Marketing Strategy Analysis for an Entity

This assignment discusses an entity that is the focus of a marketing strategy. The report provides a brief description of market segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) strategy. It also determines methods for evaluating cost-effective sales promotion and justifies an appropriate promotional strategy along with risk assessment. Furthermore, it identifies an issue that can affect the overall marketing strategy of the organization, providing preventive measures to address this problem.

INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING FOR
TRAVEL AND
TOURISM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. Situation analysis including SWOT analysis to focus on international growth......................1
2. Compact of organisational present marketing practice...........................................................3
3. Support rational for market selection, market entry and barriers in entering.........................3
4. Recommendation of market segmentation,, targeting and position strategy..........................4
5. Analysis of different methods to evaluate the cost effectiveness of sales promotion. ...........6
6. Identification of an issue that will affect the overall strategy.................................................7
7. Recommendation of a promotional strategy with supporting the marketing mix...................7
8. Risk assessment of the implementation of the promotional strategy......................................8
CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism industries plays an important role in impacting GDP of a nation. To
support their role it is necessary for the organisations to possess effective techniques of
marketing on global platform. International marketing uses the plans designed by managers to
effectively market the products and services (Gengler and Mulvey, 2017). This assignment
contains the overall analysation of extremal and internal environment to enhance the market
value of the entity. This evaluation will be done depending upon the existing marketing practice
following in the establishment. This report further involves the market segmentation, positioning
and targetting strategies used to bring cost-effectiveness in the marketing. Moreover, this study
includes the promotional strategy to support the marketing mix elements of the entity.
For carrying out this study, the organisation chosen is a Luxury & Boutique hotel, Smiths
Hotel. The learning is undertaken by the marketing manager of the hotel to examine the above
mentioned tasks.
1. Situation analysis including SWOT analysis to focus on international growth.
In order to expand the international business, it is necessary for Smith Hotel to perform
the overall analysis of internal and external environment. This investigation will help the
organisational in acquiring the crucial understanding needed for the expansion. Hotel can use
various techniques to accomplish this analysis, some of them are as follows- SWOT Analysis- In this analysis all internal and external factors that impacts upon the
organisation are analysed. The elements that are been investigated are the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats (De Nisco. and et.al, 2017). Strengths and
weaknesses comes into the internal environment, that states the position of the
organisation whereas threats and opportunities are part of external parameters that helps
in improvising that position. With the help of this tool the expansion opportunities
coming to the entity can be evaluated and by suing the strengths observed these chances
can be grabbed. Further, by evaluating the weaknesses, the upcoming threats can be deal
on the way of global expansion. Micro/ Macro environmental analysis- This analysis is used in evaluating the micro and
macro environment factors that impacts upon the business. The small factors involves the
public, suppliers, competitors, customers, distributors and dealers. These are the elements
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that directly effects the business value of the organisation. In contrary to this, the macro
environment are those that largely impacts upon the international edge of the hotel and
the factors involved in it are political, ecological, economic, social, technological and
legal. It is essential for the hotel to carry out an audit for evaluating the effectiveness of
these factors.
 Market and Competitor Analysis- This is that analysis of marketing that involves the
assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. In
contrary to the above mentioned methods in which analysis is done for own company,
this analysis is done with relation to the other competitors. This technique will help the
establishment is getting the idea of running the business. This tool looks the competitive
companies from customer point of view as well as their point of view which aids in
designing best policies of own organisation.
2. Compact of organisational present marketing practice.
Presently, the marketing strategy used by the Smith Hotel is Relationship marketing. This
practice is relevant to the business to consumer style. In this, the main aim of entity is on the
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Illustration 1: Micro and Macro environmental
analysis
(Source: Kaynatma B., 2015 )

satisfaction of customers as they are the key element of any business. They concentrates on
satisfying the people with their products and services according to their need and demands.
Smith Hotel with implementing this strategy become a renowned industry and also gained the
reputation by winning the trust of the customers (Backer and Ritchie, 2017). This strategy is the
most effective strategy that can help organisation even if it relocates in some other place or opens
an other branch of it for the purpose of market expansion. The customers present at any place
wants them to be the first priority of any business and further, they are also the most crucial part
of organisation. In case of Smith Hotel, the entity recently had an opportunity to expand its
market in some other cities of world. The market selected for them in order to expand their
market size is Consumer market. In this expansion, their customer-based marketing strategy is
their biggest tool that can enhance their market value at that place. This policy will help them in
blooming wherever they will be planted. This promoting tactic helps in improving the
relationship between the organisation and the customer which directly impacts upon the business
value of the establishment.
