Evaluation Of TWC's Sustainable Marketing Practices In Essay.

1. Understanding and integration of theory in an appropriate and relevant way for the case-study presented. At what level do you: 
o Integrate appropriate theory from the subject? 
o Present a fitting answer in relation to the information provided in the case study? 
2. Presentation of a clear and edited narrative. At what level do you: 
o Provide an original and clear answer to the question? 
o Undertake research and reference correctly throughout the answer and in your reference list? 

The report will explain the case study evaluation of Tasmanian Walking Company (TWC) given in the article “Principle of Marketing”. The paper will recognize the issues and provide solutions to the company. It will provide the answers to the three questions as per the requirement of the assignment. It will discuss the target market of TWC and the strategies implemented by the company to know their target market. It will also reflect the use of the decisions of socially responsible products by TWC. Moreover, it will also highlight the elements of the marketing mix utilized by TWC to provide importance to the clients.

1. The Tasmanian Walking Company (TWC) has been marketing from the last 25 years in various sectors, allowing people of every status and levels to experience the most famous mountain and coastline locations all over the world.  The clients of the TWC are mainly between 45-65 years old urban people and they prefer a luxurious, adventurous and natural experience (Armstrong et al., 2017). They are mostly retired persons like the doctors and lawyers and have high disposable income and enthusiasm to pay for a walk in natural areas and feel the experience individually.  As for the example, the founder of this organization Ken Latona, was an expert in setting up walks on the basis of accommodation in Australia. He was an experienced person in the architectural field and utilized it to gain the right of designing and improving the Cradle Mountain Huts based on the Overland Track of Tasmania. These huts still now are the only place which provides personal lodging to the tourists besides the Overland Tack. The Cradle Mountain Huts has developed a lot from its opening which was almost before 30 years. The tourists are given the experience of Lake St Clair National Park, which is the heart of Cradle Mountain, listed among the World Heritage of Tasmania (Kubackiet al., 2015).  Apart from aiming for the high-income clients of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, TWC also targets the foreign tourists and has achieved their market in USA, UK, and Japan. However, though people from China demands the beaches, wildlife, and wine of Australia as their main attractions, they are not on the list of the target market of TWC. This might due to the reason they are not interested in taking walks in natural areas.   After offering only the experience of walking, TWC had introduced a four-day tour walk around the Bay of Fires Lodge in the year 1999 (McDonald, 2016). This permits the organization to enter in new market divisions which consist of the clients preferring beach walking. 

The marketing and sales team of TWC at their head office, are controlling the database of their clients and applying their pre and post wall communication policies. This also includes the meeting the clients' demands and recognizing the opportunities for their new target market and products (McDonald et al., 2017). Moreover, the sales team are in charge of communicating with the clients and controlling the online booking process. When any client decides their walking experience, TWC utilizes the pre-walk interaction and direct marketing to create the sale and make sure that the clients receive all the vital information. After their initial process, they sent an email to the clients regarding the journey, a list of gears needed and a link to frequently asked questions.  They sent some short videos which are either attached to the emails of the customers or on the company's website, where the guides explain the significance of some kits like the hiking boots and thermal clothes. Mostly the clients will have four to five times interactions with the company before reaching for their walk. This allows the company to completely know the demands of the clients and the clients also ask questions regarding the walk (Zhao, 2016).  The marketing team of TWC is proud of themselves on giving services to the clients. They realize that that the walks are not in the comfort zones of the clients so they provide importance to the clients and make sure that the clients coming in Tasmania are satisfied and excited instead of feeling nervous.  The guides of the TWC are provided rigorous training so that they could give high standards of service and hospitality (Smith et al., 2015). They are the most vital assets of the organization. TWC also has its own website and social media so that clients interested in walks of TWC could contact them through these mediums.

Extended Marketing Mix Elements

The values of TWC has continued to be the same in spite of the change in ownership over the years. The structure of TWC is constructed on the concept of environmental sustainability and social responsibility. The company’s tag-line is ‘‘it’s in our nature’ ’which has a double meaning. The first meaning is that the walks are based in Tasmania, the natural and physical surroundings of TWC. The second meaning is that each employee of TWC are deeply passionate regarding the naturally adventure tourism of sustainability, and maintains these values in the luxurious experience and information given by them. The responsibility of nature and environment are very much vital for the company and supports the marketing planning of TWC (French and Russell-Bennett, 2015). The sustainability is also an important item of TWC. As for example, since its introduction, the firm have utilized naturally sustainable methods and materials to form the accommodation for their clients, to offer a different luxurious experience in the natural surroundings. All the buildings have the facility of solar power, rainwater is collected in tanks and then recycled; renewable gas is utilized for heating, and food and living deliveries are carried in and all the wastes are taken away. These activities have helped the organization to achieve the Advanced Ecotourism Certificates, and also gain several awards at a national and state level (Binggeseret al., 2015). TWC also follow the best track guidelines for their every walks, which helps the clients and the guides to follow the selected tracks, remove all the wastages and then recycle. The Cradle Mountain Huts are always under the inspection of the highest conservation levels. But, TWC follows these rules and by their sustainability marketing, and make sure that the natural surroundings are left in a better situation than when they leave the place.

