Marshall & Evans Houseboat Holidays Case Study

Marshall & Evans Houseboat Holidays

Part A: Current Marketing Situation: SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

Price | * Reasonable cost (not the most expensive) – competitive costing |

Place | * Rideau Canal waterway – popular destination for Canadians and tourists |

Product | * Has necessities like dishes, barbecue, comfortable sleeping quarters for 4, and complimentary bottle of wine |

Promotion | * Five (5) local newspaper advertisements |

Weaknesses:

Price | * Reasonable cost – competitive cost (which means there are others to choose from) |

Place | * Rideau Canal waterway – there are other competitors inhibiting the waterway and residents are not pleased with the traffic going through canal |

Product | * Has the basic necessities, but not the most luxurious |

Promotion | * Only five (5) newspaper advertisements – could do more and better |

Opportunities:

Demographic | * More people are retiring or reaching the age of retirement (ie. Baby boomers), and will want to take family vacations more often |

Social/Cultural | * People are looking for a luxurious vacation (renting a boat) that is close to home (Ottawa, Ontario) that is also inexpensive ($990 for a 4-night stay) * Able to deliver to the residents as a small scale company. Therefore, not disturbing the community located around the canal as much as Three Buoys would |

Competition | * If operating license of Three Buoys gets revoked, there is less dominance of target market |

Political | * Garry Gurbin is hinting that the competitors license can be easily revoked |

Threats:

Demographic | |

Social/Cultural | * Resident’s concerns: * too much traffic on the Rideau Canal waterway * noise pollution, disrupting the quiet community * environmental pollution, effects it has on the Rideau Canal * long term environmental effects – too much traffic on the Rideau Canal |

Competition | * Competition...