Challenges in marketing brand Sri Lanka

Marketing and selling in favourable Economic conditions:

Prasanna Perera, Marketing and Management Consultant, Chartered Marketer, CIM UK

Sri Lanka as a “Destination” needs to be marketed specially for tourism, education and others. In doing so, the country faces many challenges, that need to be overcome.

In this article, my endeavour is to identify these challenges and provide some insights to deal with them.

Infrastructure

This is a key challenge for developing a Nation Brand. Roadways, airports, sea ports, railways are key infrastructure requirements. Sri Lanka has a long way to go in this area, although many gigantic strides have been made which is commendable.

No country can be a powerful nation brand without world class infrastructure. Funding is key for infrastructure development and Sri Lanka will need to lobby the relevant stakeholders.

In order to build brand awareness and recall, integrated marketing communication campaigns are required, targeting key source markets.

Marketing communications

Budgetary constraints are the biggest barrier and the government and tourism stakeholders need to address this.

A good example is Britain, which is funding its MARCOM campaign, through joint funding by the Government and the commercial sector.

In the case of Sri Lanka, brand awareness needs to be built and sustained. To do this, Sri Lanka needs to overcome the competitive noise levels.

Natural disasters

Natural disaster can have a major impact on the brand of a country. Tsunami’s earthquakes, hurricanes, are all uncontrollable events. Sri Lanka needs to develop contingency plans for these scenarios, so that the impacts can be minimized. Natural disasters will effect tourism and local exports very badly. We need to be prepared since Sri Lanka is now prone to natural disasters.

Country-of-origin (COO)

This is a phenomenon very important in Nation Branding. Many countries are synonymous for certain products and services. For example, Switzerland for chocolates, Chile for wines, Germany for beer, Japan for electronics. Malaysia for palm oil and New Zealand for dairy.

In the case of Sri Lanka, “Ceylon Tea” is the platform supported by “Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)”, “Sri Lanka Apparel” and “Gems and Jewellery”.

We must leverage these COO advantages, to develop the nation and the destination brand.

Stakeholder relationships

As a Nation, Sri Lanka has many stakeholders, both domestic and international.

These stakeholders can exert significant pressure on brand “Sri Lanka.”

A proactive approach to stakeholder management is required, to deliver stakeholder expectations and build cordial relationships.

Visas

Entry visas are a key challenge in Nation Branding.

A delicate balance between national security and encouraging visitors needs to be maintained.

In terms of visas to Sri Lanka, the following aspects need consideration.

* Visa fees (Different categories)

* Minimum period of stay

* Procedure in obtaining visas

* Nationalities that can obtain visas on arrival

Sri Lanka has been addressing the visa issue in the last few months and the present system needs to be continuously reviewed.

Exchange rate

Sri Lanka can be perceived as a cheap or expensive destination, based on exchange rates. The Price Positioning of the country must be in-line with the Brand Positioning. In my view Sri Lanka should be positioned as a great value-for-money destination. (Please note that value-for-money does not mean cheap).

Service standards

This is an area that Sri Lanka needs to improve dramatically and fast. Building hotel rooms is well and good but if there is a scarcity of well qualified and trained staff? There is a need to balance the demand and supply equation in terms of manpower. Poor quality service standards will result in negative world-of-mouth and deterioration of Nation Brand image and perception.

Competitors

There are many emerging destinations posing a real threat to Sri Lanka. These are Indonesia, Philippines, India, Vietnam, China and of course the old guard of Thailand, Male and Malaysia.

To achieve a competitive advantage, Sri Lanka needs to position the “Nation Brand” creatively and consistently.

Catchy slogans will not do the trick; The positioning should be built on strong and deliverable value propositions. Take the example of Malaysia, which is positioned as a multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-racial country.

The promotional theme is “Malaysia - Truly Asia.” The underlying value proposition is that by visiting Malaysia, you will experience everything that is Asian.

The results for Malaysia has been outstanding, with over 24 million visitors in 2010.

In conclusion, Sri Lanka needs to have Destination Branding on track, to achieve rapid economic and social development.

Strategic marketing and branding is going to be the way forward.