How should Dayton Tours maintain connection with the market, including past and future customers?
How should Dayton Tours maintain connection with the market, including past and future customers?
What customer segments should the company target going forward?
How can the company communicate continued value to this market?
How can Dayton Tours adapt their product to evolving customer needs?
Should the company modify its pricing strategy in response to changes in demand and tour capacity due to Covid-19 regulations and customer expectations? Explain
Pro tips: Please do not summarize the case. You will be evaluated based on your use of marketing language, marketing theories applied and practical action steps proposed. Please focus on the marketing problems in this case, rather than on your personal experiences during COVID-19.
Attracting travelers post-pandemic disruption
By Richard Weaver and Mary Beth McCabe
Armando, the Marketing and Operations Manager was focused on his computer screen as his boss, the owner of Dayton Tours walked near his desk. He looked up with a disturbed look on his face and said, “Roberta, I’m glad you stopped by. I’ve been looking at our reservations for our fall trip to the Big Sur. I know it is several months away from now, but I don’t think we are going to hit the breakeven point for reservations. And that is what I am seeing for all of our tours through the end of the year.” Roberta stopped walking and gave a sigh. “I’ve been seeing the same thing. We knew restarting our tours at the end of this pandemic was going to be a challenge but didn’t think it was going to be so bad!” “We have contracted for the busses and the tour directors,” responded Armando. “And as you know they wouldn’t commit to us unless we guaranteed the contracts. Turns out, that was smart on their part.”
With a frown on her face, Roberta looked from Armando to the computer screen. “Building in proper social distancing certainly added to our costs. I’m still trying to figure in how to price our tours with that in mind.”
“I thought our past customers were eager to join us on our new tours,” said Armando. “So many of them have made it an annual tradition to be on one of our tours. But so many of them seem ready to break their traditions. So frustrating! We are so dependent on those repeat customers. We have kept up regular contact with them using email and direct mail. They have always worked before, but not this year.” Roberta met Armando’s eyes. “More than troubling! We have been using our tried-and-true approaches, but we haven’t seen the expected numbers. I don’t know whether the messages are just stale, what they want has changed, or the pandemic has just scared them too much to seriously consider traveling.” “I’ve talked to a few of our old customers,” Armando shared. “To my surprise, although they said they liked traveling with us, they were unable or unwilling to tell me why they might not this year. They said they had to think about it more.”
“You have talked with some customers and I have talked with a few other owners of small tour companies, like ours. They are reporting the same phenomenon. Everyone is running a bit scared, especially after we all have been closed for so long.”
“Did they have any ideas about what’s going on beyond the obvious that potential travelers are scared about getting on a tour and getting sick?” Armando inquired.
“We all are wondering if our markets have shifted. We aren’t sure whether everything will go back to what we considered ‘normal’ or are we looking at something that will be the ‘new normal’? Does Dayton tours need to change to a different market? Do we need to change what kinds of tours we are offering? Can we simply change how we describe our services, or do we really change our tours?
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