Comprehensive Marketing Plan and Analysis: Marriott International

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marriott International's marketing strategies, focusing on its marketing management philosophies, principles, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. It delves into the promotional mix employed by Marriott, including advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing, highlighting the company's use of digital marketing campaigns and integrated marketing communications strategies. The report also presents a detailed marketing plan for Marriott, outlining key actions and approaches to gain a competitive advantage within the hospitality and tourism industry. The content covers various aspects of marketing, including product, price, place, and promotion, and examines how Marriott utilizes these principles to build a strong brand image and foster customer relationships. Furthermore, it explores Marriott's commitment to corporate social responsibility and ethics, including environmental and socio-economic initiatives. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and insights into Marriott's successful marketing practices.

MARKETING AND
CUSTOMER RETENTION

Table of Contents
.........................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
1. Marketing Management Philosophies.....................................................................................3
Principles of marketing...............................................................................................................4
Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics................................................................................5
2.Promotion Mix.........................................................................................................................5
Promotional Mix used by Marriott International........................................................................6
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy........................................................................7
3. Marketing plan of Marriott ...................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is an crucial function of organization that contributed in adding more and
more customers by evaluating their existing needs and finding alternative to fulfil them for
achievements of end goals. In other words, marketing manager is responsible for identifying
recent trends, innovative method which can influence maximum number of individuals to be part
of organization and to build strong relationship with them for enjoying profit for many years.
Social corporate responsibilities and ethics are terms related to self-regulation of business so that
it can be socially accountable to its interested stakeholders such as customers, employees etc.
Marriott International is an American multinational company that uses broad portfolio of hotels
and other lodging facilities to satisfy needs of diverse individuals and attained end goals. This
report has discussed marketing management philosophies, principle of marketing, corporate
social responsibilities and ethics. It has also demonstrated use of promotional mix and integrated
marketing communication strategy that are used to attract more number of individuals within
organization. At last, the report has prepared marketing plan of Marriott that it can use in order to
gain competitive advantages in hospitality and tourism industry.
MAIN BODY
1. Marketing Management Philosophies
Marketing management Philosophies used by business to identify and fulfil the need of
its customers so that it can benefit to both its customers and the company (Kennedy, 2017).
Marriott International hotel analyses all activities from production to distribution and everything
in between. There are 5 philosophies that can be use by organization for focusing on its all
activities.
Production Concept
Product concept is based on efficient production of company. Here the profit is earned by
company by producing lots of goods in low cost and selling them in expensive price. This
philosophy may not be suitable for Marriott hotel as it will not be suitable for hospitality
industry.
Product Concept

It emphasis on the quality and innovative products than price availability. The company
will make sure that the goods are of the best quality. This philosophy would be suitable for
Marriott hotel as customers appreciate innovative and qualitative ideas.
Selling Concept
This concept differs from production, product quality it gives emphasis on selling
products. Company use promotion, marketing and advertisement for products and services to
increase the sales of good and services. The Marriott hotel can also use this strategy to attract
more customers.
Marketing Concepts
Marketing is new philosophy that influence the need of customers. Fulfilling the need of
customer will be given most priority. This philosophy will not be suitable as it's a profit making
vision organization.
Societal marketing Concept
This concept focuses on satisfaction of customers ned without harming environment in
the process. This will not be the best philosophy for Marriott hotel.
Principles of marketing
It can be stated that marketing is foundation of successful business plan as it helps in
generating more sales volume and revenue within organization by fulfilling needs of customers
in the best possible manner. There are several principles of marketing which has been followed
by Marriott while accomplishing its different task for achievement of end goals. Product, place,
price and promotion are four principle of marketing that are used by company to build strong
brand image and relationship with range of customers for benefits of organization. Therefore, the
way Marriott has made use of marketing principle to grow and expand its business operation can
be stated as follows:
Products: It is the principle of marketing that mainly focuses on products or services of
company by specifying that it must have high performance or value for money so that customers
can feels happy and satisfied (Bonaparte, 2019). For example: Marriott is well-known for its
good quality services provided to customers across worldwide with accommodation facilities,
mobile payment, Wi-Fi connection and many more.
Price: There are several factors on the basis of which manager set price of products and services
such as demand, brand image, total cost of production and competitor’s price. Like Marriott

