National Express is a major UK coach operator that can trace its roots back to the 1920s. It adopted the National Express brand name in 1972 and has since grown significantly through mergers and acquisitions. In the 1990s and 2000s, it acquired several competitors and abandoned its upmarket services. It now focuses on affordable, reliable coach travel between over 1000 UK destinations, carrying 16 million passengers annually. National Express has a strong online presence that is more developed than competitors like Megabus. However, it faces challenges from reduced government funding and competition from low-cost operators and trains. It aims to attract new customer segments like business travelers through improved digital marketing.

1. MC6003 – DIRECT AND DIGITAL MARKETING
NATIONAL EXPRESS AUDIT
Alexandra MacLeod/10034912

2. • National Express can trace its roots back to the 1920s:
– Greyhound Motors of Bristol
– National Bus Company
– British Electric Traction Group (BET)
• “National Express” brand name used since 1972, official since 1974
• Introduced Rapide - “upmarket services” such as hostesses, refreshments and
toilets.
• Seat bookings late 70s – revolutionary at the time
• 90s brought numerous mergers and acquisitions
• 2003 - Flightlink, Jetlink, Speedlink, Express Shuttle, GoByCoach, Airbus
– Competing against each other
• Brand refresh – upmarket services abandoned
• 2012 – celebrated 40 years of serving the British Public’s travel needs
• 2014 – over 1000 UK destinations
• 2014 – 16 million travellers every year
INTRODUCTION TO NATIONAL
EXPRESS

3. • Where are we now:
– Business to Consumer - affordable, reliable, quality coach travel
– E-procurement – services
– E-Adoption stages 5 - integrated website
• Good information and interaction.
• Handles sales transactions
– Purpose of current digital channels:
• Sell services
• Customer services – relationship building
– Current benefits of digital channel :
• Sell – main sales tool for Nat Express (also uses Post Office and coach ticket
offices). Convenience for customer and company – cheaper for both
• Serve – customer service tool. FAQs, real time tracker, lots of info .
• Save – online sales cheaper, online loyalty cards,
• Speak – real time tracker updates, email newsletter,
• Sizzle – brand development / added value -
SITUATION ANALYSIS

4. • Value Chain
• Online Value Proposition
– Why buy online rather than through a different channel?
• Offers make it cheaper
• Convenience for customer
• Environmental concerns - paperless with mobile/email tickets
• What we do
– Affordable quality UK coach travel
• What we don’t do
– Luxury travel – phased out in early 2000s
SITUATION ANALYSIS CONT

5. • The Numbers:
– 2012 revenue - £255.1 million (2011: £259.1m) 2% decline
• Government cut OAP concession scheme worth £16m to Nat Express
• 40% less OAP traveller’s than 2011
– Operating margin was 8.1% (per £1, NE makes 8p)
• “The drop in margin, from the withdrawal of the concessionary
income, reflects a lower but sustainable level of profitability which is
not dependent on material Government support.” (NAT Express ref)
– Customer satisfaction – 84%
– Market share – 60%
INTERNAL AUDIT
Source: National Express, 2014

6. – REACH
– ACT (INTERACT)
DIGITAL MARKETING
EFFECTIVENESS - RACE
196,000 30,250 99
Source: Alexa, 2014

7. RACE - CONT
CONVERT
LOW BOUNCE RATE, PAGES VIEWS INDICATIVE OF TRANSACTION TAKING
PLACE
ENGAGE
LOYALTY OFFERS – CARDS IMPROVE SOCIAL MEDIA
Source: National Express, 2014

8. • VALUE PROPOSITION CHANGED TO COMPETE WITH COMPETITORS
– POSITIONS ITSELF AS QUALITY CLEANER, MORE SPACIOUS THAN
COMPETITORS BUT WITH SAME CHEAP PRICES
• MEGABUS NOW OFFER ‘GOLD’ SERVICE
– SIMILAR TO RAPIDE SERVICE
STRATEGIC
ISSUES

9. • POLITICAL:
– LEGISLATION:
• COOKIES, PRIVACY LAWS, EMAIL MARKETING REGULATIONS – SUCH AS OPT IN
• ECONOMICAL:
– KEEP UP WITH COMPETITORS PRICES
• EASILY ADVERTISE PRICES AND SALES ONLINE
• SOCIOCULTURAL:
– Lifesytle trends:
• USERS VERY LIKELY TO BE BUYING ONLINE - EITHER VIA COMPUTER/TABLET OR MOBILE
– LINKS FROM OTHER WEBSITES TO NATIONAL EXPRESS
• SOCIAL MEDIA – PART OF LIFE
• TECHNOLOGICAL:
– NO MOBILE APP
• CUSTOMER SEGMENT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS - HAVE SMART PHONES
– MORE CONVENIENT – CONVERT SALES
MACRO ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS –
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

