Industry Trends Bicycle tourism is a small industry on the national level with a high sales growth rate indicating its status as a growing industry (Bizminer…Tours, 2013). The bicycle rental industry is also a small, however this industry has reached maturity and while not declining it is not growing (Bizminer…Rentals, 2013). These trends show that bicycle tours have an advantage over bicycle rentals in terms of growth. Therefore, the main strategy will be to focus on the promotion of the bicycle tours, using the bicycle rentals as a way to use inventory during slow months of the operating cycle. Target Market The target market consists of tourist for tours and students for rentals. The target market is geographically bound to those visiting and living in Ashland, Oregon. These two segments differ from each other in age, income, and buying sensitivities. Tourists to Ashland tend to be older, richer, and less sensitive to price. Students are young and on tight budgets making them sensitive to price (New, 2007, p. 410). Competitive Environment For bicycle tours, there are a few direct competitors offering bicycle tours in Ashland. Therefore, major competitors of bicycle tours will be businesses competing for tourists’ time. In order to overcome this, the company will create partnerships with local businesses that would be competitors on time for the independent tours and advertising purposes. There is an abundance of bicycle rental businesses in the same geographic region. The strategy to combat this will be to offer extended time frames for rentals mainly appealing to students. There are not many other companies within Ashland that are offering weekly rentals and this way the business will not have to attempt to compete on pri... ... middle of paper ... ...tmcmd=organic|utmctr=%28not%20provided%29&__utmv=-&__utmk=10464757 New Strategist Publications, Inc. (Eds.). (2007). The American Marketplace: Demographics and Spending Patterns. Ithaca, New York: New Strategist Publications, Inc. Oregon Shakespeare Festival. (2014). Advertising Contract. Retrieved 2 May 2014 from http://osfashland.org/en/advertise-with-us.aspx Staples. (n.d.). Custom Printed Brochures. Retrieved 2 May 2014 from http://print.staples.com/custom-brochures.aspx?GP=5%2f2%2f2014+5%3a43%3a10+PM&GPS=3174022758&GNF=0#here Tanwar, Ritika. (Nov. - Dec. 2013). Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Volume 15, Issue 1, pp 11-17. Retrieved 1 May 2014 from http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol15-issue1/B01511117.pdf?id=7380 Wix.com. (n.d.). Premium Plans. Retrieved 2 May 2014 from http://www.wix.com/upgrade/website
Porter’s generic strategy typology and the Miles and Snow strategy typology are both examples of generic strategic models that a decision maker may find useful (Parnell, 2014). Both generic strategy frameworks explain generic business strategies by utilizing four different strategy types. A few of the strategies may share some common traits, however the frameworks are different in the approach they take to view and describe strategies (Parnell, 2014).
Michael Porter developed a concept known as the competitive strategies. It consists of 3 separate approaches to create the framework for your business. I have decided to focus on the Cost leadership approach.
This case study is about “Specialized Bicycle Components Inc.” known as Ride the Red “S”. Specialized was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard. According to Chris Murphy, director of marketing for Red “S”, specialized is for serious riders. He says, “The customer is buying the ride from us, not just the bike.” The company began to produce its own bike parts by 1976, and introduced the first major production mountain bike in the world in 1980. Specialized now has an extensive global distribution network of 5000 retailers in 35 countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Australia. They maintained a reputation as the technological leader in the bike and bike accessories. The formal mission is still the same since they established the company “To give everyone the best ride of their life.”
Armstrong, Gary, and Philip Kotler. Marketing: an introduction. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
The first issue in this case study come from the nature of tourist industry, when it can only make profit in the summer holiday; hence, it’s realized that the organization is more alike to the seasonal business. This requires Bergqvist to have new ideas to
In order to successfully launch the Discovery, LRNA had to identify a target market. The influx of Japanese models proved that consumers clearly wanted an SUV. As with any successful product launch, it was imperative for LRNA to identify its target market. The American market was dominated by Jeep and Ford at the time. Land Rover decided that they could deliver a product that would satisfy consumers as well as compete with the market leaders. Analysis of research data revealed that two separate groups of consumers were the most likely to be in the SUV market. The first group is comprised of young, childless adults. Generally affluent and upwardly mobile, they wanted their vehicles to portray a symbol of status and image. This information appears to belie the data found in exhibit 8. For example, when consumers intending to purchase an SUV were surveyed on the most important attributes before buying, they scored status/image among the lowest. These results, however, were considered biased because people are less likely to admit in person that they bought something for the status it provides. The second segment of consumers who were likely to buy an SUV were older, middle-class Americans that valued practicality and utility over image and status. They wanted a vehicle that was dependable and carried a strong road presence. Further market research revealed even more information about the type of consumer that intended to purchase an SUV. For total SUV buyers in 1994, they were married people who had attended college and who averaged about $63,000 dollars per year in annual income. In fact, For Land Rover vehicles specifically, however, the numbers revealed that their customers tended to earn a significantly higher income than the res...
