The purpose of this report is to provide a Marketing Plan for Ryanair, which is developed to strengthen the company’s position in the market. It is precisely tailored to the company’s actual organizational situation and its market environment.
The report deals with analyses of Ryanair Holdings plc and its core business – low cost flights – with regards to get a status of its performance and the actual market situation in order to develop a suitable and successful marketing strategy.
Ryanair offers low cost passenger flights within Europe. The airline serves short haul, point-to-point routes between Ireland, the UK and Continental Europe. Our idea is it to keep the product as simple as possible. Passengers travel ticketless without any frills in one class without any seat – it is simple air transportation from A to B.
The external environment in Europe favors Ryanair and the entire low-cost airline market with an air traffic growth of up to 20%. Regarding the competitive environment Ryanair - with a clear strategy and structure - gains in importance and already became the market leader in the intra-European low-cost airline market – closed-packed with Easyjet and followed by Air Berlin. With its 35 Mio passengers in 2006 and an excellent profitability on a high level of 20% is growing healthy and shows strong financial reserves of more than €2 billion.
Our customer is anyone within Europe in the age between 15 and 64, who wants to save money and still be able to travel by air to attractive destinations. This awareness of different passenger types requires marketing campaigns that cover all categories of potential customers. With this in mind we developed a Marketing Plan with specific tactical marketing activities.
We have ambitious goals and objectives for further growth and market penetration in Europe within a time frame of 6 years till 2012. On the one hand we plan to raise the market share within the low cost sector up to 40%. With our growing fleet of 200 airplanes in 2012, we want to double our annual passenger transportation to 80 million by then. On the other side we plan to eliminate the rest of our costly call centers and base the distribution only on online booking.
These concrete plans base on a realistic financial plan.The included best and worst case scenarios illustrate clearly that with implementing and executing all activities properly, the airline can quadruple its annual profit up to €1,230 billion in 2012.
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- 1 Introduction: Ryanair Holdings plc
- 2 Situation Analysis
- 2.1 Analysis of the internal environment
- 2.2 Analysis of the customer environment
- 2.3 Analysis of the external environment
- 3 SWOT Analysis
- 4 Marketing Goal and Objectives
- 5 Marketing Strategies
- 5.1 Target customer profile
- 5.2 Product
- 5.3 Price
- 5.4 Place and Process
- 5.5 Integrating Marketing Communications (Promotion)
- 5.6 People and Physical Evidence
- 6 Marketing Implementation
- 7 Projected Profit and Loss Statement
- 8 Evaluation and Control
Objectives and Key Themes
The main objective of this marketing plan is to strengthen Ryanair's position in the European low-cost airline market and achieve significant growth over a six-year period (2007-2012). This involves increasing market share, passenger numbers, and profitability while simultaneously streamlining operations.
- Analysis of Ryanair's internal and external environments to assess its current market position and competitive landscape.
- Development of a comprehensive marketing strategy encompassing product, price, place, promotion, people, and physical evidence.
- Implementation of tactical marketing activities to enhance market penetration and customer awareness.
- Financial projections outlining anticipated profit growth and the impact of marketing initiatives.
- Establishment of robust evaluation and control mechanisms to monitor progress and adapt the plan as needed.
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: Ryanair Holdings plc: This chapter provides background information on Ryanair, highlighting its pioneering role in establishing the low-cost airline model in Europe. It details the company's history, current operational scale (fleet size, passenger numbers, turnover), and its mission statement, emphasizing its commitment to becoming Europe's most profitable low-cost airline through consistent cost-saving measures and service expansion. The chapter establishes the context for the marketing plan by presenting Ryanair’s existing position and ambition within the industry.
2 Situation Analysis: This section presents a comprehensive analysis of Ryanair's market environment. It explores the internal environment, examining Ryanair's current performance, including its market leadership, high profitability compared to competitors (EasyJet and Air Berlin), and detailed financial data. The analysis then delves into the external environment, likely highlighting the favorable growth of air traffic in Europe, presenting Ryanair's successful navigation of this environment and market leadership. Finally, it will cover a customer analysis, potentially identifying key customer segments and their needs, laying the foundation for targeted marketing activities.
3 SWOT Analysis: This chapter likely presents a detailed SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of Ryanair. It synthesizes the findings from the situation analysis, identifying the airline's internal strengths (e.g., cost leadership, operational efficiency), weaknesses (e.g., potential service limitations due to the no-frills model), external opportunities (e.g., increasing air travel demand), and threats (e.g., competition from other low-cost carriers). This forms a crucial step in guiding the development of effective marketing strategies.
