Business Opportunities And Marketing Mix For Yoga Studios In Cambodia

Marketing Mix and Value Creation Processes of Yoga Centers

The root of the research lies in two articles one from the Huffington Post and the other belonging to the BBC. Yoga has gained wide acceptance in the foreign wellness markets including the Southeast Asian markets. This is evident from the establishments of yoga studios which offer meditation services to international tourists. The yoga centers abroad are attracting thousands of practitioners (huffingtonpost.com 2018). Born in India thousands of years ago, this form of physical, mental and spiritual practice is benefitting thousands of people globally in the present age (bbc.com. 2018). The paper would explore the business opportunities of a yoga studioscan create in Cambodia in partnership with local NGOs to bring about economic development among the local people.The research would point out how yoga centers can use their marketing mixes to create value for the local population and international tourists.

The research would aim to outline the following objectives:

1. The first objective would be pointing out roles of yoga retreats in association with local NGOs in Cambodia in bringing about economic development among people getting less opportunities.
2. The second objective would be to outline the product attributes which would go into value creation for international tourists as far as the wellness centers including yoga studios are concerned.
3. The third objective would be to point out how the yoga centers can use push and pull strategy to market their products in association with other business firms like hotels and gyms.

1. How can yoga centers be established in Cambodia in partnership with local NGOs to promote social development in the country?

1. How can yoga centers and other wellness firms use marketing mixes to create value for international tourists?
2. How can social enterprises like yoga retreats provide rehabilitation of disadvantaged persons?
3. What marketing strategies yoga centers should take to expand in these markets to be able to create value for customers?

H0 Marketing can enable business establishments create value.

H1: Marketing mixes cannot enable business establishments create value.

The research would delve into the value creation processes of wellness centers like yoga centers using their marketing mixes.

Huang and Sarigöllü(2014) defines marketing mix as a marketing tool which business organizations use to market their products in the global market. The marketing mix model has four components or pillars. They are products, pricing, place and promotion. The service marketing mixes of service providing organizations consist of service products. The first component of the marketing mix model of service marketing firms are the services they offer to customers. For example, the services of yoga studios are different types of yogas which they offer to their customers. The international yoga centers offer yoga services to international tourists as well. Kraus et al. (2016) in this respect point out that a very important aspect of success of service marketing is to offer services according to the requirements and preferences of customers. They further point out that as far as wellness services like yoga are concerned, the perception differs according to various factors like their country of origin. Page  et al.(2017) strengthens this view of Kraus et al.(2016) in their work. They point out that wellness tourism is a fast emerging niche market as far as global tourism industry is concerned. They further point out that tourists today prefer to travel abroad these wellness services. As report published by the Travel Daily News re[ports that wellness tourism market is expected to surpass $ 800 billion by 2020. The article points out that several countries are looking forward to their respective wellness tourism markets to boost their tourism industries and revenue generation from the industry (traveldailynews.asia 2018). Thus, it can pointed out on the grounds of analysis of this discussion that wellness service providers should aim to create value to customers through their wellness packages. The providers of wellness tourism services like providing yoga services to international tourists should use appropriate appropriate product designs to ensure enhancement of value to the customers. The second pillar of service marketing mixes of wellness service providing firms is pricing. According to Maneenetr, Naipinit and Tran(2015), pricing is the second attribute of the marketing mixes of providing firms which again plays a very important role in value creation to international customers. The wellness service providing should use appropriate pricing taking into various factors related to customers, like their countries of origin and financial capability. They should have product packages considering both middle class tourists and upper class tourists. The pricing strategy of the wellness product packages for upper class can be premium pricing to create the perception of premium quality among them. Again, in order to create value for middle class customers, the wellness service providers can adopt down stretching strategy by appropriately adjusting the product-pricing combination. Romanova, VetitnevandDimanche (2016) mention that this appropriate pricing strategy according to the need and financial capacity of the tourisms would contribute towards creation of value for the latter. The next component of the service mixes of well services firms consist of place which includes both brick-and-mortar outlets as well as the digital space.Jaakkolaand Alexander (2014) points out a very important aspect of service marketing which separates it from goods marketing as far as the place is concerned. They point out that while goods manufacturing companies can sell their products on digital platforms, service marketing providers like wellness centers cannot sell services on the digital platform. Thus, in this respect, their physical presence in the market is of tremendous significance as far as provision of wellness services like yoga services and creation of value are concerned. The fourth and the last component of marketing mixes of services providing companies is promotion which allows them to attract customers. VetitnevandDimanche (2016) again point out that appropriate promotional mixes of the wellness providers needs to combine pricing as well. These service providers should promote their services in the international markets using the digital space to attract international tourists. Barreda, et al. (2015) in this respect point out that promotion is of great importance to the international wellness service providers because it is not only important to create awareness about their services but also about the significance of wellness services among tourists. Thus, it can be inferred from the discussion that a combination of both the wellness services and their advantages would enable the firms to attract an immense consumer base.