hotel marketing manager has set valuable price for its products or services rendered to customers
which helped in adding more individuals within organization.
Place: It is another principle of marketing which describe about place that company used in
order to sell its products and services to end customers. Such as Marriott had its operation in
more than 120 countries with hotels located near central market, airports and Highway so that
tourist can come and enjoy their holidays. Now- a day’s customers can also book room through
its official website that contributed in saving their lot of time and delivering best services.
Promotion: While promoting the products and services marketing manager of Marriott has
abided to all principle so that best outcome can be achieved. Company have promoted its
services through online as well as offline method that helps in generating maximum sales volume
(Lee, 2020). It official website contained all detailed related to facilities provided by company,
previous experienced of customers which helped individuals in taking decision to select it rather
than other competitors.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics
There are several social responsibility ethics that Marriott hotel undertakes for well-being
of society like environmental initiatives are taken for reduce energy consumption, reduce
emission of greenhouse gases, reduce water consumption, focusing on issues of biodiversity,
wastes effluents and supply chain management (Horng, Hsu and Tsai,2019). Social economic
initiatives are also taken by company for employee well-being, diversity and equal opportunity
and welfare community. Planing for employee retirement and retention is also conducted by
Marriott Hotel. Allowing the levels of poverty is also economic issue that company has tried to
focus on. There are various responsibility and ethics that Marriott hotel tries to deal with. It has
both positive and negative impacts on society, positive impact can be employment generation,
protected human rights and empowered women. Negative impact on environment can be high
prices can affect the tourism of country. The hotel should minimize such impacts by making
strategies.
2.Promotion Mix
The promotion mix of any company is formed by the integration of the various
promotional tools adopted by it. The major promotional tools can be advertising, personal
selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing (Blakeman, 2018). These tools are
used to create brand awareness of the company and persuade the customers to purchase the

products or services that are offered by the company. The most effective promotional mix is to
be decided based on the budget for marketing, target audience, availability of resources etc
(Camilleri, 2018).
Promotional Mix used by Marriott International
The promotion of Marriott International has always been on point and this is the reason
that it is a premium hospitality brand which is globally recognized. Promotion is the competitive
advantage that the company has over its competitors and this is because it keeps keen eye upon
the customer service and its quality that is offered (Dalgiç, Güler and Birdir, 2017). The
promotional activities of the Marriott International are mostly done through digital marketing
campaigns. Various electronic platforms are used to publicize the services like website,
applications and social media marketing.
 Advertising- It is a promotional tool through which the company tries to market its
products. It is a type of non personal promotion which is done by an identified sponsor in
the exchange of a fee. It is done to attract the consumers and influence their purchase
decision. Marriott uses various digital channels to promote its products like websites,
apps and social media (Floričić, 2019). Search engine marketing is used for creating
brand awareness in the market. It displays all the important details on the websites and
various apps and also allows the facility to pre book the rooms on these applications.
 Personal Selling- This is a very traditional promotional tool that is been used to promote
the brand in front of the potential customers. In this the representatives of the company
shall visit the customers and then promote the product and try to influence the purchasing
decision in the favour (Nyangwe and Buhalis, 2018). Marriott International earlier used
this tool but now have evolved with the trend and so believes in promoting product
electronically rather than visiting them personally.
 Sales Promotion- This is a commonly used tool wherein the company focuses on
boosting the revenue and sales by providing the short term incentives like discounts,
coupons, freebies, payback offers etc. Marriott tries to maintain its customer loyalty by
designing various promotional schemes to attract newer customer and satisfy the existing
ones (Patti and et.al. 2017). Marriott Bonvoy is one of such programs that has several
followers on Facebook. It is a free reward program that was introduced in 2019 offering
various facilities like free internet to enhance the travel experience of its customers.

