5Cs of Marketing-
Companyi. Indigo Airlines invests heavily in R&D to maintain its leadership position in the airline
industry.
ii. The product and process innovation processes are strongly supported by top
management at Indigo and employees are encouraged to take part in decision making
process.
iii. Indigo Aviation attracts some of the best talent in its industry and the skill level of Indigo
Aviation existing workforce is very high.
iv. Indigo has large scale of production which enables the competitive strength of the
company and helps the company provide lower priced services to its customers.
v. Its financial position is strong which makes it easier for the company to expand into
newer segments.
Customersi. Indigo airlines target all the segments but predominantly focus on middle and lower
segments.
ii. This broadly targeted segments help the company have a wide range of opportunities.
iii. These targeted segments are expected to grow rapidly in the near future which keeps
Indigo as a company ahead of the curve.
iv. Indigo’s primary customers are frequent travelers, who are looking for lower priced
tickets, as their lifetime customer value is higher.
v. Indigo has to change keep itself up-to-date to the customers changing needs and to try to
accommodate these needs to the best of its capacity.
Competitorsi. The availability of a large number of alternatives and low economical and psychological
switching costs reduces the bargaining power of Indigo.
ii. This leads high bargaining power of buyers and low bargaining power of suppliers(Indigo)
which makes it difficult for Indigo to increase its market share further.
iii. The threat of new entrants is also increasing for Indigo due to technological
advancements and ease of doing business.
iv. The competitive rivalry is also intense for Indigo(from Air India, Jet Airways,etc) as there
is low product differentiation.This reduces profitability for Indigo.
Collaboratorsi. Partners in the downstream and upstream value chains, corporate partners, the
government and other parties could participate as collaborators.
ii. Indigo Airlines has partnered with various collaborators that allowed the company to
develop new product lines and enhance the product development and distribution
process.
iii. Recently Indigo formed code-share partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airlines and
American Airlines.
iv. It is also finalizing a code-share partnership with Australian carrier Qantas.
v. It also has partnership with only ticketing app MakeMyTrip and is also actively looking to
build more code-share partnerships with other airlines.
Contexti. Indigo has to understand the economic context(increase in customer demand during
specific periods of time), foresee customers demand and act accordingly.
ii. It has to be aware about the geopolitical situation in which it is
operating(eg-Ukraine-Russia).
iii. It has to be aware about the effects of inflation and regulatory framework will have on its
operation.
iv. Indigo keeps up to date with the recent changes in the technological field to optimize its
operational efficiency and maximize profits.
v. All in all understanding of sociocultural, regulatory, technological, economic and physical
contexts is necessary to make right business decisions for Indigo.
SWOT ANALYSISStrengths1. Indigo airlines provides greater value to its customers by providing quality service at
relatively lower prices.
2. Indigo Aviation maintains its positive image by providing constant quality service, low
cost and frequent offers in its tickets.
3. It provides a wide range of services like 24 hour booking, online booking services and in
flight status checking among others.
4. Indigo has high employee satisfaction rate and maintains maximum possible
transparency with the customers and provides accurate information.It takes customer
feedback in serious consideration and constantly works on it.
5. It is also involved social activities through its Indigo Airlines Reach which will benefit the
society and upliftment of the underdeveloped regions. Through these programs it helps
in women empowerment, child education and environmental activities.
6. It has a favorable reputation globally and also has good financial health which makes it
easier for it to expand into newer markets.
Weaknesses1. Indigo has been termed as a low cost carrier because of which it is priced lower than
others which reduces its per unit income which makes it difficult for the company to
increase and sustain its profits consistently.
2. Indigo has a over dependence on Volume as to maintain its low cost it has to obtain
volumes consistently for its operations even during pandemics like recently corona-virus,
where business is less.
3. Indigo suffers from low bargaining of supplier and high bargaining power of customers
which makes it difficult to retain customers.
4. When safety issues related to grounding in the Pratt and Whitney aircrafts brought by
Indigo were found by the Civil Aviation Authority it affected the goodwill and image of
Indigo and also it had to go a long and tedious process of replacing these aircrafts.
Opportunities1. With the increase in demand for travelling to foreign countries for education, business or
for holiday, this has increased globalization opportunities for Indigo and also presented a
chance for Indigo to expand its network globally.
2. Partnerships with various international airline carriers has increased the reach of Indigo
to new and unexplored destinations thereby increasing its reach worldwide.
3. Indigo’s low cost model has led to increase in airways demand from the middle and lower
middle class which is only expected to increase in the coming future as a result of
increase in purchasing power of people.
4. There is also opportunity to increase customer base by extensively marketing Indigo
Airlines through interactive digital platforms.
5. There is also an opportunity to collaborate with local players to increase its presence in
the local airline market.
Threats1. Indigo suffers from high competition in the domestic as well as international market which
affects the overall business as it makes it difficult for Indigo to grow its market share.
2. Volatile prices of fuel are a major issue for Indigo or for that matter any airline as it is the
main expense and its prices are changing everyday and this makes it difficult for Indigo to
maintain its low price.
3. Indigo has to be vary of threat of terrorist attacks especially in certain regions.
4. Situations like recent pandemic affect the business of airlines drastically as it reduces the
aircraft passenger traffic thereby leading to several job losses and huge economic costs
to the airlines.
5. Constantly changing emission regulations and government rules directly or indirectly
affect the operations of airlines.
6. Indigo’s major concern is urban market saturation and rural market stagnation.
References1. Agnihotri, A., & Bhattacharya, S. (2020, June 4). Solved marketing 5C : Indigo airlines
analysis. EMBA Pro for Executive MBA Professionals.
https://embapro.com/frontpage/marketing5ccase/16931-indigo-aviation
2. Warren, S. (2018, January 10). Indigo airlines 5 Cs of marketing. Essay48.
https://www.essay48.com/case/16931-Indigo-Airlines-Five-Cs-Of-Marketingh
3. Shastri, A. (2022, February 6). Extensive SWOT analysis of indigo airlines - 2022 | IIDE.
IIDE.
https://iide.co/case-studies/swot-analysis-of-indigo-airlines/