Positioning Sri Lanka Tourism

Dr. Uditha LIYANAGE

Positioning - a pivotal concept in Marketing is about owning a particular position of an organization’s product/service or any offering of value in the minds of a well defined groups of customers. In sum, it is about getting one’s offering into the mind(s) of a targeted consumer(s), and occupying a particular place or position therein.

We consumers have defined places in our minds for particular categories of products/services. The position in our minds for “toilet-soap” is different to that for “baked cakes”. They belong to different mental categories . Indeed, if you don’t get into the minds of consumers and own a specific and well defined position, you do not exist for all intents and purposes, although you may well exist in the market place.

That is the centrality of the Positioning concept in marketing, in business and, for that matter, in any form of communication.

What and how to Position?

How do you get into the consumer’s mind? When the consumer is exposed to an offering of any kind, the first question that the consumer raises in his/her mind is: “What is it about?. By asking this simple question, the consumer is attempting to locate the offering in a particular mental category. This is the way the consumer recognizes the offering, and attaches meaning to it.

Hence, the first step in Positioning is to clearly identify and profile that consumer in whose mind you intend to position your offering. Second, you need to understand the mental category (MC) or the Frame of Reference (FOR) of the consumer, in which you wish to locate/position your offering.

Third, you need to figure out the other offerings that already exist in the consumer’s particular MC/FOR, and establish a clear Point(s) of Difference (POD), so that your offering will stand out from those that are already there in the MC/FOR. Importantly, the POD must provide value to consumers and relate to a clearly defined market opportunity.

Fourth, you need to provide proof/evidence of your POD and convince the consumer, that it is distinctive, desirable, defensible (sustainable) and deliverable (credible).

Fifth you need to develop the network of desired mental associations (i.e. brand schema) that the target consumer should establish with respect to your offering. These associations should spontaneously spring to the mind of the consumer, whenever the name or the mark of the offering (now a brand) appears before the consumer.

The aforesaid five steps spell what you should do to Position your offering, in the mind of the target consumer. The five steps again.

* Identify consumer group
* Target mental category/frame of reference
*Isolate key points of difference
* Provide evidence
*Develop mental associations/schema

You need to now figure out how to do it. This could be done by determining and providing the appropriate stimuli that you should expose the consumer to, at each critical touchpoint - those points of contact between the brand and the consumer. In sum, when the consumer “types” the key word(s) - name/mark of your brand, in his/her “mental computer,” you should ensure that a particular mental category is stimulated and the network of desired mental associations (schema) of your brand appear on the consumer’s mental “computer screen”. If this happens readily and vividly, then you have done your positioning job well.

Positioning Sri Lanka Tourism

Let us now describe the five key steps of Positioning that were taken in developing a positioning strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT).

First, the “Identify consumer group”. Here, the SLT marketing personnel have identified three types of markets. “Safeguard the base” markets consisting of 55 percent of tourists will come from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, and the Netherlands. Second, “Realize the potential and invest” markets, which are expected to bring 30 percent of tourists, include the Middle East, Russia, China, Italy and Japan. Third, “Explore the prospects” markets, which may bring 15 percent of tourists, consist of those from Pakistan and Thailand, in particular. Socio-economic groups (SEC) A and B and those over 55 years of age make up the primary target, while the younger groups will form a new target segment. A more comprehensive psychographic profile of target groups, however needs to be developed in this regard.

Second, “Target mental category/frame of reference”. Here, a “vacation/holiday”, and in so far as foreign tourists are concerned, “vacation in another country” is the larger cognitive space or mental category in which Sri Lanka Tourism ought to be located. Within this larger frame of reference, the words “Asia” and “Island” help position SLT in a particular and more specific sub-category.

Most tourists’ decision-making processes would be characterized by first deciding on Asia, to spend their next vacation. The word “Island” again is suggestive of “sun and sand” and a particular kind of experience that may well typically precede the decision to isolate a particular holiday destination. Hence, “Overseas Vacation in an Asian Island” is the typical frame of reference (FOR) for SLT.

Third, “Isolate key point(s) of difference.” Within the identified FOR, how should SLT stand out from other competing countries and locations. Indeed, actual competition takes place not in the physical or virtual market place, but in a given cognitive space or mental category of the consumer.

Three key words help to set SLT apart from its competitors. They are, SLT’s key points of difference.

* Diversity
* Authenticity
*Compactness

Diversity:

Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) has, from time to time, articulated its desired standing of being a leading tourist destination in Asia, and attracting a million tourists per year. In order to reach this desired standing, SLT has developed country-specific steps. For example, “we will develop program X for the U.K. market, program Y for the Indian market and program Z for,” and so on. These programs of action, indeed steps, it was expected, will lead to achieving the desired standing.