 Public Relations- This can also be a tool to market the products by developing a good
image among the public for the brand. Publicity is also a way to market the brand by a
newsworthy information brought to the public. Marriott International has also focussed
on fulfilling its corporate social responsibility and sustainability thereby building a strong
social image in the public. It is also well-known for the best employment practices and
quick customer’s grievance redressal. It has also received several awards for being a
responsible company (Porcu and et.al. 2019).
 Direct Marketing- With the evolution of technology, direct marketing is also a tool that is
used by the company to market its brand by directly sending emails, text messages, fax to
the existing and the potential customers of the company. Marriott also sends messages to
its customers to inform them regarding the new schemes, offerings, newer facilities etc.
The highest weight age in the promotional mix of the Marriott International is given to the
digital marketing campaigns through optimizing its website, various apps used to retain the
customers of the company and also the social media sites like face-book, twitter etc.
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
Integrated marketing communications is a strategic and promotional function talking
about a collaborative process wherein the target audience receives the message and get
persuaded and make the decision to buy the product or services as offered by the company. The
process flows in four steps from identifying the available channels of promotion, to building an
effective marketing plan and then understanding the behaviour of the target audience and then
successful implementation of the plan (Uğurlu, 2020).
 Identify different Marketing Communication methods:- In this step Marriott leverages the
various marketing methods that are to be used to target the audience to provide them with
company information, schemes and offerings. Marriott mostly leverages all the electronic
platforms like search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media
marketing, digital campaigns through various applications etc.
 Developing a marketing communication plan- Based on the various channels of
marketing as decided in the previous step now shall to be used to design a comprehensive
plan of marketing. It shall include what information is to be provided through which
source and how often it will be addressed to the audience etc (Zhechev, 2016).

 Understanding the customer decision-making process- In this step the marketer has to
consider the steps that are there in the decision-making process of the consumer. It shall
begin with the identification of the problem that the customer is facing, what solution
does the customer expect and how will the brand meet up the expectations. Marriott has
to focus on the luxuries that the customer is searching for in the hotel.
 Implement the marketing plan- The final step is implementing the marketing plan to
generate brand awareness among the consumers and influencing them to buy the same
over other competitors in the market.
3. Marketing plan of Marriott
Marketing plan is a document that contained several information related to key actions
that company is planning to undertake to enjoy huge profitability and market share in future
circumstances. Through marketing plan organization is able to plan in advance about the way it
can meet customer’s expectancy and make the best use of available opportunities or cope up with
external threat for growth and sustainability of business (Surać, 2017). Therefore, marketing plan
of Marriott hotel can be illustrated as follows:

Executive summary
This is a marketing plan of Marriott hotel that have its operation across worldwide with range
of customers that come in order to enjoy their leisure time. The plan has contained all
information related to company like its mission and vision statement, key objectives, strategies
and tactics that are used by firm to expand its market share in international market.
Furthermore, it has included detailed related to marketing mix, action, implementation
procedure and the way strategy will be controlled so that company can attained its specific
objectives in limited cost and time frame.
Background of organization
Marriott is a public company that had its business location around 7, 484 that was initially
started in 1927, 93 years ago in Washington US. Bill Marriott is executive chairman and Arne
Sorenson is president and CEO of company. Mission statement of Marriott International is to
enhance live of customers by creating unsurpassed vacation and leisure experienced and its
vision is to be world Favourite Travel company by fulfilling needs of customers beyond their
expectancy level. Therefore, Company by maintaining strong relationship with customers is
able to grow and sustain in tourism and hospitality industry for longer term.
Market analysis
In order to conduct market analysis Pestle model will be used as it helps in identifying internal
as well as external factors that impact on growth, strategy and profitability of organization
(McCollough and Shook, 2017). Political, social, economic, technology and environment are
some external factors that help in conducting market audit. Such as:
Political factor: Government policies keeps on changing, such as in UK it has implemented
Brexit which has resulted in overall decreased in sales of company to some extends. While free
trade policies has provided opportunity to Marriott to expand its business operation across
worldwide in order to enjoy high profitability and market share.
Economical factor: There are ups and downs in economy, for example due to impact of
Covid-19 and Brexit UK economic is suffering from recession that has indirectly affected
overall sales volume and profitability of organization. Marriott hotel by making use of
competitive pricing strategy is able to enjoy differentiate position and growth in domestic as
well as in international market.
Social factor: Needs and preferences of people are dynamic in nature like recently most of

