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CHAPTER 4: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - Coggle Diagram
CHAPTER 4: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Itinerary Development (or Review)
The need
Review help operators provide maximum satisfaction for customers at a price that appeals to the market while remaining profitable.
The complexities of designing itineraries
Not only ascertain the principal components of the package but also consider the logistics at the destination, transport, activities, excursions and suppliers.
Design new packages but also review current offerings and make changes to their itineraries
Changes may be the result of customer feedback or the need to diversify to maintain a competitive advantage after reviewing sales and forecast planning or to address seasonality
Stages in Product Development
Review, research and planning
Review current portfolio
Boston consulting group matrix (BCG matrix)
The Product Life Cycle
Research the market and trend
The operator needs to evaluate whether they have the skills in-house or whether they will need to recruit specialist staff to develop further the initial product plan
Second stage of research
A specific destination may be identified, but if there is insufficient accommodation it isunlikely that an operator will continue to investigate that destination
Once the tour operator has identified a suitable destination, then analysis of the product development opportunities can begin
Product planning
Itinerary planning
Costing
Capacity
Marketing materials
Contracting
Contracting suppliers requires good communication and negotiating skills
Accommodation
Commitment
Allocation
Ad hoc
Transport
Brochure production
Brochure production and e-brochure production are key elements of the promotional materials and take time to prepare Product Development and produce because of the need to check and recheck information
Finalize sales and marketing plan
Promotional tactics to encourage sales, in addition to commission, can include cash bonuses, competitions and incentives
Recently the use of ‘webinars’ for training has become very popular as a way of training sales staff over large geographicregions
Other methods of encouraging sales include the familiarization trip (fam trip), sometimes termed educational, which historically was always seen as a perk of being a travel agent
Operations and administrative
staff training
Operations staff training
Administrative staff training
Recruit specialist staff
Product launch and subsequent
evaluation of sales
Once the product is in operation, the company will need to deal with any issues arising at the destination
For the customer, there is a higher degree of risk
Tour operators may also look to relaunch their brochures
Product review and post tour management, including quality review