Consumer Engagement in Brand Community †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Consumer Engagement in Brand Community. Answer: Introduction: From visiting Cradle Mountain Lodge, the management of the organization is being identified. According to the gathered information, Mike Blank is the general manager of the organization. Under this leadership, flat and horizontal organizational structure is being followed. This helps them in having effective communication process between the management structures (Cradlemountainlodge.com.au, 2018). It is identified that a total of 5 members are working as executives in under the general manager. Each of the executives is responsible for respective departments, sales and marketing, operations, accounts, Human resources and IT. Under these executives, employees in the respective departments are working. This is ensuring the effective and proper communication channel between the employees and the higher level management (Tran Tian, 2013). Cradle Mountain Lodge is having effective strategies of enhancing the customer experiences. One of the major strategies is the effective determination of the customer requirements (Lemon Verhoef, 2016). This is due to the reason that, Cradle Mountain Lodge caters to different sections of the customers with having different requirements and preference pattern. Thus, having effective customer segmentation helps them to determine the diverse requirements and offering the services accordingly. During the visit, it is also being seen that, they initiates the strategy of differentiated service offerings. Initiation of the differentiated service strategy is helping Cradle Mountain Lodge in creating distinctive image in the market. In addition, offering differentiated service approach enhances the service experience of the customers. For instance, it is seen that the cuisines and beverages offered by Cradle Mountain Lodge are different from the offerings of their competitor organizations. It is seen that cuisines of Cradle Mountain Lodge are different from other rival hotels in terms of taste, flavor and origin (Cradlemountainlodge.com.au, 2018). Their foods are spicier compared to light and less spicy food offerings by other lodges. This is creating distinctive image among the customers and the customers are experiencing a different scenario in Cradle Mountain Lodge. Another strategy of them being identified is the initiation of the strategy of co-creation with the customers. With the help of this strategy, customers are given the options to have customized services according to their choices and preferences. They are motivated to take part in the process of service delivery and gain the experience of the entire process. For instance, it is identified that customers are engaged in the cooking process of the authentic cuisines sourced from different regions around the world. This is enhancing the level of customer satisfaction. In addition, customers are also gaining the experiences of how different cuisines are being cooked in the entire process of service delivery. Cradle Mountain Lodge initiates different activities in relation to the community relationship. One of the major activities being identified is the empowerment activities for the local communities. This includes employing the local women as tour guide for the visitors and initiating the concept of the home staying in the local villages (Cradlemountainlodge.com.au, 2018). This is having dual advantage of Cradle Mountain Lodge due to the reason that they will be able to enhance the level of customer satisfaction by offering them the authentic environment of the village life. On the other hand it is also empowering the local community by increasing the employment opportunities among the local communities (Brodie et al., 2013). It is identified that Cradle Mountain Lodge is having the license of tourism department of Australia and they accredited tourism business of the Australia. They are also HALAL certified in terms of their food and beverage offerings. Governance of Cradle Mountain Lodge is being seen by the board of directors. This board of directors is responsible for the daily activities and operations of the business. The target market of Cradle Mountain Lodge is mainly the upper class and upper middle class section of the society. Only these sections of the society are being considered due to the reason that the room accommodation along their varieties are being designed by keeping in mind the requirements of the upper section of the society. In accordance to that, the most affordable room accommodation is also offering added facilities such as mini bar. On the other hand, the cost and price of the accommodations are also in the higher side, which will only attract the higher section of the society (Cross, Belich Rudelius, 2015). In accordance to their target market, they follow niche marketing approach in marketing their services to the potential customers. The first impression from the visit can be terms positive and favorable. This is due to the reason that from welcoming the guest to giving farewell is being implemented in a sequential manner. It is identified that the first impression was made favorable at the very first stage when a welcome drink was offered. It will have positive impression and will create a positive environment for the visitors in the initial stage of visiting. Afterwards, the cuisines, accommodations, service delivery and added activities are also contributed in creating a positive impression among the visitors. Post visit analysis concludes that there are negligible differences between the expectation and actual experiences. One of the major differences is the review in the trip advisor. Some of the reviews stated that Cradle mountain lodge is providing the best accommodation in the entire Tasmanian region. However, this is not true and the actual experience identified that though the accommodation of Cradle mountain lodge is having highest standard and offers favorable services, but they cannot be considered as the best. Conclusion Thus, it is concluded that Cradle mountain lodge is having positive service delivery process and their diverse service offerings are helping in enhancing in the level of satisfaction of the visitors. In addition, it is also identified in this report that Cradle mountain lodge also initiates in empowerment of the communities and it is reflecting in the positive reviews in the online portals and positive brand value of them. Reference Brodie, R. J., Ilic, A., Juric, B., Hollebeek, L. (2013). Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis.Journal of Business Research,66(1), 105-114. Cradlemountainlodge.com.au. (2018).Cradlemountainlodge.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2018, from https://www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au/about-the-lodge/history/ Cross, J. C., Belich, T. J., Rudelius, W. (2015). How marketing managers use market segmentation: An exploratory study. InProceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference(pp. 531-536). Springer, Cham. Lemon, K. N., Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey.Journal of Marketing,80(6), 69-96. Tran, Q., Tian, Y. (2013). Organizational structure: Influencing factors and impact on a firm.American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,3(2), 229.