The Marketing Development and Improvement of Sunmore Ginseng Spa: A Case Study
Graduation Date
2010
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
School of Business and Leadership | Management
Abstract
The environment keeps changing rapidly and unexpectedly with globalization trends; therefore, organizations of all scales today encounter more challenges and more severe competition than before (Kotter, & Cohen, 2002; Robbins, & Judge, 2008); for instance, the invention and advancement of high technology and internet, the attack of terrorists, the shortage of gasoline, the natural disaster and the financial crisis.
Within such a turbulent and uncertain circumstance, a sound and holistic strategic planning is crucial for any business organization’s survival and success; yet more directly and profoundly, good marketing as Kotler and Keller (2006: 3) point out that “has become an increasingly vital ingredient for business success”. In other words, as the world changes, a company must keep changing and adjusting its marketing strategy and plan up-to-date in order to survive and succeed in this fierce competition.
Recently spa tourism has experienced resurgence in Europe and the USA and has grown rapidly in the Asia Pacific region and all over the world. According to Pollock and Williams (2000), there are some contemporary drivers assisting the attractiveness of the spa and health tourism sector, which include shifting consumer values, increasing stress, the incidence of the ageing of baby boomers into retirement, rising health-care costs and personal health care,
attention to mind and spirit, and environmentalism.
Due to the aforementioned situation, the spa industry is growing rapidly these few years. However, with the impact of the global economic recession, in order to survive, it is particularly essential for businesses in any scale to have an effective marketing strategy. It is just as Tolak (2005) states that “in such turbulent times, effective marketing strategies will provide assurance against negative financial consequences of such economic downturn.” (Tolak 2005: 41).
Taking account of all these, this study aims to understand what a spa can do to survive and excel in such a challenging and gloomy market by examining a Canada-based spa - Sunmore Ginseng Spa’s current marketing situation and environment, and then recommend some effective and feasible strategies/plans on its future marketing development and improvement based on the marketing situation analysis result.