Tour operator Tennyson Travel Ltd - Case Study Example

Tour operator Tennyson Travel Ltd Introduction Worldwide the tourism industry is booming like never before. With the rise in cash-rich time-starved professionals across the world, the need for a family holiday is being felt like never before. The United Kingdom has emerged as the fifth most favorable destination after US, Italy, France and Spain according to the statistics provided by the organizers of the Confederation of British Industry.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1409881.stm) Tennyson Travel Ltd is a UK based tour operator which offers a complete range of holiday destinations which include activities like skiing, sailing, yachting, mountaineering, biking and walking. Formed from the amalgamation of Merryweather sailing, a pioneer in the field of water holiday tours and Tennyson Ski, a less successful ski tour operator, Tennyson Travels Ltd seeks to attain the best of both worlds. With two entirely different portfolios at hand, Tennyson was faced with the challenge of blending these two different holiday suits with varying levels of success into a seamless brand and gaining a big piece of cake in the tourism market. Merryweather had very successful system of maintaining a relationship with the customer. They leased their own hotels which were fully staffed by Merryweather employees. They were away from the noise and hustle and bustle of the more commercial areas. Tours were booked directly with Merryweather and resorts were booked according to client specifications. With a ratio of 1:8 for staff and guests, the services provided were customer focused and aimed at helping the customer relax and enjoy, prompting him to come back for the same experience. However same was not true for Tennyson Ski. The premises were scattered and not directly staffed by Tennyson employees and hence the personalized approach was entirely missing. With an abysmal ratio of one Tennyson ski employee for thirty guests, the customer focus was absent. Holidays were booked at the last moment and were mainly driven by prices thus leading to uncertainties. The two organizations were different in their operational areas, different in their modes of operation and most importantly different in their approach towards customers. Merging them into one company with uniform patterns and service level agreements was as god as mixing chalk and cheese. With these challenges in mind, Tennyson has unleashed a string of reforms and customer focused initiatives, which earned Merryweather Sailing its impeccable reputation, for its ski holidays also. However more such initiatives need to be taken to ensure that the Tennyson retains an edge over its competitors. http://tennysontravelnc.com/ http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2000/rp00-066.pdf Solution 2) Evaluate Tennyson's attempts at relationship building Tennyson realizes that a holistic view of the customers’ experience is important to determine their success at business and hence has taken many customer-friendly relationship building measures. Trying to implement the best practices of the Merryweather Sailing across organization will help build customer confidence and introduce a uniform set of practices across the organization. Focus on quality of products used, safety measures and partnerships with best in class manufacturers like snow and rock Salomon, David Lloyd and snow dome will further build customer confidence and company brand. Continuous training programs for staff and employees will update them with the latest market trends and the growing needs of customers. Training programs should focus on customer service and make the staff realize that they need to be passionate about their job in order excel in it. This will also ensure that they deliver better service to customers and are continuously adding to their skill sets. Sessions from business experts and eminent sports trainers will help in consolidating Tennyson’s reputation as a market leader and favored employer and increase employee retention The focus on trying to increase the customer life time value in the organization also is very realistic and set to reap enormous benefits in the long run. A satisfied customer taking service regularly not only adds to an organization’s kitty bag but also enhances its reputation and brings in more customers through word-of-mouth publicity. Introduction of more staff and touch points to help the customer get a comfortable feeling with the organization is of paramount importance. The move of employing ski gurus in resorts, though as a pilot program now, will open another touch point with the customers adding a personal touch to their overall experience. Interaction with customers on slopes, helping them with complex curves on the mountains and general interaction will add to the level of comfort experienced by a customer. Tennyson hire shops for equipments and gear and technique sessions will ensure that the customer is not hassled for searching the right equipment and getting the right training. BASI-endorsed ability system and certification and grades too contribute positively in this effort. 