1. Executive summary
EasyJet Airline aims to analyze its current business environment by using several strategic analysis tools. Assessing the internal and external business environment is the right approach to evaluate the competition and internal resources to react accordingly. The airline industry is highly competitive, and, of course, some competitive strategies are required to get an edge over other rivals. After introducing the EasyJet airline, a review of the Pestle analysis is illustrated. Furthermore, the competitive environment of the airline industry has been assessed through porter five forces. In the summary of the porter, the intensity of five forces is described. The customer’s behaviour changes with time and several factors play a vital role in changing minds. The analysis of the dynamic marketing capabilities tells that Easyjet airline likes to adopt new industry trends. Further investigation has been supported through SWOT analysis. Based on these analyses, the study formed some alternative marketing strategies. These marketing alternative strategies are linked with the newly developed objectives. Product development is the recommended marketing strategy for the company, as it can make the company able to reach more customers, and destinations. Also, the new product segment can hit new customer segments, which can increase market share, sales and profitability. Digital media initiatives must be streamlined to promote the brand in the competitive market. Appendices include comprehensive Pestle, Five forces, competitive analysis, Lehman & Winer model, DMU, 5Ws, Wang & Ahmed marketing resource model, and marketing mix initiatives.
2. Introduction of EasyJet Airline
Contemporary business needs an effective marketing strategy to enhance the visibility of attraction and positioning. Firms in different industries are targeting several customer segments through winning marketing strategies. However, it seems imperative for the management of the company to examine or analyse the current business and competitive situation. Several insights are to be derived from the current business situation to make effective future strategies. The study revolves around some essential strategic tools such as Pestle, Porter Five Forces, and SWOT. The study is divided into three different parts. The first phase of the study examines the current business situation. The second phase tells the aims and objectives of the company to secure the future and sustain the business process. The third phase illustrates several initiatives to meet strategic goals. It is a complete company analysis to make an appropriate marketing strategy in a competitive landscape.
Easyjet Airline is a British low-cost airline. It operates in 30 countries and covers 820 routes (Media Centre Easyjet, 2016). The company was founded in 1995. The demand for cheap air travel is increasing in the United Kingdom and many other countries. The firm’s expansion is triggered by acquisition, as it acquired many firms to expand the business, meet customer needs, and increase the market share in the competitive airline market. According to 2018 financial reports, the revenue of the company is £5,898 million (Perrella, 2018)
3. Where We Are Now
3.1 PESTLE Analysis of EasyJet Airline
Political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors create an impact on business operations. EasyJet must navigate these factors to identify potential markets. Particularly, in the United Kingdom, political support has lifted the airline industry, and the EasyJet is one of the prominent beneficiaries. On the other hand, economic growth of the country allows the firm to expand the business and become the major contributor to the economy. The literacy rate of the country is high, as people are well educated. The United Kingdom contains diverse culture along with different religious values. People and industry are tech-savvy, and the EasyJet airline must use modern technology to improve the services for customers. Legal integration is vital to sustain the business in countries. The environmental impact has emerged as a significant concern for several airlines, and the Easyjet airline is one of them.
Pestle analysis shows the potential of the market for this company. The firm must utilise its resources and capabilities to remove entry barriers and make a successful entry into a new market. In the United Kingdom, all pestle factors go in favour of the company. However, obtaining the impact on business operations of this airline is mandatory.
