Current Perception of Brand Malaysia Essay Example

riding, and diving for their enjoyment. Malaysia boasts renowned shopping malls that cater to various preferences ranging from international brands to locally crafted items. Those exploring tourist destinations within Malaysia can expect excellent value for their money alongside fantastic bargains.

Malaysia is renowned for its multiculturalism, creating a harmonious and peaceful environment where individuals from different races, religions, and nations coexist. The nation's culinary scene exemplifies this diversity by offering a vast array of foods from various cultures. Whether it be the spiciness found in Malay and Chinese cuisine or the distinct flavors present in Indian, Nyonya, and Portuguese dishes, Malaysia boasts an assortment of options to satisfy any palate. Moreover, Western cuisine can also be savored within the country. Due to its strategic location, Malaysia serves as a global hub easily accessible from major countries such as China, India, and the Middle East.

Malaysia attracts numerous tourists who primarily arrive by air at its six international airports, with the KL International Airport in Sepang, Selangor being the main entry point. Thankfully, currency conversion is not a significant concern due to reasonable rates that enable visitors to preserve their monetary value. Moreover, Malaysia has maintained political stability for 51 years since achieving independence.

The region's countries are concerned about the impact of instability on safety and security. Malaysia stands out for its affordable lodging options compared to other countries. There is a wide variety of accommodations to suit different preferences, ranging from five-star hotels available in most cities and islands.

Chalets, duplexes, suites, and bungalows can be easily accessed and reserved.

Critical Analysis Of Current Situation: View of current situation

The tourism industry in the East Asia and Pacific region is

experiencing a notable growth. In 1950, it held around 0.8% market share, but now it has risen to 8%.

The tourism growth in the East Asia and Pacific region has significantly increased over the years. It started at 4% in 1980 and rose to 16.9% by 2000. Despite the impact of the September 11, 2001 incident, the region maintained a steady annual increment of 5.0% in tourism growth. By 2010, its market share reached 19%, which further grew to 25% by 2020 (WTO 2006).

Despite the recent increase from 2.8% in 1950 to 5% in recent years, the market share in the Middle East and Africa remains relatively low compared to the global market.

The percentage of tourists visiting Malaysia was 3% in 1980, rising to 7.8% by 2000 and projected to reach 9.4% in both 2010 and 2020.

Tourism Malaysia reported that before the campaign in 1998, around 8 million tourists visited the country. By 2003, this figure had increased to 13 million.

Malaysia has already welcomed over 10 million tourists in the first eight months of 2004, on top of the existing 3 million tourists. Officials from the Ministry are confident that this year's total number of tourists will surpass 15 million, resulting in earnings of US$ 8 billion. This is a significant increase compared to last year's earnings of 6.8 billion. In total, Malaysia has received a warm welcome from 20 million tourists.

In 2007, the tourism industry saw significant growth, with 97 million tourists, a 19.5% increase from the previous year. Tourism receipts for that year totaled US$14.37bn. One strength of the industry is its collaboration among states to attract visitors and understand the economic impact

of tourism. This distinguishes it from neighboring countries due to political stability. However, there are weaknesses such as disjointed national branding efforts, limited overseas campaigns, lower hospitality standards, and an overemphasis on popular areas.

Despite these challenges, there are opportunities to capitalize on. The region is recognized as the second most visited globally and has potential for projected GDP growth. Regional collaboration also presents an opportunity for further expansion. It's important to be cautious about threats like competition in branding and shifts in tourist preferences towards other countries in the region.

Moving forward, the objective is to develop a strategy focused on building relationships that address weaknesses while maximizing available opportunities.

We will create a strategy that focuses on the common interests of all three nations. Our goal is to attract more people with minimal effort and cost.

Relationship-based Strategy Development

Segmentation

Alternatively, we will divide the Malaysian Tourism market into manageable segments. There are various options for segmentation, such as Demographic, Geo-demographic, Geography, Lifestyle, or Behavioral characteristics (Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). Currently, the country follows Geo-demographic and Geography segmentation approaches.

The use of the lifestyle concept can assist the Malaysia tourism board in understanding how changing tourists' values positively impact the tourism market. Our research has employed this approach to facilitate segmentation, as it reflects common interests among diverse nations. Segmenting the Malaysian tourism market based on lifestyles allows for more effective responses to the desires of prospective groups, rather than relying on a personal perspective. Additionally, employing a lifestyle approach can help increase profitability for the tourism industry and the nation as a whole. Assuming that India, China, and the Middle East share common lifestyle relationships and partnerships, we can

categorize our tourists as follows: Figure 1: Lifestyle-based segmentation approach. Free Independent Travellers (FIT) include young adults aged 21-41, such as university students, college students, civil servants, and young men and women.

