Expanding Hotel Marriott's Market Share through Effective Marketing Management

To expand its market share, the company can practice public relations with customers by keeping regular contact and taking their feedback. This can be achieved through providing discount vouchers to them. Additionally, the company should adopt effective marketing management practices to sell products and services successfully in a dynamic environment.

MARKETING
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Environmental Analysis...................................................................................................................3
Objectives........................................................................................................................................6
Segmentation....................................................................................................................................6
Target Market...................................................................................................................................8
Positioning.......................................................................................................................................8
Marketing Mix.................................................................................................................................9
Product.........................................................................................................................................9
Price...........................................................................................................................................10
Place...........................................................................................................................................10
Promotion...................................................................................................................................10
Physical Layout..........................................................................................................................11
People.........................................................................................................................................11
Process.......................................................................................................................................11
Suggestions....................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13
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INDEX OF TABLES
Table 1: Porter's 5 Forces Model for Hotel Marriott.......................................................................5
Table 2: SWOT Analysis.................................................................................................................6
ILLUSTRATION INDEX
Illustration 1: Market Segmentation................................................................................................9
Illustration 2: 7 P's of Marketing Mix............................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Marketing management can be defined as a separate discipline in an organization which
performs and manages all the marketing activities such as marketing orientation, application of
marketing-mix, etc. It is highly important to manage the marketing activities in a firm in order to
identify the consumer needs and providing products and services so as to satisfy their need.
Marketing management thus, helps the organization to succeed in a competitive market by
providing products and services according customer's requirement (Beverland, Napoli and
Yakimova, 2007). In this report, marketing management of Hotel Marriott have been discussed
so that better understanding about the topic can be gained. Furthermore, this report is consist of
environment analysis of Hotel Marriott and accordingly objectives have been set. Moreover, to
fulfill those objectives marketing plan have been laid down in order to meet the objectives of
Hotel Marriott.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
External Analysis
This environment is that which is prevailing outside the organization boundary. The
factors of external environment is not under the control of organization's management and thus it
can impact the working of a company at any point of time (Dooley, Jones and Iverson, 2012).
For this purpose, it is necessary for the firm to assess its external environment in advance to
reduce its impact. To carry out environmental scanning PESTLE and Porter's Five 5 Forces
Model have been applied.
PESTLE Analysis Political: Political disturbance in UK and Northern Ireland have created problems for the
Marriott to establish its new premises. There is in fact a possibility of UK to exist EU so
this would impact the trading of Marriott in EU member countries. Economical: The ongoing economic turmoil in Europe and China will have a high impact
on the Marriott (French and Bennett, 2015). The collapse of stock market in China and
recession condition in Europe have reduced the buyer's purchasing power, thus, they are
now less willing to travel and spend their money in hotels like Marriott. Further, the
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fluctuations in exchange rates has also affected the working of a company in various
countries. Social: Paradigm shift of demographics and increasing cultural diversity have imposed a
challenge and also gave an opportunity to Hotel Marriott. Hotel are employing culturally
diversed employees to tackle the guests and also now younger group are visiting for
which hotel has to change its services as their needs are different (Grönroos, 2009). Technological: Due to increasing technological advancement, hotel is facing issues as
they have to employ new technologies after every updation. Moreover, same technologies
are not available in all the countries so they have to import latest technology which add
extra cost to the hotel ((Beverland, Napoli and Yakimova, 2007)). Legal: Changes in legal rules in every country related to hotel and catering which impact
the organizational policies and structure. Further, consumer laws, employee safety laws
are changing frequently which hamper the working of Marriott. Environmental: Due to changing weather condition, people do not prefer to travel much
and also increasing pollution due to hotel wastage have created negative image in the
minds of society about the hotels have impacted the profitability of this hotel.
Porter's 5 Forces Model
Table 1: Porter's 5 Forces Model for Hotel Marriott
Forces Impact Degree of Impact
Bargaining
Power of
Suppliers
 Suppliers are highly benefited so there is
high cost of switching.
 Suppliers are many in number (Korotkov,
Occhiocupo and Simkin, 2013).
 Company can take backward integration.
Moderate
Bargaining
Power of Buyers
 Buyers have become more aware about
the prices and facilities.
 High usage of internet have created threat
for the company.
High
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 Switching cost is less.
 Introduction of sites like Airbnb have let
the buyer avail the online rental services
online (Kubacki, 2015).
Threats of
Substitutes
 Many substitutes are available at low
prices with high facilities.
 Motels, villas, travelers hostels, beach
rooms, etc.
High
Threats of New
Entrants
 Entry barriers are high.
 Huge capital investment required.
 Economies of scale are already with
establishes brands.
Low
Industry Rivalry  This industry is mature and have intense
competitive environment.
 The market is very saturated (Lee and
Trim, 2008).
High
Internal Analysis
Table 2: SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Company has high ethical standards.
 It provides intensive training programs
 This organization has strong cultural
environment.
 Company has brought lots of
innovation in order to gain global
sustainability (Martin, 2009).
