Marketing and Management

This article discusses the concepts of segmentation, targeting and positioning in marketing. It includes a literature review and a case study on InterContinental Hotels Group Plc. Desklib is an online library that provides study material on marketing and management.

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Marketing and Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Part A...............................................................................................................................................2
1. Literature review on segmentation, targeting and positioning................................................2
1.1 Concept of segmentation.......................................................................................................3
1.2 Types of market segmentation...............................................................................................4
1.3 Concept of targeting..............................................................................................................6
1.4 Types of targeting..................................................................................................................7
1.5 Concept of positioning...........................................................................................................9
1.6 Benefits of segmenting, targeting and positioning..............................................................10
Part B.............................................................................................................................................10
1. Market segmentation strategy is InterContinental Hotels following.....................................10
2. InterContinental’s portfolio of brands an advantage or disadvantage...................................13
3. Positioning strategy should the company adopt for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express..15
4. Draw a perceptual map for Holiday Inn of the InterContinental Group................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
Reference List................................................................................................................................21

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Introduction
Segmentation, targeting and positioning play an important role to reach the right
customers for the organisation. STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) tool is helpful to
align the products with the right customer base. Segmentation helps to classify the customers on
basis of their choices, targeting the organisation is done based on the marketing to a particular
segment of the market of the customers. Positioning is meant to build the brand image of the
organisation in the mind of the customers. STP is important as it can split the customer group
with similar wants and needs, attracts the right choice of customers, it reduces the risk and it
increases the marketing efficiency (Dietrich, Rundle & Kubacki, 2017). In this assessment, there
are two sections; the first one is done on a literature review of Segmentation, Targeting and
Positioning; the second section is based on the case study given on InterContinental Hotels
Group Plc. In both the sections, the main concept is segmentation, targeting and positioning in
the market by an organisation. Therefore, the purpose of the assessment is to apply the market
segmentation and target marketing strategies considering the different stages of product life cycle
for the purpose of ensuring the updated product offering to the right customers and to the counter
the competition.
Part A
1. Literature review on segmentation, targeting and positioning
This section begins with a review of existing literature on the topic of segmentation,
targeting and positioning. This section consists of three sections, a review of segmentation,
targeting and positioning approach, a review of the marketing strategy dimensions and a

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summary of the research gap. As stated by Solomon et al., (2017), segmentation, targeting and
positioning help to formulate the tactical marketing strategy of the organisations and STP is also
taken as the instrument to evaluate the direction or growth of the organisations. STP is done by
the marketers of the organisation and it sets the direction of the brand and it also indicates the
need for revitalisation or direction of the organisation.
1.1 Concept of segmentation
According to Chan, Hwang & Wu (2016), market segmentation refers to the process of
dividing or segregating large numbers of customers into smaller units which are more related to
the characteristics of the customers. The authors further stated that market segmentation is about
smaller unit within the large market which comprises the like-minded people as the customers.
The marketing team divided the customers into a similar group as it helps to target a similar-
tasted customer as the one market segment is distinct from another segment. In addition, market
segment consists of customers who have similar types of choices and who also think on the same
line. As stated by Olaleye et al., (2017), the individuals in the same segment get the response
from the organisation in the similar as the market fluctuation comes. The researchers further
concluded that the segmentation of the customers aims to find out the group of purchasers with
the same desires and the company can focus on the same set of customers with the allocation of
proper resources. When doing the segmentation of the market, the organisations can consider the
efficiency of the segmentation. The market segment of the organisations needs to assist in
measuring the market and customers' buying power along with organisations' resources
allocation. The market segment of the organisation must also be profitable so that they can be
profitable and big to serve. In addition, the market segment of the organisation must be
accessible to reach and serviceable and market segment makes the customers distinguishable.

