MARKETING MIX

The purpose of marketing is to create a customer, to persuade him to purchase the

product, inspite of the options open to him to either buy from someone else or not buy at
all. It is a well recognized axiom that the customer pays not for the product, but for the
satisfaction he desires. To begin with, only the customer knows what would satisfy him.
Or does he, really? It thus becomes imperative to know who the customer is, or can be;
to determine what satisfies him or does not; or, even to change his perceptions and
bring around to recognize the possibilities inherent in the offer being made.

Because services are usually produced and consumed simultaneously, customers are
often present in the firm’s factory, interact directly with the firm’s personnel, and are
actually part of the service production process. Also, because services are intangible,
customers will often be looking for any tangible cue to help them understand the nature
of the service experience. These facts have led services marketers to conclude that
they can use additional variables to communicate with and satisfy their customers.

Marketing mix is a significant facet in marketing. It is used as a tool by the companies to

satisfy or communicate with the customers. The marketing mix includes all the
variables a company can control in planning and implementing its marketing strategies
and meeting its marketing objective. It comprises of 8 P’s namely Product, Price, Place,
Promotion, People, Physical Evidence, Process and Productivity and Quality. These
elements appear as core decision variables in any marketing text or marketing plan.
The notion of mix implies that all of the variables are interrelated and depend on each
other to some extent.

PRODUCT
Product refers to an offering that a company designs and offers for sale to the
customers. It also includes the services that accompany the product. For example, by
taking passengers from one destination to another; transportation companies are
essentially selling a service. But, the biggest problem a travel service marketer faces is
determining what to sell and to whom. As an agent there is not much that can be done
about the activities of his principals, or those on whom he must depend: be they airlines,
or hotels, Government or foreign embassies, local transport operators or their agents
abroad. Thus, the need is to be both, circumspect and selective. The tourism industry of
a country depends on two major factors, conveyance and accommodation.

a. Transportation

Transport ‘is acknowledged as one of the most significant factors to have contributed to
the development of tourism’. Transport links the tourists to the destination, attractions
and resources they consume and impact upon during their leisure time when on holiday.
Not only is it the dynamic element in the tourism supply chain but is also an integral part
of the tourism industry. Tourists in any country have the choice of three types of travel:
by air, by surface and by sea, although some of the inland countries may not prefer the
third choice.

Road services

Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) set-up in 1966 provides facility in the
country with a fleet of cars, limousines, air-conditioned coaches and mini-buses. Over
and above these luxury items of travel, private operations also have a sufficiently large
number of cars and coaches which are neat and clean as well as comfortable; however,
they may not always be air conditioned.
Rail services

A number of high speed trains are operated in time-saving journeys like the Rajdhani
Express and Shatabdi Express. The luxury trains operated to encourage foreign
tourists are the ‘Palace – On - Wheels’, ‘Royal Orient’, ‘Shivalik Palace’ etc. Toy trains
for a joy ride up the hill run in Ooty, Shimla, Matheran, etc. The railways in India
provide hill station concessions also, provided the distance between the starting station
and the hill station desired to be visited is more than 700 km. For students and other
groups of people, the railways provide ‘tourist coaches’, with attached kitchens etc.
Bonafied students and their groups also get fairly cheap tickets for their tours. The
foreign tourists of all income groups are practically out of range of these concessions
except probably for hill station concession.

Air services

The travel trade in India has received its impetus from the growth of civil aviation in the
country. An unprecedented growth has been witnessed in the airline industry, with the
era of low cost airlines. In the process of marketing, airlines are often helped by travel
agencies, which have become the principal marketing arms of airlines; some 90% of
international airlines sales and over 60% of the domestic sales are affected by agents,
big and small. They have a vested interest in selling the airlines product that is a seat in
the plane, because they are compensated by airlines through generous commission,
sweetened by other overriding factors. The advantage to airlines is that agents earn
commission on only what they sell. But, is airlines open their own offices to sell their
product directly to customers, they end up incurring huge overheads.

Waterways

Waterways are one of the important modes of transports as it is useful in connecting

islands to the main city or nearest landscape. The various means of transportation that
come under the waterway category, can be Ships, Ferries, Cruises, Liners, Boats,
Motor Boats, etc. However, Cruises are the only water transport that provides
accommodation for one or more nights. Apart from being a mode of transport, waterway
is also an attraction for most tourists especially children.