Further, entity also aims on narrow market which carries both the advantages and the
disadvantages along with it. The advantages includes that concentration on narrow range will
help them in gaining specialisation in that services whereas the disadvantage is that, it will not
meet up the needs of entire public range. Market expansion needs a heavy range of product so
that the customers of different places can enjoy their wish list (Restuccia and et.al, 2016) . Also,
there is variation in the choice, nature, behaviour and culture of these different places thus, along
with maintaining good relationship with the customers, it is also necessary for the entity to meet
up the various expectation of varied range of people.
3. Support rationale for market selection, market entry and barriers in entering.
The market selected for the Smith hotel is the consumer market. This type is selected for
the organisation as the main formulation of this hotel is it's customer-based approach. Smith
Hotel can enter in this type of market by many ways for example- licensing, franchising,
contracting, etc. These methods are explained below-
 1. Licensing- The licensor grants an organisation with the license to sell their services
and produce the same products and using their brand name in this method. In return they
charge a royalty payment (Bas, Mayer and Thoenig, 2017).
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 2. Franchising- This is the most effective international market entry method. It is also a
form of licensing in which an authorised person is provided with a license to open a
branch of the organisation. This method helps in evacuating the issue to deal with
different cultural; environment.
 3. Contracting method- This process is also mostly used in overseas marketing. In this,
the exchange of ideas and thoughts took place between two organisations.
These are some methods to market entry which Smiths Hotel can follow to expand its
global edge but there are some barriers associated with entering the international market place,
some hurdles are explained below-
 Government barriers- This is the biggest barrier while entering some other country for
business expansion. The government and political condition varies widely from country
to country. Also legislations and regulations also impacts the entry of a business. Thus, it
is necessary for the organisation to issue government license to set up market.
 High set-up costs- Set-up of a business needs high amount of investment. These are
mostly the sunk costs i.e. they can not be recovered. Thus, this hurdle highly impacts the
business value of the organisation.
 Cost associated with research and development- Research is important while entering a
new place. But this research and then development according to the results needs high
investments which enhance the spending of the firm.
 Culture- This obstacle occurs when the entity itself opens a new branch in some other
place that possess different culture (Kim and et.al, 2016). Unawareness from the culture
results in designing of less effective products and services which might not be liked by
the local residing the new market place.
4. Recommendation of market segmentation,, targeting and position strategy.
Market segmentation, targeting and position briefly known as market STP strategy is the
most effective tool of promoting a business. In context to the elected organisation too i.e. Smiths
Hotel this technique is recommended for marketing. This strategy involves three steps for
promoting and they are- Segmentation: Market is segmented in this phase of marketing. This is done because not
all the services are for all the people and that is why customers are divided into groups
with common demand and needs (Schroeder and et.al, 2016) . Customers cane be
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segmented depending upon different characteristics such as demographic, geographers,
psycho-graphic and behavioural. The data can be attained through conducting interviews,
questionnaires, surveys and feedback. Targetting: In this stage of marketing strategy, the segmented markets are now targetted
according to the needs of different divided groups.
 Positioning: This is the last stage of this marketing method. In this step, identification of
the most effective way to target the customers is done and later the products are
positioned in that way.
The STP strategy is the most effective marketing method which provides benefits to the
entity in numerous ways, some of them are explained below-
1. Focus of the company- This method enables the concentration of the company on the
customer segments. The better focus on customers will help the hotel in having more
customer-focused approach, thus more profitability can be gained.
2. Enhancing competitive edge- With the help of this strategy, the competitiveness in the
market is increased. The focus on different type of customers helps in development of
wide range of services that can be availed by those groups.
3. Market expansion- The geographic segmentation enables the global level expansion of
the firm's market. This is the most easy process to grow the roots of business
internationally.
4. Customer retention- This marketing method cope up with the various demand of different
customers, hence covers a wide range that helps entity ion enhancing more customer
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Illustration 2: STP strategy of marketing
(Source: Gengler and Mulvey, 2017)

figures and also, by developing services according to their expectation will help the
Smiths Hotel in retaining the consumer (Backer and Ritchie, 2017).