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Segmentation is more precise and rational to adjust the product message to the requirements of
the target market (Taylor, Saker & Champion, 2014).
According to Cross, Belich & Rudelius (2015), market segmentation assists the
organisations to divide heterogeneous and large markets into smaller segments which can be
reached more effectively and efficiently with services and products which match the needs of the
customers. The organisations get the benefits of narrowing down the customer segment by the
homogeneity within the customer segment where the members of the customer segment have the
same habits or desires. The people undergo the life transitions to share the unique patterns of
customer behaviour with common responses of the marketing appeal. Within the organisations,
marketing managers try to have a clear reading on formulating the behaviour, perception and
needs of the customers to design the marketing strategies. Segmentation in the market is done
generally depending upon the current stage of the product lifecycle offers by the organisation and
the products within the organisation have the different financing, manufacturing, human resource
and purchasing requirement (Amin, Uthamaputhran & Ali, 2015). When the products offered by
the organisation moves through the decline stage, the sales are getting low. In the decline stage,
the competition in the market gets higher and the companies have to target precise customers
with higher promotional technique.
1.2 Types of market segmentation
The marketing department of the organisation segments the market determining how the
organisation divides the customers into smaller groups based on the characteristics like age,
income, traits and personality. As stated by Albuquerque, Alfinito & Torress (2015), the market
segmentation of the organisation can later be utilised to increase the products and advertising to
different customers in different product lifecycle level. Marketing segmentation assists to create

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a subset of the customers based on needs, behaviour, demographics or common interests of the
target audiences. Types of segmentation in the market help to respond in a given situation. The
marketing team within the organisation uses the predictive model to group the customers within
the segments.
Geographic segmentation: Geographic segmentation creates subsets of customers based
on geographical boundaries. As stated by Shaw (2016), in geographic basis, potential customers
have their own preferences, needs and interests which differ according to the geographic
boundaries, taking notes of the climates and geographic regions of customer groups. In
geographic segmentation, the customers can be divided into based on the urban areas, rural areas
or based on the specific geographic locations. Geographic customer groups help to determine to
sell and advertise where to expand the business in future. In addition, geographic segmentation
has one issue as the marketers cannot have similar marketing strategies for the people living in
different places (Taylor, Saker & Champion, 2014).
Demographic segmentation: The marketers segregate the market based on demographic
segment using the factors like income, age, education, family size, occupation, gender and
nationality (Shaw, 2016). Demographic segmentation is simple and it is one of the most
commonly used segmentation used by the marketing department of the organisation. The
organisation uses the demographic market based on the usage of the products and services; the
customers must be willing to spend on the products based on the demographics. For example, the
marketers can divide the market into subset based on the gender as organisations can both men
and women can be targeted by the organisations. The marketing department can make different
marketing strategies for men and women to attract. In addition, the organisations can divide the
market based on the age group and the marketers get profit when they narrow down the target as

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they get the benefits of setting the marketing strategies based on the age group. Moreover, the
marketers can also differentiate the market into small segments as the customers have different
income group and individuals can be classified into segments based on the income like high
income, mid-income segment and low-income segment.
Psychographic segmentation: Psychographic segmentation is based on the
psychological aspects of the customers and their buying behaviour. The behaviour of the
customers can be bifurcated according to the personality traits, lifestyle, values, interests of the
customers and opinions (Cross, Belich & Rudelius, 2015). Purpose of the psychographic
segmentation is based on the customers’ values, pain points of customers, hesitations and
misgivings of the customers. Psychographic segmentation of the market can also be done both
B2B and B2C. The marketing team focuses on the past-purchase behaviour of the consumers to
enable the targeted approach of the organisation.
Behavioural approach: As pointed out by Solomon et al., (2014), decision-making
patterns of the customers influence the behavioural approach of market segmentation and the
decision criteria of the market segmentation are to want the target customers based on the
lifestyles and values. Behavioural factors in the market of the customers are associated with the
consumption, buying patterns, lifestyle and rate of usage of the customers. Behavioural
segmentation of the customers can be used both for the B2B and for the B2C. Behavioural
segmentation wants the target customers to be based on the purchase behaviour of the customers.
1.3 Concept of targeting
Targeting the proper customer group is done after recognising the market segment
opportunities and the organisations need to evaluate the segments to decide which segment is

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worth targeting. The marketing department of the organisation evaluates the benefits of each
market segments before the team can target a potential one. According to McAlexander, Koenig
& DuFault (2016), targeting to the customer is the process to select the market segments which
are most alluring for the organisations. In identifying the different market segments, the
organisations can consider two factors; first, the companies can segment the overall market
attractiveness by analysing the characteristic of the segment of the customers. Potential growth
of the companies is also needed to highlight by analysing the competitive rivalry in the market
and how much the particular segment can deliver profit to the organisation. Secondly, before
identifying the target customers for the organisation; the marketing team needs to consider the
resources of the organisation along with the objectives set by the management. Each of the
company has its own resources and objectives; target customer bases must meet the objectives of
the organisation. As stated by Aghdaie & Alimardani (2015), the purpose of targeted marketing
is the deployment of the strategies, messages and tactics of the target audiences. Targeted
marketing assists the organisation to take help of the communication vehicles through which the
organisation thinks to promote to the customers. Most importantly, the organisations mostly set
two types of the target market, first the primary target market and secondary target market.
Targeting the right customer base helps the organisation to retain maximum numbers of
customers and it provides delight to the customers. Targeting the customers also reduces the cost
of the companies by promoting the products and services to the targeted customers.
1.4 Types of targeting
Undifferentiated marketing: The organisations can use undifferentiated marketing
ignoring market segments overall and the organisations can target the whole market altogether.
The organisations can target the whole market with just one offer and this mass marketing