the individuals due to overall increase in their disposable income wants to travel different
destinations in order to have fun and enjoyment. Therefore it has provided opportunity to
Marriott to make improvements in its services so that customers needs can be fulfilled beyond
their expectancy level.
Technology Factor: There are numerous changes and development in technology that has
increased demand of customers thus forced company to make use of them in order to survive
in the market. Marriott has make used of digital technology to market its products and services
that helped in adding existing as well as new customers within organisation (Chaffey, 2017).
Environment factor: This factors has been recently introduced due to limited resources in
external environment therefore consumer as well as government has forced company to take
steps for sustainable management of resources. Therefore, Marriott has make the best use of
this opportunity to grow its market share as it has make best or optimum utilisation of
resources so that maximum value can be given to customers at minimum price possible.
Legal factor: All legal laws and rules has been abided by Marriott while operating its business
operation so that it can smoothly expand and grow its market share (Casey, 2019). Such as
employment law, health and safety, discriminative are some law of government that have been
considered by company while performing its functions.
Objectives
 To increase the sales by 20% by investing in technology by march 2021
 To increase the investment by 15% in the hygiene process of the hotel with respect to
current pandemic.
Strategy (STP)
element Description
segmentation In segmentation the company identify the
market segment on which it wants to focus.
Consumer segmentation is according to their
needs. The four types of segmentations are
demographic, Psycho graphic, behavioural and
geographic (Camilleri, 2018). Marriott hotel
should focus on demographic segmentation

which will help it to achieve its target easily.
targeting After selecting market segmentation the
company need to target that segment to achieve
determined objectives. In demographic
segmentation the company will target
customers according to their age like
youngsters and high income group
segmentation. In this step the Hotel will focus
on marketing on this segment to achieve
objective.
positioning Positioning elements are last elements in STP
process. The company need to identify how it
will position to product or service to valuable
customers (Kaul, 2019). Hotel can do this step
by providing better quality product to customer
it will create company's position in customers
mind. As the high income group and
youngsters are fond of this industry so it will
help company to achieve objective.
Tactics (Marketing mix)
Marketing mix includes broad four levels of decision Regarding product, price,
promotion and place.
4Ps Description
Product The Hotel provides services of luxury rooms and sanitization
machine which checks and sanitize each of its customers luggage
before arriving the room for security of customers and to meet
the rules and regulation of government (Išoraitė, 2016).
Price There are various price strategy that are used by different

business according to their suitability. The Merriott hotel adopts
competitive pricing strategy to win the competition in market. Its
customer base is high income group so it will be the best strategy
for the firm to earn more profit as well as maintaining standard in
the market.
Promotion Promotion is an important part of marketing mix, as the world
have so competitive so making aware about your product and
service have become very essential. There are numerous
channels that have been explored for marketing and promotion
like social media marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing
and so on (Wahyuntari, 2020). Marriott hotel can use various
platform which are available online for bookings of rooms to
have more customers and also use social media marketing as it
will achieve its objective of attracting youngsters.
Place As the hotel provides service of rooms so it has physical
appearance but it can use online platforms for bookings.
Financial Information
Expenses Amount (000')
Marketing and sales expenses 450
Research Development 340
Transportation charges 122
Maintenance charges 87
Accounting charges 39
Food And Beverages expenses 201
Total 1239
Action and Implementation