TWC is not only concentrated on increasing the natural environment for the enjoyment of their clients but also believes in giving back to the society, by their strategies of sustainable marketing. As for example, TWC purchases almost all of their products and materials from the local market. They make sure that local cafés are utilized to provide packed lunches for their clients as they walk from the starting point of their journey. This strategy is to help and support the local economies and businesses in remote towns of Tasmania like the Derby and Sheffield and gives regular and important food orders to keep the locals in active mode. Apart from all these, the employees of TWC regularly work with the environmental groups like the Conservation Volunteers Australia to remove the weeds from the wildlife areas or the clean the litters from the natural surroundings like the Forester Beach, beside the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk (O’Malley and Lichrou, 2016). Moreover, when TWC needs fresh materials like the uniform for their employees, they carry out a survey to make sure that they buy from those companies, who share similar values like TWC.

Participation in Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE)

The extended marketing mix elements which have been managed in this case are the people, product, price, promotion, and place. All the tourists could not afford the guided walks along with the sustainable adventurous and luxurious tours.A single walk of TWC cost almost $3000 for each person (Dawes, 2017). The company intentionally ignores targeting the mass markets with their product, it helps to maintain small groups and exclusiveness which adds importance to the experiences of their clients. Every walk is taken as the package, consisting of transportation cost from and to their locations, lodging cost, and expenses of meals and personal guide. The clients have to bring their personal walking kits and have to pay extra for the spa sessions during their tour to the Bay of Fires Lodge Walk.  TWC is slowly holding their positions in the international and foreign markets by attending the trade shows of travel and tourism like the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) (Tarlow, 2016). The ATE helps to connect the Australian tourism companies with the retailers and the wholesalers of all over the world, through face to face appointments and broader networking events.  TWC takes part in this event on yearly basis. In order to attend the event of ATE, the activities of the personal selling and sales and promotions of TWC starts almost two months before the event, as they recognize through online about the wholesalers and the retailers they have to meet at the time of the event. The organizers of TWC then matches the preferences of TWC with those retailers and wholesalers TWC has chosen to talk with them. After getting the schedule, the Director of Sales and Marketing takes the preparation for the next four day of 15 minutes meetings with nearly 100 tour operators and wholesalers like the Flight Centre Global, when she discusses the products and new facilities for the upcoming season of tourism (O’Boyle and Dawson, 2015).    

For the marketing in the local market, TWC works closely with the experts of public relations in order to draw the attention of the suitable reporters and media persons to take part in their guided walks. After receiving such experiences, the reporters creates news regarding the facilities of TWC, which are then published in newspaper, magazines and online travel sites (Erragcha and Romdhane, 2014). Most significantly, TWC could share this news, scenic images, and other references through their social media and websites. Apart from these references by another medium, TWC motivates their clients to share their personal experiences through social media and specifically the pictures they have clicked during their walks. This kind of promotion is the vital portion of the promotional plan, which helps to involve new clients in the online sites. When the scenic images and posts are uploaded by TWC, they ignore any type of sales strategies and simply share that things which are inspiring and motivating (Li et al., 2016). TWC also make sure that the posts of their website and social media of the organization are appropriate as per the season so that the clients receive an exact information of their expectations if they have to experience a walk at that season of the year. During the winter season, TWC would upload and share those pictures of walks at the snowy areas and appreciate this with some remarks. High standards of inspirational video are also shared by TWC on their Facebook so that some potential clients could get some ideas about the wildlife areas of Tasmania (Noo-urai and Jaroenwisan, 2016). It is time-consuming for a company like TWC to always keep their online sites and social media updated. The high standard and personal experience on offer mean that most of the contents made on the basis of the clients, where the company is tagged are positive. But, like all other companies, TWC also controls the risk of negativity spread through word of mouth (Klein, 2015). It is done during their post-walk interactions with the clients and also during the follow-up reporting time, the guides are instructed to inform any problems with TWC.

Marketing in Local Market

A small travel company like TWC also has to face some seasonal issues like the competition and external market trends. Their clear concentration on offering high standards of adventurous experiences in the natural surroundings has given them the competitive benefits, which the owners are thinking to develop in the coming years. In order to maintain their points of differences, TWC needs a strategy of triple bottom line to protect the nature and to gain profits. TWC have to draw the attention of the passionate and reliable employees to provide their high standards experience and maintain the values of the organization. The future of TWC seems to be brighter after winning the Gold in the category of ecotourism at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

Conclusion

The article had analyzed the case study of Tasmanian Walking Company (TWC) provided in the journal “Principle of Marketing”. The report had identified the problems regarding the company and provide solutions to them. It had given the solutions to all the three questions as per the requirement of the assignment. It had discussed the strategies of the target markets of TWC to retain their clients and hold their positions in the domestic market. It had evaluated the products of social responsibility and environmental sustainability to hold the clients' value. It had also highlighted the elements of the marketing mix utilized by TWC to carefully control the organization.

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