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strategy focuses on the common needs of the customers. As stated by Firat, Ozaltin & Metin
(2014), the companies design the product which may appeal to the largest numbers of customers
and all the products satisfy the needs of the customers. However, undifferentiated marketing
strategy faces the difficulty or competition from the more-focused firm satisfying the needs of
niches and specific segments.
Differentiated marketing: The marketing team of the organisation uses the
differentiated marketing strategy deciding to target more than one target market by identifying
the customer segments clearly. The companies offer the product to the different target segment
and the companies also strive for getting the higher sales and stronger position within the market
segment (De Mooji, 2018). Among the four segments segregated by the management, the
organisation sets to target one or two segments. Developing the position in the market within the
several segments; the organisations have the total sales than the undifferentiated marketing. In
differentiated marketing; the marketing department of the organisation develops the separate
marketing plans with sales analysis, promotion plan, forecasting and marketing research (Bowie
et al., 2016).
Concentrated marketing: Concentrated marketing strategy is more like niche marketing
strategy and concentrated marketing strategy is taken by the firm when the organisation has
limited resources. The management of the organisations think of not targeting the small share of
the large market; however, the organisations think of getting the large share of the small market
(Dunn, 2017). Concentrated marketing helps to achieve a strong market position as it provides
greater knowledge to the small market segment. Concentrated marketing also provides the
special reputation by providing the fine-tuning of the prices, products and programmes designed
for the customer segment.

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1.5 Concept of positioning
After deciding the target markets of the organisation, the marketing team decides the
value proposition. The organisation creates differentiated value for the targeted customer
segments (Paschen et al., 2017). The marketing department also measures what position the
organisations want to occupy the segments. The positioning in the market is the way the product
or service is defined by the customers based on their attributes. Positioning statement of the
organisation states about USP of the products and services. Positioning is the perception, feelings
and impressions of the consumers and the consumers’ also compare the products with other
competing products. As pointed out by Lin & Hsieh (2014), positioning is the designing of the
organisations' offering an image which occupies a place in the mind of the target market. Brand
positioning is the products' position in the market and it also helps to guide the marketing
strategy by clearing the brands' essence. The outcome of the positioning is the successful
creation of the customer-focused value proposition. The positioning in the market can be based
on the company's capability analysis, competitors' analysis and a change in the business
environment analysis.
The management of an organisation can take help of the perceptual mapping using the
diagrammatic technique used by the marketers with the attempt to visually display the
perceptions of the consumers or the potential customers (Neirotti, Raguseo & Paolucci (2016).
An organisation can do positioning in the market-based in the pricing as the company take the
position of lower pricing strategy. Quality is another factor of positioning as the quality of the
products helps the companies in rebuff the pricing wars. The positioning can be done based on
the customer service as the customer service concentrates on establishing the friendly and helpful
interaction with the customers.

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1.6 Benefits of segmenting, targeting and positioning
STP tool is helpful in setting the marketing strategies for the organisation and it provides
benefits of targeting the right customers with correct sets of promotions. STP tool is also helpful
to target the desired customer base and the resources of the organisation do not just get scattered.
Segmentation, targeting and positioning also help to increase the competitiveness of the
organisation as focusing on the right set of customers increases the brand loyalty and brand recall
of the organisations (Enz et al., 2015). For example, Cadbury is a famous chocolate selling brand
and it chooses the undifferentiated marketing strategy, Cadbury at present is synonymous of the
chocolate. STP analysis provides help to the organisation to expand the market where the
expansion is possible. The organisation can segment the market on the basis of geography to
expand the nearby regions. STP analysis further helps to retain maximum customers and it
encourages the customers to be with the products and services through the life-cycle (Streed,
Cliquet & Kagan, 2017). STP analysis makes better communication with the customers and
communication of the organisation may not be possible without setting the target.
Part B
1. Market segmentation strategy is InterContinental Hotels following
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is focused on unlocking many ways to execute
successful strategies at a faster pace and accelerate the growth. IHG follows the strategic model
to generate value-creation on building the preferred brand and deliver superior owner
proposition. IHG caters in the various segments of the Canadian market. This hotel group does
not want to attract all tourists by offering just similar types of hotel. InterContinental Hotels
Group follows mainly two market segments based on demographic market segment and

