Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Situation Analysis 3
Macro and Micro Environment 3
SWOT analysis for Turkish airlines 4
Strengths 5
Weaknesses 6
Opportunities 6
Threats 6
Pest analysis of Turkish Airlines 7
Economic analysis 7
Social analysis 7
Political analysis 8
Technological analysis 8
Marketing Objectives 9
Marketing Strategies 10
Segmentation 10
Targeting 10
Positioning 11
Market Entry and Gap analysis 11
Ansoff Matrix 12
Marketing Programmes 12
Marketing Mix- 7P’s 12
Marketing Advertising 14
Market Implementation 14
Monitor and control metrics 14
Recommendations and conclusion 15
References 16

Introduction
The purpose of this report paper is providing a marketing plan for Turkish Airlines which launches a new route to Santiago – Chile. This marketing plan has been subdivided into multiple sections that include the situational analysis. The situation analysis details the macro and microenvironment of Turkish airlines through SWOT and PEST analysis. The research report provides the marketing objectives in addition to the marketing strategies including segmentation, targeting, positioning, market entry and gap analysis as well as Ansoff matrix. Other sections of the marketing plan report include the marketing programmes, marketing advertising, market implementation, monitoring and control, the marketing planning cycle, and finally recommendations and conclusion.
Situation Analysis
Situation analysis refers to a number of methods which are utilized by managers in analyzing the internal and external environment of the organization with an aim of understanding its customers, capabilities, and business environment (Feinberg, Kinnear, & Taylor, 2013). The situation analysis is part of a marketing plan as it is essential in establishing a long-term relationship with the organizational customers.
Macro and Micro Environment
The macro-environment is defined as the general environment in an economy which influences the performance, working, strategy, and decision making of all groups of businesses (Knecht, 2014). Macro environment is dynamic and changes frequently. It consists of the outside sources that are not under the control of the organization but they have a significant effect on how the firm functions (Birnleitner, & Student, 2013). A study of macro environment is referred to as the PESTLE analysis an acronym for certain variables in the environment such as political, economic, social, technological, legal and environment. In this marketing plan report, macro environment will be assessed through PEST analysis. On the other hand, microenvironment is referred to as the environment that has direct contact with the organization meaning that the routine activities of the business can be affected (Pîndiche, & Ionita, 2013). The microenvironment is a collection of the forces that are closest to the firm and are often unique to the organization itself. Some of the elements evident in this environment include suppliers, customers, employees, media, competitors, and the organization itself. The microenvironment of Turkish Airlines will be analyzed using SWOT analysis an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
SWOT analysis for Turkish airlines
Strengths Weaknesses
• The airline has an added advantage since it is highly supported by the government.
• The airlines have a global network serving more than 214 destinations in the world
• Positive advantages from liberalization policies
• Innovative marketing strategies
• The airline has a more than 25000 employees worldwide
• The airline is centrally located such that it can serve the Europe and Asian continents. • Stiff competition from some of the world’s leading airlines.
• The government has restricted any chances for expansion of the airline.
• The airline under-utilizes potential membership with star alliances.
Opportunities Threats
• The tourism industry in turkey has flourished in the past couple of years.
• Increment in disposable income among its population in the United Kingdom
• The competitive market in turkey is used to create a strong brand image
• African route expansion • Rising fuel prices and labor costs which affect the business margins.
• Low cost carriers.
• Economic turndown
• Geopolitical events can disrupt services

Strengths
The geographical location of Istanbul provides the airline with a great advantage whereby it is able to serve the Europe and Asian continents. With more than 214 destinations worldwide, Istanbul provides 183 destinations which are close to the airline making the transport to be fast and efficient (torlak, &Şanal, 2007). Liberalization policies have enabled the country to develop relationships with other nations regardless of their differences. Turkey is also one of the most populated countries in Europe with more than 75 million people whereby most of them are young (Sevkli, Oztekin, Uysal, Torlak, Turkyilmaz&Delen, 2012). This young generation gives the airline a big advantage in securing a good future for the company and the labor force is high in the airline (Sevkli et.al, 2012).
