Singapore Airlines company overview and operations

¶ … Learning Journal

In the second week, we decided to carry out a marketing audit assignment for Singapore Airlines. The members were requested to carry out a research on the basic information as well as background on the company and the airlines industry in general.

The Areas to look at: competitors; services; suppliers; new product offerings; market process; how the company get its new customers as well as maintain the existing ones;the relationship management system;; integrated approach or separate; fulfillment management; does the company's mission statement reflects any element; such as product; customer oriented or market oriented as well as business links.

Websites, Journals, Newspapers

Wirtz, J & Heracleous (2009)Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy

Source: Journal of Air Transport Management 15 (2009) 274 -- 279

This article describes the dual marketing strategy used by Singapore Airlines. It describes the reason as to why the airline has managed to consistently defeat its competitors in the rough environment. The article describes the concept of dual differentiation via service as well as innovation.

3.Glossary of terms

Integrated marketing Communications (IMC)

This is the coordination as well as the integration of all of the available tools of communication, sources within a given firm and avenues into a program which is seamless in order to maximize the impact on customer as well as other end users at a considerably minimal cost (Clow and Baack,2007).

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

Q1. Describe in your own words the process of marketing strategy.

1) Research as well as Situation analysis

2) investigate the market and product gap as well as whether it is a new product

3) Develop the main goals and objectives

4) Identify the target market/audience

5) Perform a SWOT analysis

6) Perform a Competitors analysis

7) Develop communication strategies

8) Media analysis

9) Budget analysis

10) Implementation as well as timeline

11) Control as well as evaluation

12) Recommendation

Q2. How can a business strategies and marketer realize that he or she has effectively identified and comprehended the current trends that are critical to the success of the company in the marketplace.

Via;

External analysis which includes

Environmental analysis (PETSEL analysis-Political, Environmental, Social, Economic and Legal)

Customer analysis (segmentation, unmet needs as well as motivations)

Competitor analysis

Analysis of customer analysis (size, profitability, growth, trends, distribution systems and cost structure).

Q3.How can one tell if a given marketing strategy is fruitful?

This is through internal analysis

Performance (sales, customer satisfaction, brand image, product portfolio)

Determinant of various strategic options ( past as well as current strategies)

ROI (Aaker and Mills, 2005)

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit http://mahdzan.com/papers/sia/SINGAPORE_AIRLINES.pdf

6.References

Aaker, D. & Mills, M. (2005). Strategic market management. Pacific Rim Edition, Wiley.

Clow, KE.; Baack, D. (2007). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications 3rd edition. Pearson Education. pp. 9 -- 10. ISBN 9780131866225.

Wirtz, J & Heracleous (2009)Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy

Week 3 Corperate and business Strategy

Your ideas and reflective learning journal

Wirtz, J & Heracleous (2009)Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy

Source: Journal of Air Transport Management 15 (2009) 274 -- 279

Business Level strategy

Singapore Airlines is poised/positioned as the premier carrier having high innovation levels as well as excellent service levels.The company has made a very strategic choice of providing priority to its profitability over its size. The internal practices within the organization like the continuous investment in its people as the rigorous design of their services are indicated by Heracleous and Wirtz (2008) as the main aspects of the firm's operationalization as well as sustenance of the company's positioning and the strategic choice.

In regard to the business level strategy, the company has succeeded to create aniche in the delivery of premium services to various demanding customers. They therefore achieved differentiation through this strategy. Heracleous and Wirtz (2008) suggested that this achievement is a great challenge to the Porter's proposition on differentiation as well as cost leadership via a core competency of an extremely cost effective excellence ion service that is intertwined with self-reinforcing system of activities and processes.

Doganis, R., 2006. The Airline Business, second ed. Routledge, Abingdon.

Source: Routledge,

Corporate level strategy

At the corporate level, Singapore Airlines employs a related diversification strategy . The airline has thirty six subsidiaries as well as associated companies as pointed out by Singapore Airlines (2008).The group includes Singapore Engineering Company, Singapore Airlines Cargo and Singapore terminal Services. As part of its international strategy, it joined the Star alliance.

Information technology has been shown to be key to growth and profitability of the company.They use their website in enhancing their customer experience by allowing check ins, schedules as well as ticket purchases. The same website is used for the management of the Krisflyer (frequent flyer) account (Doganis, 2006).

Direction policy matrix in addressing which businesses a particular corporation is worth investing in (Holloway,2008,p.6). The direction policy matrix on the other hand is important since it helps a company to effective measure its strengths as well as to pursue it. The group operates in several regions such as East Asia, South West Pacific, Europe, Americas as well as Africa.

3.Glossary of terms

Strategy- Strategy is the direction as well as the scope of a given organisation over the long-term period: which effectively provides an advantage for the organisation via its configuration of the resources that lie within a very challenging environment in order to meet the various needs of the markets as well as to fulfil the expectations stakeholder (Johnson and Scholes,2006).

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

Q1.What business level strategies does Singapore Airlines employ in their marketing operations?

Singapore Airlines is poised/positioned as the premier carrier having high innovation levels as well as excellent service levels.The company has made a very strategic choice of providing priority to its profitability over its size. The internal practices within the organization like the continuous investment in its people as the rigorous design of their services are indicated by Heracleous and Wirtz (2008) as the main aspects of the firm's operationalization as well as sustenance of the company's positioning and the strategic choice.

In regard to the business level strategy, the company has succeeded to create aniche in the delivery of premium services to various demanding customers. They therefore achieved differentiation through this strategy. Heracleous and Wirtz (2008) suggested that this achievement is a great challenge to the Porter's proposition on differentiation as well as cost leadership via a core competency of an extremely cost effective excellence ion service that is intertwined with self-reinforcing system of activities and processes.