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behavioural market segment. As stated by Okonkwo (2016), demographic segmentation is done
based on religion, gender, age, income, education and race of customers. Demographics can be
differentiated by several markets to assist an organisation to target its customers (Jeong &
Maruyama, 2018). In the demographic market segment, IHG segregates the market based on the
income group of the customers. IHG caters the market for all income groups as they segregate
their offerings by Luxury hotel, Mid-scale hotel and economy hotels. This hotel group can also
segregate the customers based on the occupation as business class people are also segregated by
the hotel. There are several factors that the guests take into consideration before taking the
decision to choose the hotel and the guests' decision-making is affected by the behaviour of the
guests. The guests can take accommodation in hotels for the occasions; therefore, purchasing on
occasions is the first kind of behavioural segmentation. The customers find the benefits from the
services and IHG provides different types of hotels as per the budget of the customers. In
addition, in behavioural segmentation, IHG segregates the market by the rate of the usage,
benefits sought and loyalty sought. IHG has its own Loyalty Programme where the members of
the hotel can earn and exchange the valuable rewards when they stay at the hotels across the
world of IHG (Ihgplc.com, 2018). The guests who frequently visit the hotel can use this
membership loyalty facility.
Variables using by InterCon group using to segment its market
Market
segments
Brands Description Variables Customer
segment
Luxury Crown Plaza Well-appointed
hotels which
have full and
Quality of the
hotel rooms and
brand value of
Chosen
customers are
mainly belonging

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high-quality
amenities
including
spacious rooms
and toilets. The
rooms have a
high rate and
these hotels are
located near the
large cities.
the Crown Plaza
in Canada.
Upscale hotel
always targets
the guests who
can afford the
large amount to
be spent on
accommodation.
from the upper
class and who are
mainly
international
guests.
Mid-scale Holiday Inn Full service;
however with
fewer amenities
than the upscale
hotel and these
hotels provide
the lower rates
than the upscale.
The domestic
market is the
main focus,
moderately
priced so that the
hotel can canter
the mid-scale
customers.
Quality of the
hotels is critical
to judging and
the customers are
mostly satisfied.
The guests
mostly belong to
the domestic
market and the
guests can be
both leisure and
business centred.
These hotels are
pocket-friendly
for the
international
guests and the
guests get the

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desired amenities
they want.
Economy Holiday Inn
Express
Cheapest hotel
from IHG with
limited facilities
and IHG reduces
the bar, fob and
meeting
facilities.
The national
economy and the
global economy
in the hotel
industry do not
emerge high and
the decline of the
demands in the
room is also
shown. Low-
quality hotel,
cheap price.
The guests are
mostly domestic
and the guests
accommodate
these hotels
when they come
for any
emergency
purpose. The
purpose of the
hotel is to target
domestic
travellers.
Table 1: Market segmentation variables of IHG
(Source: self-developed)
2. InterContinental’s portfolio of brands an advantage or disadvantage
As stated by Douglas & Craig (2015), brand portfolio means to an umbrella under which
all the brands or the brand lines of a firm to serve the needs of different market segments.
InterContinental Hotels Group has a large brand portfolio as InterContinental operates 104
properties only in Canada. InterContinental has more than 17,071 rooms in Canada and it
operates in franchising basis. InterContinental Hotels Group includes several brands inside it as it

