Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategies: Hilton Hotel Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior within the context of Hilton Hotels. It begins by outlining the consumer decision-making stages, including problem recognition, information gathering, evaluating alternatives, and the purchase decision. The report emphasizes the importance for marketers to understand these stages, highlighting the influence of heuristics, marketing mix elements, and technology on consumer choices. The report then differentiates between B2B and B2C decision-making processes and explores various market research approaches, such as primary and secondary research methods including telephonic interviews and online questionnaires. Furthermore, it analyzes how marketers can influence the consumer decision-making process through strategic marketing efforts. The report concludes by summarizing key findings and implications for Hilton Hotels' marketing strategies.

HOSPITALITY
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
LO2..................................................................................................................................................3
P3 Consumer decision-making stages.........................................................................................3
P4 Importance for marketers to understand process of consumer-decision making...................4
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................6
P5 Decision-making in B2B & B2C...........................................................................................6
P6 Various approaches of market research.................................................................................7
LO4..................................................................................................................................................9
P7 Analysis of marketer's influence on decision-making process of consumer.........................9
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour is basically the study which tells the markers about various factors
through which consumers makes their decision for purchasing the particular product and how
they spend their money. Hotel Hilton is basically the full-service hotel being established by
Conard Hilton and headquartered in Virginia, U.S. It is currently present in more than 85
countries and six continents.
This report gives a brief about Consumer decision-making stages, Importance for
marketers to understand process of consumer-decision making, decision-making in B2B & B2C,
Various approaches of market research and analysis of marketer's influence on decision-making
process of consumer.
MAIN BODY
LO1 covered in ppt
LO2
P3 Consumer decision-making stages
Problem recognition
This is the very foremost stage in consumer decision making where the individual first
come across the need and problem to fulfil their demands. In this, consumer finds that something
is missing out and need to be addressed promptly for overcoming the problem. Here the
consumers feels that they are encountering some problem and this is can generate either
internally or externally. In order to fulfil this need, they need a product or service (Kotler and
et.al.,2017).
Information gathering
This is the second stage in consumer decision making where they incest their time in
gathering all the information about that product. Once the consumers come across the need or the
problem, they look out for the product which will fulfil their need. In this stage, consumer
collects various information about that product form different resources like internet, magazines,
online websites etc.
Evaluating alternatives
After gaining the appropriate information about the product, consumers tend to compare
the different organizations providing same product. Here the customers mainly compares price,
feature, quality and other attributes of the product which different firms are offering. For

example one hotel is providing services at low price and the other hotel is providing same
services at high price. Thus, in this they compare the various attributes and then take decision.
Purchases
This is the final stage in consumer decision making where after gathering all the
information and comparing the alternatives, consumer finally takes the decision to purchase the
product. Here, the customers decide what to purchase and from where to purchase. After
assessing all the factors and facts, consumer finally comes to final decision (Rita and et.al.,2018).
Map a path
The consumer journey of purchasing the product is imperative. The main service which
the hotels provide is the room booking. The entire decision making of consumers for booking
room is important to understand for marketers. The customers first come across the problem of
booking room while planning for holiday or business meeting. To fulfil this need, consumers will
gather the information about the prices of various rooms like premium rooms, normal room, ultra
premium room. After gathering information, consumer will compare the prices of rooms offered
by hotel Hilton with other hotels for taking the effective decision. Like the prices of room of
Hilton is somewhat cheaper than the hotels along with the best quality. Once the information is
gathered and comparison is made, consumers will finally decide to book the room in Hilton and
will make the necessary transactions. After staying in the Hilton, the post purchase behaviour in
which where if consumer had great experience with the hotel and was beyond their expectation
then they will give positive feedback to the hotel and thus will want to visit hotel frequently.
P4 Importance for marketers to understand process of consumer-decision making
In this technology-driven world, it has become important for the marketers of Hilton to
understand the consumer decision making process. This is also important from the competition
point of view as it will help them to achieve competitive advantage.
Heuristics
Heuristics is basically the approach in decision making which people use for gathering
the information and taking effective decision. Thus, in order to understand the metal connection
of consumers with hospitality industry, it is very important for the Hilton to have deep-insight of
consumer decision making process. This process gives will give them the ideas as on what basis
the consumers base their decision and what they consider the most while choosing the specific
hotel like price, quality, services etc. (Gursoy, 2017).