3) How could Tennyson's improve their relationship marketing strategy? Lord Marshall, the chairman of British Airways, correctly said “...customers now take the basics for granted and increasingly want a company to desire to help them [and] to treat them in a personal, caring way.” In this world of cut throat competition, Tennyson needs to carve out a niche for itself. It needs to differentiate itself from its competitors and that could be done only be presenting to the customers a balanced mix of quality and customer focus. With all customer centric initiatives in place, Tennyson needs to implement more strategies to have dedicated following of customers and a copious addition of new clients. The growing industry offers ample opportunities for this goal to be achieved realistically. The need of the hour is to identify more strategies which once put in place will help Tennyson achieve its mission statement of being the ‘preferred tour operator worldwide’. Few initiatives which could be taken are: a) Recognizing the employee: Employees and staff are the touch points for the customers. No mater how efficient the top management is or how customer friendly the organization policies are, it is the ground level staff which implements those. Without a trained and efficient staff, growth of a company is unimaginable. Training for the staff should be taken with utmost dedication. Sessions by the top management emphasizing on the importance of customer focus should be regularly held in addition to the regular trainings. Moreover an employee recognition program can work wonders for the employee motivation. Customer feedback should be taken on the employees who were constantly in touch with them and the ratings should be declared. Recognition of the top performer every month or quarter and an award system will induce a sense of healthy competition among employees to strive for the best which will serve the ultimate objective of the organization. Reward policy for top performers will also boost motivation and serve as an important parameter to keep attrition under check. b) Value for Money Deals: Tennyson must realize that the customers wish to take facilities which are value for money. Hence the tour packages should be designed in a way which offers best deals and best prices. Customers are ready to pay good price for good services and deals. Anything less and the customers move to another vendor. Hence the focus on delivering value for money deals should not be lost. c) Guest interaction should be promoted. Tennyson can organize campfires during tours as an additional program and promote interaction of guests amongst themselves. This would give guests a time to relax and gain acquaintance of fellow mates. These should provide Tennyson another opportunity to get a group feedback on its facilities. d) Best in class facilities: The facilities provided to guests should be the best in class. Untidiness and Inefficiency should be avoided at all costs. Guests should feel the comfort of their homes and should be able to relax completely to make their holidays a memorable experience. Free pick and drop facility from holiday hot spots to resorts should be provided. Customized tour packages should be offered i.e, guests should be given details on all holiday destinations nearby, from which they can pick and choose the ones which they wish to visit. e) Perks to regular customers: Regular customers should be handled with additional care. Repeat customers are a big asset for an organization. Points system on every tour booked with Tennyson can be introduced for such customers on which they can avail additional benefits like discounts on their next trip or a free trips every year or free advanced trainings on their next trip depending on the company policies. Resorts should maintain records on the likes and dislikes of these customers and should keep their feedbacks in mind when offering them services. These small gestures go a long way in having a delighted customer willing to do more business with you. Most importantly, word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools and these customers will provide ample of this to the organization thus contributing in its growth in more than one way. Customers can be offered additional discounts on providing references; else the referrals could be given a one time discount which results in a win-win situation for all. f) Safety foremost g) Build relationships with customers post departure This should constitute a major part of Tennyson’s customer retention policy. Once a Customer leaves , relationship building with him should not cease. Personal Data like Birthdays and anniversaries should be collected for all customers visiting Tennyson. New Year greetings and birthday and anniversary wishes should be duly sent along with latest tour promotional packages to plan for surprises. This not only bonds the customers and marks the beginning of a relationship it also promotes impulse buying. h) Perks to regular customers: Regular customers should be handled with additional care. Repeat customers are a big asset for an organization. Points system on every tour booked with Tennyson can be introduced for such customers on which they can avail additional benefits like discounts on their next trip or a free trips every year or free advanced trainings on their next trip depending on the company policies. Resorts should maintain records on the likes and dislikes of these customers and should keep their feedbacks in mind when offering them services. These small gestures go a long way in having a delighted customer willing to do more business with you. Most importantly, word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools and these customers will provide ample of this to the organization thus contributing in its growth in more than one way. Customers can be offered additional discounts on providing references; else the referrals could be given a one time discount which results in a win-win situation for all. Conclusion With the amalgamation of two entirely different tour specialists Tennyson has taken a step in a right direction by setting a uniform set of policies and customer focus majors. However many more innovative and customer friendly strategies still need to be implemented for Tennyson to continue holding on to its market share. But as long as Tennyson is focused on delighting the customer and improving on its weaknesses, the future seems bright. Supporting Appendices List of References Read More