Virgin Atlantic Marketing Strategy & Marketing Mix (4Ps)
Marketing Strategy of Virgin Atlantic analyzes the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). These business strategies, based on Virgin Atlantic marketing mix, help the brand succeed in the market. Let us start the Virgin Atlantic Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution strategies:
Quick Glance:
Virgin Atlantic Product Strategy:
The product strategy and mix in Virgin Atlantic marketing strategy can be explained as follows:
Virgin Atlantic is one of the leading premium airline companies based out of US, serving American and international destinations. Virgin Atlantic has a fleet of 30+ airplanes as a part of its marketing mix product & service offering. It includes Boeing and Airbuses. Every airplane of Virgin Atlantic consists of three classes: Economy Class, Premium Economy, and Business Class. The Airlines is a premier airline which focuses majorly on quality.
It has superior quality cabins with wider leg space and wider seats. Like all the other airlines, they also provide Business and First Class passengers with Lounge Access, Priority Check-in, comfortable 180-degree seating, luxury facilities, etc. They have a different food menu for kids. The in-flight entertainment includes, games, movies, magazines, music,
Image: Wikimedia
Virgin Atlantic Price/Pricing Strategy:
Below is the pricing strategy in Virgin Atlantic marketing strategy:
Virgin Atlantic is a high-end airline. It has competitors such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, and Lufthansa.
All of them are best in class for the service they provide and are priced higher than economy flights. Although there are more customers for economy flights, Virgin is looking for quality over quantity. Virgin Atlantic believe that price should not be the driver for your choices, but quality and service should drive your choices. They cater to the higher-class people who are willing to pay higher for the services. Their customers include upper middle to higher class people, business professionals, influential personalities, etc. Although they are priced slightly over the economy flights, they have still priced themselves slightly lower than its competitors. Virgin Atlantic follow a comparative pricing strategy so that it stays in the market and people prefer them.
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Virgin Atlantic Place & Distribution Strategy:
Following is the distribution strategy in the Virgin Atlantic marketing mix:
It has limited flights of around 39 and serves only 29 destinations. It operates from three places in the United Kingdom namely London-Gatwick Airport, London Heathrow Airport, and Manchester Airport. Virgin Atlantic services or products are sold on various distribution channels.
One can book them on the internet through the official Virgin Atlantic Airlines website, various online travel websites, through local travel agents, and on phone through Virgin Atlantic customer support services.
Virgin Atlantic Promotion & Advertising Strategy:
The promotional and advertising strategy in the Virgin Atlantic marketing strategy is as follows:
Although Virgin Atlantic provides services at par with its competitors, it does not fare as well as it did earlier. There is hike in fuel prices which leads to lesser profits. People generally prefer low-cost airline for traveling and it is more convenient. That is the reason the market share of the economy carriers has been increasing. They have launched Social media campaigns to gain customers and connect with them. Richard Branson, the owner of the Virgin Group, is used by the PR extensively to create a huge brand image for Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Their Television advertisements are also very strategically made. They employ smart and beautiful women to attract passengers. In addition to that, the planes also have female names. Virgin Atlantic also run special offers based on seasons, destinations, types of customers. They hike and lower their prices accordingly. Their premium customers or the regular customers have a frequent flyer club “The Flying Club”.
Since this is a service marketing brand, here are the other three Ps to make it the 7Ps marketing mix of Virgin Atlantic.
Physical Evidence:
Virgin Atlantic operate from three places in the United Kingdom. They are present in almost every continent and serve 29 destinations. It has a Head Office in Crawley, United Kingdom. The Virgin Atlantic office carries out sales operations, call centres, baggage claims and tracing, support departments, and customer relations department. Apart from the head office, several other major offices are located around the world in cities like Norwalk, Dubai, Lagos, Shanghai., Hong Kong, Barbados, and Johannesburg.
People:
Virgin Atlantic have over 9000 employees. They take their people very seriously, be it, customers or employees. They treat their customers with utmost respect and comfort. They believe that people will come to you for quality even if they are priced a bit on the higher side. Virgin Atlantic employ warm and pleasant individuals so that they can instill that experience in their customer’s journey. They are also keen on employing young, beautiful women to attend to their guests so that their passengers feel comfortable and have a wonderful flight.
Process:
Virgin Atlantic products are tried and tested for quality so as to make sure that they provide maximum customer satisfaction. Customer market analysis is done. Then the products and services come to the public for the people to experience. When a customer wants to book a flight, they go to the official website or travel websites or local travel agents and book the flights. They are provided with flight tickets which include the itinerary and the luggage requirements. On arrival at the airport at the day of boarding, they are provided with check-in based on the type of class they belong to. They can also access lounges partnered with Virgin Group before they board the flight. This completes the marketing mix of Virgin Atlantic.
About Virgin Atlantic:
Virgin Atlantic is a British airline company. It has its headquarters in Crawley, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1984 by Randolph Fields and Allan Hellary. The current CEO is Craig Kreeger. The first flight was between London and Falkland Islands. It is a part of a larger company, Virgin Group, founded by Richard Branson. They were named British Atlantic Airways and were later renamed to Virgin Atlantic Airways.
The company is owned in parts by two larger companies. Virgin Group owns 51% of its shares and Delta Airlines owns the rest 49%.
This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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