Thus, above are some reason that why the entity should opt for this marketing strategy.
5. Analysis of different methods to evaluate the cost effectiveness of sales promotion.
Sales promotion is the most crucial element for a business. But the promotion requires
huge amount of investment within it. In order to diminish this amount it is necessary for the
organisation to implement the cost effective methods of sales promotion. Below are some
methods of evaluating impelling sales promotion- Appropriateness of the method- It is essential to check the appropriateness of the selected
promotion method for the company. This feature involves the checking of the content,
visuals and other effects that are being used in marketing and if needed, modifications
will be done. Specific and realistic marketing- Determination of the specificness of promotion is done
to ensure that the work is done on the realistic and achievable goals. This determination
will help the organisation in cutting the extra money associated with the advertising of
unrealistic services (Bull and et.al, 2016). Also, it will also evacuate the situation where
customers get confuse with the vague promotion that leads to consumer dissatisfaction. Conducting internal reviews- In this section, the past records and data are checked to
investigate the effectiveness of the services depending upon the criteria that which were
most owned by the customers. Thus, further investments will be done in the development
of respective product that will help in fostering the customer figure rather than investing
on some desert service.
 Tracking the effectiveness of the promotion- Once the advertising is done, they are
tracked. This trailing helps in determining the number of sales before, during and after
the promotion. Further, they also involves the cost of promotion such as time, labour,
materials, etc. and prepares a complete report of all the associated investments
(Restuccia and et.al, 2016).
Thus, these are some methods of sales promotion that are cost effective too.
6. Identification of an issue that will affect the overall strategy.
There are many challenges associated with the travel and tourism sector. In case of
Smiths Hotel the biggest hurdle that impacts their overall marketing strategies is the rising
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competition in the hospitality industry. These organisations are growing each and every year .
Further. tourists always seeks for the perfect amenities and thus, their is high demand of entity
that provides them with the best, thus, this high demand in accommodation results in high
competition in the business. Business rivalries are good for customers as they are provided with
so many options to choose the best one (Bas Mayer and Thoenig, 2017) . Rivalry leads to
development of high quality services and products that directly impacts upon the financial
condition of the entity. Further, to suppress the effect of agonistic firm more impelling marketing
strategies need to be prepared which involves the association of cost within it.
There are many ways in which the competition in the market directly or indirectly
impacts upon the marketing, some of them are as follows- Customer retention- This is the biggest problem of existence of competition in the
market. Customers are the backbone of any business and thus, entities want them to
retain. But the increasing rivalry leads them to move to some else organisation which is
supplying better or reasonable accommodation. Cost- Developing and advertising the services existing in the organisation in order to
withstand in the competitive environment needs huge amount of investment (Monnet,
Gabriel and Percebois, 2017). Also, financing is needed in arranging manpower,
resources, materials, etc. in promotion.
 Inappropriate estimation of customers- The biggest disadvantage of competition includes
the unprofitable estimation of the segmentation which results in overproduction of the
products, enabling direct loss to the entity.
Thus, these are the major affects of competition present in the market on the advertising
of an organisation.
7. Recommendation of a promotional strategy with supporting the marketing mix.
There are various promotional strategies that are used in marketing by the organisation.
In present context, the best suites strategy is promotion through the product life cycle (Adler and
et.al, 2016). This type of advertisement entirely depends upon the product element of the
marketing mix. The advertising is done on the basis of the product from its introduction to
declination. Four stages of this life cycle includes different promotional strategies that are
explained below-
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 Introduction- In this stage the strategy chosen should employ the advertising of the
product as these services are being introduced first time to the market through different
means such as TV, radio, magazines, etc. This stage involves the push and pull of the
policies depending upon the response of the public.
 Growth- In this stage, the focus of entity is on brand consciousness and customer loyalty.
 Maturity- In this phase of the product life cycle, the emphasis is given to the development
of the influence tactics that will foster the business value.
 Decline- When the product reaches this stage of declination, entities reminds the
consumer about the product to slow the fatal.