Marketing mix
The various marketing mix which hotels use while promoting themselves influences the
decision making of the consumers. The consumers while choosing the specific hotel or gathering
information takes into consideration the marketing mix. For example the product, promotional
strategy, prices etc. of hotel Hilton. They take into account this mix for booking hotel. Thus, in
order to improve the marketing mix or making modification in it that will attract more and more
customers, understanding consumer-decision making is of utmost importance for Hilton. This
will help them to know what kind of mix the people want.
Influence of technologies
The advent of various advanced technologies also impacts the purchasing behaviour of
consumers and thus rely their decisions on that hotel which leverage technology with the world-
class quality. For understanding what impact does theses technologies have on the minds of
consumers, understanding their process becomes highly important for Hilton so that they can
innovate yo a great extent. For example- some consumer wants room technology if they are
paying high prices to the hotel, thus this will help Hilton to modify their services and bring
innovation within room technology like faster Wi-Fi.
Increasing sales
Each and every hotel has the prime objective to increase sales and thus increases revenue
ratio. By understanding the decision making process and purchase behaviour of consumers,
Hilton will come to know about the fluctuating needs and demands of consumer's. This will
eventually help them to increase sale by integrating their needs with the more better services and
products (Martin, Rosenbaum and Ham, 2015).
M2 Marketers response to decision-making process
The marketers of Hilton are responding in a most profound way to the decision making
process of consumers. Due to changing trend of the consumers, Hilton is continuously engaged
in bring innovative technologies which will proved the customers with high level quality and
thus will make their experience memorable. Marketers through market research are taking care
of the needs and wants of consumers and then designing the various strategies that will go
beyond their expectation. They are constantly innovating their products and services and also
making their employees are competent to serve customers better. They are also taking a step
ahead towards sustainability for fulfilling the expectations of consumers.

LO 3
P5 Decision-making in B2B & B2C
B2B B2C
Low spend and low strategic significance
In this, the offering is generally of the low
importance and the price of the product is also
low. Consumers does not pay attention in price
of product. For example- the resources which
are used in Hilton like computers, reception
equipments, decorative flowers. These
generally have low price and are not that
important (Huang and Miao, 2016).
Problem recognition
This is the first stage in consumer decision
making where the consumer first comes across
the problem which generate a need for product
to fulfil this. For example- While going on
holiday, consumers will come across the
problem of staying and food (Schuckert, Liu
and Law, 2015).
Low spend and high strategic significance
The price of the product is generally low but it
has a high strategic significance and is
important for performing operations of
business. For example- The safety certification
which the Hilton provides to its employees has
low cost but is essential to keep them
motivated.
Information gathering
In this stage, the customers after identifying
the problem gathers information about the
specific product like its price, services,
attributes etc. For example- After recognizing
the problem of staying, consumers will gather
the information on various hotels like the price,
service quality etc.
High spend and low strategic significance
The price of product is generally high but it has
low importance and is not so much important
for continued operations. For example- the
electricity and water supply in Hilton have
high rate and price but is usually of low
importance for them.
Evaluating alternatives
In this, consumers after collecting information
will compare the various attributes like price,
services from various other hotels that will
help them in making effective decision. For
example- consumers will compare the price of
room offered by Hilton with other hotels and
will also compare who are providing best
services in affordable range.
High spend and high strategic significance Purchase

In this, the price of the product as well as its
importance both are high and is important for
the maintaining the operations of organization.
For example- the employees having required
skills and talent are of importance for Hilton
and the cost of recruiting them is also high.
Once the information is being gathered and
comparison has been done, consumers finally
makes the decision to purchase the product.
For example- after comparing the process,
consumer find the prices of rooms more
affordable of Hilton than other hotel then the
consumers will finally go with Hilton and book
the room.
P6 Various approaches of market research
Market research is basically the method in which organizations undergoes the efforts to
gather the various information about the target market and thus helps them in understanding the
different trends prevailing in that market. There are mainly different approaches in market
research which helps Hilton to understand the behaviour of consumers toward different aspect
(Gursoy, 2018).
Primary research
This is the first approach which is being used in organizations to gather the information
about the market, customers, competitors etc. Primary research is basically the methodology in
which Hilton collects the information and data which is not collected previously by anyone. The
main advantage of collecting the primary data that it helps Hilton to have the updated
information which is currently prevailing. For example- through primary data, Hilton will come
to know that how much percentage of the people currently spend their money mainly on
travelling. Thus, this is one of the most important sources of collecting information as well as
great approach of market research which helps them to gain an in-depth analysis of various
aspect.
Secondary research
This is the second approach in market research wherein organizations mostly collects the
information which is already available or researched by someone else. In this, hotel uses the
already established data as well as information which eventually saves their most of the time.
The biggest advantage of this type of research is that the Hilton does not incur additional cost of

