randse afrikaanse universiteit - the University of Johannesburg ...

KURSUS: B.COM HONNEURS
VAK: BEMARKING VAN DIENSTE
marketers since most tourism establishments
spend far less than that. This enables the
company to have in excess of five million
brochures in circulation worldwide at any one time.
Tour operators receive a 20 percent commission
on the bookings they make, provided they display
the train in their brochures. If not, they receive the
normal 15 percent commission.
In the past the company attended the World
Travel Market in London, the Indaba in Durban
and the ITB in Berlin. In 1997 the company will
also be attending the Africa Travel Market and the
American Travel Market.
To supplement the trade shows, Rovos Rail has
appointed representatives in New York, London,
Dusseldorf and Australia. These representatives
are paid a retainer. They do not make bookings,
but have to keep the name of Rovos Rail “in front
of the tour operators”. They also solve problems
on behalf of the company, and provide feedback
on trends in the market.
The unique nature of the product also ensures a
constant supply of publicity for the train. Travel
writers, journalists and television crews from all
over the world guarantee monthly exposure in the
international market at a nominal cost. Normally
Rovos Rail has to give away one or two nights on
the train to accommodate the visiting journalists.
In exchange for this they get millions of rands of
press coverage. This type of coverage is
generally considered more credible than
commercials paid for by the company, since it is
presented by an “independent” journalist.
Advertisements directed directly at prospective
tourists in magazines are rarely used. However,
when the Cape Town/Knysna route was
introduced advertisements were taken out in the
Getaway magazine. Getaway has the largest
national circulation average for titles falling within
similar income and education brackets with
audited monthly circulation figures of 89 797 in the
latter part of 1996. This makes Getaway the
leading magazine in specialist leisure titles in
South Africa. By placing adverts in Getaway the
company not only aimed to publicize the new
route, but also succeeded in making the travel
trade aware of the new product.
Rovos Rail also engages in limited personal
selling. Beatrice Thorson, who is situated in
Johannesburg, is, amongst others, responsible for
promoting the Rovos Rail product to the travel
trade and corporate clients. The latter charter the
train for conferences, product launches, sales
incentive schemes, farewell functions for
executives or to entertain overseas VIP’s. The
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route may also be varied, whenever practical, to
accommodate the needs of the client.
When selling to the trade and corporate clients
Beatrice makes use of a video, which helps to
make the product “tangible”. The video is
combined with a professional sales presentation,
whereafter Beatrice answers any questions the
prospective client may have.
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
In less that ten years Rovos Rail has proved that it
can hold its own with the best tourist attractions
and name trains in the world. Part of its success
can be ascribed to the fact that it is essentially a
small company. This means that decisions can be
made in minutes, while larger companies may
take days. Rohan Vos in particular does not shy
away from quick decisions, and often ends up
making important decisions in seconds.
In particular Rohan believes in good
administration, which includes keeping proper
financial records and constantly monitoring cash
flow. He personally inspects income and
expenditure twice weekly. He furthermore
believes in forecasting future turnover, and by
October every year he estimates the expected
turnover for the next year. Three monthly profit
targets are set, and these are adjusted monthly to
account for short-term fluctuations in expenditure
or sales.
Also contributing to the success of Rovos Rail is
its effective marketing and positioning. By
targeting a well defined market segment, the
company can better focus its marketing and
operations, thus managing to satisfy their
customer’s needs optimally. The positioning of
the product as “the best in its class” further adds
to its success. Heavy and sustained marketing to
the travel trade, thereby pushing the product
through the distribution channel, enable them to
achieve high occupancy levels, even under the
most trying market conditions.
There can be no doubt that the Rovos Rail product
is unique. In an era where plastics, instant
products, electronics and speed dominate, Rovos
Rail is surprisingly authentic, old fashioned, and
relaxed, yet comfortable, luxurious and original.
Rovos Rail is furthermore steered by a man with a
vision. A man that is ever present, a man with an
eye for detail, and one that is extremely
passionate about his work. The fact that he
named the four restored steam locomotives after
his children goes a long way to explain his
commitment to the company.