Weaknesses
The Turkish government has denied the airline any chances for expansion and therefore the company tends to maintain the number of flights it makes yearly making it difficult to make more profits (Sevkli et.al, 2012). The Turkish network penetration is also weak especially in the southern Asia and south west pacific.
Opportunities
The Turkish emirates have a strong lead in Africa and specifically South Africa and this has opened an opportunity for expansion of the routes made by the airline to South Africa. Daily aircraft utilization has greatly improved for the Turkish airline in the last couple of years. With the rise of tourism in Turkey, the development of the airline in terms of transport is promising due to the high turnout of tourists (Jeon & Kim, 2011).
Threats
Jeon & Kim, (2011) observed that the fluctuation and increment of fuel prices proves to be a big challenge to the Turkish airline. Turkey has been faced with domestic uncertainties before and has troubles with the Middle East exposing the airline to a generic risk (Ghorbani, Velayati&Ghorbani, 2011). Since 2014, the profit margin for the airline has fallen although it is more profitable than the majority in legacy carriers in Turkey. However, the profit margin is way below the average level of low cost carriers available in turkey. The competition with these low cost carriers is also increasing and this is diminishing the popularity of the airline as a major form of transport (Ghorbani et.al, 2011).

Pest analysis of Turkish Airlines
Pest analysis is the process in which an organization evaluates its environment before starting any business venture (Recklies, 2006).
Economic analysis
The country has experienced a high flow of investment in the past years and continues to maintain the flow year after year. In addition to this, Turkey has welcomed foreign investment which has played a major role in the economic stability of the nation (Gupta, 2013). Turkey as a country is a source of tourist attraction due to its shopping streets and delicious foods. Therefore, the economy of the nation is highly improved by the tourists who visit the country year after year to have the experience of their lives. Moreover, tourism in the country is not seasonal and although the famous beach holiday market is between the month of May and September, local tourism is continuous throughout the year. The government of Turkey also began the privatization program back in 2008 where highways and bridges among other things were sold (Gupta, 2013). Additionally, the government shared the commercial bank partly with private institutions to stabilize the economy of the nation.
Social analysis
Turkeys population mainly consists of young people with most people aged 30 and below (Aydin, 2005). This is an indication that the labor force in turkey is very strong. Turkey has a unique lifestyle that differs from the neighboring Europeans and Asians since most of the people are Eurasians (Aydin, 2005). Additionally, the nation is known for its many events and festivals which are classified into national and religious festivals.
Political analysis
The country has also trade involvement with global bodies such as the European nation whereby the country targets an export rate increase of 10% every year (Hansen, 1991). According to Aydin, (2005)Turkey has liberalization policies which enable the government to trade with other countries despite their differences. The political structure of the country has remained the same for many years with the top seat being given to the prime minister although it changed in 2014 when a decision was made to replace the prime minister with the president (Aydin, 2005).
In the recent years, the growth of Turkey and its diplomatic initiatives have made it recognized as a regional power (Hansen, 1991). Turkey values the education of its people and since it has a centralized government, the ministry of education manages the education structure while the council of higher education manages the tertiary level of education. Most schools in Turkey receive financial benefit and support from the government although the schools also welcome the help offered by the parent association. Turkey is widely known for its potential in various sectors such as the construction, retail and telecom sectors. Moreover, there are nation economic problems in the past due to negative actions such as terror attacks. Extremist groups and military that have links with the al-Qaida have targeted trademark buildings in the nation giving the Turkey a bad political view and slowing the country’s economic growth (Hansen, 1991).