recruiting the staff especially for conducting marketing research and various other resources. The
main disadvantage of this research is that the marketer does not get the upgraded information and
complete information as they use the information already prepared by someone else.
Methods of market research
Primary method
Telephonic interview
This is the most important primary method in which hotel mainly solicit the feedback
from consumers through telephone. In this, Hilton can call their target customers and hence
gather their feedback about various aspects like quality of services, products, prices etc. The
main advantage of this method is that it is easy to conduct in comparison to other methods and
thus provide quality data. Major disadvantage is that due to the busy schedule of customers, they
are not able to pick up the call and waste their time in giving their answers.
Online Questionnaire
This is the another method in primary approach wherein organizations mainly conduct
the online survey of customers for soliciting feedback from them (Ivanov and Webster, 2019). In
this, Hilton can either send the online questionnaire to their target customers through E-mail or
SMS or can post the questionnaire on its website where customers can give their reviews about
various attributes. The primary advantage of this method is that it can approach and reach wide
range of customers in short period of time. Disadvantage is that it requires the trained
interviewers and people who can explore the answers from customers.
Secondary approach
Internet
This is one of the most important method in secondary approach which has been used
worldwide by range of people. In this, Hilton can collect the data and information from the
internet like websites, google about the changing trends of consumers. The biggest advantage of
this method is that it is free of cost and information is readily available within a single click. On
contrary to this, the major disadvantage of this method is that its coverage rate is low as not all
the people consisting the population visit internet frequently.
Public libraries
This is another method of secondary approach in which organizations gather information
from various public libraries. Hilton can collect the information from the various documents

which is available in public libraries like consumer trends, about competitors etc. The main
advantage of this method is that the marketers get the already prepared data from the libraries
and saves their valuable time. Primary disadvantage of this method is that sometimes the
marketers does not get the reliable data and the information is not credible enough to be used.
M3 Evaluation of factors influencing decision-making
The various factors ultimately influences the decision-making as well as buying
behaviour of the consumers. Factors like price, quality, services eventually goes into the decision
making of consumers and they make their decision based on these. For example- The middle
class group takes into account the price while choosing the hotel and thus book the one which
provides moderate services in reasonable price. Thus, the various factors affects their decision-
making and impact their behaviour.
LO4
P7 Analysis of marketer's influence on decision-making process of consumer
Marketers can influence the different stages of consumer-decision making which will
eventually help them to attract more and more customers. In the first stage of process of need
recognition, Hilton can contact the customers who are planning for holiday or for business
meeting where they can explain the feature of their hotel. In the second stage of process which is
information gathering, Hilton can make its website innovative where customers can easily collect
the various information simply by browsing the website like prices, images of hotel etc. Hilton
can design its website more creatively that will attract customers. In the third stage that is
comparison of alternative, Hilton can post its success stories and recognitions on its website as
well as can show the performance of their hotel in comparison to other hotel (Ozturk, 2017). This
will make it easy for the customers to make differentiation. In the last stage which is purchase,
after the consumers have booked their hotel, Hilton can make a regular contact with customers
assuring that their decision for selecting Hilton is right and they will not regret.
M4 How marketers influence stages of consumer decision-making
The marketers influence each stage of consumer decisions making in the most imperative
way. The marketers by converting customers into leads attracts them and thus influences their
decision for choosing the over others. Marketers through the use of technology makes the regular
contact with customers and understand their needs and wants. After this, they design the

strategies which will eventually fulfil all their expectation and demands. Marketers assures
customers that they have taken right decision for selecting them (Zhang and Benyoucef, 2016).
D2 Evaluation of application of theories and concepts
The various theories and concepts like market research, consumer decision making
process helps the marketers to take rational decision regarding various aspects like how to attract
the customers, what rationale they use for making decisions etc. For example- through consumer
decision-making process, marketers comes to know the various factors which customer consider
while making their purchase decision like price, quality etc.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarized the consumer behaviour and their purchase decision are the most
important factor which the marketers considers while marketing their brand. The decision-
making process of consumers helps the marketers to know the needs and demands of consumers
and thus it becomes important for them to understand this process. Besides this, the various
approaches of market research helps the marketers to collect relevant data about customers,
competitors etc.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
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Gursoy, D., 2018. Future of hospitality marketing and management research. Tourism
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Huang, Z. and Miao, L., 2016. Illegitimate customer complaining behavior in hospitality service
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Research. 40(6). pp.655-684.
Ivanov, S. and Webster, C. eds., 2019. Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Service Automation in
Travel, Tourism and Hospitality.
Kotler, P and et.al.,2017. Marketing for hospitality and tourism.
Martin, D., Rosenbaum, M. and Ham, S., 2015. Marketing tourism and hospitality products
worldwide: Introduction to the special issue.
Ozturk, A.B., 2017. Online social media in hospitality and tourism. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Technology.8(1). pp.1-147.
Rita, P and et.al.,2018. Mobile services adoption in a hospitality consumer context. International
Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.12(1). pp.143-158.
Schuckert, M., Liu, X. and Law, R., 2015. Hospitality and tourism online reviews: Recent trends
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Zhang, K.Z. and Benyoucef, M., 2016. Consumer behavior in social commerce: A literature
review. Decision Support Systems.86. pp.95-108.