Hospitality Marketing Essentials

This document discusses the key roles and responsibilities of marketing function in the organization, how different organizations apply the marketing mix to achieve business objectives, and provides a basic marketing plan for The Imperial London Hotel Limited.

Hospitality Marketing Essentials
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
Describe the key roles and responsibilities of marketing function in the organization. ..........................3
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing relates to the wider organizational context. ........................4
TASK 2 .......................................................................................................................................................6
Evaluate the ways in which different organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning
process in order achieve the business objective......................................................................................6
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................................8
Produce a basic marketing plan which help the organization in accomplishing its business objectives.. 8
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry main focus is on providing great services to its customer and make
them feel delighted (Anggani and Suherlan, 2020) . Marketing is one the essential tool which is
use by every organization as it helps in increasing the sales and revenue of company with use of
effective marketing and advertising techniques. With the organization the marketing strategies
are formulated after considering the external and internal business environment and current
marketing trends. In context of hospitality industry their primary motive is to offer quality
services and provide comfortable and save environment to its customers. The organization
chosen for this report is The Imperial London Hotel Limited. The company was established in
year 1837 and is the heart of central London. The company focus on providing lively
environment and great experience to its customers. The topics covered in the report are roles and
responsibilities of the marketing function and how they relate to the wider organizational
context. Marketing Mix of organization which helps in achieving business objective and
marketing plan of the organization.
TASK 1
Describe the key roles and responsibilities of marketing function in the organization.
Marketing has a crucial role in the management of hotel as it is responsible for making
people aware about the services and features of the company. In Imperial London , marketing
function ensures that the services of the hotel is appropriately placed in the market and is
focusing on meeting the needs and requirement of its customers. The marketing department is
involve in the activities related to branding and publicity of the services in the marketplace and
focus on attracting the customers towards services of company. Moreover they are developing
various strategies which helps in achieving the target market and using different theories and
principles in order to remain competitive in marketplace (Brown, Buhalis and Beer, 2020). In
context of The Imperial London the marketing roles and responsibilities are explained below-
 Requirements of Customers- The role of marketing function within the organization is
to identify and analyze the needs of customers. It is prime responsibility to identify the
needs, desires, habits, taste and preferences of customers. According to data acquired the
marketing department of Imperial London analyze what customers are demanding.
 Customer relationship managment- The marketing function is to anticipate the
requirements of customers which provide great advantage to the organization and helps
the management in meeting the needs and wants of customers.
 Customer satisfaction- The main role of the marketing function is to satisfy the needs
and wants of customers. They identify the services which have potential to satisfy the
needs of customers and provide value to customers.
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 Profit motive- Marketing function with the organization is responsible to find out new
and innovative methods to attract the customers towards the services of company. They
focus on providing value to its customers which contributes in increasing the overall sales
and profit volume of the organization.
Main characteristics of marketing services of hospitality companies are as follow-
 No physical existence- The services which are provide by hospitality sector has no
physical evidence that is intangible in nature. For example the room services provided by
the company don't has any proof I.e it is based on the experience of customers.
 Differentiated services- The services in the hotel industry are provided by human only
and it is highly influenced by the mood, freshness, time , etc.
The role of marketing in context of Imperial London is to implement the analysis strategy
according to different situations. Thus it helps in accomplishing the corporate level goals and
objectives of company. The marketing function of company is focusing on growing the market
share by identifying the growth areas and also enhancing the demand for its services and
facilities (Brown, 2017).
P2 Roles and responsibilities of marketing relates to the wider organizational context.
The primary focus of The Imperial London is to function in coordination and cooperation
with other functional departments and formulate business strategy together which helps in
achieving desire results. The marketing process includes various activities and actions in the
process of production , promotion and consumption of products and services. Marketing process
of The Imperial London, focus on building and developing an effective market plan which is
capable of meeting the changing needs and taste of customers. Moreover they are also focusing
on formulating plans which comply with the rules and laws of the land. They have designed their
rooms in most desirable way in order to meet the diverse taste of customers. In this changing
market environment the marketing function of The Imperial London is focusing on the analyzing
and evaluating the changes in the needs and wants of customers and accordingly redesigning and
changing its products and services.
