The Moorings Booklet

The Moorings’ Final Presentation Lucky Number 7 Jason Smith Emily Knighton Jessica Diehl Marc Paetzold Paige Barrett

Table of Contents The Problem

3

Mission & Vision

4

Strategy

5

Target Market: The Millennials

6

Research Findings Survey

7—9 10—14

SWOT Analysis

15

5-Forces Model

16

Business Model Canvas

17

Competitive Analysis

18—20

Customer Personas

21

Eric’s Buyer Journey

22

Wendy’s Buyer Journey

23

Jill’s Buyer Journey

24

Co-Creation Project

25

Performance Measures

26

Reflection Bibliography

27 28—29

The Problem:

The Mooring’s customer sustainability strategy is threatened by the lack of their brand awareness among the younger generations.

Mission & Vision Mission The Moorings’ mission is to provide a smooth sailing experience from the moment we initially spark their interest and book their vacation to the time they return home from sea. With more than 20 exotic destinations, a fleet of custom-built yachts, and fabulous customer service right at their fingertips, we strive to enable the most memorable moments for our customers on their destination vacation at sea.

Vision Offer a range of dynamic chartering experiences for people of all ages in order to make every generation's dream vacation a reality.

Strategy Objective The firm seeks to achieve growth with existing product and service lines in their current market segments, aiming to increase its diverse market reach to millennials.

Strategy

Increase brand awareness by strengthening the presence online with digital advertisements and at events with sponsorships in order to intrigue millennials.

Target Market: The Millennials



20—33 years old



View technology as a defining characteristics of their generation



75% of Millennials have a social network profile



Viewed as more tolerant of races and groups different from their own



More likely to live in central cities than older generations



49% of Millennials have at least some college education

Research Findings Top 3 Purchasing Influencers:

Digital Advertising Preferences:

Research Findings Streaming Data:

Tough Mudder: Average age: 29

1.3 million participants to date

4.13 million Facebook followers

10,000—15,000 participants per event

Research Findings Average Salary & Sign-on Bonus for Top 20 Business School Graduates:

Competing Yoga Retreats: Length of Retreat

Package Offerings

Destinations

Costs

Yoga Travel Tree

7 Nights, 8 Days

Yoga, Guided Tours, Costa Rica Meals

$1,999

Book Yoga Retreats

7 Nights, 8 Days

Yoga, 1 Massage, Meals, Surf Lessons

$2,395 Shared Room

Nicaragua

$3,015 Shared Villa

Survey This survey reflects nine questions answered by sixty-six individuals between ages 20—33

This question was asked to help understand the population of the survey. Most people did not know anything about the yacht industry or that people could charter them.

We asked to see if people have ever been boating to help understand whether or not the population in the survey had experience with other boating adventures.

After asking whether or not people had been on a boat before we wanted to know if people were going to lean to navigate a boat which helps tie into the Moorings because they offer sailing/boating lessons.

Intimate vacations that are considered ten or fewer are the Moorings specialize in so this question really helps decide how many people prefer that type of vacation.

These question asking whether or not people were going to visit these locations helps us because it gave a good sense to whether the Moorings picked good locations or not.

1 being not likely at all to 5 very likely.

These questions asking whether or not people were going to visit these locations helps us because it gave a good sense to whether the Moorings picked good locations or not.

1 being not likely at all to 5 very likely.

One of the most important questions asked during the survey was to decide how much of the market could actually afford or were willing to pay for the vacation that the Moorings provide.

After the survey and people getting more information on the yacht chartering industry we wanted to know if they would even consider chartering a yacht in their lifetime. Most of the people who said no did so because of how expensive the vacation would be.

SWOT Analysis Strengths 



 

Innovative fleet selection High quality customer service Yachting expertise Offered internationally

Weaknesses 

Threats

Opportunities    

Event sponsorships University sponsorships Yoga retreats Digital advertising

Lack of brand awareness among millennials



Strong competition that has existing millennial clientele

5-Forces Model of Competition Rival Sellers

High Medium

New Entrants

Substitutes

Low

Suppliers

Consumers

Competition between rival sellers is the highest of the 5 forces. This is because The Moorings and their competitors all offer similar charters in the same locations on similar yachts at similar price points. New entrants to the yacht charter industry are at a medium level because entrance into this industry is capital and logistically intensive. Smaller companies would have great difficulty with this but larger, established companies such as cruise lines and someone wealthy like Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin, could enter the market with ease. To an extent, substitutes are a force of a competition; mainly lower cost travel alternatives such as cruises or flights, and other activities altogether such as backpacking throughout Europe or an all-inclusive stay at a resort. Competition is low between The Moorings and suppliers because The Moorings have an exclusive partnership with their supplier. Therefore, neither sides have much bargaining power.