 Employees are not satisfied with the
remuneration they are given due to
which high turnover exist in the
company (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2002).
 Company has to incur huge cost on Go
Green concept.
 The financial performance of a
company is going down.
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 Limited market share.
Opportunities Threats
 High amount of potential in emerging
markets.
 Company can expand its hotels in
developing countries (Onkvisit and
Shaw, 2002).
 Continuous performance on Go Green
initiatives may develop a good brand
image in the minds of consumers.
 Changing demographics brings better
opportunity for the firm.
 Fragmented and competitive industry
may impose a major threat on Marriott.
 Terrorist attacks in France and other
countries have changed the mentality of
consumers regarding traveling and
visiting.
 Economic crisis may impact the
company's working (Parvinen,
Tikkanen and Aspara, 2007).
OBJECTIVES
Objectives basically refers to as a specific results which an organization aims to achieve
within a specific time period along with a resources available. These are more specific and easier
to measure than goals (Boutelle, and Jorgensen, 2010). Every organization set the objectives to
reach its ultimate goal and objectives are generally set at departmental level. This provides a
clear path to the organization for which it has been formed. Further, it helps in achieving the
things faster and also coordination can be maintained. Similarly, Hotel Marriott has set the
objectives in order to succeed in a competitive environment. Some of the objectives are
discussed as follows:
 To enhance its profit margin by 10% till December 2016.
 To bring an innovative service for the high income group people till July 2016.
 To increase the market share by 35% in developing economies such as BRIC (Brazil,
Russia, India and China).
These are some of the objectives which have been set by Hotel Marriott so that an
effective marketing plan can be created and implemented.
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SEGMENTATION
After setting the objectives for the hotel, next step is to segment the market on the basis
of common characteristics of common needs of a consumers (Boutelle, 2007). Segmentation
generally refers to as a type of marketing strategy which divides the mass market into small
subsets of consumers. There are 4 types of segmentation which are described below:
1. Demographic Segmentation: Market is segmented by the hotel manager on the basis of
age group, gender, annual income, occupation, etc.
2. Geographic Segmentation: The segmentation is done in this type is on the basis of
country, region, area (Primm and Roncevich, 2009).
3. Behavioral Segmentation: In this type, segmentation is done by the management on the
basis of customer's attitude, perception, values, ethics, cultural belief, etc.
4. Psychographic Segmentation: This type enables the management to segment its market
on the basis of lifestyle of consumers.
Hotel Marriott has segmented its market on the basis of Demographics that is higher
income group people and age group of 20-30. Further, the geographic segmentation is done in
which India, China and Brazil has been segmented for increasing market share. There are various
criteria used by the firm to define its segmentation that are homogeneity, measurable and
accessible.
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(Source: Moran, M., 2014)
TARGET MARKET
After doing the segmentation, managers of Hotel Marriott takes the step of identifying its
target market. It means a group of customers on whom marketing strategy has been designed and
implemented. On the other hand, target market is that group of potential customers to whom the
products and services will be sold by the company (Salzberg and Salzberg, 2011). Targeting of
customers should be effectively done because they are the only consumers for the company who
will increase the profits of a company. There are basically 3 types of targeting strategy that are as
follows: Undifferentiated Strategy: In this, firm decided to ignore the segmentation and whole
market is covered and communicated by using single strategy. Concentrated Strategy: Niche marketing concept is adopted in this type. A single
segment is focused and all the strategy is applied on those single segment.
 Differentiated Strategy: Separate offerings is provided to each segment of the company.
Each segment is targeted uniquely by the firm.
Hotel Marriott's target audiences are the young age group of 20-30 years of people of
high income group who are visiting to Brazil, India and China (Salzberg, 2006). Moreover,
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Illustration 1: Market Segmentation

company applies the concentrated strategy to communicate their offerings and attract large pool
of customers.
POSITIONING
Positioning refers to as a type of marketing strategy which aims to develop a distinct
image in the minds of consumers against the competitors. Positioning of a brand is done on the
basis of various parameters that are features/attributes, price, quality, competitive advantage,
competitor strategy, etc. Positioning of Hotel Marriott can be done as Premium class hotel with
luxurious facilities which provides royal and comfort feeling (Beverland, Napoli and Yakimova,
2007). It means that the positioning has been done on the basis of features/attributes. Moreover,
it provides high quality services and it depicts that on the basis of quality, the positioning has
been done. Further, against the competitor strategy, its positioning has been done that is the hotel
provides such facility which none of the hotel in Brazil, India and china provides. This is the
way, management wants to set a different image in the minds of consumer.
MARKETING MIX
It is a type of business tool which is used by marketer to market their products and
services (Dooley, Jones and Iverson, 2012). This is a very crucial tool which helps in
determining the product offers. This mix include 4 P's that is Product, Price, Place and
Promotion. In present, 3 more P's have been included in this and instead of 4 P's, modern
marketing mix have 7 P's which are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Layout
and Process.
