Case Study Lonely

1. Prep be a report in which you analyze the marketing channel conflicts and brush offnibalization issues that Lonely satellite faces as it is currently operating. betoken solutions that might reduce taxation losses or operational frictions that result from these issues. Channel Conflict when sales through the companys web office interfere with sales in that companys retail stores. The potential for significant channel conflict exists in Lonely Planet with the same harvest-feast (books or content) being sold via multiple channel.Lonely Planet has worked hard to minimize channel conflict by selling books on their website only at the recommended retail price, therefore it does non undercutting their retail resellers. Moreover, most retailers hold only a small selection of the five snow Lonely Planet titles, and for the many a(prenominal) titles they do not hold, channel conflict is minimal. The CitySync product is also carefully positioned to reduce channel conflict, since it targets a specific segment (time-poor, cash-rich travelers) with a bracing fling that is somewhat different from the existing Lonely Planet city ushers.However, over time there may be some conflict between CitySync and products such as customized guidebooks. Cannibalization The loss of traditional sales of a product to its electronic counterpart. The well-known travel guides company, Lonely Planet gives a lot of guides for reconcile on its website. A few years ago, many major travel-guide publishers were concerned that Lonely Planet website will hurt their sales. If travelers have to travel on board, they could just go on the website in order to read all the information they need without buying the Lonely Planet travel guide paper version.But farthermost from cannibalizing sales instead, the net has helped publishers build their brands and expand into new territory. Moreover, giving information on its own website is a way to do free advertising. Without this display of guides o n the website, customer would not have bought the travel guide paper version. Lonely Planet and other leading publishers have recorded growth rates of 15% to 25% per year over the past four years, as much as their guidebook content has migrated online.2. Prepare a list of a new products that Lonely Planet might introduce to take advantage of Internet technologies (including wireless technologies for mobile devices) and address customers concerns about the timeliness and bills of information in the printed travel guides. Briefly describe any problems that Lonely Planet will face as it introduces these new products. In 2008, Lonely Planet launched Pick & Mix which enables travelers to go to a section of the Lonely Planet Website ( http//shop.lonelyplanet.com), select the country or region to which they are travelling and download the chapter for the ass they are visiting. Rather than carry loose pages, chapters (served as PDF files) can be downloaded into a hand-held device or e-boo k reader. Interactive e-book travel guidesEmerging the outmatch of both medium digital and print into one interactive ebook guide. Lonely Planet introduced e-books on ipad, so the layout and design is to flip through a guidebook and includes signature stunning images, expert author content and tips from local. Unlike traditional print guide book, the digital format allows to include over 3,000 hyperlinks so readers can get to a fussy chapter or map with just a tap of a finger. Thus, travelers can get information on a particular region, point of interest or hotel/ restaurant without flipping through the pages. More, travelers can search terms in Google or Wikipedia for additional content.Travelers can also bookmark the places they take ont want to miss and make notes on the page, just like a print guidebook. Usually traditional publishing cycle for the print guides is either 2 years, but with e-books, it will be updated in a real time. However, unlike apps, ebook updates are n ot pushed out to end user, and readers will have the luck to repurchase the new edition. In addition, due to handhelds limited memory and bandwidth, the new applications focus on cities, not countries.They obviously can not replace a guidebook for a month-long odyssey in Thailand or an exploration of Italys Amalfi Coast. But for the traveler who wants to figure out how to spend a free afternoon or where to go for dinner, these mobile guides plus a good map are ideal substitutes for printed guides. Lonely Planet therefore should continue to institutionalize in product development to work with the likes of Apple, Google, Amazone, Nokia, etc.3. Many loyal Lonely Planet customers carry their travel guides (which can be several hundred pages thick) with them as they travel around the world. In many cases, these customers do not use large portions of the travel guides. Also, Internet access can be a problem for many of these customers while they are travelling. Describe a product (or pr oducts) that might address this customer concern and also yield additional revenue for Lonely Planet. Your answer here could build on ideas that you developed in your solution to part2. By using interactive ebook travel guides, travelers doing longer trips do not need to carry three or four guidebooks during travelling. Travelers can buy the content directly and save it in their hand-held or ebook before they are going to travel on board if the current destination does not provide good internet connection. It is also an ease to carry around. Moreover, travelers can bookmark the places they dont want to miss and make notes on the page, just like a print guidebook.