The interrelationship between marketing and other functional departments is describe
below-
 Marketing and Finance- Marketing strategies and the plans are required to be
formulated as per the set budget. These strategies and plans involves profit and cost
margin of the products, services, brand and many more. The finance department in
Imperial London is responsible to provide a define budget to the marketing department so
that they can conduct the marketing campaigns in set budget. Moreover the finance
department provide support and guidance to marketing department in cost related matters
and provide cost for carrying different marketing activities. In context of The Imperial
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London, the marketing department works in coordination with finance department and
knows the current financial state of the company so that it can conduct its campaigns and
other marketing activities according to the prevailing situation.
 Marketing and Human Resource- The main function of HR department in the
organization is to work for the wellbeing of the staff members and to hire the right person
for the job role in the set budget (Chen, Chen and Liu, 2020). In context of The Imperial
London, the marketing department functions in coordination with HR departments and
ensures that all job roles are perform on time, is their need for new employees and right
person should be hired for marketing team with required set of skills and abilities.
Moreover the marketing department cooperates with the HR department in order to
ensure that proper training should be provided to new employees so that they can work
effectively in various challenging market conditions. Moreover the HR department
provide the feedback of employees performance to the marketing department in order to
determine that performance are up to mark and should help in accomplishing the targets
of the company. Also, HR department provide full support to marketing department in
evaluating the performance of members of marketing team so that corrective steps can be
taken in case of inefficiency (Chiou, Chao and Hsieh, 2020).
 Marketing department and production and operations department- The production
department primary function is to focus on the development of new products and services
and related activities. In context of The Imperial London, the marketing department
functions in coordination with production and operation department to ensure the
development of services and products in order to satisfy the needs and wants of
customers. Moreover the marketing and production department functions together in
research work that in identifying the needs and desires of customers in order to make
improvement in its existing products and services. Moreover the marketing department
operates in coordination with operation department in order to ensure that the activities
and operations are conducted in proper manner that is are carried in line with the
objectives of marketing team. Furthermore, both the departments work hand in hand with
marketing department in order to ensure that the plans and strategies are appropriate for
operations of management and for related schedules of productions. Both the departments
work in coordination with each other in order to acquire quality materials from suppliers
so that they will be able to provide good quality products and services to its guests.
 Marketing and Customer Service- Marketing and the customer services are the most
essential functions within the organization. Both these function have common motivate
that is to provide satisfaction to its customers and derive great customer experience. In
context of The Imperial London , the customer service department provides information
to the marketing department regarding customer response and their feedback on the
products and services of company (David, 2018). Hence it helps the marketing
department in development and marketing activities of products and services of the
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company. The main motive of both the department is to develop positive and strong
relation with its customers.
 Marketing department and IT department- These both department work in
coordination with each other with the motive to provide benefit to company and carry
activities in the best possible manner. IT department functions according to the needs and
requirements of marketing department in order to make sure that latest technological
support should be provided to the marketing team. This helps marketing department in
carrying its operations effectively and efficiently.
TASK 2
Evaluate the ways in which different organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing
planning process in order achieve the business objective.
Marketing mix approach is been used by the marketing managers with the motive to
identify and analyze the current market trends and conditions in order to create effective
marketing plan (Eisenstein, 2018).
Goals and objective of The Imperial London and Whitbread
Hospitality Sector Goals Objectives
The Imperial London The goal of company is to
provide services to its guests.
To deliver services
according to the needs and
desires of customers.
Whitbread The goal of the company is to
become the market leaders in
the sector of hospitality.
To maximize growth and
provide value to its
customers.
7 P’s of Marketing Mix
7 P’s of marketing mix The Imperial London Whitbread
Product/ Services They provide wide range of
services and facilities to its
guests. It helps in reaching to
potential customers in the
efficient manner. It provides
services like car rental
services, dry cleaning services,
AC rooms, room services and
many more.
On the other hand, Whitbread
focus on providing family-
friendly services to its guests.
They provide lodging, food
services, event planning,
transportation and many
more services to its
customers.
Pricing The company has adopted cost
leadership business strategy as
it helps in providing great
Whitbread is following
competitive pricing strategy
due to large number of
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services on large scale to its
customers. Moreover they are
providing quality services at
affordable prices in
comparison to its competitors.
competitors. In comparison
to Imperial it is charging high
from its guests for the
services it is providing to
them.
