across Europe, Canada, and United States,
the club has exposure in BBC news on snow reports,
online information on company websites, and
magazines.
OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS
8

As the overall leisure and travel industry is expected The global warming or climate change is imposing
to growth in the future snowsports industry can a threat to the snowsports industry. Some resorts
expect some growth. This can be taken as a good are resolving the global issue through the use of
sign for this industry as the growth translates to the artificial snowmaking equipment.
better economy, more jobs, more opportunity to
attract tourists to venture in winter sports, and better Government

policies

implemented

in

other

disposable income of household to spend for winter countries can prevent Ski Club from taking their
holidays.

customers to those countries.

The forecasted higher disposable income converts to The threat of terrorism is affecting the number of
higher spending that the participants are willing to international travelers, as in continues to impose
spend on holidays (Deloitte and Oxford Economics, fear in Europe.
2014).
Changing in consumer behavior on what leisure
In terms of a marketing perspective there is a high activity to choose is a severe threat compared to
chance of going into different market segments with others.
the availability of new technologies as new
generations are highly attracted towards them. As Existing

members

are

ageing

and

their

the Ski Club is already occupied with a good involvement in skiing is declining, the female
marketing team this can be implemented easily in participants are declining, the male participants
the club.

are choosing to go with friends rather than with

family, young people are very inclined to virtual
activities such as online games rather than
physical activities, and work life balance of
market aged 30 - 40 years.
The technology moves very fast the people are
becoming dependent to internet and digital
marketing. In order to capture a wider target
market, the club must improve its marketing tools
based on the technologys requirement (The Ski
Club of Great Britain, 2015).

Competition
Apart from the above mentioned PESTOL and SWOT Analysis, a competitor analysis
will provide a company with how well Ski Club is doing compared to their competitors.
Have been in the industry for more than a century Ski Club is a pioneer in the world of
snowsports in UK, where the club has a strong power of customers and loyal customer
network compared to their competitors. As the industry itself do not encourage new
entrants as the declining trends have a very much effect on it for the past few years even
if the travel industry as a whole grew higher club is said to have the same market share
for the next few years (Thompson, 2012). Even though that is the case, substitution to this
is very high as the leisure industry is occupied with number of activities which can act as
a substitute to the snowsports. Therefore it has become imminent that they need to
compete with other types of entertainment to retain and improve its market share. Some
of the direct substitution are new ski clubs and indoor skiing classes. Indirect substitution
are online games and travelling to other countries. 2971

10

Two new target markets appropriate to The Ski Club in the U.K.
market.
In the previous chapter it was discussed about the snowsports industry how well Ski Club
operate when considering both macro and micro environmental factors. An environmental
appraisal was carried out using PESTEL, SWOT

and Competitor Analysis. As a

conclusion it can be said that the industry is facing an immense challenges in the
expanding market globally in terms of technologies, environmental factors, customer
perspectives, etc. In order to find a solution to these issues in this section it will try to
analyze and identify two new target markets and also to develop a marketing strategy
with the use of Kotlers Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning (STP) model as shown
below.

Market
Segmentati
on

Market
Targeting

Product
Positioning

Figure 1: Kotlers STP Model

Market Segmentation

There are several ways how to segment the market. It includes demographic, geographic,
psychographic, and behavioral (Rodrigo, 2012). In this study, we will use the
demographic approach to segment the market. First of all, it is necessary to understand
the scale of UK snowsports market and the number of active participants. The new market
segments has been determined by analyzing not just the drivers of frequency but also the
11

barriers to ski participation (Zyman, 2002). By studying these factors, the ski industry can
be able to develop market segmentation and thus arriving to a sound marketing strategy.

12

In an article published by IAIN in 2015, the author discussed how big is the market of
snowsports in UK basing on the annual report published by The Ski Club of Great Britain
in 2015. The figure below shows the ski club has estimated a very high market in
20122013 at 1.4 Million participants. However, the estimated market slumped to 1.0
Million in 20132014 and in 2015 the estimated market was 1.2 Million.

