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The U.S. National Whitewater Center: Strategic Issues and Problems

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Case Study #3 – U.S. National Whitewater Center
Strategic Issues and Problems
U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina has fallen short of revenue expectations the first two years of operation. The center has not generated the attendance they predicted and the attendance even dropped during the second year of operations, which resulted in the short fall of revenue. The Center has also received some negative publicity due to road access issues, implementation of the new parking fee and government funding having to assist with loans. The Center also increased their prices after only one year in business.
The Board of Directors of the U.S. National Whitewater Center has to determine how to increase their revenue …show more content…

Decision Factors
Currently, the U.S. National Whitewater Center needs to decide on who exactly their target market is and how they are going to reach this market. The current strategy of the target market being ‘everyone’ is not working. The market needs to be identified so strategic marketing efforts can be planned to advertise all the center has to offer to this group.
Direct competition to the center needs to be determined so marketing strategies can be implemented to differentiate the center from the competition. At first thought, the Carowinds Theme Park was not identified as a competitor but depending on which target market the center is trying to attract, it very well could be.
The USNWC also needs to pick a pricing strategy and stick with it for the long haul until the market dictates a need to shift the pricing. Starting off with low prices the first year and then increasing prices the second year due to lower demand than projected is not a pricing strategy that is going to work for the customer. In order to increase the prices for the activities, the customer needs to have a perceived value for the increase or added features to the activity to justify the increase. Also, the added parking fee the second year makes sense due to patrons entering the center to observe or walk, run, bike on the trails with their own equipment, but this should have been implemented immediately upon opening of the center.
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