Case Study 4
Q1). Identify the likely characteristics of the market segment being targeted by the company. Why
are most target customers likely to be foreigners rather than New Zealanders?
The geographic location is quite unique seeing that it is located on the South island of
New Zealand where it is very sparsely populated making it a perfect utopia from the
outside world. The 28,000 hectares of original farmland which has been converted into a
big game reserve has made this a more feasible attraction. The location it’s self is very
peaceful and is a nice getaway for the wealthy rich people who need to escape from the
paparazzi or just every day life. The company is aiming on bringing in wealthy foreign
millionaires who would most likely be male and rather older than youthful who have
plenty of money to splash around on the activities and accommodation. Olde-Olthof the
company managing director has managed to design accommodation that would suite his
rich clientele with rooms that are twice the size than normal New Zealand hotel rooms,
and double glazed windows that revealed breath taking views.
A number of activities are available for offer by the Lilybank Lodge such as safari
shooting but for the customers who don’t like such hunting activities there will also be
horse trekking, golfing, world class photographic opportunities, helicopter trips, and
nature walks in the package. The people participating in these packages will be people
who are regarded as high classed people in society and in regards to lifestyle the activities
may be more appealing to rich people who see this as perfect opportunity to escape their
normal lives and just relax and enjoy on what’s to offer.
The wealthy people such as Presidents, playboys, and other such globe trotters will find
the package as something they would rather enjoy as it is a smart way of bringing in rich
clientele from overseas with a good peaceful location, where they will be able to interact
with people who have similar personalities to them who are most likely greedy and stuck
up, with world class accommodation for the customers to retreat to after a long course of
activities, and the fun they will have while participating in these activities.
The reason why customers are more likely to be foreigners rather than New Zealanders is
rather simple. The sort of people who would be coming in would be rich and would have
lots of money to spend; this sort of location, environment, and atmosphere appeals to rich
people and may be something that they don’t have in their own country so when they
hear about a place like this from their other rich buddies or associates they have to find
out more about it.
When potential customers see that it is rather isolated compared to the rest of the world
and not very populated they see it as the perfect way to get away from the pressures of
every day life and see it as a place where they can relax, have fun, and socialize. As for
New Zealanders only the upper class people would be able to experience this package as
it is not very affordable for the lower class people and the company operators would not
be interested in the lower class people as they would not be getting enough revenue to
keep the business running. The manager is solely relying on positive word of mouth,
publicity and public relations to draw in new customers; and probably will increase the
flow of more foreigners rather than New Zealanders as a lot of the New Zealand people
will not know a lot about it.
Q2.) Suggest what expectations target customers are likely to have regarding the quality, reliability
and services. What are the implications for Lilybank Lodge?
Seeing as the target customers are wealthy rich people who are most likely going to be
foreigners traveling overseas the demands for a perfect holiday destination will be a lot
higher than the average Joe. The Lilybank Lodge planned on bringing in the world’s very
wealthy people who are public figures that are constantly surrounded by security and
have the luxury to go anywhere in the world so making them feel comfortable, excited,
and wanted is very important.
As the customers are coming from a rich background the expectations are so much
higher. Some of the customers may have butlers, waiters, and cleaners at their mansions,
condos, or high rise apartment with breath taking view. The Lilybank Lodge prepared for
this by purchasing land would be adequate for their needs with a secluded and peaceful
environment which would be ideal for a holiday for the very high class clientele. Once
that was settled they decided to create Accommodation which included a game trophy
room and eight guest rooms for their guests, that were constructed using high quality
South Island furniture and fittings which was critical for satisfying the demands of such
rich and wealthy people. The rooms themselves were designed to be at an international
standard, being very spacious and also with breathtaking views from the double-glazed
windows.
In regards to service the company has hired ten full time staff and two seasonal guides to
ensure that guests would be treated properly during their stay. There are also a sufficient
number of activities to keep the guest’s occupied during their stay with the sheep on the
land being replaced with deer, elk, chamois, and wapiti for the hunting safaris. Apart
from hunting safari’s a range of other activities have been included to accommodate for
the special clientele including: Horse trekking, golfing on a nearby rural golf course
(where their will be no need for a large amount of security), world class photographic
opportunities, helicopter trips around nearby Lake Tekapo, and nature walks which is the
sort of activities these people would enjoy as they are relaxing, peaceful, and fun to
participate in.
The implications that Lilybank Lodge could have are service (e.g. the staff) and quality of
the activities aren’t up to the expectations of their guests and seeing that the only means
of advertising at the moment are through word of mouth, publicity, and public relations
this could hurt the business in bringing in new customers so it is very important that they
need to make a good first impression on their guests. The other implication could be that
Lilybank Lodge is not accepted amongst the New Zealand people with mainly only
foreign people being able to experience these activities and the sort of untouched land it
was once before is now a tourist destination for rich people who can hunt animal’s which
won’t go down to well with the environmental groups.
Q3.) How difficult is it for Lilybank Lodge to undertake market research? Elaborate
Market research is a very valuable tool for any business, and as Lilybank Lodge is a
tourist destination it can be more difficult to find out on how to improve and find out
what the potential customers wants and needs are. They will need to spend a lot of money
on market research if they are to get anywhere and this will include the customer’s
perspective and collecting statistics on how they can improve. The main problem
Lilybank Lodge will face is that they are just aiming for rich clientele who will mainly be
foreigners so it will be much harder to collect primary data where they will need to
collect information by means of: surveys, interviews, talking to customers and other
companies. It will be a lot harder to get this done compared to the local companies which
have a target market that aim at all types of different clients (mainly in New Zealand) so
they just can’t go out on the street and get this research done so it will therefore be very
expensive to conduct this research. There is also the problem if the customers actually
have time to do such a thing to help the company out and help them improve because rich
people have a reputation for being ‘stuck up’. The secondary data on the other hand is
less expensive as it is obtained from libraries and Census’s but it can only go so far in
finding out what the consumer wants but is useful if Lilybank Lodge wants to branch into
new markets.
The general perspective of the public would view this holiday’s paradise as just another
profit scheming business to gain their profits solely on foreigners and this would be
unwanted attention which could reach the media and the New Zealand people would see
this as a waste so the potential market they could have with New Zealand people could be
lost.
By Andrew McKenzie