Figure 2: Ski Club of Great Britain - UK Market estimates

Source: IAIN (2015) Ski Club of Great Britain

However, in year 2015, the Ski Club of Great Britain did not publish an estimate of the
market size. One possible reason is that the ski club have recognized the limitations of
trying to estimate the size of the market. In 2012, the Ski Club of Great Britain Industry
Report publicized that following statistics (IAIN, 2015):

About 29% of the respondents are more likely to ski in the next 5 years
About 8% of the respondents are less likely to ski in the next 5 years
80% of the skiers are over 40 years old
70% of the skiers started skiing before the age of 40
13% of the skiers started skiing after the age of 40
About 40% of the skiers had been introduced through skiing with friends
About 28% of the skiers is through family holidays
About 18% of the skiers had been introduced by school trips
School trips are declining. About 25% of aged 40-49 were introduced to skiing
through school trips and decreased to 18% for aged 21-29. Almost 50% of the

aged 21-29 were introduced to skiing through family holidays.

90% of the participants booked their holidays online

13

Based on the statistics above, it can be concluded that there is big market for the ski club
industry and there is a net potential of 21% that will most likely to ski in the next few
years. The 21% is based on 29% minus 8% presented on points 1 and 2 above. However,
it is also evidently shown in the statistics that the ski participants has started to age, and
few more years, they will stop skiing due to age restrictions. Thus, the ski club should
focus on encouraging young people to venture in winter holidays. In fact, majority of the
active skiers started skiing before the age of 40. When it comes to understand the triggers
of skiing, most of the active skiers were influenced by friends followed by the influence
of family holidays.
Market Targeting
Based on the market segmentation discussed above, we can clearly identify the new target
market which have a high potential of profitability and has significant size and growth.
The following are the two new target markets:

Children as motivator to increase the skiing participation and capture young

people
Restarting lapsed skiers

Target Market 1: Children as motivator for lapsed and new skiers

Given the fact that majority of the active skiers had started skiing before age 40, it can be
concluded that there is a higher potential for growth and loyalty if the skier will start at a
very early age. In a study by Zyman in 2002, one of the key findings of the research was
that children can be either a hurdle or motivator to increase the skiing participation. The
study was conducted by asking the lapsed skiers what are the reasons why they did not ski
again. And the top two reasons were because of time and children. However, when
frequent skiers were asked what are the top reasons for skiing frequently, the top reason
was family and children (Zyman, 2002).
This type of target market can be considered as a secondary market. Nevertheless, with
the right marketing strategy, this can turn into a primary market that will capture not just
children but the whole family. The purpose of targeting children as a new target market
are to give more inspiration to the parents to endeavor in skiing and introducing the
snowsports holiday as part of family holiday custom. The children as target market will
address the problem of not having young people to replace the ageing members of the ski
14

club (Begg 2015). Introducing the skiing to an earlier age will most likely increase
sustainability and loyalty as they will have longer years to be a ski participant. There is
also a greater chance that their proficiency in the ski sports will improve and thus,
increasing the frequency of sales and participation (Zyman, 2002).

Target Market 2: Restarting lapsed skiers

Zymans study in 2002 concluded that the best way to accelerate sales and participation in
skiing is to target the light users or the lapsed skiers. In a study by the Focalpoint/FSR for
SIA in 1999, the active skiers were classified according to the degree of participation. The
study showed that majority of the skier population at 35% are lapsed skiers, 31% are
moderate to heavy users, 26% are light users, and 8% are new users (Zyman, 2002).
Further to the study by Zyman, the lapsed skiers which comprises 35% of the ski
population, only contributes 10% of ski days and 18% of ski equipment demand. The
rates are very low compared with 43% and 48% for moderate to heavy users, respectively.
This statistics clearly shows that the ski club can also target the lapsed ski users as it can
dramatically boost the sales if they will be reclassified from lapsed to moderate/heavy
users, where the contribution to ski days and equipment demands are higher.
Product Positioning for Target Market 1 and Target Market 2
Product positioning is crucial to determine how to communicate the products and services
to the target market based on the customers needs and wants, competition,
communication channels, and product key messages (Richards, n.d.). The product
positioning is critical because this step demonstrate how to influence the target markets
perception of the products and services. Presented below is a simple illustration of how
the new target markets will be positioned in the market:

15

16

The proposed product positioning is designed based on Zymans study that the main
barrier to increased skiing participants are time, quality of experience, competitive
interest, and proficiency. Among these four factors, the product positioning has focused in
considering the level of convenience to address the time constraints, and the level of
experience which will cater to the new skiers and the lapsed skiers. Discussion of product
position is discussed in details in the next part.

