Kingbilli Country Estate a Current

Kingbilli Country Estate

A Current Marketing Situation

Kingbilli Country Estate is located in Victoria, to the northeast of Melbourne by about two hours. The estate promotes tourism based on the natural beauty and serenity of the area. The estate is a working farm, and this fact is incorporated into the marketing, to accentuate the rustic feel of the retreat. The estate is home to a wildlife rescue center, and is close to a number of wineries and other attractions (Kingbilli.com.au, 2000).

The current marketing situation is as low-key as the estate itself. There are multiple means of promotion. The website is small, and while informative is not kept up-to-date. There is no integration of the marketing function and purchasing, so booking online is impossible. Other promotion is done through local tourism publications. Because the business is relatively small, there is little budget for mainstream media promotion in Melbourne or other centers.

Kingbilli Estate is promoted as an ecotourism destination. The emphasis of the marketing message is on the natural surroundings and the animals. The guest experience is downplayed, despite the higher end price tag of the experience. This, however, differentiates the estate from many of the competitors in the region. The area is home mainly to high end destinations that are either ecotourism-oriented or retreat-oriented, with the only other competition coming from low-end motels.

The region's tourism development focus, and Kingbilli's primary market, is almost exclusively domestic. Ecotourism is Australia is on a slow 20-year growth trajectory. An industry association, Ecotourism Australia, was founded to promote the sub-market among Australians, in particular those seeking to explore their own country. In the ecotourism market, competition is moderate. The main competition comes from other regions of Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand. This competition is addressed at the regional level, by the Marysville Tourism Association. At the local level, the main competition for Kingbilli Estate comes from a handful of operators such as Wombat Cottage, Chestnut Glade Cottage and the Woodlands Rainforest Retreat.

The macroenvironment is favorable to ecotourism. This tourism sub-market has proven popular among upmarket Australians for its ability to deliver the natural setting and relaxation that have become unavailable in modern Australia's big cities. While tourism across the globe has suffered the impacts of the global economic meltdown, Australia was emerged from the crisis relatively unscathed. That said, the tourism industry in Australia is down, and expected to remain so for the next year or so.

For Kingbilli, the challenge is to translate its product -- the ecotourism aspect and the animal rescue aspect, into an appealing package for Australians. The challenge is in some ways compounded by the economic slowdown, which reduces the market for high-end vacation experiences. In other ways, however, there is opportunity. Whereas overseas ecotourism may be rendered less attractive by the economic climate, domestic ecotourism can leverage that competitive advantage to bring in more customers. That Kingbilli operates in a region with limited competition can help it to win more customers, yet there is enough competition that Kingbilli could work with its competitors to build the Marysville area as an ecotourism cluster.

B. Kingbilli Estate does not have a large marketing budget. The placement of promotion therefore must focus directly on the target market. The promotion should be Internet-based. This includes not only the website but the portals that will drive further business to Kingbilli, including those relating to ecotourism and tourism in northeast Victoria. The estate needs to focus its message on building relationships with customers so that it can cultivate strong word-of-mouth promotion and repeat business.

The price should reflect the quality of the experience that Kingbilli is promoting. The serenity of the estate that the ability to commune with nature means that the focus should be on a high price point, with a high level of service delivered for that experience. The price point may be the highest in the region, but Kingbilli should be wary of charging too high a price for what essentially is a special bed-and-breakfast experience rather than a five-star international resort experience. The product needs to reflect the pricing. Amenities and facilities should be first rate, although guests should be made to understand not to expect a top of the line service experience, as Kingbilli simply does not have the staff to support that.

The promotion at present emphasizes the nature and animals at the estate, but it does not focus on the quality of the experience that the customer will have. The promotion, while maintaining the low-key feel of the present promotion, should going forward emphasize the customer experience. Consumers are willing to pay a premium price if they feel that they are receiving a premium experience. Kingbilli needs to understand that its marketing must appeal to the consumer, to the consumer's perspective. This means ensuring that the message emphasizes the customer.

C. Kingbilli has a few strengths. The first is the animal rescue center, which allows customers to directly commune with nature. The second is the region, which is a bucolic region of Australia without mass tourism, but still within easy proximity of Melbourne. Such remote but accessible areas are generally considered to be among the best for ecotourism, because the remoteness is attractive (Hall & Boyd, 2005). The weakness of the estate is that it is not professionally run as a resort or tourism destination. It falls into the ecotourism category as much for its rusticity and lack of professionalism as it does for its ability to offer a truly nature-oriented experience. There are service gaps that will need to be addressed in order to justify high price points going forward. It is necessary to address these gaps because ecotourism appeals to a higher-end demographic than is presently being served by Kingbilli Estate (Bricker, 2002).

The economic downturn affords Kingbilli a tremendous opportunity to build its business anew. The Australian domestic travel industry has been growing rapidly for many years (Tourism Australia, 2009) and the downturn has made domestic travel more cost-competitive, in particular in the ecotourism sector. The industry did suffer early in the crisis (Creedy, 2008) but as the crisis eases opportunities arise. This opportunity arises because ecotourism in the Asia-Pacific region remains largely underdeveloped. There are a few direct competitors in the local area, but even at that there is plenty of market for everybody. Indeed, another excellent opportunity is to work with other similar resorts in the area to build an ecotourism cluster that will attract Australians to the area in general.