A strategic market plan is an outline of the methods and resources required to achieve a public transit organization’s goals within a specific target market. It takes into account not only marketing, but also all functional aspects of a business that must be coordinated (i.e., finance, research and development, human resources, and marketing). The process of strategic market planning yields a marketing strategy that is the framework for a marketing plan. This component of the homepage focuses on the general elements involved in a public transit organization’s marketing plan.
A marketing plan is a written document that specifies the public transit organization’s resources, objectives, marketing strategy, and implementation and control efforts planned for use in marketing its operations. The marketing plan describes the organization’s current position or situation, establishes marketing goals or objectives for the transit system, and specifies how the organization will attempt to achieve these objectives. As such, a strategic market plan is not the same as a marketing plan; it is a plan of all aspects of an organization’s strategy in the public transit marketplace. A marketing plan deals primarily with implementing the market strategy as it relates to target markets and the marketing mix.
Figure 1 shows the components of strategic market planning. The process is based on the establishment of the public transit organization’s overall goals while staying within the bounds of the organization’s opportunities and resources. When the organization has determined its overall goals and identified its resources, it can then assess its opportunities and develop an overall corporate strategy. Marketing objectives must be designed so that their achievement will contribute to the corporate strategy and so that they can be accomplished through efficient use of the organization’s resources.
A marketing plan is a written document that specifies the public transit organization’s resources, objectives, marketing strategy, and implementation and control efforts planned for use in marketing its operations. The marketing plan describes the organization’s current position or situation, establishes marketing goals or objectives for the transit system, and specifies how the organization will attempt to achieve these objectives. As such, a strategic market plan is not the same as a marketing plan; it is a plan of all aspects of an organization’s strategy in the public transit marketplace. A marketing plan deals primarily with implementing the market strategy as it relates to target markets and the marketing mix.
Figure 1 shows the components of strategic market planning. The process is based on the establishment of the public transit organization’s overall goals while staying within the bounds of the organization’s opportunities and resources. When the organization has determined its overall goals and identified its resources, it can then assess its opportunities and develop an overall corporate strategy. Marketing objectives must be designed so that their achievement will contribute to the corporate strategy and so that they can be accomplished through efficient use of the organization’s resources.
Establishing a Mission and Goals
The goals of any public transit organization should be derived from its mission. Most successful public transit systems put their missions in writing in the form of a mission statement, which is a long-term view, or vision, of what the organization wants to become. A mission statement highlights the distinctive competencies of the particular public transit organizations vis-a-vis its competitors. Several reasons exist for the public transit organization to compose a mission statement, including:
* A mission statement gives the public transit organization a clear purpose and direction, which should help the organization to stay focused on its reasons to be in business.
* A mission statement describes the unique focus of the public transit organization that helps to differentiate it from similar competing organizations.
* A mission statement keeps the public transit organization focused on customer needs rather than its own abilities, leading to an external as opposed to internal focus of operations.
* A mission statement provides specific direction and guidelines to top managers for selecting from among alternative courses of action, helping to decide which business opportunities to pursue (e.g., higher frequency of customer pick-up or implementing a service for the elderly).
* A mission statement provides guidance to all employees and managers of a public transit organization, subsequently functioning as the “glue” that holds the organization together.
The goals of any public transit organization should be derived from its mission. Most successful public transit systems put their missions in writing in the form of a mission statement, which is a long-term view, or vision, of what the organization wants to become. A mission statement highlights the distinctive competencies of the particular public transit organizations vis-a-vis its competitors. Several reasons exist for the public transit organization to compose a mission statement, including:
* A mission statement gives the public transit organization a clear purpose and direction, which should help the organization to stay focused on its reasons to be in business.
* A mission statement describes the unique focus of the public transit organization that helps to differentiate it from similar competing organizations.
* A mission statement keeps the public transit organization focused on customer needs rather than its own abilities, leading to an external as opposed to internal focus of operations.
* A mission statement provides specific direction and guidelines to top managers for selecting from among alternative courses of action, helping to decide which business opportunities to pursue (e.g., higher frequency of customer pick-up or implementing a service for the elderly).
* A mission statement provides guidance to all employees and managers of a public transit organization, subsequently functioning as the “glue” that holds the organization together.
Organizational Opportunities and Resources
Once the public transit organization has established its mission and goals, it must then take stock of its opportunities as well as the resources it has available to take advantage of those opportunities. There are three major considerations in assessing opportunities and resources in the public transit marketplace, including: environmental scanning, evaluating market opportunities, and understanding the organization’s capabilities and resources.
* Environmental scanning refers to the process of collecting information about forces in the public transit system’s marketing environment. Companies can derive substantial benefits from establishing an "environmental scanning (or monitoring) unit" within the strategic planning group or including line management in teams of committees to conduct environmental analysis. This is important because results of forecasting research show that even simple quantitative forecasting techniques outperform the unstructured intuitive assessments of experts.
* Market opportunities refer to the right combination of circumstances and timing that permit an organization to take action toward reaching a target market. For example, in Uppsala, Sweden the local public transit company identified a target market niche about five years ago that focused specifically on the needs of the elderly. In this case, the combination of higher gasoline prices coupled with the larger number of elderly wanting to be mobile in the local community led to specialized public buses for retired people. While only two "elderly" routes were established initially, resulting in longer travel times for the passengers since the buses had to serve a larger area of the community, the new public transit offering was a success. The elderly got a public transit system targeted at their needs that included buses customized to have easy on and off access, and the company increased their market share since most of these customers previously had used taxis to get around.
* Capabilities and resources A public transit organization’s capabilities relate to distinctive competencies that it has developed to do something well and efficiently. Some organizations use their competencies to create a competitive advantage over their rivals. A competitive advantage is created when a company matches its distinctive competencies to the opportunities it has discovered in the market.
Once the public transit organization has established its mission and goals, it must then take stock of its opportunities as well as the resources it has available to take advantage of those opportunities. There are three major considerations in assessing opportunities and resources in the public transit marketplace, including: environmental scanning, evaluating market opportunities, and understanding the organization’s capabilities and resources.
* Environmental scanning refers to the process of collecting information about forces in the public transit system’s marketing environment. Companies can derive substantial benefits from establishing an "environmental scanning (or monitoring) unit" within the strategic planning group or including line management in teams of committees to conduct environmental analysis. This is important because results of forecasting research show that even simple quantitative forecasting techniques outperform the unstructured intuitive assessments of experts.
* Market opportunities refer to the right combination of circumstances and timing that permit an organization to take action toward reaching a target market. For example, in Uppsala, Sweden the local public transit company identified a target market niche about five years ago that focused specifically on the needs of the elderly. In this case, the combination of higher gasoline prices coupled with the larger number of elderly wanting to be mobile in the local community led to specialized public buses for retired people. While only two "elderly" routes were established initially, resulting in longer travel times for the passengers since the buses had to serve a larger area of the community, the new public transit offering was a success. The elderly got a public transit system targeted at their needs that included buses customized to have easy on and off access, and the company increased their market share since most of these customers previously had used taxis to get around.
* Capabilities and resources A public transit organization’s capabilities relate to distinctive competencies that it has developed to do something well and efficiently. Some organizations use their competencies to create a competitive advantage over their rivals. A competitive advantage is created when a company matches its distinctive competencies to the opportunities it has discovered in the market.
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