4 Marketing Goal and Objectives: This chapter outlines the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals and objectives of the marketing plan. These likely include targets for market share growth, passenger numbers, and profitability within the specified six-year timeframe. The ambitious aims set the stage for the subsequent development of marketing strategies and tactics.
5 Marketing Strategies: This section details the core marketing strategies Ryanair will employ to achieve its objectives. It's likely to cover the specifics of the 7Ps of marketing (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence), detailing how Ryanair positions its offering in the market. This will include discussion of target customer segmentation, the low-fare, no-frills product offering, pricing strategies, distribution channels (including the strategic move toward online-only booking), promotional activities focusing on advertising and sales promotion, and the importance of staff training and overall customer experience.
6 Marketing Implementation: This chapter lays out the practical steps involved in implementing the chosen marketing strategies. It likely includes a detailed action plan with specific timelines and responsibilities, outlining how marketing budgets (allocated to advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing) will be used to execute the marketing plan. This chapter bridges the gap between strategy and execution.
7 Projected Profit and Loss Statement: This section will present the financial projections for Ryanair over the six-year period, showing how the implemented marketing strategies are anticipated to affect revenue, costs, and profits. It's expected to incorporate best-case and worst-case scenarios to assess the range of potential outcomes and demonstrate the potential for significant profitability increases. This demonstrates the financial viability of the plan.
8 Evaluation and Control: This chapter outlines the methods that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing plan and take corrective actions as needed. It would specify the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to monitor progress, the frequency of monitoring (monthly reviews are mentioned), and potential countermeasures to address unforeseen challenges or changes in the market. This emphasizes the plan's dynamic nature and adaptability.
Keywords
Low-cost airline, Ryanair, European market, marketing plan, market share, passenger growth, profitability, cost leadership, online booking, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, target customer segmentation, marketing implementation, financial projections, evaluation and control.
Ryanair Marketing Plan: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main objective of this marketing plan?
The primary objective is to bolster Ryanair's position within the European low-cost airline market, achieving substantial growth from 2007 to 2012. This encompasses expanding market share, passenger numbers, and profitability while optimizing operations.
What key areas are covered in the Ryanair marketing plan?
The plan comprehensively addresses various aspects, including an executive summary, a detailed situation analysis (internal, customer, and external environments), a SWOT analysis, marketing goals and objectives, marketing strategies (encompassing the 7Ps of marketing), marketing implementation, projected profit and loss statements, and finally, evaluation and control mechanisms.
What is the scope of the situation analysis within the plan?
The situation analysis provides a thorough examination of Ryanair's market environment. This includes an internal analysis of Ryanair's performance, a detailed look at the external environment (including factors like European air traffic growth), and a crucial customer analysis to identify key segments and their needs.
How does the plan utilize a SWOT analysis?
A SWOT analysis is a critical component, synthesizing findings from the situation analysis to identify Ryanair's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. This informs the development of effective marketing strategies.
What marketing strategies are detailed in the plan?
The plan outlines strategies encompassing the 7Ps of marketing: Product (low-fare, no-frills offering), Price (pricing strategies), Place (distribution channels, online booking), Promotion (advertising, sales promotion), People (staff training, customer experience), Process (operational efficiency), and Physical Evidence (overall customer experience). Target customer segmentation is also a key element.
What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) likely used to measure success?
While not explicitly stated, the KPIs would likely include market share growth, passenger numbers, profitability, and potentially customer satisfaction metrics. The plan emphasizes the establishment of robust evaluation and control mechanisms to monitor progress against these KPIs and make necessary adjustments.
What is the timeframe for the marketing plan's implementation?
The plan's implementation is projected over a six-year period, from 2007 to 2012.
What financial projections are included?
The plan incorporates projected profit and loss statements for the six-year period, illustrating the anticipated impact of the marketing strategies on revenue, costs, and profits. Both best-case and worst-case scenarios are likely included to assess the potential range of outcomes.
How does the plan address implementation and control?
The plan details practical implementation steps, including a likely action plan with timelines and responsibilities, as well as budget allocation for various marketing activities. The evaluation and control section outlines methods for monitoring progress using KPIs, the frequency of monitoring, and potential corrective actions to address challenges or market changes.
What are some key words associated with this Ryanair marketing plan?
Key terms include: Low-cost airline, Ryanair, European market, marketing plan, market share, passenger growth, profitability, cost leadership, online booking, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, target customer segmentation, marketing implementation, financial projections, and evaluation and control.
- Quote paper
- Sascha Mayer (Author), 2007, Ryanair and its low cost flights in Europe, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/87815
