MARKETINGOVÁ STRATEGIE SPOLEČNOSTI LEO EXPRESS A.S

The aim of this diploma thesis is to evaluate the marketing strategy of the company Leo Eypress and propose recommendations for its future improvement. This company entered, as another private rail carrier, on the route from Prague to Ostrava in year 2012 and contributed to the improvement of travelling culture. The theoretical part describes the basic marketing concepts which are necessary for the empirical one. It also explains the difference between marketing services and products, and mentions types of marketing researches. At the end of this part, there is a description of rail liberalization process in the Czech Republic as well as characterization of the route which is operated by private carriers. The empirical part examines the company Leo Express, its marketing and communication strategy. There is a detailed description of marketing mix, SWOT analysis and campaigns that took place in the company. Subsequently, the work deals with competing carriers, their strengths, but also weaknesses. The research among passengers of carriers České dráhy, Leo Express and RegioJet, that is related to the travel atmosphere and other aspects of travelling, counts for very important part of this thesis. This research, as well as previous parts of the work, creates a comprehensive overview of all companies providing services on the route from Prague to Ostrava and puts them into a mutual comparison. The communication campaign for Leo Express is designed in the last chapter of this thesis, followed by suggestions for the future development. The analysis is performed on the basis of secondary data, as well as primary data from field research and survey. The outcome of this work can be practically used for the future development and improvement of the awareness among passengers. The knowledge of all aspects could represent the advantage in the competitive fight. Some parts can be directly implemented into the practice (utilization of opportunities, recommendations, campaign).