17

Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix and Marketing Budget

Marketing Strategy for The Two New Target Markets
The key findings and analysis discussed in the previous section reveals that to be able to
improve the clubs share in the market and to recover with the decline in the industrys
revenue, a new approach to the market is proposed. There so many marketing strategies
that we can find today, but the definitive proposition of this study is to understand the
value of the customers, carefully analyzing the market segment, offer a clear cut
marketing solution to meet the customers requirement, and align the products and
services according to their preferences.
After identifying the two new target market proposed in this study, the target markets
were further sectioned into four product segment. The product segments focus on the
combination of new skier, lapsed skier, with children, and without children. The
marketing strategy is summarized in a matrix form as shown below:
Proposed Marketing Strategy Matrix
Target

New Market

Marke

Segment

Objective

Theme

Message

Marketing
Strategy

t No.
1a

New Skiers who

To identify and

have Children
below age 12

An

New great

Convenient and

capture young adult experience

memories with

easy family package

families to enjoy

that could last

family members including all

and make them to

a lifetime

to provide a

transportation,

keep on coming

great time

accommodation,

from the influence

together.

meals, training.

of their children

Dedicated trainer
and guide for one
family.

1b

Lapsed Skiers

To reactivate

Skiing is more

Be better at

Easier and more

with children

existing skiers with

fun the second

skiing and have

convenient skiing

18

below 15 years

young children and

old.

time around.

fun along with

with kids.

increase the level

you kids and let

Convenient and

of participation.

them to have a

easy family package

memorable

including all

experience at a

transportation,

very young age.

accommodation,
meals, training.

2a

New Skiers

To Capture new

We will make

Skiing doesnt

Easier all-in

without Children

market focusing on

it fun and

have to be hard.

package with

young people

easier for you.

You will have a

flexibility for group

great time and

of friends or young

experience

couples.

doing it.
2b

Lapsed skiers

To reactivate

The more you

You could be

Create your own

without children

existing skiers and

ski, the better

better at skiing

package.

increase the level

you will be.

if you let us

of participation

Let us help

train you.

you be better
at it.
The first product segment is the New Skiers With Children Below 15 Years Old. The
marketing objective of this type of segment is to capture the young families with children
by turning the children into motivators rather than barriers. This segment will have a
theme An experience that could last a lifetime. The purpose is to inspire young families
to venture into snow sports and create memories with the kids, at early ages. Under this
segment, the club will offer a convenient and easy family package so that parents can
enjoy skiing hassle free and kids will have a great time and experience.
The second product segment is the Lapsed Skiers With Children Below 15 Years Old.
Under this segment, the lapsed skiers will be reactivated and encouraged to ski again,
even when they have kids. The objective is to assure them that skiing will be more fun
and they will be better at skiing if they do it again. The theme is Skiing is more fun the
second time around.
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Third market segment is New Skiers Without Children. This market is focused in
capturing the group of young people or young couples without children. The message that
the product must convey is that they will have a great experience with friends and it
doesnt have to be hard. The theme is We will make it fun and easier for you. Fourth
market segment is Lapsed Skiers Without Children. The main objective of this segment
is to accelerate the increase in revenue by increasing the level of participation of lapsed
skiers. The theme for this segment is The more you ski, the better youll be. Let us help
you be better at it. The message is that the ski club will help them be better at skiing by
offering good and effective trainings and flexible packages.
Marketing Mix Four Ps of Marketing for Two New Target Market
The marketing strategy discussed above indicates that the ski club should see snow sports
not as a mass market but as a sum of different segments. By doing this, important factors
such as behavior, proficiency, demographics, and psychographics were considered
(Zyman, 2000). The marketing strategy also clearly demonstrate the strength of the ski
club, in relevance to the type of segment. Skiers that are classified as new or lapsed have
difference marketing approach and skiers which has children or not, also have another
approach. Moreover, the marketing strategy can be best analyzed by creating the
marketing mix, considering the four Ps of marketing. Presented below is the proposed
marketing mix for the four market segments, showing the key concepts of how the 4Ps
will be introduced to the market:
Product
The Ski Club will offer focus on the quality of the service it will offer to the market. The
packages will fit to the need and lifestyle of the participants, especially the children. The
packages will be designed in such a way that it will be hassle free for the parents, safe
for the children, easy experience for new skiers, and better experience for the lapsed
skiers. The clubs theme will be Experience Life. The objective is that participants
should have this feeling that thru skiing, they experienced one of the best things in life.
And through this good experience, they will decide to come back and ski more.
Price

