qExplain strategic planning, and discuss how it relates to the company mission, objectives, and goals. Virgin Atlantic, one of the most upcoming businesses of Virgin Group was established in 1984 (). It is an international airline.
There are 6 classes in the virgin Atlantic i. e. economy – lowest/flexible, premium economy – lowest/flexible and for the upper class too (). Its main bases are in London Heathrow and London Gatwick (). STRATEGIC PLANNING:- Strategic planning is defined as “ developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities” ().
Strategic planning is a formal planning in most organizations (). The word strategic comes from its lower base strategy which means planning and directing the whole operation of campaigns. The company gains a competitive edge in the market. According to the strategy hierarchy, Virgin Atlantic is a SBU (Strategic Business Unit).
At the launch of virgin Atlantic, many new ideas were such as, the personal video screens, reclining seats, hairstylists, aroma therapists etc (). Virgin fuel is a very important discovery. Unlike the other fuels, virgin’s fuel doesn’t consist of CO2 and other pollutants (). The budget for this project is $ 1 billion (). Apart from running plains and trains, Virgin has responsibility of protecting the environment.
The main strategy was the slashing of fuel prices in the market (). In the coming years this plan will be put into action in the road industry and the travel industry as well. Also, virgin galactic which is one of most creative inventions of Branson will come in to action by 2008(). The different steps of strategic planning are MISSION:-OMission defined as the basic purpose of an organization to achieve the end result. “ Its mission is that it has the potential to fulfil both the emerging public perception of the brand and provide shareholder with a good return on their equity investment” (). OBJECTIVES:- O“ The objectives of virgin Atlantic are:” ().
uFun uValue for money uQuality uInnovation uCompetitive challenge uBrilliant customer service GOALS:- The goal of the organization is to plan and maintain a global presence in travel, mobile, communications, entertainment, retailing and music (). Outline the marketing process, explaining the concepts of target consumers, using marketing strategies of competitive advantage, and developing the marketing mix. MARKETING PROCESS:- “ Marketing process is defined as the process of analysing market opportunities, selecting target markets, developing the marketing mix and managing the marketing effort” (). The main aim is to position a product across the market and customers by satisfying their needs and wants.
TARGET CONSUMERS:-The four main steps to identify the target consumers (). 1) Demand measurement and forecasting – identify products and current sales. 2) Market segmentation – geographic, demographic, behavioural and psychographic 3) Market targeting – evaluation of market segment 4) Market positioning – formation of position of a company. The marketing strategy for competitive advantage: The main way of competing in the market is to produce something differentiated and unique from their competitors ().