See Appendix 1
3.2 Porter’s 5 Forces model for EasyJet Airline
The porter five forces can help the management in deriving competitive insights. The competitive landscape may indicate some barriers to sustaining growth. Five forces are the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, threats of substitutes, threats of new entrants, and competitive rivalry. The power of buyer seems low because the switching cost for customers is high. Other competitors are providing low-cost flight operations. However, they are using secondary airports. The bargaining power of suppliers is high due to limited numbers. The threat of substitutes is moderate. Some companies manage to come up with low-cost flight operations. Some airlines are hitting the psychographic segment with luxury services. The threat of new entrants is quite high due to heavy capital investments. The rivalry among competitors is high regarding service quality, pricing, and differentiation. Major competitors are Air France and Lufthansa
See Appendix 2
3.3 Review of the Key Competitors: EasyJet Airline
Direct competitors of the company are Air France and Lufthansa. The competition among these companies exists regarding a particular root. For Instance, the Easyjet airline provides quality flight operations from UK’ Heathrow to Paris. These competitors also provide services from Paris to UK Heathrow and UK’ Heathrow to Paris. Thus, there is stiff competition due to quality, price, time, and facilities. On the other hand, the competition can be analysed by navigating future objectives, current strategies, resource portfolio, and future strategy. These competitors have been elaborated regarding these competitive elements.
See Appendix 3
3.4 Anticipated Key Changes in the Future Consumer behaviour
Trends of doing business have been changed in the competitive market. Companies are integrating with new marketing trends to come up with unique services for customers. The perceived value of the brand in the airline industry is necessary to meet the needs of customers. By aligning with the customer behaviour theory, the company can obtain some key customer insights. Customers may want different things in flight operations. For Instance, students and households have to travel several times a year. Due to their limited income level, they want low-cost flight services along with necessities. On the other hand, when a business executive travels in an airline, he may demand extraordinary things. Thus, based on customer behaviour, several customer segments and services can be shaped. In the airline industry, many factors are in the limelight, which create an impact on customer behaviour. For Instance, the Easyjet airline may depict attractive marketing campaigns to create the influence. Also, economic conditions are also a key factor. If a customer has a limited income level, he may prefer low-cost service. High-income people will prefer premium flight services. The firm must have to link with cultural, personal and psychographic factors when shaping strategies and designing different marketing campaigns
Customer Behaviour along with the Theory is illustrated in Appendix 4
3.5 Review of the Key Marketing Assets and Related Marketing Capabilities
The Easyjet airline has successfully sustained its relationship with the customer. Better customer relationship due to brand loyalty, trend integration, and superior services is quite visible in the presence of other major rivals. These are customer-based assets of the company. Conversely, Internal based marketing assets are a cost advantage, technical skill, and production expertise. The airline industry is competitive, and the cost is a major competitive element. The administration has developed low-cost measures. Easyjet airline always builds a strong force, which uses cognitive skills in the strategy implementation and decision-making process. The company has experienced customer attraction through differentiation. It is due to production expertise in the internal business environment. The supply chain assets are distribution control and distribution uniqueness. The firm reaches more than 800 destinations. Interestingly, it reaches different destinations, which are undone by the company and its competitors. Reaching this undone destination has made the distribution process unique, and customers are the main beneficiary. Alliance based assets are shared technology, access to the market, and access to management skills. It has been observed that the firm adopted the merger and acquisition strategy to expand the business and share the airline technology with other airlines. It is an effective market entry strategy that helps to remove several entry barriers. Alliance with other companies increased the market share of the company despite containing the small size as compared to other airline giants.
3.6 Review of Dynamic marketing capabilities: EasyJet Airline
· Absorptive: Medium
One of the prominent Absorptive capabilities is market sensing. Easyjet Airline integrates with new customers and market trends. The global airline industry is expanding with time. The global airline trend is to build a social place to enhance brand equity. Instead of just improving the services and using technology to differenbta5te the process, cultural or social integration is essential. Emotional and sentimental attachments with passengers are possible by developing the social place. Easyjet airline seems moderate in this regard, as the impact of limited market sensing is not high.
· Adaptive: High
Skilful internal force is capable of adopting trends in the market. Trend integration is remarkable, as the internal force assesses the market condition to produce the required service. However, the Easyjet is still finding a way to use the adaptive capability in gaining the competitive advantage. For Instance, targeting and positioning ability of the firm is expressional. Nevertheless, Easyjet airline needs more customer segments to grab the immense range of customers. The firm intends to adopt the new customer relation trends or techniques to demonstrate better interaction.
