Service Operations Management - Celebrity Cruises Case Study

Service Operations Management - Celebrity Cruises - Case Study Example Celebrity Cruises has an ambiguous strategy for marketing that lacks focus in attracting new customers and improving the loyalty of previous customers. First, celebrity Cruises must start by identifying clear marketing positions to source for additional potential customers. Secondly, their customer service is also failing them. Additionally, their services are getting old and need to be revitalized to attract new customers. Finally, their product also lacks consistency. To deal with these issues, Celebrity Cruises must alter its marketing strategy to place more emphasis on customer service. Pricing also requires to be changed to emphasize upgrades with added value rather than dollars off discounts. Finally, the employees need to be re-trained in customer service provision. Background The Chandris Group started celebrity Cruises in 1989 in Greece, originally as a shipping company. The company merged in 1997 with Royal Caribbean International to form the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. in order for the two companies to target their particular market segments, the parent company decided to separate the two brand companies’ operations and marketing. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ... However, given the highly competitive nature of the cruise shipping line industry, the marketing strategy employed by celebrity Cruises is, at best, indistinct since it finds it difficult to find ways of creating and maintaining customer loyalty while also working towards increasing revenues. Problem Statement Celebrity Cruises is in possession of a marketing strategy, which is ambiguous and that has no focus on attracting customers and fumbles with increasing or improving customer loyalty. Analysis Celebrity Cruises needs to develop aspects of their operations, as well as transform them if they are to increase their market share (Vogel et al 22). First, celebrity Cruises must start by identifying clear marketing positions to source for additional potential customers. While Celebrity cruises has done a commendable job in appealing to their prospective customers, their marketing initiatives still require to be fine-tuned and implemented. Celebrity cruises needs to be able direct their efforts at marketing towards the correct market segment, which, in this case, is the multi-generational market and baby-boomers market. Baby boomers make up a large population of United States with one-fourth of the population in the US being aged between forty two and sixty in 2006 (Vogel et al 24). Celebrity Cruises is also missing out by choosing not to market to the people in the thirty to forty age bracket. While this has the ability to alienate the older crowd who like travelling on cruise ships, there will be some classy ones in this generation who are already used to dining in fine restaurants and knowledgeable in theater etiquette. For this generation