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has divisions like Crown Plaza, Even Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Regent Hotels
and Resorts, Kimpton Hotels and Resorts and Staybridge Suites. InterContinental ranks one in
rooms’ availability in worldwide as there are total 3,520 hotels worldwide and there are total
536,318 rooms. As stated by Govers & Go (2016), a business can introduce or sometimes it
acquires more divisions into the business. The business entity gathers each business into the
brand portfolio and the leaders of the business need to operate from an individual's brand. IHG
uses Strategic Model where they start their branding by building and leveraging the scale and
strengthen the loyalty programme. IHG is trying to enhance the revenue delivery and it evolves
in owner proposition. IHG optimises the proffered portfolio of brands for the guests and owners.
InterContinental tries to exploit the upscale segment of the market and it builds the large-scale
and strong customer base. However, InterContinental operates in all segments in the hotel
industry and the market is mainly segregated through price and quality. However,
InterContinental does not operate all its brands in all the countries. InterContinental has access to
considerable funds to promote and support the brands for the benefits of all hotels and franchise
owners.
IHG enjoys the brand portfolio as it helps the brand to cater all the market segments and
each of the customers in the different market segment is targeted by the firm. Brand portfolio
permits the organisation to compete in many different marketplaces with a different array of
product or service line (Bowie et al., 2016). Similarly, IHG has three different segments like
Luxury, Mid-Scale and Economy to differentiate its services and offerings to the customers.
Most importantly, target customers of the brand portfolio are large and each of the segments has
large numbers of customers. Similarly, IHG has large numbers of customers and active brand
portfolio of it provides the firm with a large customer base across the world. The brand image of

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the organisation is high and the brand recall of the organisation among all types of customers is
also high. The brand portfolio uses momentum and energy from one brand to energise the other
which may be slow in the market. One of the hotel segments of IHG might not perform well;
however, another brand segment of IHG may replenish the downmarket of others. IHG can
reduce the cost of operation by centralising the strategy from the operational and administrative
support. If Crown Plaza fails to perform; IHG has Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express to
continue the business. As stated by Leung, Xue & Bai (2015), brand portfolio helps to continue
the brands when one of the brand service or product may fail. Increasing the brand portfolio is
not the sole element for the development of a brand portfolio and the organisations need to focus
on the juxtaposition of the brands. One of the advantages of continuing the organisation with so
many brands of IHG is that brand extension increases the brand image of the organisation. IHG
can reduce the risks perceived by customers when IHG offers different types of hotel brands. In
addition, the efficiency of the promotional expenditure increases for the brand portfolio as the
organisation needs to use advertising, selling and promotional costs for all the brands. IHG can
save the costs of developing the new brand and the consumers can now seek from varieties of the
services and products from IHG. IHG can also take the advantage of gaining feedback from the
customers of different brands and the image of the parent brand increases and it allows the
subsequent extension.
Brand portfolio means managing the different brands under one umbrella and IHG has to
manage three types of segments. The brand portfolio of IHG leads to loss of reliability as
Holiday Inn Express caters to the economy scale where the customers do not have all types of
amenities. IHG also faces the risk of generating new service as it may have the implication
which may damage the image of the core service or the luxury brand of IHG. IHG operates in all

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segments in the hotel industry and if the brand portfolio does not have an advantage over the
competitors on the market; it may fail in a region. Before extending the brand in a new market;
IHG needs to research on the quality and price of the guests who may accommodate in the hotel.
3. Positioning strategy should the company adopt for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express
Mid-scale hotel segment of InterContinental Hotels Group is Holiday Inn and economy
hotels of InterContinental Hotels are Holiday Inn Express. IHG is one of the few hotel chains to
start the luxury hotel across the globe and this brand focuses completely on the quality. Holiday
Inn provides luxurious living in reasonable price. Business-travel market is changing in recent
time and corporations want cheaper rate with high-quality accommodation and food. In business-
travel; corporate travellers want the best rate with a good list of the amenities and services.
Competitive analysis: Competitive positioning is about understanding how the
organisation can differentiate the offering and creating value for itself in the market (Kiselva,
2017). Competitive positioning is creating a spot in the competitive landscape to win a share in
the marketplace. Competitive positioning influences the market by doing brand differentiation.
Holiday Inn has its competitors like Radisson, Ramada, Howard Johnson and Hilton. Holiday
Inn offers clean room, swimming pool and restaurant services. Holiday Inn provides some of the
business services also and the accommodation rates of the hotel fall between $119 and $159. In
mid-scale hotel segment; the hotel market is falling as the guests want to stay either upscale of an
economy hotel. Therefore, Holiday Inn is rejuvenating the services and offering with some
additional features. On the other side; Holiday Inn Express does the competition with Comfort
Inn, Quality Inn and Roadside Inn Canada and these hotels are operated by the Choice Hotels.

