Demographic influences and product positioning

I spoke about the strengths that Ryan Air has, such as having acquired buzz. I said that since Ryan Air is expanding Eastwards at a steady pace this is a strength but a after some opinions from Maira Azzopardi and Nadine Grixti, I had come to realise that this is more of an opportunity. Maria Azzopardi also said that the fact that the website is available in more than 20 languages is also a strength.

Nadine Grixti went over to say that booking flights over the internet is a strength , however after a discussion with Maria Azzopardi and Elenia Desira regarding how this is the only way to book flight she decided that this was if fact a weakness. Maria Azzopardi and I continued to discuss that Ryan Air avoid paying congestion fees and it will also remain the first low-cost airlines these were identified as strengths. Nadine Grixti continued by saying since Ryan Air does not have an office in Malta, this saved costs and is a strength for Ryan Air.

I said that since passengers have to pay for an extra services even for using the restroom this is a weakness for Ryan Air and also the fact that profits decreased could also prove to be a weakness as Ryan Air may have to cut down on certain services or products to make up for this loss. Nadine Grixti and Elenia Desira argued that since passengers must pay for their luggage this is also a sign of weakness, Nadine Grixti came up with the idea that Ryan Air should provide a package which includes luggage along with flights.

Maria Azzopardi and Elenia Desira continued to say that this should not be obligatory since certain groups travel with only hand luggages. Maria Azzopardi said that since Ryan Air does not provide adequate Human Resources policies this may lead to an unmotivated workforce. Nadine Grixti said that the website is the only means of booking flights which is once again a weakness. I spoke about the fact that Ryan Air can expand into various other regions while still maintaining low costs, we all agreed that this was an opportunity.

Moreover we all discussed other opportunities such as the new fleet of airplanes and the steady expansion of Ryan Air into the East. Finally we discussed that since Ryan Air collects a lot of data from passengers, they may use this data to target customers even better. Nadine Grixti started discussing threats namely that if the oil price continues to rise and reach $150 per barrel this could lead to a situation where Ryan Air does not make any profits.

Another threat is the fact that other airlines may choose to enter low cost markets we all agreed on this. Maria Azzopardi came up with the idea that if other airlines acquire smaller one Ryan Air may face threats, we then discussed the effects that this may have on Ryan Air. Nadine Grixti spoke about the imminent threat that a change in CEO may have as it will take some getting used to for the whole organisation.

Elenia Desira and I said that the global recession and past factors such as September 11th and Islandic Volcano ash is also a threat and this is a threat since some people may be less willing to travel and perhaps even scared to travel. Moreover an increase insnowstorms or volcano ash may cause airports to shut down and this may cancel certain flights. In conclusion we discussed all the factors contributing to SWOT analysis. The meeting went well and we managed to disused all that we had planned within the agenda. On most factors we were all in agreement whilst other took some.

We all discussed that the factors that influence the Ryanair’s demography are age, occupation, average income, lifestyles, religion, race, culture, birth rate and death rate. Moreover, we all agreed that such factors have various implications for Ryanair, for example: Maria Azzopardi said that people with adventurous personalities and lifestyles are more likely to travel than others. I continued to say that people who fear travelling with an airplane will definitely discard the idea of travelling around the world unless over land or by sea.

This will therefore, decrease the revenue of Ryanair. Charmaine Berry continued to say that the demography will have an influence on the workforce, meaning the people available to work, and also the wealth of the workforce. A discussion arose on why the workforce and the wealth of the workforce itself will influence demography. I came up with the idea that the workforce will influence the demography of Ryanair because the culture of such organisation will not be the same of that of the personnel.

This will ultimately influence themotivationand performance of employees. Elenia Desira stated that the occupation of customers will also affect the demography of Ryanair because business men or women will opt for a low-cost flights which will increase profits. However, the drawback is that the more the income the customers earn the more they will be able to afford more luxurious flights such as Airmalta and British Airways, and this will ultimately decrease the profits of Ryanair.

The discussion then shifted to product positioning. Maria Azzopardi began to say that product positioning is defined as how customers perceive the product or service Ryanair offers compared to other competitors. Elenia Desira continued by mentioning a marketing tool, the perceptual mapping, which identifies the perception of existing or potential customers on a specific product or service. Charmaine Berry stated that Ryanair would fall under a low price and budget standard airline and therefore.

It can therefore, be said that one of the main competitors is EasyJet because they are also perceived as having a low price and budget standard. I concluded on product positioning by stating that it is of great importance for Ryanair to make use of perceptual mapping because it would help the organisation to identify in which position Ryanair stands in customers’ mind compared to other competitive airlines. In conclusion, in this meeting demographic influences and product positioning were discussed. It was a very productive meeting as we managed to discuss the topics we had planned in the agenda.