· Innovative: Low
The research and development process in this company is quite low. It creates barriers to building innovative capability. The firm is highly dependent on some particular routes to generate revenue. The flight operation has been seen the same for many years. It remains low because many other airlines are now way above regarding service development.
See Appendix 6
3.7 Review of Lack of Marketing Assets and Capabilities: EasyJet Airline
The firm failed to dominate the market, and it is due to limited operations, differentiation and innovative capability. The firm does not learn from the failures of many airlines. Instead of focusing on profitability and market share, expansion should be done regarding the product portfolio to target more customers. Blind business expansion has created barriers in dominating the market. Also, the information system must be improved to control the internal and external business process efficiency. The supply security and distribution networks create several operational barriers. Lack of exclusivity sometimes causes negative perceptions. Delayed service decisions hurt the company’s image in the market. The advertising and promotion are the weak points of the Easyjet airline. The firm did not utilise either traditional and digital media channels to promote its services.
See appendix 5 for further analysis
3.8 SWOT Analysis: EasyJet Airline
4. Where We Want to Be
4.1 EasyJet Airline SMART Objectives
- EasyJet Airline wants to increase its market share by 20%, as the firm aims to promote the brand through both traditional and social media channels.
- The firm aims to increase sales by 10% by developing more customer segments and enhancing the targeting.
- The firm intends to power up the brand strategy to increase customer retention by 10% in the competitive market.
4.2 Alternative Marketing Strategies
The cost of leadership is the first strategy that can be adopted by the company. The firm must develop new cost structures along with new cost measures to become the cost leader and retain lower prices for customers.
Product development can be an effective marketing strategy, as new products and segments may help to target new customer segments. It can open ways to increase sales and market share in different regions.
A comprehensive social media marketing strategy is another strategic option for the firm to reinvent the brand image and make people aware of the high quality, differentiated and tech-savvy flight services.
4.3 Recommended Marketing Strategy
The recommended marketing strategy of the company is to reinvent the brand through product development. It seems the best time to make a shift in the service line. Pertinent services for different customer segments can help to reach new destinations and target more customer segments. It can also increase the brand positioning and the brand equity. For Instance, developing the short haul electric flights can take it to the new destinations (Smout, 2017)
4.4 Target Segments & Competitive Positioning Map
The firm will hit the customer demographics, behavioural, and psychographic segment. For Instance, luxury service can be introduced for psychographic segments. Low-cost services will be retained for low-income people in the market.
5. How We Are Going To Get There
5.1 Digital Marketing Mix Initiatives
The digital marketing mix is linked with some essential initiatives. For Instance, EasyJet airline may identify new customer segments on social media channels (Chahal, 2017). Cultural integration is a key to enhancing better interaction. Instead of just focusing on visualisation and online campaigns, it must prioritise blogging, which streamlines the needs of new customers and proposes new flight services as solutions. The most important thing is to make customers informative. Also, live events can target customer segments on media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and many other channels (Goldman, 2018).
5.2 Monitoring We Are Going To Get There
Monitoring can be increased through tracking the marketing strategy and its impact on new segments. New social metrics are to be developed to know about the new service acceptance and impact on brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Increase in sales, brand loyalty, and happiness is essential measures.
See Appendix 9
Appendices
Appendix 1: PESTLE Analysis: EasyJet Airline
| Factor | Description | The implication for EasyJet |
| Political | Political stability is a significant concern for the company. However, political forces are hitting the business strategy of the firm. European political systems streamlined the deregulation or commercial aviation (Travel Weekly, 2011).