20

Most of the skiers are not very keen in price, rather, they are more engrossed on the
quality of experience that they will have. But, the ski club will continue to offer services
which will give the high value of money that the skiers are willing to pay.
The price of the packages will emphasize on two things: (1) the younger the skier is, the
lesser you will pay, and (2) the more you ski, the more you save. That is, rates of prices
for the younger skiers are lower than adults. And second time skiers will pay at discount
rate rather than the new skiers.
Key to costs are: (1) unlimited lift pass at 30/day for adult and 25/day for children (2)
hiring of trainer/guide at 20/day 3) price of skiing lesson is 50 for children, 80 for new
skiers, and 60 for returning skiers all for 4 hours (5) kiddie meals and adult meals can be
availed by purchasing food vouchers online at 20% discount or can be purchased in site at
0% discount (6) hotel accommodations will be offered depending on the hotel rates and
type of rooms (7) transportation will be offered based on the origin and destination, with
the lowest possible rates. The prices mentioned are estimated prices only, based on travel
blogs and guide (Gill and Watts, 2012).
Place
The place or location of the resort will be suggested based on convenience, time, cost, and
customer preferences. For those skiers who are more concerned on the convenience and
time, resorts that are easy and accessible will be suggested to them. If the skier are more
concerned on the travel time, the club will suggest a nearer location. And if the skier have
other preferences like weather, temperature, mountain slopes, etc., the club will have the
right location for them. The location will be suggested based on the preferences and needs
of the skier, hence, the theme for this is weve got it all for you.

Promotion
The tour packages that will be offered by the club are designed to specifically encourage
the skiers to ski more, bring along their friends and family, bring along the kids, try to ski
the first time, lesson kits for first time skiers and returning skiers, and involvement of
21

social media to promote the skiing activity through photo contests. The key promotional
strategy of the ski club is to have a flexible package that are based on the preference of
the skiers. Packages can be personalized according to the preference of the skier and
within the budget.
Gantt Chart and Marketing Communications
The table below shows the marketing timeline for the next three years. First step is to
analyze the current situation of the company and review the financial performance and
financial position for the past five years. During this stage, there should be an analysis of
how to reduce the cost of sales and how to cut operation costs, based on the budget. In
this stage, the company should have a sound marketing plan. Next stage is planning
where company will finalize the target market, the four Ps of marketing, and the
marketing channels. Third stage is to develop the marketing materials and marketing
communications such as new product design, websites, applications for android mobiles
and IOS, social media, travel blogs, travel magazines, fashion magazines, TV weather
reports, sponsoring sports fests, telemarketers, and call center agents. After developing
the marketing plan, next stage is marketing implementation. At the end of each year, the
result of the new marketing plan will be measured to know the effectiveness of the
marketing tools the target market. After the measure of result, the company must review
and improve the marketing plan every yearend.

The result of the new marketing plan will be monitored every year. There must be an
annual marketing report measuring the marketing costs every market segment and its
corresponding increase in the revenue. The ski club must spend only within the budget or
10% of the actual revenue.

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Marketing Budget
This type of approach to the market will allow the ski club to set a budget for those
segments which have a higher potential in increasing the sales and participation. While
the heavy skiers have the greatest value in this business, we will divert our focus on the
light users or lapsed skiers because the market is already within our reach and it just
needs reactivation. Also, focus will be given to capture children because they can be
motivators to engage a young family to skiing and children will replace the ageing
members of the ski club.
In an annual report published by the Ski Club of Great Britain for 2015, presented below
is a simple analysis showing the percentage of cost to the total revenue (Ski Club of Great
Britain, 2015).

At a glance, it appears that the ski club have a good gross profit from 20132015, ranging
from 51% to 48%. But apparently, the gross profit is being pulled down by the weight of
the operating costs, leading to zero net profit. We can also see in the figure above that
growth in revenue is very slight at 5% only, but the costs are increasing in values. The
unfavorable costs is very much evident in the cost of membership which takes 21%23%
of the revenue and the administrative/IT costs which takes 13%15% of the revenue.

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To create a marketing budget for the next three years, it is necessary to make a projected
profit and loss statement because the marketing budget will be computed as a percentage
to total revenue. In the projected P&L statement below, the annual growth is projected to
increase in 2017 and 2018 assuming that the positive effect of the marketing strategy will
kick in. The cost of sales should be retained at 40%, the operating cost should be retained
at 1800 per annum, and the marketing budget will be set as 10% of the gross revenue for
each year.

The next table below shows how the annual marketing budget is being divided among the
new product segments. Higher marketing cost is allocated based on what market segment
have the highest potential of sales acceleration and increased participation. In this budget,
bulk of the marketing budget will be allocated to the skiers because they are the most
important target market.

24

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