Technological analysis
Tourism is very important in Turkey and therefore, the government provides any needed resources and research funds for the development of the industry (Aydin, 2005). The country has good researchers in the tourism department. Therefore, the government has given the research mandate to the national tourist board which contains any information an individual need to know about tourism. The government has also decided to change their old technological equipment’s with modernized ones to ensure efficiency in research (Hansen, 1991). Moreover, the ICT sector is developed with the number of people who use the internet increasing annually which is because of privatization of the sector.
Marketing Objectives
The marketing plan’s primary objectives have been formulated in accordance with the SMART criteria that provide a guide in objective setting. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The objectives are as listed below:
• To launch and operate a new route to Santiago- Chile aiming at linking Turkey with the growing markets of South America
• To offer service and absorb the demand which is unmet in the new route to Santiago- Chile
• To implement a marketing and organizational strategy that will achieve an average passenger load factor of between 65-85% in the first year of operation and later increase to 75-90 % range which will maximize revenues and the return on investment
• To achieve net operating profits during the first 12 months of operating within the new route
• Finally, to identify and develop critical interline alliances, associations, cooperation’s, and partnerships with airlines regarded highly across the globe

Marketing Strategies
In realizing the set marketing objectives, this marketing plan will employ a number of marketing strategies as described below.
Segmentation
In the new route that the Turkish Airline will be operating in, customers will be segmented into four distinct market segments which have distinct needs. Market segmentation is defined as the process where a business market is divided into a number of sub-groups known as segments based on shared features (Vashisht, 2005). The first segment will involve non-business consumers who are frequent travelers and generally are older customers who have time to move around the world for holiday. They seek more comfort when travelling because they are experienced in travel and Turkish Airlines will offer them their desire. The second market segment that Turkish Airlines will focus on will be urgent travelers who have urgent needs which might be unexpected. Therefore, Turkish Airlines will withhold some few seats on each flight towards Santiago to cater for the needs of this customer segment. The other segment that Turkish Airlines will focus on will be business travelers operating between Turkey and Chile. Finally, Turkish Airlines will also seek to serve the budget conscious segment who are often travelers sensitive to prices.
Targeting
Targeting is the second stage in the process of segmenting (Dibb, & Simkin, 1991). The route to Santiago in this case been divided into four categories or market segments which are budget conscious, business travelers, urgent travelers, and non-business consumers. Targeting is therefore choosing or selecting from these four segments the best which the airline can concentrate on. Efforts and resources of the organization are targeted at the selected market segment. Following this, Turkish Airline will target to serve the business travelers, urgent travelers, and non-business consumers.
Positioning
Market positioning refers to a place which a specific brand occupies the customer’s mind and how it distinguishes from the services or products which are provided by the competitors (Easingwood, & Koustelos, 2000). To position a brand, organizations needs to put emphasis on the features that distinguish a brand or create a suitable image that identifies easily with the customers (Janiszewska, & Insch, 2012). In the case of Turkish Airline’s operations in this new route, the positioning that it will adopt will be that of value and quality. This means that Turkish Airlines will focus on providing the highest quality services that adds or provides value for the money that the customers pay.
Market Entry and Gap analysis
To enter the new route to Santiago, Turkish Airline is proposed to enter the market in Chile as a wholly owned subsidiary. A wholly owned subsidiary is an organization that is completely owned by another firm (Sukali, & Musyoka, 2017). The company owning the subsidiary is referred to as the parent company and hence has control of the subsidiary including appointment of the board of directors. The benefit of this mode of entry is that it offers an opportunity for Turkish Airline to diversify and at the same time manage risks (Tang, & Liu, 2011).
Gap analysis is used by organizations to understand and quantify the gaps which exist between the present and future state (Linneman, & Stanton, 1995). Analyzing the available gaps provides an opportunity for the company to create specific action plans that will enable achievement of the goals set (Cheverton, 2004). In this case, for instance, the effective goals for Turkish airline will be satisfaction of the customers, sales revenues and capacity freight. Being that the Santiago route will be a new route that Turkish airlines has not undertaken before, there is no historical data to provide a benchmark. To achieve this, sample data will be collected via a survey for instance to establish the feedback from the customers. Analysis of the gap will follow and aid in informed decision-making (Dibb, & Simkin, 2008).