Customers have no bargaining power when it comes to interacting with The Moorings. They can choose to either book with The Moorings or they are forced to book elsewhere.

Business Model Canvas Key Partners

GoPro; Local towns and small businesses of the yachting destinations; Robertson & Caine

Key Activities

Supply chain; Marketing; Maintenance; Customer Service

Key Resources

Yachts; Crews; Skippers; Entire staff; Financial capital

Value Proposition

Unique customer experience; Tailored vacation scheduling; Option packages; Luxurious and new yachts

Customer Relationships Customer loyalty rewards program Channels

Email; Social media; Google ads; magazines

Customer Segments

Sailors; All generations; Individuals seeking a unique experience; Higher income clientele

Cost Structure

Fixed: Insurance; Salaries; Rent; Docking fees; Website costs

Variable: Taxes; Fuel; Commission; Food/Drinks; Maintenance; Advertising

Revenue Streams

Timeshare for yachts; Charters; Add-ons

The Business Model Canvas looks at a snap shot of the current business model of the Moorings. It may not be all inclusive, but it focuses on what we kept in mind while devising strategies to help target millennials.

Competitive Analysis: Facebook The Moorings

Dream Yacht

Sunsail

Page Likes

25,125

8,096

24,358

Homepage Shares

2,321

1,096

381

Talking About

693

125

2,360

Time Period

Last 14 days

Last 13 days

Last 14 Days

Frequency

1 day

1 day

2 days

Posts

7

5

3

Likes

175

66

75

Comments

32

0

14

The above table compares the Moorings’ Facebook page to two competitors— Dream Yacht Charter and Sunsail. Sunsail has almost as many page likes, but many more Facebook users are talking about Sunsail. However, the Moorings has the most homepage shares. The high number of comments also demonstrates that the Moorings are keeping their presence on Facebook more active than the two competitors.

Competitive Analysis: Website The Moorings

Dream Yacht Charter

Sunsail

Inbound Links

132,028

643,484

126,530

US Rank

62,284

217,683

99,420

Global Rank

222,807

431,712

235,625

Rank

64,273

241,483

119,817

Monthly Visitors

31,297

6,970

15,534

The above table compares website traffic to two other competitors. While Dream Yacht Charter’s website has many more inbound links, the Moorings and Sunsail both have many more monthly visitors. The Moorings is leading the three companies in monthly visits by a large margin.

Competitive Analysis: YouTube The Moorings

Dream Yacht

Sunsail

Videos

39

0

25

Ratings

412

0

63

Avg. Rating

4.25

0

2.8

Favorited

0

0

0

Comments

45

0

15

Tweets

86

0

40

Shares

3,651

0

540

Subscribers

399

0

0

Views

256,337

0

32,122

The above table demonstrates that the Moorings’ YouTube channel is doing much better than the two competitors listed.Dream Yacht Charter does not appear to even have a YouTube channel. Sunsail has some traffic on their channel, but their views are less than 25% of the total views of the Moorings’ YouTube videos.

Customer Personas Eric: The Adventure Seeker

Wendy: The MBA Graduate

Jill: The Yoga Enthusiast

Age:

27

29

24

Relationship Status:

In a relationship

Married

Single

Education:

M.B.A.

M.B.A.

B.A. in Graphic Design

Job Title:

Financial Advisor

Consultant

Graphic Designer

Income:

$95,000

$132,000

$45,000

Defining Characteristics:



Makes decisions on a whim



Loves to be on the water



Logical



Peaceful



Former collegiate athlete



Extremely social



Positive outlook on life



Always on the go



Adventurous



Outdoorsy





Daring

Active in the local community



Crossfit



Traveling



Yoga



Tough Mudder





Meditation



Action photography

Going out with friends



Biking



Running



Rollerblading



Going to local bars



Beach outings with friends

Hobbies:



How they found the Moorings:

Hiking

Through a friend at the Crossfit gym he goes to.



SCUBA diving



Running



Toastmasters

Moorings’ sponsored happy hour while at UNC for her M.B.A.

Google search ad

Eric’s Buyer Journey

2. Eric becomes an athlete sponsored by the Moorings who help him get to the Crossfit Games presented by the Moorings.

1. Eric walks into his local Crossfit Box (gym) for his first sessions sponsored by the Moorings.

3. See the Moorings offer an annual retreat for his Crossfit Box.

4. Eric participates in CrossFit Games where the winners receive a yacht charter as part of the grand prize.

6. Notices an ad for the Moorings on the Tough Mudder website.

5. Eric goes to the Tough Mudder website to sign up for the next race.

7. Eric signs up for the Tough Mudder.

9. At the Tough Mudder he learns that the winners of Toughest Mudder get a yacht charter as a grand prize.

8. Sees the Moorings tent. He talks to a sales rep, and finds out that Tough Mudder and the Moorings have an exclusive deal.

