Chapter 18: Next Years Marketing Plan

1. Hospitality companies know that planning and research go hand-in-glove.

2. In-depth guest input will also be used to shape the criteria that go into
defining the on-property guest experience.
3. We have found that complete attention to detail a total commitment to
guest satisfaction that saves a guest time, energy, and efforts, provides
completely personalized and individual service, and creates the experience of
intellectual surprise for its consumers is what drives repeat business
among the affluent.
4. To be effective, a new marketing plan must be written each year.
5. At the same time, the annual marketing plan must be written against a longer
term strategic plan that states what the company hopes to achieve, say,
three to five years down the road.
6. To develop successful strategies and action programs, marketers need up-todate information about the environment, the competition, and the market
segments to be served.
7. Finally, marketing research helps marketers learn more about their
customers requirements, expectations, perceptions, and satisfaction levels.
8. The executive summary and a few charts or graphs from the body of the plan
may be the only parts ever read by top management. Consequently, it is of
great importance to write this section carefully, with top management in
mind.
9. A marketing plan is not a stand-alone tool. Instead, it must support other
plans, such as the firms strategic plan.
10.Next years marketing strategies and tactics must support strategic decisions
such as the following:
a. Corporate goals with respect to profit, growth, and so on
b. Desired market share
c. Positioning of the company or of its product lines
d. Vertical or horizontal integration
e. Strategic alliances
f. Product line breadth and depth
g. Customer relationship management (CRM)

11.Legislation affecting taxation, pension benefits, and casino gambling are only
a few examples of political decisions likely to affect marketing directly.
12.Changes in economic variables such as employment and interest rates should
be recognized.
13.A competitive analysis must extend beyond inventory comparisons. True
competitive advantages are factors that are recognized by guests and
influence their purchase decisions.
14.Market potential should be viewed as the total available demand for a
hospitality product within a particular geographic market at a given price.
15.The need for marketing intelligence is ongoing. Much of the information
acquired by marketing research in a current calendar or fiscal year serves as
the basis for developing next years marketing plan.
16.The heart of any marketing plan is careful analysis of available market
segments and the selection of appropriate target segments.
17.This is information that identifies each of the companys existing customer
segments by revenue, cost, and profitability.
18.The selection of target markets is a primary responsibility of marketing
management. This requires careful consideration of the variables already
discussed in the development of the marketing plan.
19.The establishment of objectives provides direction for the rest of the
marketing plan.
20.The selection of appropriate channels of distribution is basic to the
development of successful sales strategies.
21.A common error in writing a marketing plan is to develop strategies that are
probably highly workable but for which there is insufficient support.
22.Generally, the most costly and difficult resource needed to ensure success
with marketing/sales strategies is personnel.
23.A sales plan should pay particular attention to the sales force and its
objectives and to strategies to ensure that sales quotas are met and possibly
exceeded.
24.The process of marketing is a continuum. The task is never ending.

25.Marketing/sales managers must always be planning, as the development of

next years marketing plan begins the day this years plan is approved.
26.The process of data collection and analysis from internal and external sources
continues each day. Marketing/sales managers must always be alert for
methods to improve the process.
27.What is not so obvious to many is that a good plan will also enable people to
prosper and grow.
28.A study of the process used by hotels to develop marketing plans has shown
that the most important features in the development of a marketing plan
appear to be management participation and commitment at all levels,
sufficient time for development, specific training in developing a marketing
plan, and tying incentives to the achievement of goals and objectives.