Example: ‘Kerala house boat’ cruises from Allepey to Kumarakom or round trip from
Allepey to Allepey; small cruise liners from Cochin to Agatti for leisure packages at
Lakshadweep islands; in Kerala, waterways are commonly used means of transport to
get to small islands like Poovar islands in Trivandrum can be reached only by a speed
boat transfer from the jetty.

b. Accommodation

Accommodation is fundamental requirement for tourists who stay overnight in a locality

and it comprises a significant sector of the tourism industry. Accommodation and its
tariff may be of several types, depending on the nature of the establishment and the
facilities offered to the guests using them. Some of the different kinds of establishments
available in India are:

• Hotels - Houses with different kind of facilities available to the guests and is situated
at a very convenient place within the city.
• Motels - Modest hotels, situated on the highway and they are provided with a
garage, i.e. the provision for parking, repairing etc.
• Traveller’s Lodges – Hotels situated in remote places of tourist interest.
• Youth Hostels – These are situated within the town and are expected to provide
neat and clean accommodation that young people require.
• Dak Bungalows - Small rest houses with around eight rooms, set-up by the
government primarily for the government officials travelling on government duty.
• Circuit Houses – Superior dak bungalows with well furnished rooms for superior
government officials.
• Guest Houses – They consists of a few rooms within the private houses totally
managed by a landlady.
• Railway Retiring Rooms – Situated within the railway stations and are rented on
fixed reasonable rates to bonafied railway passengers holding current tickets.
• Dormitories - These are halls with several individual beds but the inmates have a
common bathroom and toilet.
• Dharamshalas - These are lodges constructed and maintained for religious benefits
by benevolent individuals or trusts.
• Apartments – Large houses are given by the owner to the families coming to leisure
destinations for use during their holiday at competitive prices.

a. Recreation

Recreation refers to any physical or psychological revitalization through the voluntary

pursuit of leisure time. In other words, it is the use of leisure time to satisfy such desires
as restoration or enhancement of mental and physical health, amusement by means
such as entertainment, play which can help in relaxation & exercise, adventure which
generates excitement and challenges, or education, whether organized or incidental. To
satisfy these desires, an ever-increasing variety of experiences is sought by those who
have the time to participate in them and the means to pay for them.

Sometimes, recreation is also defined as the employment of time in a non-profitable

way, in many ways such as therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. Recreation
is often distinguished from leisure. Where leisure is, or ought to be, restful, recreation is
refreshing and diverting. As people in the world's wealthier regions lead more and more
sedentary life styles, the need for recreation has grown. The rise of so called active
vacations exemplifies this. Following are the activities which are relaxing to humans or
provide diversions from their normal routine:

• Amusement parks such as Essel World, Disney Land, etc.

• Various Spas and Health related parlours,
• Multiplex Cinemas such as CineMax and Fame Adlabs which have reclining seats
and massage chairs, etc.
Example: Spa holidays have gained popularity in the recent years. More and more
tourists get attracted towards spa holidays as they are a very effective tool for
refreshment and relaxation. Anand Spas in Himalayas is witnessing a steady growth in
the number of tourists that visit them every year.
 a. Restaurants

Restaurants serve as one of the products of the tourism industry. These may be divided
into five main categories as below:

• Classical Restaurants
These groups of restaurants emphasize gourmet-style cuisine and are operated into
European tradition. The best traits of these kinds of restaurants are their elegant
surroundings and a well trained highly disciplined staff.

• Speciality Restaurants
This category of restaurants specializes in providing a particular cuisine to the tourists.
These may include steak houses, sea-food restaurants, and health-food restaurants.
• Family-Style Restaurants
This category of restaurants features a consistent level of food quality and services
which reflects their reliability to the customers. They create a sense of security and
appeal to a large cross-section of the public.

• Fast-Food Outlets
Typically fast food establishments are designed for efficiency and convenience, with a
self-service encounter, a limited menu, and competitive prices.

• Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous restaurants include theme restaurants, fine dining restaurants, oriental
food, and Jain food restaurant. These have gained significance in the recent years due
to the booming tourism industry.

a. Attraction

A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit. Visitors can include local
residents, day-trippers or people who are traveling for business or leisure purposes.

Formal definitions exclude shops, sports stadium, theatres and cinemas, as these meet
a wider purpose; although in practice, tourists may consider the excluded categories to
be tourist attractions. Many tourist attractions have a higher concentration of hotels and
motels located nearby.

Types of attractions

• Aquariums

• Temple, mosques, or any places of worship

• Botanical gardens

• Casinos, poker rooms

• Haunted houses
• Monuments & landmarks

• Museums and art galleries

• National parks and forests, theme parks and carnivals

• Pubs & clubs

• Stadiums & arenas

• Summer camps

• Ethnic enclave communities, historic ruins and cultural events

• Universities, colleges & schools

• Water parks

• Zoos

• Palaces

• Forts

Example: There are many popular tourist attractions in Mumbai. The Gateway of India,
the Prince of Wales Museum, Siddhivinayak Temple, Mahalaxmi temple, The Tomb of
Haji Ali, the beaches, hanging garden, marine drive, Film City, etc.