Ansoff Matrix
The purpose of Ansoff matrix is helping a business determine its growth strategy both product and market related (Meldrum, & McDonald, 2007). This matrix suggests that the attempt of a business to grow is dependent on whether it is marketing new or existing services in an existing or new market (Bachmeier, 2013). In this case, of Turkish airlines entering a new route to Santiago- Chile, it is a business entering a new market while offering the same services that the company is known for around the world. According to the Ansoff matrix, the growth strategy that applies is the market development. Market development is a growth strategy where a business aims at selling its existing services or products into new markets (Bachmeier, 2013). Turkish airlines will be moving into a new geographical market that it has not been operating before.

Marketing Programmes
Marketing Mix- 7P’s
The purpose of the 7 P’s is satisfying the customers in the targeted markets (Rafiq, & Ahmed, 1995). Below is a description of each of the P’s.
Product
Product in this case is the service which Turkish airlines will be selling to the customers in the new route to Santiago. The service will be transportation of goods and passengers in the most comfortable ambience.
Price
The pricing strategy that Turkish airlines will adopt at first will vary from the normal pricing in other routes. This is because it is a new route and hence not profit oriented at the initial stages. Discounts and seasonal pricing will largely be used during the first 6 months to market this route.
Promotion
Turkish airlines will use advertising, direct marketing, and promotions to have customers aware of the new route the company will be operating. Social media marketing will also be adopted by the airline.
Place
The place in this case is Santiago- Chile from Turkey.
People
The company will apply its best employees to offer services in this route. Additional staff will be employed from Chile with an aim of providing customers with service as per the country’s culture. Training and development will be done to develop the skills of the employees and enable them provide excellent customer service and at the same time develop a positive customer experience.
Process
Over the years, the company has put in place processes that will enable the same standard to be provided repeatedly in the new route.
Physical Evidence
Turkish airlines will open new offices in Santiago- Chile.
Marketing Advertising
Market advertising by Turkish Airlines will be done through AIDA and personal communication. AIDA is an acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. In the first step, attention, the customer becomes aware of the service (Rawal, 2013). The second step consumer develops interest by knowing about the benefits of the services before developing the desire. The final step is action where the customer develops a purchase intention. On the other hand, promotional communication will involve using the right mix of promotional activities to have the new route known among the target customers.
Market Implementation
Market implementation refers to the process of executing the marketing plan by having specific actions which ensures the objectives set are achieved. When implemented well, Turkish airlines will achieve success in the new route. Implementation will be done using the consensus approach where managers and employees work together to evaluate and develop marketing strategies for the plan developed.
Monitor and control metrics
Monitoring and controlling the marketing plan will be a critical component in achievement of the set objectives. Monitoring will be done by the top-management by assessing the number of customers per trip, and the feedback on service and price. Some of the control metrics to measure the marketing effectiveness will include unique visitors, loyal customers, freight capacity, total costs, and number of trips in a month. The marketing planning cycle will be used for this business plan beginning with the audit and analysis, planning, implementation and control and evaluation (Dibb, & Simkin, 2008).
Recommendations and conclusion
Based on the situation analysis, it is recommended that Turkish Airlines should start operations by launching the new route to Santiago. The airline has what it takes to start a successful business in this part of the world. Turkish airlines has built a good brand across the globe by offering quality services and this provides it with a head-start in the new route. It is also recommended that the airline should conduct a survey that will allow the managers to better understand this route and the South American travel dynamics. By doing so, the company will understand the target customers and structure its services to meet their demand and expectations.
In conclusion, this marketing plan for Turkish airlines has been prepared after performing an analysis of the company’s macro and micro environment through SWOT and PEST analysis. Marketing objectives were developed using the SMART criteria and through innovative marketing strategies and programmes, it is recommended that the airline should launch the new route but upon further surveillance.

