Thomas Cook Marketing Mix (4Ps) & Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy of Thomas Cook through marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion).
Thomas Cook Product Strategy:
Thomas cook was the pioneer at commercializing mass tourism. They launched a series of coupons, which were exchanged for stays and meals at accommodations. Soon the coupons gained popularity and in no time were being accepted as modes of payment. The core business of Thomas Cook today is package holidays, which includes travel, food, hotel, insurance and car hire. It provides package holiday for leisure travellers, corporate business houses and foreign exchange of currency, credit card, etc. The company is one of the largest forex exchange facilitator. Thomas Cook provides borderless prepaid card. It is a multicurrency forex card. Users of the card can add multiple currency balances in the card. Thus eliminating the need to carry multiple currency cards for various parts of the world. Thomas Cook provides specialised insurance services for personal accident, medical expense, loss of checked baggage and loss of passport. Its various holiday products in its marketing mix are as follows. International holiday, domestic holiday, weekend holidays and senior citizen holiday. There are a special kind of holiday package for the people who want to experience something offbeat. In 2020, Chinese company Fosun International took the brand name.
Image: Wikimedia
This concludes the product strategy in Thomas Cook marketing mix & strategy.
Thomas Cook Price/Pricing Strategy:
Below is the pricing strategy in Thomas Cook marketing mix strategy:
The packages of Thomas Cook are available at reasonable prices so they can stay relevant and be competitive. Given today’s economic scenario, traveling on holidays is still a luxury and people have to save exclusively for years to be able to afford a holiday abroad for their family.
Currently the company has adopted a half way premium pricing to attract the right type of customers. During off seasons the company provides good discounts to meet targets. In 2019, the original company was acquired by Fosun International with a £900m bailout.
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Thomas Cook Place & Distribution Strategy:
Following is the distribution strategy in the Thomas Cook marketing mix:
The stores of Thomas Cook are available all over the world in forms of physical stores and online stores. A survey result showed that 40% people prefer dealing in face-to-face situations. The company had its headquarters at Peterborough, United Kingdom, and now has its operations based out of China. Thomas Cook India opened its first office and started its operations in Mumbai. It soon expanded to Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.
Thomas Cook India acquired Travel Corporation and holiday lifestyle company, Sterling Holiday Resorts.
Thomas Cook Promotion & Advertising Strategy:
The promotional and advertising strategy in the Thomas Cook marketing mix is as follows:
The company promotes its business by showcasing its holiday packages under the following themes: festive holiday, fusion holiday, group tours, cruise special holiday, adventure holiday, beach holiday, Honeymoon special. Thomas Cook has launched several ads in magazines, newspapers, Hoardings, TV, Internet and YouTube. It also has an active social media profile where it actively engages with its customers. It posts various blog posts, Discounts, trivia related to world scenario. Thomas Cook sponsors big events to increase its brand visibility. It has been the sponsor of London Olympic Games, football clubs like Manchester City and Peterborough united. The tagline of Thomas Cook is “Let’s Go”.
Since this is a service marketing brand, here are the other three Ps to make it the 7Ps marketing mix of Thomas Cook.
People:
Thomas Cook being a service brand, focuses on its customers as well as its workforce. The workforce includes trained employees who are with the sales team or are tour guides who take tourists. Thomas Cook has its operations along with Fosun International in China. On the other hand, Thomas Cook India is present at over 50 Indian cities and has over 5000 employees.
Physical Evidence:
It has a tie-up with more than more than 150.000 hotels outside India. Thomas Cook has started its airline venture in the year 1999. Thomas Cook has also launched its forex mobile app to cater to international travelers. Thomas Cook merchandize like bags, pens, books, caps, jackets etc. form the physical presence of the brand. Also, all the offices are the biggest touch points of the company, where customers meet and greet the employees face to face.
Process:
There are several business processes which Thomas Cook follows. Customer acquisition is done by lead generation through ads or marketing. Once customers come for enquiry, customization is done for customers as per their requirement. After this, Thomas Cook takes care of all the documentation, visa processes, currency exchange etc. Once a tour commences, the company ensures all partner hotels, logistics, airlines etc. deliver the best experience to its customers. This forms the back bone process for the company. Hence this concludes the marketing mix of Thomas Cook.
About Thomas Cook:
Thomas Cook was an English businessman, best known for his travel agency Thomas Cook and Son. Thomas Cook was born in Melbourne, Derbyshire to John and Elizabeth Cook. Thomas started working at a very young age. At the age of 10, he started working as an assistant for a gardener. In his later years, he became a Baptist missionary. On 5 July 1941, Cook accompanied around 500 people for a return train journey. They paid him 1 shilling each on this excursion. The following summers, he started planning and carrying out guided local tours for Sunday school children and temperance societies. On 4 August 1945, Thomas arranged a traveling excursion from Leicester to Liverpool. In 1851, he arranged a travel to Great Exhibition in London. He arranged the packaged travel for 150,000 people. In the year 1855, he executed his first excursion abroad. The places included traveling to Germany, France, and Belgium. The tour ended at an exhibition in Paris. In 1872, Thomas Cook collaborated with his son John Mason Cook. The renamed his company to Thomas Cook and Son. They opened their first shop on Fleet Street in London. Apart from travel packages, they sold travel guides, traveling accessories, luggage bags, footwear, etc.
Thomas Cook modified his business model and along with his son launched the first ‘hotel coupon’ in the year 1868. In 2019, the Thomas Cook brand name was acquired by Chinese company Fosun International after a bailout of more than $1 billion.
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