Q2. Q1.What corporate level strategies does Singapore Airlines employ in their marketing operations?

At the corporate level, Singapore Airlines employs a related diversification strategy . The airline has thirty six subsidiaries as well as associated companies as pointed out by Singapore Airlines (2008).The group includes Singapore Engineering Company, Singapore Arilines Cargo and Singapore terminal Services. As part of its international strategy, it joined the Star alliance.

Information technology has been shown to be key to growth and profitability of the company.They use their website in enhancing their customer experience by allowing check ins, schedules as well as ticket purchases. The same website is used for the management of the Krisflyer (frequent flyer) account (Doganis, 2006).

Direction policy matrix in addressing which businesses a particular corporation is worth investing in (Holloway,2008,p.6). The direction policy matrix on the other hand is important since it helps a company to effective measure its strengths as well as to pursue it. The group operates in several regions such as East Asia, South West Pacific, Europe, Americas as well as Africa.

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit

I was inspired by the following websites http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2008/08/singapore_airlines_winning_str.html

http://hbr.org/2010/07/the-globe-singapore-airlines-balancing-act/ar/1

6.References and bibliography

Doganis, R., 2006. The Airline Business, second ed. Routledge, Abingdon.

Johnson, G. And Scholes, K. (2005) "Exploring Corporate Strategy." 7th Edition

Wirtz, J & Heracleous (2009)Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy

Week 4 Understand Marketing Opportunities -Market Analysis

Your ideas and reflective learning journal

In week four, we carried out an analysis of the market in which Singapore Airlines operates. The main objective was to lay bare the marketing opportunities that existed for the airline to focus on.

3.Glossary of terms

Q1.What is market analysis?

It is a special marketing research that is carried out in order to yield information on a given marketplace (Random House Dictionary, 2011)

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

Q1.What marketing opportunities exists for SIA?

The company can use the internet to provide coupons for the frequent fliers as well as integrated marketing communication plan

Q2.What marketing tools are employed by SIA in its operations?

The internet, print and other forms of non-print media

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit

6.References

Random House Dictionary (2011).Market Analysis

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/market+analysis

Week 5 Understand Consumer V.S. Organisation Markets and Behaviour

Your ideas and reflective learning journal

In week 5, we studied the concept Consumer V.S. Organisation Markets and Behaviour.This was important in order to help us in the identification of how the concept of differentiation and segmentation are used in order for an organization to realize profitability.

3.Glossary of terms

Consumer behavior

Consumer behavior is the study of how, when as well as where individuals do or fail to buy a given product.It is all about the decision making process sprior to buying or declining to buy a product (Bello,2008)

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit

6.References

Bello, L (2008).Consumer behavior.

http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/NOUN_OCL/pdf/mkt%20724.pdf

WEEK 6 Measuring Market Opportunities: Forecasting and Market Knowledge

In week 6 we studied how to Measure Market Opportunities by using forecasting and Market Knowledge to fully exploit the present and future market opportunities

Your ideas and reflective learning journal

3.Glossary of terms

Market forecast: This is the prediction of future market conditions and determinants (Timmermann and Granger,2004)

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

Q1.What can be predicted worth consumer and market forecast techniques

Future consumer trends

Future demand

Future supply

The emergence of new and improved trends

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit http://articles.mplans.com/what-is-a-market-forecast/

6.References

Timmermann, A and Granger, C (2004).Efficient market hypothesis and forecasting. International Journal of Forecasting 20 (2004) 15 -- 27

Week 7 Differentiation stategies and positioning

2. Your ideas and reflective learning journal

In week 7, we embarked on the analysis of the various differentiation as well as positioning strategies used by SIA.

3.Glossary of terms

Differentiation-

Kotler (2008) defined differentiation as the act of deliberately designing a set of very meaningful differences to help in distinguishing the offerings of a company from those of their competitors

Positioning-

Positioning is defined by Kotler and Keller (2006,p.310) as the "act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the mind of the target market."The main objective of positioning is to offer and image to effectively occupy a very distinct space in the customer's mind.

4.Nominated tutorial questions & answers

Q1.What is differentiation and how is it accomplished at SIA?

The airline industry is noted as a service industry. The basis of differentiation in this industry lies in the manner in which customers are treated. The stewardesses at Singapore Airline are elegantly dressed with dresses that are elegantly crafted. They are designed by the very famous Pierre Balmain fashion house (Chan, 2002). The passengers are provided with good quality food which is served with warm and bright smiles, warm towels as well as with a lot of attention. Singapore Airlines is actually the pioneer of "no frills."

Q2. What is positioning and how is it achieved at SIA?

The company has introduced a very innovative form of raffles Class SpacBed. In regard to brand differentiation, the airline is uses its name and the 'Singapore Girl' as icon to help in service its customers. The company was the very first airline to offer free food as well as alcoholic beverages on its flights which are served by the famous and loved 'Singapore Girl'The airline is positioned as an excellent premier carrier that has high innovation levels as well as excellent services at various levels.

5.Any creative websites, scanned articles, things that provide you with motivation or ideas for your audit http://www.venturerepublic.com/resources/singapore_airlines_-_an_excellent_asian_brand.asp

6.References

Chan, D ( 2000). The Story of Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Girl. The Journal of Management Development. Bradford: Vol. 19 (6):456-473.

Kotler, P. (2008): Principles of Marketing (5th European ed.). Harlow, Essex: Prentice Hall.