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40.
Porter, Michael E. "From competitive advantage to corporate strategy." Harvard Business Review (1987): 43-59. Print. May 2014.
John G. S., 2008: Strategically thinking about the subject of Strategy [e-journal] 9(4) p.2 Available through:
Both Porter and Miles and Snow’s strategy typologies are based on the concept of strategic equifinality, or the ability for firms to be successful via differing managerial strategies (Hambrick, 2003, p. 116). Porter 's strategy is more generic while Miles and Snow’s is more specific in nature. Porter’s generic strategy typology is based on economic factors centering on the source of a firm’s competitive advantage and the scope of a firm’s target market (González-Benito & Suárez-González, 2010). Porter’s typology emphasizes a firm’s cost, product differentiation or non-differentiation and market focus. When utilizing Porter’s strategy typology, a firm must first decide to target its products toward the mass market versus a market niche or focus. Secondly, a firm will determine if it wishes to minimize costs or differentiate its products with differentiation meaning that firms will most likely forego lower costs (Parnell, 2014, p. 184). This can lead a firm to develop a myriad of strategies between these options. Strategies which may have or not have focus, may or not be differentiated, may or not be low cost or any combination of strategies. In contrast to Porter, Miles and Snow’s typology is more specific in nature.
The “Economics of Bicycling in SC” article presents a lot of valuable information about the economic and private benefits of bicycling and bicycle lanes as well as the savings of taking advantage of such transportation. The North Carolina Outer Banks made an investment on bike facilities and its return was incredible high resulting in a 9 to 1 annual return. More than fifty percent of the tourists in the Outer Banks said the bike facilities are a large contributing factor for them to return in the future. In Memphis, Tennessee a business owner said that “the [bike] lanes slowed down the traffic and people started noticing the business more”. Since the introduction of the bike lanes in the Memphis district his business has also grown in average thirty percent per year even though the business is art-related, which makes growing very complicated in a tough economy. Due to the bike lanes this same district has boomed with many new businesses, property renovations, higher demand by restaura...
As the retail industry is confronted with extraordinary challenges (Deloitte LLP, 2011), firms are facing increased competition. Porters leading authority on competitive strategy is largely accountable for the increased importance to a firm’s strategy. The retail industry is becoming highly saturated as the world is becoming smaller; this point alone makes strategy a vital component to a firms success.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 25-40.
If I were to start my own business, my dream would be to build a surf and skate shop on the Southern California coast. My business would be located on beachfront property in the surrounding area. This business plan will cover two main subjects, 1: an Analysis of the Business Situation, and 2: the Planned Operation of the proposed business. The first topic will cover the subtopics Trading Area Analysis and Competition in the area for my business. The second main topic will cover the proposed organization of the business, the proposed business, and proposed strategies for that business. The analysis of the business situation will cover geographic and demographic information for Huntington and the surrounding area. It will also contain an analysis of businesses in the area which are of similar type, customer buying behavior relating to my proposed business, and the potential location of my business. The Proposed Operation section will address the topics of ownership, start-up procedure, personnel needs, special functions, and an organizational chart. Details of products which will be sold will also be included, as will my business' pricing policy. I would hope that through my thorough planning and explanation that my business idea will be a grand success on the beautiful beaches of California.
1.2 Problem Formulation In the problem formulation part of my report I would describe the overall situation of the U.K Tourism industry. The service concept of “Simply Travel” will give us information about the services provided by the company. I will find out about the customers, competitors of the company. I will find out what political, economical, social and technological factors affecting the company and its demand situation.