Port marketing as a tool of competitive advantage

• Main Author: Lim, Kiam Ho
• Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Maritime studies::Maritime management and business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/39618
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Marketing has been used widely as a tool of competitive advantage since the motion became popular in the 1950s. Researchers and practitioners have developed highly sophisticated theories and models to explain how marketing affects a person‟s buying behaviour. Companies have used marketing tactics to capture market share in the increasingly globalised and competitive world. From coffee to mp3 players, marketing has enabled firms to build themselves into truly global brands with the use of marketing techniques. However, there‟s a peculiarity in the shipping business, which is considered by many to be one of the world‟s most globalised and toughest industry – Ports have yet to catch on with the merits of marketing. Port marketing is not clearly demonstrated by industry practitioners, nor widely explored by researchers. There is a dire lack of marketing literature with regards to port services; hence this paper aims to further bridge the gap between these respective disciplines with the use of empirical evidence. Interviews revealed that port operators in Singapore engage in marketing activities, although some activities were not recognized as strictly marketing efforts. Surveys found that there exists a link between what the port customers want and what the ports actively strive to provide. Through these empirical investigations, it is evident that port‟s marketing activities result in greater customer satisfaction, thus creating a competitive advantage. Implications of this finding are discussed in the final chapter, helping readers understand the potential of marketing in helping ports increase competitiveness.