Group Travellers (GT) includes various types of people such as family, senior citizens, committee of friends, church groups, and peer groups. On the other hand, Executive Travellers (ET) consists of individuals who are achievers, self actualisers, ministers, governors, directors, managers, kings, and so on.

The reason for segmenting the Malaysian tourism market using the Lifestyle approach is as follows:

• To narrow down their target audience.
• To effectively match their internal strengths with external needs.
• To maximize their resources by saving time, cost and efforts.
• It will provide better opportunities for innovation and building brand equity.

Targeting

A target refers to a group of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that a company chooses to serve. The decision on targeting depends on the growth and attractiveness of the market as well as its profitability. Generally, there are three different strategies for targeting: differentiated (also known as segmented marketing strategy), undifferentiated (also known as mass marketing strategy), or targeting the entire market with just one offer.

Customized marketing, also called niche or concentrated marketing, is when a company focuses on capturing a significant portion of specific segments or niches (Kotler ; Armstrong 2001). Health tourism and ecotourism are examples of this strategy. In the Malaysian tourism market, the goal is to form partnerships and relationships with China, India, and the Middle East. To accomplish this, a differentiated approach is used to target these markets. This includes dividing Malaysian tourists into groups based on their desired

benefits or packages like F.I.T and G.

T, E. T) is requesting assistance from the Malaysian Tourism board. This will require addressing the different marketing mix for each segmented and differentiated category.

3Positioning Malaysia has undergone various rebranding efforts in order to address the competition in the tourism industry within the region. Unfortunately, these changes have had a negative impact on how Malaysia is perceived, resulting in a flawed reputation. Previous research has consistently shown that Malaysia's image is less distinct compared to its neighboring countries, particularly Indonesia and Thailand (Badruddin 1994). The three main factors contributing to this were identified as frequent changes, conflicting messages, and the diverse nature of Malaysia itself (ibid). However, no studies have been conducted to determine if Malaysia's image is clear among Middle Eastern, Chinese, and Indian tourists. In order to establish a successful position for ourselves, it is crucial that we offer a compelling value proposition.

At the same time, it must be single handed, consistently reinforced and believable (Figure 2). Table 2: The percevied image of different asian countries Source: (Badaruddin Mohamed 1994) Figure 2: Positioning ourselves in according to our segmentation As regard to Executive Travellers, the star always should be at top whether we offer an active lifestyle or passive one "relaxation packages". Luxuriousness, as a part of our DNA proposal, should be there all the times to ensure our trustworthiness. Conversely, we would like to create an active and very dynamic lifestyle for the Group Travellers. It should be advised, however, that Group Travellers always prioritize price on the top of quality.

Therefore, it is not possible to provide high quality at a low price. However,

the "star" position may be adjusted slightly to lower the price while still ensuring reasonable quality. Independent Travellers can be divided into two categories: those with a passive lifestyle and those with an active lifestyle. The quality offered should be maintained above the average and tailored to fit both active and passive lifestyles.

The Essence of Malaysia

The essence represents the unique and distinguishable characteristics. Having a healthy essence is essential. Research has shown that a strong marketing essence is linked to greater benefits and profitability (Allen 2005).

Any faulty nucleotide would result in a flaw "fault" in the organization. Malaysia's code should have distinct but friendly layers of definitions that guide all key brand decisions. We must deliver on our promise of providing all the differentiation we have. Therefore, all the values mentioned in our DNA should continue to be evident as we deliver our differentiation.

Our goal can easily be achieved by aligning our proposition with our reality. In our model, we emphasized the importance of simplicity in order to attract tourists. Complex DNAs may not be comprehensible and could potentially result in misunderstandings. Our philosophy in this design is to deliver the most important messages. Figure 3: Two models illustrating how to formulate your brand DNA (Melbourne University, 2009; BRANDDNA, 2007).

To develop our DNA, we need to address several key questions about our identity. What is our proposition and promise? The Ministry of Tourism needs to clearly communicate their promise to tourists and maintain consistency and continuity. This message should be visible throughout Malaysia in order to build trust and establish a strong connection between tourists and the tourism industry. We propose the following proposition:

Experience the excitement and safety of our rainforests while enjoying entertainment and luxury. Our goal is to create happiness for all visitors. What are the substantiators? These substantiators are the reasons why someone would choose Malaysia as their next destination for tourism.

They are very diverse and each one attracts a different nation. Table 3: Reasons for visiting Malaysia (Budruddin 2004). It is important for anyone visiting Malaysia to understand the values that underpin the philosophy of tourism in Malaysia. These values guide Malaysian behavior and drive their culture: (Abdulrahman 2006):

• Trustworthiness
• Sincerity
• Dedication
• Moderation
• Cleanliness
• Kindness
• Value time and money
• Dignity of simplicity
• Wisdom of economy
• Patience
• Culture and heritage
• Fun and safety.