Place The company is operating in
London only.
Whereas Whitbread is
operating in various cities of
UK.
Promotion The Imperial London is using
various promotional strategies
such as advertisement in
magazines, newspapers,
televisions and many more.
Moreover they are using
various popular social media
platforms in order to make
people aware about its
services and facilities.
Whereas Whitbread is using
various marketing and
advertisement campaigns
with the help of traditional
and social media platform
with the motive to target
large number of guests across
the globe.
People There are more than 3000
employees who are working
with the company and their
main objective is to provide
excellent training and
development to its employees
in order to deliver quality
services and attract new
potential guests.
In comparison to The
Imperial London, they have
large number of employees
as they are operating in
various cities of UK.
Moreover the company
believes in the effective and
efficient work of its staff
members.
Process The process followed by
company is to deliver the
quality services to its guests
where they offer special
services to its loyal customers.
The process of Whitbread is
well defined that is they have
standard procedure for
operations where they
maintain set standards in its
services and offer best
services and experience to its
customers.
Physical Evidence The company provides
functions which helps in
impressing the guests and its
employees (Yaldaie, 2019).
Moreover with its designer
interior and hygiene level it
attracts customers.
Whitbread has its
headquarters in England and
it servers china, Dubai, UK
and many other countries by
offer same level of services.
From the above comparison, The Imperial London is required to extend its services in
order to increase its customer base. They should focus on online marketing in order to attract
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potential customers. The company is operating on one location, it should focus on expanding its
business in popular cities of UK (Elshaer and Marzouk, 2019). Moreover they should focus on
strengthening its standard operating procedures while serving its customers.
TASK 3
Produce a basic marketing plan which help the organization in accomplishing its business
objectives.
Marketing is define as the process where various activities are carried by marketers in
order to promote the business of company. Marketing activities includes advertising, selling,
delivering of products and services to the potential customers (Foroudi, Tajeddini and Marvi,
2019).
Marketing plan of The Imperial London is as follow:
Executive summary This marketing plan is focusing on various
strategies with the motive to improve and
increase the sales and revenue of the business
organisation by expanding business in other
parts.
Vision and values Vision- To become effective in its operations
as a result people will prefer it over other
competitive companies.
Value- To develop trust among employees and
focus on effective team work.
Pricing Strategy Company is currently following competitive
pricing strategy where as I order to attract
more customers they have to follow
penetration and economy pricing policies.
Economy pricing strategy suggests that
company should sell the rooms at lowest rate
possible with the motive to sell all the rooms.
Whereas penetration pricing suggests that
company should provide its rooms to
customers with quality services at the lower
prices then of competitors. This method will
help them in attracting and engaging new
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customers and to retain the existing customers.
SWOT Analysis Strength
 The company has vast scope of
business as people are preferring hotels
and restaurants in order to satisfy their
needs and wants.
 The company is using latest technology
and delivering high quality services to
its customers.
 Moreover they are having strong and
attractive property portfolio which is
helping in attracting large number
customers (Hughes, 2018).
Weaknesses
 The company is totally dependent on
the UK market and is not flexible
enough.
 They are not having strong network
connectivity as they are serving one
particular area so will face lot of
difficulties in expanding its business.
 Moreover the company is highly
dependent on its propriety and don’t
have great lodging network (Jiao and
Lu, 2019).
Opportunities
 One of the biggest opportunity they
have to expand its business in the
marketplace as they are providing
quality services at much affordable
prices.
 Moreover they can focus on
establishing and enhancing its presence
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in the medium level budgeted hotels
which will help in building
connectivity.
Threats
 They are facing high level of
competition in marketplace as there are
various brands in hotel industry which
has strong brand image in marketplace.
 While expanding business in other
countries they have threat of terrorism
and the political instability effect they
performance (Krupskyi and Stesenko,
2018).
Market Segmentation The company is segmenting its services on the
bases of its unique features and ambience and
offering services on complementary bases such
as spa, gym, etc. They are focusing on cost
leadership pricing strategy as there motive is to
provide services to business class and middle
class of the society. It is using differentiation
strategy in order to stand on its words while
serving its guests (Krupskyi and Stesenko,
2018).