10. Eric doesn’t qualify for the Toughest Mudder but sees that there is an exclusive Tough Mudder—the Moorings race which is only open to the Moorings clients. He finally decides to book a yacht charter with a couple of his closet friends.

Wendy’s Buyer Journey 1. Lindsey goes to weekly happy hour at UNC. She is greeted by this week’s sponsors - the Moorings.

4. Next week when checking her email, she finds an email from the Moorings to let her know she didn’t win the GoPro. Gives her a link to their website to learn more about their vacations.

5. Wendy clicks on the link and to look at the Moorings’ website. Intrigued by the beautiful pictures on the water, she decides to build out a trip online to get an idea of the cost to take a yacht to the BVI.

8. The next day after class, they check out the website together. During the planning process they us live chat to get help making choices such as crewed vs. non crewed yacht charter.

9. Wendy and friends decide on a week long crewed yacht charter with a skipper during May in the BVI. They book over the phone in order to split the cost 4 ways.

12. After returning home, Wendy receives an thank you email and a reminder to send any videos they’d like to share.

She sends in a few videos and pictures and emails them to the address provided by the Moorings.

2. Before getting a drink, she enters the Moorings’ raffle to win a GoPro. To enter she supplies her name, birthday, and email address.

3. Mingles with the Moorings staff & friends at the happy hour.

Discuss yachting and vacation destinations that they enjoy & that the

6. When seeing the price in the cart for a 4 to 6 passenger yacht trip in May to the BVI for 7 days, she realizes her and her husband could afford it if friends were to go with them. Plus, she just signed a contract for a new job that included a large sign on bonus.

7. That night at this week’s happy hour, she brings up the idea of a graduation yacht trip with the Moorings to friends. 3 other friends agree it would be a great idea and they plan on getting together tomorrow after class to look at trips.

10. Once the trip is booked, the Moorings keep in touch up until the trip by sending suggestions of things to do in the BVI—links to SCUBA sites, restaurants, bars, etc. This helps the students plan out their itinerary over the months leading up to the trip.

11. On the yacht, they find there is a GoPro camera with a Thanks for Choosing the Moorings card. This card describes their co-creation project. They can keep the GoPro, and if they take any videos, the Moorings welcomes sharing them so that they can be a part of future mash-up advertising

13. In November, Wendy receives a Happy Birthday email from the Moorings. In the email, they provide a link to the mash-up video that included their content. It states that the video will be used on their YouTube page and at future happy hours at UNC. The Moorings thanks Wendy and friends for helping them demonstrate just how great the Moorings yacht charters are.

Jill’s Buyer Journey 1. Jill learns about the Moorings when she types into her google search engine, “yoga retreats”. The Moorings Yacht and Charter advertisement appears on the side of her screen.

2. Her curiosity spikes when she sees The Moorings aesthetically appealing pic of a SUP water yoga class being held beside a beautiful Moorings yacht, with the sun setting in the background in the Bahamas.

3. Jane clicks on the advertisement, and gets redirected to The Moorings web page, Yoga Retreat Package. Jane reads further into this retreat, and she learns that fellow yogi's from around the world come together for this retreat. Also, attached to this package info is a link to a blog specifically for fellow yogi's to come together and form their group to experience the retreat they want with the Moorings.

4. Jane becomes involved with the Mooring’s yoga retreat blog. She connects with the bloggers throughout the month, until she agrees to be a part of a group that are meeting one of the Mooring’s yachts in the Bahamas for a week long retreat vacation.

5. She feels that going on a yoga retreat with the Mooring’s would be a spiritually building experience for herself that is invaluable. She also considers that the price of being on a Mooring’s retreat is a much better value than other yoga retreats, which are often in the thousands.

6. Once she and her fellow yogi bloggers decide to go, they book a group retreat online and their yoga instructor is chosen by the group out of those accepted instructors offered by the Mooring’s.

Co-Creation Project The idea behind our co-creation project is to allow customers to use GoPro cameras to record their vacation, developing future ad material in the process. Each trip would come with a GoPro to record content, and the Moorings would ask that in return they submit any videos they’d like to share. The Moorings could then make a commercial and put it on YouTube or use it for when they go to sponsor college happy hours. This helps create an image that is directly related to those who have gone on these vacations.