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The rate of the rooms in this category falls between $89 and $109 and Holiday Inn Express
provides the free breakfast to the guests.
POP and POD: Points-of-difference (POD) and Points-of-parity (POD) are opposite in
nature as the first one refers to the differences and the second one is about referring the
similarities. Points-of-difference is the aspect of the service or product offering which are
relative differences to the offerings of like competitors (Sohaly, 2014). On the other side; points-
of-parity is the aspect of the product which offers mainly similar to the offering of competitors.
Holiday Inn needs to position itself in Canada by segregating its service offering based on the
quality and it is the basic choices to win market share from the established competitors. Holiday
Inn and Holiday Inn Express both fulfil the core needs of the target market which is POP (Points-
of-parity). The POD is very important for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express to nullify the
competitors by offering quality services and accommodation.
Holiday Inn is following intensive renovation programme and all the new hotels of
Holiday Inn are having the new standards. The Holiday Inn is having the high-speed internet
access from both landline and wireless. Holiday Inn management provides the internet services
to the guests in free of cost and this rejuvenation process has been doing in many phrases. The
rooms of Holiday Inn provide the bigger working areas and each of the room is having an
ergonomic chair to appeal the corporate travellers. Holiday Inn also wants to provide nostalgia to
the guests; therefore, the hotels are undergoing the redesigned programme. The management of
Holiday Inn is thinking of brand equity by providing the comfort-dinner diner with the high-
quality food menu. Meals to the guests should also provide cheaper prices and exterior of the
hotels would also have grandeur look. The hotels are having swimming pools also with more
than 145 rooms in a hotel. Therefore, Holiday Inn should have a quality-focused positioning

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strategy where Holiday Inn optimally focuses on service offering to keep the best services and
comfort higher in the positioning. Holiday Inn should choose the positioning based on service of
the hotel with the best class. In the mid-price segment, this hotel brand provides the best in the
industry. Price-quality approach positioning utilises the relationship between the quality and the
price where price does not need to be higher in positioning (Baker & Magnini, 2016). Holiday
Inn wants to position itself in the minds of the guests using mid-pricing rather than high pricing;
however, the guests can expect the best quality services and accommodation. Holiday Inn will
keep the pricing in mid-scale to attract the guests and keep the services and accommodation
exclusive to compete with the upscale hotels like Four Seasons Hotel, Hilton and Marriott.
Holiday Inn Express is the economy hotel of IHG and this hotel wants to position itself
taking the strategy of the POD. When a brand decides the positioning in the marketplace; the
organisation ensures the end positioning has the sufficient POD (Points of Differences). Holiday
Inn Express needs to have a number of unique attributes which make differentiate the hotels for
the other. Holiday Inn Express provides accommodation in lower prices; therefore, cost
leadership and service differentiation is the key to positioning in the market. The hotel industry
in Canada and across the globe is cluttered with lots of hotels offering similar benefits; therefore;
Holiday Inn Express Hotels want to position itself makes stand from the rest by giving lower
prices.
4. Draw a perceptual map for Holiday Inn of the InterContinental Group
Perceptual mapping is a diagram used by the organisation as it is an attempt to visually
display the perception of potential customers (Pyo, 2015). It also shows how an organisation
shares its position along with the competitors in the market. Holiday Inn is the midscale hotel

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from IHG and the competitors in the market are Radisson, Ramada and Howard Johnson in
Canada.

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Figure 1: Perceptual map of Holiday Inn (Mid-scale hotels of IHG)
(Source: Self-developed)
Conclusion
It has been noted that segmentation is about thinking target markets of productions.
Organisations need to segment customers according to their hobbies, schedules or budgets. This
Perceived
Quality
(Low)
Perceived
Quality
(High)
Perceived Price
(High)
Perceived
Price (Low)
Four Seasons
Marriott
Hilton
Holiday Inn
Howard Johnson
RadissonRamada

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step is truly important that organisations can know more about the audience and it also is the
basic step. Targeting means the organisations have to choose the audience from the markets they
have segmented. Within the details of the target audience, organisations can make brilliant
strategies in the next step. Positioning, in this step, how to transmit the special meaning and
value to the target audience is the most significant. It also is the step to make the strategies for
tour target audience. Nowadays, guests are not as simple as before in the hotel industry. Now
people have more choices, more preferences and more features, to analyse the behaviours of
customers and to set strategies precisely is the most important part. In the hotel industry, IHG
shares the important role by targeting all types of guests differentiating by the price they can
offer.

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