Marketing Objectives  Improving its services and to increase
its sale revenue by entering into new
marketplace.
 Improving online marketing that is its
online brand image.
 Increasing its number of loyal
customers.
Marketing Channels Paid advertising- With the help of hoardings,
various popular social media platforms, etc.
Digital marketing- In this digital world with
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the help of own website, by running various
social media campaigns, etc.
Public relation- Digital influences, bloggers,
T.V, media, etc.
SMART Goals The SMART objective of The Imperial
London is to expand its business in market of
US with 2 year with the motive of increasing
its profit margin by 35%.
Marketing Tactics Using AIDA Model:
Awareness- Focus is on improving and
enhancing company's awareness with the help
of digital advertisement.
Interest- By introducing visual content on
various social media platforms focus is on
developing the interest among potential
customers and to engage them.
Desire- They want its potential customers to
look at the brand personality of the hotel and to
increase it number of guest list.
Action- By building effective public relation
the focus is on building direct relation with the
customers and to interact with them
effectively. The primary aim is to convert the
marketing into sales and to increase its
revenue.
Marketing Budgeting The marketing budget is been decided by the
finance department of the company. Where as
it is expected to be 25% more than the regular
marketing budget.
Ansoff Matrix for new marketing plan
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 Market Penetration- The Imperial London, in order to increase its profit volume it
should adopt the aggressive marketing strategy. It includes various marketing campaigns
on popular social media platform in order to enhance its presence in the marketplace.
 Product development- The company is currently serving one location and satisfying the
needs and wants of people belonging to that particular location. Therefore its essential to
enhance and add more services and products in its existing line in order to capture the
market of US (Ramaj and Ukaj, 2018).
 Diversification- It is very important for company to diversify its services according to its
guests that is should focus on providing more and special services to its loyal customers.
Moreover company need to bring diversification in its products and services in order to
remain competitive in the marketplace (Ruhanen, 2019).
4P’s of Marketing for new marketing plan
Marketing process involves creating effective and efficient strategy for marketing mix
and its implementation in order to retain the existing customers and for attracting the new
potential customers. The target customer segment of The Imperial London includes people from
all age groups and the tourist who have come to visit the location (Sepula, 2019).
 Price- Pricing the products and services according to the market price of competitors in
order to make it affordable for its potential customers. The company should focus on
competitive price in order to sustain in the marketplace. The company should have
different prices according to services it is providing to its customers that is for special
services it should have different prices and for normal services it should have different
price.
 Place- Furthermore the marketing process includes the place for the products and
services in the market that is right direction from where they can reach to its potential
customers. The company should focus on establishing its business in prime locations of
US market.
 Promotion- It’s very important for the marketers to adopt the effective tools for
promotion of products and services of the company in order to attract maximum possible
customers. As people are spending more time on various social media platforms so they
should do their promotion on the popular social media platforms such as instagram,
snapchat, you-tube, etc.
 Product- The marketing department designs the products and services which are capable
of meeting the needs and wants of customers (Shin, Severt and Fjelstul, 2017). They need
to diversify its products and services according to the needs and desires of customers of
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US. They should add more facilities and services in its existing line in order to attract
large number of customers.
Monitoring and controlling-
This cycle of monitoring and controlling undertaking work is critical as it can happen that
you can finish the venture on-schedule, in any case, have not had the option to meet the ideal
quality levels. Checking and Controlling venture work include observing some other exhibition
measure that the undertaking director has made or utilized for this task. The task of monitoring
and controlling beginnings when a venture starts (Tan and Chen, 2020). Checking and
controlling task work is the way toward following, inspecting, and managing the advancement so
as to meet the exhibition destinations.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been concluded that marketing plan is essential for the
organizations in order to survive and grow in the marketplace. In case of hospitality sector, the
companies can attract the large number of customers by providing efficient quality services and
products. The proper formulation of market plan after identifying the various factors in
marketplace and its proper implement with effective monitoring and controlling helps
organization in achieving its goals and objectives. The organizations should focus on latest
technologies and advancement in order to carry the business operations in most effective and
efficient manner.
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