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(Source: Martin, 2014)
Product
Product is a offering which is manufactured or designed for ultimate sale. Products can
be tangible or intangible that is goods or services. In hospitality industry, product is a kind of
services they provide. As per the objectives of Hotel Marriott, they are establishing new premises
in Brazil, India and China (French and Bennett, 2015). In Brazil the hotels can be designed as
beach house, in India, the hotels can be designed as a house of ancient royal families for
example, palaces. Further in China, buildings can be build on Chinese concept that is villas made
up of woods and tree houses, etc. The services will be provided according to the concept only.
Price
Price means a value assigned to the products or offerings which have been designed by
the company. It is expressed in some units of forms of currency. There are two types of pricing
strategy which is applied while introducing new product or services (Grönroos, 2009). One is
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Illustration 2: 7 P's of Marketing Mix

skimming pricing strategy in which price is kept high and other is penetration pricing strategy
where pricing of a product is kept low. Hotel Marriott has targeted high income group people
and in new market, hotel premises are designed with a unique concept to bring innovations.
Thus, skimming pricing strategy will be applied because the product is unique and services
provided their will be of utmost quality (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2002).
Place
Place is concerned with a point of sale where the ultimate costumer can avail the product
and services. It is very necessary for a company to distribute its product in a most effective
manner so as to make it convenient for the customer to have good experience of a product or
services in an easier manner (Korotkov, Occhiocupo and Simkin, 2013). Hotel Marriott will
distribute its new product by establishing a new premises near beaches in Brazil, building many
hotels in royal cities of India and in China near forest many buildings can be build.
Promotion
Promotion is a 4th of a marketing-mix which is used to communicate the products offering
to the existing and potential customers of a company. In this, company uses various promotion
mix to convey its offering to the target audience by print and media advertisement, digital
marketing, direct selling, sales promotion. Moreover, company can integrate its promotional
activities to make the offering more effective so that more and more customers can be attracted
(Kubacki, 2015). Hotel Marriott will communicate and promote its new offering using
advertisement in magazines, putting hoardings in a street, sponsoring an event and also by
providing vouchers at social networking sites to the younger group people.
Physical Layout
It is the physical appearance of a store where products are sold. In the case of Hotel
Marriott, physical layout of a company is the appearance of a hotel which the company is going
to build in a new country. In Brazil, the layout will be like beach house. In India, the physical
layout of a hotel will be like palaces of kings and royal families. And lastly in China, layout will
be like tree house which will be more close to nature (Lee and Trim, 2008).
People
People are employees of a company which interact with the customers in order to sell
them the products and services and also influence them for repeat purchase. Similarly, in this
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hotel, the staff of a firm interacts with customers so as to provide services to them and influence
them for repeat business (Martin, 2009). It is the responsibility of a Marriott to provide effective
training to them so that they can develop communication skills and also the behaviour of the staff
members should be shaped as such that they could behave properly with the customers. This
could be done by remunerating and motivating them properly.
Process
Process which is 7th P of a modern marketing mix depict that what process company
follows to handle its customers that is the process of handling customer complaints, process of
providing quick services to them to gain competitive advantage. In Marriott, process of
identifying and satisfying customer's need by providing quick services to customers are
followed. The staff should be highly trained so that they can assess the needs of customers and
response to them as quickly as possible so that company a competitive advantage (Onkvisit and
Shaw, 2002).
By adopting this marketing plan, Hotel Marriott can achieve its objectives of expanding
its market share up to 30% in countries like Brazil, India and China. Further, by keeping high
pricing, the profit margin will get enhance by 10%. Moreover, by establishing new premises with
unique concept in these regions, company can achieve its objective of coming up with a
innovative services for high income group people.
SUGGESTIONS
Hotel Marriott has planned to achieve the objective of expansion of a market share in
emerging markets and also the objective of enhancing profit margin. For this purpose, a
marketing plan has been set up to accomplish the set objectives (Parvinen, Tikkanen and Aspara,
2007). There are some of the suggestions for the company on how to raise its revenue and
expand market share which are discussed as follows:
 Hotel should spent more on its promotion of new premises to the existing customers in
different countries. Along with that firm can promote these countries so that people travel
there and avail the hotel services of Marriott. This will help in increasing market share
and also the profits.
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 Company can organize some events in these three countries and in other countries as
well, for the promotion of newly build hotels on a different concept. This will help in
increasing the profits.
 On the other hands, company can acquire other hotels and restaurants in these regions
which will help the company to expand its market share.
 By practicing public relations with the customers by keeping regular contact with them
and taking their feedback and providing discount vouchers to them. It will help in
increasing market share in these sectors.
CONCLUSION
As per the study conducted on marketing management of Hotel Marriott, it has been
concluded that it is very essential for the company to adopt effective marketing management
practices so that products and services can be sold to the customers and get success in a dynamic
environment. Further, the conclusion has been made that hotel wanted to expand their markets in
emerging markets of Brazil, India and China so that revenue can be generated more. After
scanning a complete environment, market plan have been set up the company so that objectives
can be achieved in a proper manner.
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Books
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