10. • CUSTOMER SEGMENTS:
– STUDENTS
– RETIRED / OVER 60S
CUSTOMER INSIGHT
Source: National Express, 2014

11. • DIRECT COMPETITORS
– MEGABUS
– STAGECOACH
• INDIRECT COMPETITORS
– TRAIN S ON SAME ROUTE SUCH AS:
• SOUTH WEST TRAINS
• VIRGIN RAIL
COMPETITORS
- £255.1 million
- Operating margin
was 8.1% (per £1, NE
makes 8p)
Source: Megabus, 2014

12. MEGABUS .VS. NATIONAL EXPRESS
(DIGITAL)
Similarities: Layout design – journey planner, savings deals
Differences: National Express sections easy to find on first page
Megabus (UK) National Express
Facebook: NO UK FACEBOOK PRESENCE
Twitter: 6,186
Tumblr: Presence (numbers not available)
Source: Megabus, 2014; National Express, 2014

13. MEGABUS .VS. NATIONAL EXPRESS
(DIGITAL)
• National Express
– Good interactivewebsite
– Lots of information for
customers as well as sales
– Easy to navigate
• Megabus
– Basic website design
– Functional (sells tickets)
rather than customer
focused information
– Difficult to find information
Source: Alexa, 2014

14. PORTER’S 5 FORCES

15. • MARKET LEADERS
– REVENUE AND EXPERIENCE
• CUSTOMER FOCUS:
– STUDENTS
– RETIRED/OVER 60S
• LOST GOVERNMENT FUNDING
• ONLINE PRESENCE
– BETTER THAN COMPETITORS
– GOOD SOCIAL PRESENCE – COULD BE IMPROVED FURTHER
• STRATEGIC ISSUES
• PEST
– TECHNOLOGY TO BE UPDATED
• COMPETITORS
– MEGABUS
– TRAIN COMPANIES
• SUBSTITUTE PRODUCT
AUDIT EVALUATION

16. • OAP CONCESSION CUTTING
– ONLINE USE OF OVER 60S?
• TRAINS
– SUBSITUTE PRODUCT
• NEW TARGET MARKET IDENTIFIED
– BUSINESS TRAVELLERS
– NOT CURRENTLY TARKETING THIS MARKET
– WILL TAKE TIME TO PUSH SERVICES IN THIS NEW MARKET
• CHOSEN SCENARIO:
TO ATTRACT ONLINE SALES FROM A NEW MARKET WITH A 12 MONTH PLAN
GROWTH STRATEGY: CONCLUSION

17. REFERENCES
• National Express Group, 2013. Annual Report and Accounts 2012.
[Online]
Available at: http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/ar2012/
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• National Express, 2012. About Us: History: Coach. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/aboutus/historycoach.aspx
[Accessed 11 01 2014].
• National Express, 2013. National Express - Our Markets. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/aboutus/ourmarkets.aspx
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• National Express, 2014. National Express. [Online]
Available at: http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• Tech Crunch , 2013. 73% Of U.S. Adults Use Social Networks, Pinterest
Passes Twitter In Popularity, Facebook Stays On Top. [Online]
Available at: http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/30/pew-social-
networking/
[Accessed 11 01 2014].
•
• Alexa, 2014. Site Info: Megabus.UK.Com. [Online]
Available at: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/megabus.com
[Accessed 12 01 2014].
• Alexa, 2014. Site Info: NationalExpress.com. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/nationalexpress.com
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• Chaffey, D., 2012. Digital Marketing: Strategy Implementation
and Practice. 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education .
• Chaffey, D., 2013. The RACE Digital Marketing Planning
Framework. [Online]
Available at: http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-
marketing-strategy/race-a-practical-framework-to-improve-
your-digital-marketing/
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• Information Commissioner's Office , 2012. Marketing and
Information Rights. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisations/sector_guides/mark
eting
[Accessed 12 01 2014].
• Megabus, 2014. Megabus UK. [Online]
Available at: https://uk.megabus.com/
[Accessed 10 01 2014].
• Mind Tools, 2013. Porter's Five Forces: Assessing the Balance
of Power in a Business Situation - See more at:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm#s
thash.cZlvPn8K.dpuf. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_08.htm
[Accessed 11 01 2014].

18. QUESTIONS?