Evaluate how Thorpe Park should develop its products and services in the future, given the tough competition.

Before 1987: Thorpe Park consisted of a few non-thrilling rides.

987: Over 2 million was spent on the Thunder River rapids ride.

989: Canada Creek and its attractions were born.

993: Calgary Stampede arrived with a virtual reality centre.

994: Ranger Country opened with two new rides.

996: X:\ No Way Out opened, it was one of the biggest investments in the history of the park.

998: The Dino Bumper Boat Ride opened as well as Wet! Wet! Wet!, torpedo water slides in the pool area.

999: Following the Tussauds Group purchase of the park, Pirates 4D cinema opened starring Leslie Neilson.

2001: The park opened three new thrill rides: Zodiac, Vortex and the 100ft high drop tower, Detonator.

2002: Visitor numbers boomed with Colossus: The world's first ten looping coaster, and Ribena Rumba Rapids.

2004: The mighty Samurai from Chessington replaced Calgary Stampede.

As we can see, Thorpe Park has grown considerably over the last 15 years, and is a clear result of the amount of capital and investment that has been injected into the park. Later in the project I will explore how the investments have changed Thorpe Park and evaluate these.

At the moment, Thorpe Park is part of a private limited company, which means it is not totally liable for any debts. However, it is possible that they may change and go public next year.

The marketing mix

Price- pricing is very important in the marketing of a product. There are various techniques of this which will help the consumer choose to buy a specific good. At Thorpe Park competitive pricing is used. This is because it will attract customers who would otherwise go elsewhere for entertainment e.g. a cinema.

Place- The place of a product is crucial for the selling of it. At Thorpe Park this is the access to it. There are many main roads including the M25 which makes access for consumers to the park easier.

Product- Obviously the product needs to be aimed towards the consumers needs or wants. At Thorpe Park a number of rides are built for a specific age group (16-25 year olds). These rides may be at different stages of their product lifecycle, and it is down to the owners of the business to change them when they reach the end. Examples of products at the beginning of the product lifecycle are "Colossus", "Nemesis Inferno" and "Tidal Wave". These are rides that have been recently built and are considered to be the main attraction of the park due to their exciting features. Also the product (the rides) must be of good quality and be safe.

Promotions- Promotion or advertising helps improve the reputation of a product. At Thorpe Park there are many advertisements on T.V, newspapers and radio to attract people to the park. Also there have been many promotional discounts which again attract people to the park. An example of this is the temporary discount for Adults and children, where admission for one child per family is free.

Methodology

I will collect both primary and secondary data. My primary data will come from questionnaires and a seminar talk at the park itself. Also I will be experiencing the rides as a consumer and make my own opinions. The advantage of this is that I can get a clear insight into the park from clear, accurate data.

My secondary data will come from the internet and books. The advantage of this is that it is easy to collect however data may be inaccurate or outdated.

I will complete my questionnaires at Thorpe Park and compile the data into graphs and tables. I will then analyse the data and make necessary recommendations.

Data Gathering and Presentation

I gathered results from questionnaires by asking 50 different individuals to fill in my questionnaire. My questions included:

. How many times did you visit the park in 2003? - I asked this to see how often people come to the park.

2. What was your favourite thrill ride at Thorpe? - I included this to find out which product is most favoured in the park.

3. Do you think park security was adequate? - Again to find out if the overall product (Thorpe Park).

4. How do you rate the pricing of Thorpe Park? - To see if people think the price is correct for the quality of the park.

5. Do you think any promotions would attract you to the park? - To find out whether Thorpe Park's promotional discounts actually work

6. Where have you travelled from - To see how big the sphere of influence is to the park.

7. Did you have any trouble getting here? - Surveying the access to the park therefore finding out about the 'place'

8. How old are you? - To find out the main target market

Data Analysis

My results give me a clear indication that Thorpe Park is generally a well run business, however I have found some faults.

Firstly only 20% of the people surveyed said that they visited the park more than twice a year. This could be associated with the 'place' part of the marketing mix. People may find it difficult to get to the park therefore making them visit rarely. Also they may think the park is too overpriced.

The most favoured ride in the park was Colossus. However 75% of the people who favoured it were under 40. Although this shows that it is very popular, some of the rides do not appeal to older people in the market.

90% of people asked said they had no problem with the security of the park and only 10% said they had 'small concerns'. So overall the security was ok

The price of the park was thought to be too high by 70% of people. 10% said it was only just acceptable and the remaining 20% thought of it to be 'very good value for money'.

50% of interviewees said the promotional discounts were one of the main reasons that attracted them to the park. 22% said they would have still gone to the park, regardless of any promotion however 28% said they were unaware of one. This may be due to lack of advertisement.

60% of people lived within 2 hours driving distance of the park with the other 40% having travelled 2 hours or more. Interestingly there was a pattern linking with the pricing of the park. Out of the 40% that had travelled more than 2 hours, 80% of them thought the park was overpriced. This may be because they had travelled from more northern area's where prices are usually cheaper for all products in general.

55% of interviewees had no trouble getting to the park however the other 45% said they had traffic problems, mainly on the 'M25'. Also 20% said they had trouble parking.

The most popular age group at the park was the '16-25 year old' category with 60%. The least popular was the 60+ group. This shows that the park is obviously aimed towards the younger generation.

Evaluation and recommendations

On the whole, I think Thorpe Park is successful in its marketing but I have some recommendations. I will show these under the four separate headings of marketing.

Product

The rides at Thorpe Park seem adequate to the ages of 16-25 year olds, however if they want to appeal to older people or even families they should interest a few less exhilarating rides. This is because, I believe there is more money to be made from families, than young people as they generally have more money and therefore be prepared to spend more at the park. Also I think, to improve the attraction of the park they must replace or regenerate some of the old rides which are nearing the end of their product lifecycle. This may cost money short term, but the increased appeal the park will get from new rides will eventually increase profit turnover.

Place

Although 45% of people at the park had difficulty getting to the I think it would not be beneficial moving the park to another location as this would have minimal advantage considering the cost of moving. However I think the park should consider buying more land for parking as 20% of people said they had trouble with this.

Price

A massive 70% of people thought the park was too overpriced. Therefore I think it is extremely important for Thorpe Park to lower its price as many consumers could look elsewhere for entertainment. Although the park would loose money short term, the increased amount of people coming to the park for its low prices would soon cover this.

Promotion

As 50% of interviewees said the promotion was the main reason they came to the park I think Thorpe Park should consider using more promotional offers as this would increase the popularity of the park over its competitors. Also I think more advertisement is needed as 28% had not even heard of any promotion.