References
Aydin, Z. (2005). The political economy of Turkey. Pluto Press.
Gupta, A. (2013). Environmental and pest analysis: An approach to external business environment. Merit Research Journal of Art, Social Science and Humanities, 1(2), 13-17.
Hansen, B. (1991). The political economy of poverty, equity, and growth: Egypt and Turkey. Oxford University Press.
Jeon, Y., & Kim, J. (2011). An application of SWOT-AHP to develop a strategic planning for a tourist destination.
Recklies, D. (2006). PEST Analysis.
Sevkli, M., Oztekin, A., Uysal, O., Torlak, G., Turkyilmaz, A., &Delen, D. (2012). Development of a fuzzy ANP based SWOT analysis for the airline industry in Turkey. Expert systems with Applications, 39(1), 14-24.
Torlak, N. G., &Şanal, M. (2007). David’s strategy formulation framework in action: the example of Turkish Airlines on domestic air transportation. İstanbul TicaretÜniversitesi Fen BilimleriDergisi, 6(12), 81-114.
Feinberg, F. M., Kinnear, T. C., & Taylor, J. R. (2013). Modern marketing research: Concepts, methods, and cases. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Knecht, M. (2014). Diversification, industry dynamism, and economic performance: The impact of dynamic-related diversification on the multi-business firm. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
Pîndiche, E., & Ionita, R. (2013). The influence of micro and macro environment components on trade companies in romania. Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, 9, 327-337.
Birnleitner, H., & Student, D. (2013). Influence of Macro-Environmental Factors to the Process of Integrating a Foreign Business Entity. In MIC 2013: Industry, Science and Policy Makers for Sustainable Future; Proceedings of the 14th International Conference, Koper, 21–23 November 2013 [Selected Papers] (pp. 387-400). University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper.
Vashisht, K. (2005). A practical approach to marketing management. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.
Dibb, S., & Simkin, L. (1991). Targeting, segments and positioning. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 19(3).
Janiszewska, K., & Insch, A. (2012). The strategic importance of brand positioning in the place brand concept: elements, structure and application capabilities. Journal of International Studies Vol, 5(1).
Easingwood, C., & Koustelos, A. (2000). Marketing high technology: preparation, targeting, positioning, execution. Business Horizons, 43(3), 27-34.

Sukali, K., & Musyoka, D. R. (2017). International Market Entry Strategies, Organizational Characteristics And The Performance Of Manufacturing Firms In Kenya. Journal of Strategic Management, 1(2), 68-85.
Tang, J. A., & Liu, B. S. (2011). A network based theory of foreign market entry mode and post-entry performance. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(23).
Linneman, R. E., & Stanton, J. L. (1995). Marketing Planning in a Total Quality Environment. Psychology Press.

Cheverton, P. (2004). Key Marketing Skills. London, England : Kogan Page
Dibb, S., & Simkin, L. (2008). Marketing planning: A workbook for marketing managers. London: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Meldrum, M., & McDonald, M. (2007). Marketing in a nutshell: Key concepts for non-specialists. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Bachmeier, K. (2013). Analysis of marketing strategies used by pepsico based on ansoff’s theory. Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag.
Rafiq, M., & Ahmed, P. K. (1995). Using the 7Ps as a generic marketing mix: an exploratory survey of UK and European marketing academics. marketing intelligence & planning, 13(9), 4-15.
Rawal, P. (2013). AIDA Marketing Communication Model: Stimulating a purchase decision in the minds of the consumers through a linear progression of steps. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in Social & Management Sciences, 1(1), 37-44.
Dibb, S., & Simkin, L. (2008). Marketing planning: A workbook for marketing managers. London: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Ghorbani, M., Velayati, R., &Ghorbani, M. M. (2011, May). Using fuzzy TOPSIS to determine strategy priorities by SWOT analysis. In International Conference on Financial Management and Economics (Vol. 11, pp. 135-139).