|
It creates an impact on all airlines, including competitors of the firm. Deregulation may provide a lead to reassess the business situation and make a better strategy. |
| Economical | People in the United Kingdom and whole Europe contain high-income level. They are optimistic regarding tourism and travelling. The travel industry is booming again. | EasyJet may conduct comprehensive customer analysis to embrace new trends, and it also supports the product development strategy of the company. |
| Social | People in this region like to travel on holidays. Customer taste and lifestyle in the United Kingdom and Franc has been changed. | EasyJet must introduce new flight services on holidays to increase sales and increase the market share |
| Technological | The airline industry in these regions became tech-savvy. The trend of E-Ticketing is in the limelight. Also, aircraft are embracing technologies, especially artificial intelligence and biometrics to become fuel efficiency airlines (Grahame-White, 2017). | Technology integration is the best way for an EasyJet Airline to justify its cost leadership, business strategy and differentiation in an intense rivalry. |
| Legal | Emerging environmental laws have emerged as major concerns. Reregulation force aircraft to align their business strategies. | Legal complications are useful for the company to modify its business structure. Legalizing the business is imperative to be relevant to different markets. |
| Environmental | Airlines must reduce the impact on the ecological effects. Emerging ecological regulations may also regulate flight operations regarding the use of fuel and quantity of raw material | EasyJet streamlines environmental measures to become a great contributor to the healthy environment. |
Appendix 2: Porter’s Five Forces: EasyJet Airline
| Factor | Description | The implication for EasyJet |
| Power of buyers | The low threat is due to the high switching cost. Low-income people cannot afford luxury flight services. Single buyers and travel agencies and online portals always find low prices and services to reach different destinations. | EasyJet Airline must keep its low-cost strategy to keep the power of buyers low, as it can increase both sales and market share. |
| Power of suppliers | Aircraft manufacturers are leading suppliers of airlines. The number of suppliers is low in the industry, and it makes this force high. The switching cost for airlines can be high, and it can also disrupt operations. | Focus on concentrated suppliers can be the right move. However, backward integration is also a key strategic option to reduce the supplier’s cost. |
| Threat of substitutes | The risk of substitutes in the industry is moderate. Ryanair provides low-cost services. However, on the other hand, companies like British Airways is charging more from customers due to its differentiated services and prominent brand equity | With new product development, the threat of substitutes can be eliminated. Developing a unique service is lucrative to make the difference. |
| Threats of new entrants | New entrants may face many barriers, and substantial capital investment is the prominent one. It seems sturdy for new arrivals to create the value due to brand loyalty and customer satisfaction Thus, it is a weak force | EasyJet is not afraid of new arrivals. It has to sustain its operations without structural change. |
| Competitive Rivalry | Ryanair, Air France, and Lufthansa are three companies, which created the fierce competition. Apart from quality, price and differentiation there are several competitive elements (Katz, 2016). | New customer segments, service segments, differentiation, cost measures, and marketing initiatives can help the firm get rid of this fierce competition. |
Appendix 3: Lehman & Winer Model, a Review of the Key Competitors
Jet.2 is new on this route, and therefore, it has less impact on EasyJet. However, Air France has already developed services along with unique customer segments to increase customer traffic from the UK to Paris. Price is the difference, which keeps it away from the EasJet airline. Lufthansa can hit the Easyjet because or low-cost considerations and differentiation.
Company Capability Profile: EasyJet Airline
| Key Success Factors | EasJet | Air France | Lufthansa |
| Brand Image | 12345 | 12345 | 12345 |
| Economic of Scale | 12345 | 12345 | 12345 |
| Research & development | 12345 | 12345 | 12345 |
| Service Quality | 12345 | 12345 | 12345 |
| Financial Strength | 12345 | 12345 | 12345 |
Appendix 4: Decision-Making Unit: EasyJet Airline
- Initiator
The initiator I the digital media marketing campaign for Easyjet Airline. It is the first move of the company to let the customer know about the new service and perceive the brand. It seems to share the knowledge through digital media channels to create urgency or hype.
- Influencer
Influencers are people, which experienced the service of the airline. Word of mouth can be increased.
- Decider
Traveller or passage is the decider, as he can decide to buy this service.