This strategy of promotion uses the product element of the marketing mix. This method
is useful in stating the expectation of market during four different stages. It is a forecasting tool
that helps in managing the product. This strategy is also an utile model for explaining the typical
evolution of marketing strategy over the different stages of product life cycle. The major
advantages of choosing product life cycle in promotion involves introduction of the services to
the market, reduce market entry costs, more efficient and profitable distribution channel, a better
planning approach, proactive formulation, etc.
8. Risk assessment of the implementation of the promotional strategy.
For Smiths Hotel the promotional strategy suggested is product life cycle but there are
some risks linked with this method (Kim and et.al, 2016). These risks needs to be resolve for the
effective functioning of the organisation. Some major risks associated with the different stages of
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Illustration 3: PLC curve
(Source:Restuccia and et.al, 2016)

the product life cycle are unreliability, false assumptions, according to this cycle products comes
to an end at decline step but it is not true all the time, introduce wrong product that does not meet
the customer demand, uncertainty during unstable environment, highly dependent on the sales to
consumers, not applicable to all the markets, etc. In order to assess these risks a three level
assessment is done which is as follows- Critical Thinking- This tool is most often used by the highly regulated industries. This
level is mainly used in the product development phase. Creation of the products with the
captious thinking will lead to best services (Gengler and Mulvey, 2017). This factor will
help in evacuating the installation of inappropriate services. Risk process point analysis- The second level of risk assessment is about acquiring the
knowledge of right way to move on. This analysis provides with the information of the
appropriate risk management to be implemented when needed.
 Outcome- In this level, results are obtained in the form of preventive measures to deal
with the risks. This level is the basis of resolving the hazards raised in the marketing
procedure.
Thus, these three level are used in assessing the risks associated with the chosen product
life cycle strategy. Many hazards in the product life cycle are been removed using them such as
installing right products, estimation of development, etc.
CONCLUSIONS
The above study is based on the marketing of an international travel and tourism entity.
This report will help in selecting the best marketing practice depending upon the needs of
market. This study involves the analysis of various methods to enhance the growth of the
organisation. Present marketing strategy and it's effectiveness is studied of the chosen
organisation. In addition to this, methods and hurdles in market entry of an entity is discussed in
this learning. This report further involves the brief description of the market segmentation,
targetting and positioning strategy. Also, the methods of evaluation of cost-effective sales
promotion are also determined in this assignment. Furthermore, the appropriate strategy of
promotion for the organisation is justified along with the risk assessment in this study. This
report also involves an issue that can affect the overall marketing strategy of establishment.
Thus, by understanding that problem, preventive measures can be designed.
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REFERENCES
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Disaster Recovery?. International Journal of Tourism Research.
Bas, M., Mayer, T. and Thoenig, M., 2017. From micro to macro: demand, supply, and
heterogeneity in the trade elasticity. Journal of International Economics. 108. pp. 1-19.
Bull, J. W. and et.al, 2016. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: A SWOT analysis
of the ecosystem services framework. Ecosystem services. 17. pp. 99-111.
De Nisco, A. and et.al, 2017. From international travelling consumer to place ambassador:
Connecting place image to tourism satisfaction and post-visit intentions. International
Marketing Review. 34(3). pp.425-443.
Gengler, C. E. and Mulvey, M. S., 2017. Planning pre-launch positioning: Segmentation via
willingness-to-pay and means-end brand differentiators. Journal of Brand
Management. 24(3). pp. 230-249.
Kim, J. and et.al, 2016. Application of construal-level theory to promotional strategies in the
hotel industry. Journal of Travel Research. 55(3). pp. 340-352.
Monnet, A., Gabriel, S. and Percebois, J., 2017. Analysis of the long-term availability of
uranium: The influence of dynamic constraints and market competition. Energy
Policy. 105. pp. 98-107.
Restuccia, M. and et.al, 2016. Product Life‐Cycle Management and Distributor Contribution to
New Product Development. Journal of Product Innovation Management. 33(1). pp.69-
89.
Schroeder, A. and et.al, 2016. Managing and Marketing Tourism Experiences: Extending the
Travel Risk Perception Literature to Address Affective Risk Perceptions. In The
Handbook of Managing and Marketing Tourism Experiences (pp. 379-395). Emerald
Group Publishing Limited.
Online
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Kaynatma B., 2015 . Tourism Marketing [PDF]. Available through:
<http://www.cag.edu.tr/upload/2015/04/marketing-environment.pdf>. [Accessed on
25th July 2017].
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