The Four Components of Marketing Mix for Yoga Centers

It would be worthy to take a leaf out from the article by Kraus et al.(2016) to stress on the service attributes that wellness services providers like yoga services need to incorporate in their wellness products. The authors clearly mention that the wellness firms should take into the factors like cultural attributes of the tourists to design appropriate wellness product packages for international tourists. Tsaur, Luoh and Syue(2015) contradict this opinion and point out that mere wellness packages would not succeed in creation without appropriate aesthetic appeal of the ambience of the wellness centers. Thus, it can be point out in this respect that aesthetics and layout of the yoga studios would contribute to the product strategy. Lovelock and Patterson (2015) point out another important aspect of service attribute which is training of staff. The yoga retreats should train their staff members to provide premium services to the international tourists. These superior services would create strong perception about the benefits against the cost of services among the tourists. Thus, it can be inferred from the discussion that this formidable marketing mix can enable the wellness centers like yoga studios create strong influence on the purchase decisions of customers.

Whyte (2016) in his work points out two important strategies which yoga studios and other wellness centers can use to market their products-push and pull campaigns using appropriate communication mix. Hashemi et al. (2015) point out that the yoga studios can consider several parameters to push their products to gain access to vast base of international tourists. Boulay, Hritz, and Nancy (2016) point out in this respect that the yoga centers while choosing appropriate push strategies should consider the size of business of the channel partners like mixed wellness centers and gymnasiums. For example, they can market their expensive products in high-end wellness centers while the middle scale wellness centers can be approached to sell middle range yoga packages. The yoga studios can also provide wellness services in hotels and guest houses where foreign tourists stay. Hattinghand Spencer (2017) points out that yoga studios can take pricing as the second parameter to apply push strategies. As far as application of pull strategies is concerned, VetitnevandDimanche (2016) in these respect mentions that yoga studios must use their promotional mixes to pull or attract customers using their official websites. Bowie et al.(2016) point out that yoga studios should use emails and newsletters as parts of their communication mixes. Thus, it can be inferred from the analysis of this discussion that appropriate partnering and communication strategy can enable yoga studios to attract immense consumer base.

Reid et al. (2018) defines social enterprises as organizations which offer commercial services to bring about social development. Andersonand Dees (2017) point out a very significant trend in the wellness tourism. The social enterprises today are using appropriate pricing to serve both upper and middle class tourists. BallesterosandLlanto (2017) point out those social enterprises creates employment opportunities and brings about economic development. The yoga centers can employ the local people who are disadvantaged and enable them to gain financial development. The local disadvantaged people would be able to serve international tourists and earn their own livelihood. This economic development may encourage entrepreneurial development among these people, thus causing further employment opportunities. Thus, it can be pointed out that social enterprises create advantage for both the international tourists and customers.

Incorporating Service Attributes for Value Creation

Lim et al. (2018) point out that yoga studios following the social enterprise format should offer high quality services in the premises of their business partners like other wellness centers and hotels which they incorporate in their push strategy. Sigala (2018) point out that the yoga studios should also promote their partners and enable them to expand their business. This would enable them to co-create values for both themselves and their partners.

Following are the recommendations which can be made on the basis of the discussion:

1. The yoga centers should employ local people in Cambodia to bring about economic development among them. The yoga centers should provide a wide array of services like gym and acrobatics training to enhance value for international tourists.
2. They should expand their presence in multiple locations to attract more tourists.

Research Methodology is based on the methodological tools that will be used in the particular research to complete the research. The methodology chapter provides a systematic approach to describing or exploring the research topic using appropriate methods. Apart from this the particular chapter also helps in the prediction of a particular research phenomenon by using the different kind of tools. The methodology chapter in the research will be describing and justifying the different types of tools, designs, approaches and strategies that will be used for the particular kind of research.  

The three most widely used research designs are exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research designs. An explanatory research design will provide opportunity to the researcher to explain reasons for a particular phenomenon. It will also help to predict and define future occurrences. On the other hand exploratory research design will be helping to test the hypothesis and the objectives and question. The descriptive research design will emphasize on the characteristics of a selected population by means of the collection of the necessary data. The following research will be using the descriptive research data.

The following research is based on the Yoga tourism in Cambodia which needs more of a theory based and detailed research. Therefore the formulator of the research will be using the descriptive research design to complete the research. The use of the descriptive research design is very much justified for the following research. The use of this particular research design will provide the researcher with an opportunity to clarify the research hypothesis and the topic selected for the research. Apart from this a deep understanding about the cause and effect relationship of the research can also be gained from the completion of the following research. The selection of the particular design also helps in the prediction of the future occurrences or the future demand of the Yoga based tourism in Cambodia. Exploratory and the explanatory research design are not at all capable to predict the following occurrences accordingly. The formulator of the research will also get the idea about the different problems related with the research as well as will be able to provide recommendations to such problems.

The two main research approaches are deductive and inductive research approaches. The deductive approach will help the researcher to construct the hypothesis of the research based on the related theories and models. On the other hand the inductive approach will generally concentrate more on the development of new theories and concepts based on research observations.

