FlixBus 2019

Abstract

FlixBus was launched in 2013, upon the deregulation of the German long-distance coach market and has grown at a very fast rate to make it what it is today: the #1 long distance bus company in Europe. The bus has, thanks to FlixBus, entered the consideration set of all kinds of customers, way past the early adopters of 2015. The long-distance bus industry is booming and undergoing several changes at a time: the deregulation of the market, strong consolidation, the empowerment of customers and the digitalization. The competitive environment of FlixBus in Europe doesn’t really include other bus companies as none of the remaining ones are serious competitors. However, they are facing increasing competition mainly from the rail industry and low-cost air travel companies. In order to face this fiercer competition, mostly on price, FlixBus needs to become more than a commodity way of transport: they need to build long lasting relationships with their customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. In other words, FlixBus needs to operate a shift from transactional marketing to relationship marketing. In order to do that, they’ll need to pay a closer attention to their customers’ behaviour. This shift from transactional to relationship marketing will mean for them that they’ll need to adopt a longer term focus, to focus on customer retention, to aim at creating value rather than mere transactions; all of this with the ambition to create a competitive advantage from the committed relationships of their customers.

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