What is the distinctive style? Malaysia tourism is customer-centered. The objective of doing such is to adapt the tourism promotions to be suitable for each segment and category (Ministry of tourism's report 2006).

Visiting Malaysia offers several benefits, which include the opportunity to meet and enjoy various cultures, exploring nature, practicing different languages, and experiencing the niche market. Additionally, Malaysia offers fun and safety, as well as convenient international locations for tourists. Moreover, tourists can enjoy shopping and saving while experiencing the effects on their ego. Ultimately, Malaysia aims to build profitable relationships with target tourists by providing greater value and benefits that justify higher prices. This strategic direction applies to all types of tourists: F.I.T, G.T, and E.

T, it is essential for the tourism market in Malaysia to understand the needs of tourists and strive to deliver customer values. (Figure 4: The strategic position of tourism in Malaysia) It is imperative

for all groups, without exception, to focus on differentiation. However, group travelers should also consider cost leadership alongside differentiation. In the case of Executive Travelers, cost is not a significant concern as differentiation is vital. To demonstrate our value, it is crucial to provide the best benefits at the best price, thus enabling tourists to save money.

Marketing Mix

Product Products encompass a wide range of entities such as physical objects, services, events, individuals, locations, organizations, ideas, or combinations of these elements (Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).

Since tourism primarily revolves around the services it provides, the main offerings of tourism businesses are recreational experiences and hospitality. Tourism is a multifaceted industry that encompasses various components that contribute to the overall travel experience. These components include transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, retail establishments, entertainment, aesthetics, and special events (Mahoney & Warnell, 2002). Therefore, it is crucial for us to carefully package and promote our product offering to specific target markets.

Tourism experience can be divided into five elements, which include trip planning and anticipation, travel to the site/area, the experience at the site, and travel back home (ibid).

Free Independent Travelers (FIT)

According to Tee (2009), hotels in Malaysia have been increasing their prices slightly, but they still offer good value for money compared to other hotels in the region. The average room rate in Malaysian hotels was RM275 in January 2009, up from RM265 the previous year. Currently, the average length of stay for hotel guests is 3.8 days, but the goal is to increase this to 5 days (Tee 2009).

To continuously promote Malaysia as a value for money destination, its good-value pricing

strategy should be continued, offering just the right combination of quality and good service at a fair price (Kotler ; Armstrong 2008).

Place

In making our services easily available to our target markets, we would apply two delivery approaches; direct channel marketing (selling services directly to target market without intermediaries) and indirect channel marketing (using intermediaries to help sell our services) (Kotler ; Armstrong 2008).

Promotion

A pull promotion strategy is considered appropriate for the tourism industry as it aims to generate market demand. This strategy involves allocating a significant budget towards advertising and consumer promotion in order to raise awareness and encourage visitation (Kotler ; Armstrong 2008). The promotional plan for FIT 8 will utilize various tools, such as advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, and sales promotion, to effectively target specific markets.

Group Travellers (GT)

The service experience of Group Travellers (GT) is influenced by the individuals they interact with and the general public. All employees, from flight attendants to immigration officers and hotel bell boys, are trained to have the necessary interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service knowledge to provide high-quality service. The process of delivering the service efficiently is also important. A one-stop solution provider can be implemented to streamline flight and accommodation bookings, as well as information seeking.

The system available via the internet provides information on travel time, distance, modes of transportation, directions, maps, food and activity suggestions, etc. This ease of movement is one reason why people return to a country.

On an interstate level, Malaysia is satisfactory. However, in Kuala Lumpur, the transportation service and system need improvement to ensure convenient

travel.

Physical Evidence

Physical evidence is a crucial component of the service mix that enables consumers to evaluate the organization (http://learnmarketing.net 2009). Therefore, it is important to provide clean and basic amenities.

g. public toilets, bus and train stations, food stalls and restaurants, kiosks, public transports and the environment. .

Control Measurements

Control measurements process involves evaluating the result of marketing strategies and plans and also taking corrective action to ensure the objectives are attained. Post implementing the marketing plan, we must ensure that all investment dollars are being well spent by measuring the returns of marketing investment. Return on Investment: What is ROI analysis? Return on Investment (ROI) analysis is one of several approaches to building a financial business case.

Return on marketing investment (ROI) refers to a performance measure utilized for assessing the efficacy of an investment or comparing the efficiencies among various investments. The calculation of ROI involves dividing the benefit (return) of an investment by its cost, resulting in a percentage or ratio. Decision makers strive to enhance ROI by reducing costs, increasing gains, or expediting gains. In essence, ROI serves as the core of every business as it gauges the profits yielded from marketing investments.