- Purchaser
The traveller will make the transactions with the company and become the purchaser
- User/customer
He will enjoy the flight and become a user of the service.
Appendix 5: 5Ws & H models: EasyJet Airline
Who are current and potential customers?
Business executives, students, athletes, and households are potential customers of the company.
What do customs do with our product?
Customers travel from UK’ Heathrow to Paris (Example)
Where do customers purchase our product?
A customer buys the service due to high quality, low cost, and brand image.
Why do customers select our product?
The customer selects the product due to differentiation, brand loyalty, and satisfaction
Why do potential customers not purchase our product?
Potential customers will not buy the service due to limited facilities and segments.
Wang & Ahmed marketing resource model (EasyJet Airline)
| Customer-Based Assets
Customer Relationship Market Domination Customer Satisfaction High-Quality Products |
Internal Support Assets
Cost leadership Strong workforce Knowledge sharing Strategic Alliances |
| Supply Chain Assets
Global Distribution Network Modern Supply Chain Technology Supplier Relationship Supply Security |
Alliance Based Assets
Market share Market access Technology share
|
Appendix 6: Review of the dynamic marketing capabilities: EasyJet Airline
Appendix 7: Review of the Dynamic Marketing Capabilities: EasyJet Airline
The firm looks good in the adaptation process. For Instance, competitors are sharp in this airline industry, and there is a need for exclusivity. Trends integration is another form of adaptation. Interestingly, the firm management has to create urgency in the internal business environment to embrace new flight service trends, and it must be depicted in the new strategy of the company.
Appendix 8: SAF Assessment (Product Development): EasyJet Airline
| Suitability | It is a suitable strategy because the firm is capable of developing low-cost services to reach more customers. |
| Accessibility | It is accessible because the low-cost structure of the firm reduces the research and development cost as well, and in the end, it can be accessed. |
| Feasibility | It is an entirely feasible strategy, as some improvisation such as changing the name, modifying prices, and targeting fewer destinations can do the job for the company. |
Appendix 9: Marketing Mix initiatives: EasyJet Airline
- Product
Differentiation is a product strategy. Unique service can increase the assertiveness of customers in the market. An adequate service line can meet the needs of travellers, and it can also increase the switching cost for customers.
- Price
The plan is to come up with the penetration pricing strategy, as it is workable and lucrative for the company. However, the firm can also demonstrate the skimming pricing for its luxury services.
- Place
Hitting new destinations in Europe is the best placement strategy, and the firm is quite ready to acquire local firms to own airports
- Promotion
The company will use both traditional and digital media channels. On traditional media channels, it can engage senior citizens (one of the proposed segments). Conversely, social media channels can enable interactions with new segments such as mountaineers, travellers, executives, and marketing personnel. Social media reviews are valuable, as accordingly, appropriate strategies can be set for the future.
Rationale Motivation
The future plan of the firm is to increase the buyer’s assertiveness through high quality flight services. Due to high quality, the firm will increase the perceived value of the brand.
Emotional Motivation
The firm will integrate with traveller’s interests, behaviour and needs. Making the journey enjoyable and comfortable can enable emotional and sentimental attachments with buyers.
Digital Strategy & Goals
The goal of the digital media strategy is to design comprehensive content that demonstrates excellent features of services. The content in digital or social media channels will also carry the environmental initiatives. The future plan is to become the eco-friendly pioneer, and social media has to play a vital role.
References
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Katz, B., 2016. EasyJet’s CEO Says Lufthansa and Air France Make It Easy to Pick Off Flyers. [Online]
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Perrella, E., 2018. Easyjet confirms order for 17 airbus a320neos, scores 42% rise in profits. [Online]
Smout, A., 2017. Britain’s easyJet aims for electric short-haul flights. [Online]
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Zhang, B., 2018. The CEO of Europe’s largest airline reveals how his company is thriving in the world’s toughest airline market. [Online] December 2018].;
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