Now, the pivotal strategy-question has yet to be asked. Standing and steps are in place. Indeed, what about the stand SLT ought to take. In an attempt to develop a stand that should, by definition, be unique, SLT articulated its position as, “Land like no other”. The strategic position or stand that an organization should first take is about the operating space or battlefield.

“Land like no other” does not entail a position taken on the market, to begin with. What is the particular context in which the stand is taken? Consequently, the declared stand does not spell the position SLT has taken in the selected operating space either.

The question that needs to be asked first about “Land like no other” is “where is this land, and then “what makes it unique?” As stated earlier, Asia or Island provides the requisite context. Then, what does this “Land like no other” provide? What does it stand for? Is it to have (e.g. shopping), to do (e.g. activity) to relate (e.g: MICE offerings); to see (e.g: nature and artifacts) or to be (e.g: sun and sand, and wellness)?

Taking a stand requires the examination of the opportunities that exist in each of the above domains, and the natural comparative advantage and the designed competitive advantage Sri Lanka can and could enjoy in relation to its direct competitors.

A close examination of the possible value propositions for SLT suggests a unique combination of being and seeing. In addition, the other, peripheral value offerings of “having, doing and relating” provide the vital points of difference, the critical factor of diversity, which the likes of Maldive Islands cannot match.

Authenticity:

The being-seeing core offering in particular is authentic; It is natural and indigenous. It is truly Sri Lankan. As Naisbitt recognized many years ago, the Mega trend of authenticity is unfolding across the globe. The rich and wealthy increasingly value that which is natural and authentic. Indeed, there appears to be a premium placed on the “real thing”. This also entails the increasing value attached to eco-tourism, and the demand for natural/herbal products.

Interestingly, the market for value-driven commerce from organic food and eco-tourism to Earth-friendly appliances and alternative medicine, had reached US Dollars 230 billion by 2008, according to the New York Times, and is likely to grow by double digits, year on year. Culture-tourism is another growth-area, which attracts those who value that which is rooted and indigenous. The typical Sri Lankan smile and friendliness, it must be recognized, is a part of the larger “authentic” offering.

Compactness:

The being-seeing core value offering, along with the peripheral offerings, and given a strategically developed (total) pricing strategy, SLT will have a value proposition (i.e. value - price) that can be markedly enhanced by the POD of “compactness”. Unlike “incredible India”, that offers many things to “see, do and be” in a large and expansive geographical spread, Sri Lanka makes its unique “diverse and authentic” value offering in a small and narrow geographic space.

Travel a couple of hours across the island and almost everything changes, from what you see to what you feel and do. Hence, the critical PODs of SLT are : “Diverse, authentic and compact”. Combined with the strategically selected Frame Of Reference (FOR), we can now articulate the strategic offering of Sri Lanka Tourism.

Asia’s diverse, authentic and compact

Importantly, the Positioning Statement should reflect a clearly defined Market Opportunity in so far as the target markets are concerned. Moreover, the Positioning Statement must be markedly appealing to the target consumers/tourists who, in fact, have to be more comprehensively defined. Based on research done, and industry knowledge, the above positioning statement does make sense on both counts.

Fourth, “Provide Evidence”. Proof must now be provided to target consumer groups in order that they become satisfied that the proposition of Sri Lanka being, “Asia’s diverse, authentic and compact island” passes the acid test of the 4Ds.

That, the points of difference are distinctive (not commonplace), desirable (of value), defensible (sustainable) and deliverable (believable). If not, the proposition and the POD’s will not enter and remain in the minds of target consumers.

Fifth, “Develop mental schema”. The proposition, “Asia’s diverse, authentic and compact island” must evoke in the minds of consumer, a network of readily (salient) and vividly recalled words/images. Importantly, the SLT Brand comes into being when this happens.

Operationalizing the Brand SLT

The central task before the authorities of SLT now is to do everything - both big and small - that is faithful to the Positioning of SLT that has been strategically developed.

Indeed, the challenge before the authorities is to convey (through the effective management of a multitude of touch points where target consumers of SLT will come into contact with the SLT brand) accurately and consistently, the meanings (brand schema or brand values) of SLT.

The marketing communications-mix will play a pivotal role in getting the Brand Positioning Statement (BPS) that has been developed, to come alive in the minds of consumers who matter.

New Positioning

The launch of the new Positioning for SLT could not have been timed better. Indeed, the time is opportune to present Sri Lanka as a Miracle waiting to happen.

A miracle that remains undiscovered to most potential tourists of the world. A faithful, consistent and holistic interpretation and application of the new Positioning of Sri Lanka Tourism will no doubt help Sri Lanka to become the next miracle of the world.

The writer is the Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Management