On the yacht, customers would find a post card message similar to the one seen below.

Dear (customer name),

Thank you for choosing The Mooring’s. We hope that you enjoyed you stay with us and had an amazing trip. Remember that you can go to (website info) and upload all of your video to share with future and current friends of the Moorings and have a chance to win a free GoPro camera.

Thank you, (client manager)

Performance Measures



Are we meeting our goals?



Are our customers satisfied?



Are our processes being measured properly?



Are we defining our needed improvements?



Which channels are most effective in conveying messages?

Reflection We had the opportunity of finding solutions to the Mooring’s lack of millennial engagement. By creating appealing packages targeted to specific millennial customer segments, we can create brand awareness and continuous growth for the Mooring’s Yacht and Charter Company. This project allowed us to practice real business skills in providing solutions for their millennial market disengagement. Our proposed marketing tactics will be relevant in the digital age, and reach the millennial market segment in an effective way. By emphasizing the fun, active, and memorable experience that can be attained with the Mooring’s, millennials will flock in numbers to book a vacation on one of their luxurious yachts. Anchors away!

Bibliography Bareboat Yacht Charters, Sailboat Rentals & Sailing Vacations | Sunsail USA. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.sunsail.com/ MarineMax Vacations. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.marinemaxvacations.com/ The Moorings Presentation. (2015, January 12). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from Fnal_TheMooringsPresentation_global-2.pdf The Moorings Presentation. (2015, January 12). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from The Sailing Market 2014 with 2013 Data (1)-1.pdf The Moorings (2015, January 12). Retrieved 25 January, 2015, from Moorings – Competitors – Excel Neilson the Active Holiday Experts. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2015, from http://www.neilson.co.uk/ Yacht Charter Guide. European Boater’s Association. (2015, January 25). Retrieved from http:// www.eba.eu.com/ Lings, I., Beatson, A., & Gudergan, S. (2008). The impact of implicit and explicit communications on frontline service delivery staff. Service Industries Journal, 28(10), 1431-1443. doi:10.1080/02642060802250245 Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L., & Morgan, F. N. (2008). Service Blueprinting: A PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE FOR SER VICE INNOVATION. California Management Review, 50(3), 66-94.

Recreational Boating is $121 Billion Economic Driver for U.S. (2013, June 11). Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://www.nmma.org/news.aspx?id=18375 What you should know about bareboat yacht charters. (2013, January 16). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.yachtsys.com/Infographic-What-you-should-know-about-bareboat-yacht-charters.html

Smith, K. T. (2011). Digital marketing strategies that Millennials find appealing, motivating, or just annoying.

Journal Of Strategic Marketing, 19(6), 489-499. doi:10.1080/0965254X.2011.581383Taylor, P., & Keeter, S. (Eds.). (2010). Millennials A Portrait of Generation Next. 1-25. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2010/10/millennials-confident-connected-open-tochange.pdf US Sailing Annual Report. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://content.yudu.com/A30zd3 annualreport2013/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http://content.yudu.com/htmlReader/A30zd3/ annualreport2013/index.html

Bibliography The Moorings Releases New Charter App for the British Virgin Islands." PRWeb Newswire 5 May 2014. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 8 Feb. 2015.

Christou. E. (2011). THE YACHTING CHARTER TOURISM SWOT: A BASIC ANALYSIS TO DESIGN MARKETING STRATEGIES. TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM. Volume 6, Number 3, pp.111-134. Retrieved from: http://www.chios.aegean.gr/tourism/VOLUME_6_No3_art06.pdf Smith, K. T. (2011). Digital marketing strategies that Millennials find appealing, motivating, or just annoying.

Journal Of Strategic Marketing, 19(6), 489-499. doi:10.1080/0965254X.2011.581383 There are no shortcuts to investing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http:// marketrealist.com/2014/09/must-know-the-role-of-technology-in-the-airline-industry Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.bcg.com/media/ PressReleaseDetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-1 Gorman, E. (2015). Britain's superyacht success story. Management Today, , 44. Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/1652368616?accountid=14745 MarineMax reports first quarter fiscal 2015 results. (2015, Jan 29). Business Wire Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/1648959662?accountid=14745 Millennials study provides new data on media, shopping and social habits. (2011, Aug 18). Business Wire Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/884267054?accountid=14745 Yao, D. (2014). Millennials in focus: Defining a new generation of media consumers. SNL Kagan Media & Communications Report, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1543367897?accountid=14745 Generational Market Research Bundle: Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (2008). . MarketResearch.com Academic: Packaged Facts.