Section 1: Introduction - Tourism Queensland

INTRODUCTION | Writing your marketing plan
The following are example goals for
SceneXtreme Tours:
Product/Service Goal
Enhanced product delivery and service
quality through IT development and
staff training
Packaging Goal
Expanded tour options on scenic
routes based on a best fit product and
marketing mix, to deliver profitability
Price Goal
Sales up by 20%, and profit margins up
by 15% based on efficiency dividends
Place Goal
Improved and expanded sales
opportunities through high internet
exposure
Promotion Goal
Increased awareness and improved
product profile through PR activity
Competitive Advantage is another
useful factor in defining your business.
It describes your point of difference -
what makes you unique or gives you
the market edge over your competitors.
In order to know your competitive
advantage, you must first look at how
your competitors operate and identify
points of distinction. After all, that is
what your potential customers do.
Customers look at competitive
advantage when they compare products
to buy. Therefore, it’s vital to emphasise
these qualities of difference in every
aspect of your marketing strategy.
Examples of competitive advantage
include but are not limited to offering:
• superior or unique product,
facilities and/or services
• price or package advantages
• convenience or accessibility
• superior safety or
manufacturing standards.
Your competitive advantage is usually
listed under Strengths in your SWOT
Analysis or alternatively, what you see
as good ideas for development under
Opportunities. We deal with the SWOT
analysis next.
Situation analysis
This section provides the context for
your marketing decision making and
covers the benefits of Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats (SWOT) Analysis.
As a business, you connect to the
world in a number of ways. You are
both a buyer and seller. You help to
create the social and economic fabric
within your community, and are often
at the forefront of change.
Understanding the internal and
external environment and doing a
SWOT Analysis of the business can
strongly assist your marketing strategy.
The most common way to undertake a
situation analysis is to brainstorm ideas
with a group of people directly involved
with the business.
External conditions are those factors
you have no control over but they
impact on your operations. The
economy, pandemic outbreaks, legal
and political issues, market trends and
changes, competition, manufacturing
or transport limitations, and so on.
Internal conditions summarise your
business environment and resources.
They are factors that can be controlled
through effective management.
Depending on your business you
may have specific areas to consider.
However, in broad terms you might
look at the financial status of the
business and its resources, staff
resources, training and development,
premises, equipment, maintenance,
suppliers and legal and other
binding agreements.
These quick and highline
environmental scans can give you an
idea of how well positioned you are to
meet commercial and environmental
challenges and take up new
opportunities that offer growth.
The SWOT gives you a snapshot of
the business. It’s like a performance
report card on what’s good, what
needs improvement, how the business
can expand and what issues it is likely
to confront.
Each factor is captured under at least
one of the four categories. Sometimes
a factor may be applicable to more than
one category and that is fine, as long
as you account for it in your planning.
The trick is to focus on the major
influences that have the most potential
to affect the business, not to get
caught up in the small stuff. Once
again, jot down ideas as they come to
you. The SWOT can easily be edited
once you get in to the planning.
The following example is indicative
of how a business like SceneXtreme
would develop its SWOT analysis and
use the matrix for future development.
THE BIG MARKETING GUIDE
8