Conclusion

The research on the future of the Yoga Tourism in Cambodia has to be analyzed using the deductive research approach. The deductive research approach is much more efficient and capable for this particular research than that of the other approaches to the research. The first and foremost use that the deductive approach brings with it is the ability to test the hypothesis of the research accordingly and whether or not Yoga Tourism has really a future in Cambodia. The use of the deductive approach will also be helpful to prepare the research based on the use of the previously constructed theories and models of Marketing and Tourism. The general data that will be acquired especially for this particular research topic will have to be analyzed and evaluated using statistical perspective. The use of the inductive approach in this particular case will imply the researcher to work on theories and models and totally avoid the statistical perspective on the viewpoint of the Australian tourists about the topic. This will then shift the focus of the researcher to the formation of new theories and models from the formation of a new and developed research hypothesis.

The four most commonly used research strategies are case study, action research, interview and survey strategies. The case study research strategy will be based on the collection of data from different types of secondary sources. In the case of action research, based on the identified issues of the research, solutions will be provided and implemented thereby helping in its solution. The interview and survey methods will help to collect real life raw data that will be useful in the research.

The strategy of the research helps to provide the research the right degree to follow the correct way. In the case of the particular research the survey research strategy will be chosen. This is because the following provided the opportunity to the researcher to collect and gather data from the different organizational perspectives. The survey will allow the researcher to collect and gather data from the different types of industrial perspectives especially that of the tourism and more specifically the Yoga tourism perspective. The references will be obtained from the research participants who will be selected from the likes of the different people related to the tourism industry in Australia.

In order to conduct the survey and the interview, the researcher will have to select the appropriate sampling technique. As said by, Lim et al. (2018) the widely used techniques in sampling are probability and non-probability techniques. Samples are collected from a wide range of population based on the specific criterion like age, sex, gender. While on the other hand, the probability sampling technique provides equal chances for the participants who are selected for the process of data collection.

The systematic sampling technique will be used for the completion of the sampling procedures of the research. In order to understand the future of the yoga tourism and also to gain a deep understanding of the Yoga Tourism in Cambodia, the viewpoint of the different people especially the people related to the tourism industry is essential for the survey. The selection of the non probability sampling technique will also help to avoid any form of bias in the research. This will be helpful for the research to be successful in nature. The sampling will involve the collection of responses from around 50 different travelers.

References

The two most widely used data collection techniques are primary and secondary. The primary data collection technique involves the participation of live participants as the sources of the collection of data. This generally includes qualitative and quantitative data. The secondary data collection method includes the likes of data collection from related books, journals and other literary sources.

The research will use both the primary as well as the secondary data collection methods. The literature review in the research will be purely based on different kinds of secondary sources. The secondary sources will contain the likes of the books related to tourism, journals of tourism, online facilities and different kinds of other researches on the same topic and many more as such. The use of the secondary data collection helps to apply a number of different models and theories based on the tourism and promotion of unique tourism concepts to the people. The research on the other way will be using both the primary as well as the secondary sources of research to complete the analysis of the different results.  The use of a set of open-ended and close ended questions will be helpful for the gathering of relevant information and to get a clear viewpoint of the different processes. As a primary source of information the research will survey 50 different individuals from the tourism industry to gather the different results.

The data will be collected after the analysis of the primary and secondary data. The data collected from the primary data collection technique needs to be analyzed properly in order to prove the null hypothesis or the alternative hypothesis that will be formed in the research. Apart from this the statistical analysis technique will also be completed accordingly. 

The SPSS method will be used for the analysis of the data collected from the workers of the tourism industry as well as the common tourists. The data has to be summarized through descriptive statistics that includes percentages and frequencies. Pie charts, graphs and tables have to be used appropriately to present the collected data for ease of understanding and comparison.

The short time and the limited budget restrict the scope of the research and limits it global value. Apart from this the availability of small number of respondents is also one of the major limitations of the research. Apart from this the limit of the research in only some selected areas is one of the largest limitations of the research.  

Ethics is considered to be one of the most important elements in the total research process. The absence of ethics will lead to the failure of the research. First and foremost the research has to be conducted on honest and integrated ways. Honesty and integrity must be the basis of the research. Next comes the safety and security of the research participants which has to be ensured at any cost to protect the privacy of the participants. The data protection act of 1998 bounds the researcher to maintain the confidentiality of the responses and other forms of information used for the research. The researcher must not disclose any data or information that has been collected from the research participants during the course of the research. Another ethical consideration states that the researcher cannot force the participants to be a part of the data collection process. The participants need to conduct the survey willingly and not forcefully. Moreover, the researcher needs to use the data collected strictly for academic purpose rather than commercial purpose. Therefore, the researcher needs to follow and implement the ethical considerations to complete the research successfully.

                                                                                                  Table No 1: Timeline

                                                                                       Source: (As created by the Author)

                                                                                                 Source: (As created by the Author)

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