Brand Product Mix Report Analysis - Essay Example

? Business Report Business report Executive summary This report is meant to reveal the best strategy on how the brand marketing mix can be altered. This has been done in consideration of the critical success factors that were identified from the study. The report is also keen to demonstrate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the Sheraton hotels have to consider, in order avoid failure and attract more customers. The report has also made recommendations on the necessary measures that need to be undertaken to maximize on the profit. These recommendations have focused on the marketing strategy of the business, where correct advertising and marketing have to be done. This is to make sure that all target customers are gaining access to this information. The other recommendation is on the competences of the management and staff, where proper training should be carried out, as well as, proper scrutiny of their skills before recruitment. The report also presents information on customer relations and job satisfaction of the employees. Table of content 1.0 Executive summary 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Marketing strategies 4.0 Internal and external environment 5.0 Training and orientation 6.0 Products and brands 7.0 Pricing decisions 8.0 Recommendations 9.0 References Introduction The brand product mix is done in light of four business tools which include price, product, promotion, and place (Onkvisit, 2008). When these four tools are properly utilized and proper balance struck among them, it ultimately leads to success of the business. Sheraton hotels has great prospects for continued growth, and on that base, this report has explained on the steps to be undertaken for these hotels to continue attracting, retaining and maintaining competitive advantage. It also goes further to advice on the management styles and the overall welfare of the employees. Marketing strategies According to Hawkins (2004), marketing strategies should be done in line with the changing culture, lifestyle, demographic factors and technological advances. The strategies adopted should be dynamic given that, the world is constantly changing hence the need to keep them up to date with current trends. It was identified that the technological advancement has changed ways in which customers used to be reached. Before embarking on the choice of the method to use in reaching out to customers, one has to consider different strategies, isolate those that are most efficient, and avoid those that may utilize the hotels money without adding any impact into the business. The advertising and marketing, in this case, should be directed more on the use of modern advertising methods that are worldwide and popular to many people. It has been noted that Sheraton hotels targets tourists from abroad, upper class customers and, large businesses that seek to hold conferences and meetings. This, therefore, calls for marketing strategies that will reach out to these customers (Onkvisit, 2008). Internet marketing is the most popular form of technology in the modern society, and takes place in three facets which include web marketing which take the form of websites and online advertising, mobile marketing, and social marketing. Due to advances in technology, most tourists search for accommodation and places of visit before their departure. The conference rooms are also booked in advance by the secretaries via the internet. With this in mind, the business should focus on opening up a website which is accessible 24 hours, and has the capacity to offer these basic customer needs, as well as, availing the required information to customers. Internal and External environment Sheraton hotels have a competitive advantage over their competitors. The hotels are located strategically in the main cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, and others making them easily accessible. The hotels have a high reputation abroad and have established networks with American express and three different airlines. The hotels are also stimulated by increased globalization that leads to fewer restrictions in imports and increased travels. The company is also advantaged by the increased technology that has promoted communication among different branches and countries. The technology has also facilitated research process in which the hotels are able to determine the customer tastes and preferences, using online surveys and information systems. The Sheratons also have the potential of attracting local customers which is facilitated by government reduction in interest rates. These factors demonstrate that these hotels are surrounded by opportunities of taking advantage and making huge profits. To be able to grab this potential the hotels are supposed to offer greater value of products than the rest of their competitors, provide high quality services, and offer additional benefits to their customers (Maddox, 2007). The company can also utilize the cost leadership strategy, where it focuses on producing its products at a lower cost compared to its competitors. In addition, they can use the differentiation strategy, which focuses on providing services that are extraordinary to those of their customers. Training and orientation The most important attribute in any business is to attract and retain customers. The staffs contribute directly to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of customers. In the case of Sheraton hotels, the employees are dealing directly with the customers. The staffs, therefore, requires adequate training that will enable them to maintain good relations with customers. The advantage of having extra ordinary human resource is that, it is extremely difficult for competitors to imitate. In this case, the hotel has to keep up with competition with big hotels such as Hilton. Despite these hotels having established close links with companies abroad, it is necessary to advance further than their competitors. The management also play a crucial role in fostering the success of the company. The managers are advised to pay attention to the employees by monitoring their performance and commitment (Doole, 2008). The next thing is to ensure that the employees are properly trained on effective service delivery such as being courteous and helpful. The stakeholders, in this case, are the employees where their training can be coordinated by the human resource manager. Products and brands The Sheraton hotels have acquired a great reputation worldwide. This has enabled them to overcome the challenges that come along with political instability, where people continue to stay in the hotels. However, the whole channel is not likely to be affected by these political instabilities. The Sheraton hotels should, therefore, strive to maintain their brand and should not at any instance pull down their reputation. According to the study, it shows that the Sheraton hotels plan to offer similar services to others in the market. They have similar target of customers as compared to others in the market. This, therefore, requires the hotels to find ways of improving the quality of their products or considering product differentiation. The new products can be communicated to the interested stakeholders through the lunches (Doole , 2008). Pricing decisions According to Maddox (2007), the pricing decisions are bound to be influenced by many factors that range from the desire to attract more customers, to legal challenges that may increase or decrease the price of the products. The hotels also attract high class customers who have got lots of savings and do not get affected by the poor economic conditions. The source and the competences of employees, play a role on determining the prices of communities since high salaries increase the operational cost. The pricing can be determined using three main strategies. The first strategy would be the cost based strategy, where the cost of operating the business is used to determine that given price. The second one is the competition based pricing, where the price is determined by the cost of raw materials together with business operation cost compared to the price of the competitors. The last strategy is the customer based pricing where the price of the commodity is determined by the demand of the commodity in the market. In the case of Sheraton hotels, it is clear that they are high quality hotels and are in high demand. The best mode of pricing is, therefore, consumer based since they are in a position to market themselves through quality. Recommendations This study has found out that there are numerous potentials that surround the Sheraton hotels. These hotels need to maximize on the potentials identified to maximize their profits. The potentials that the hotels present are many and varied. The hotels have established many networks that are an impetus in improving their performance. They, therefore, needs to further improve their service delivery to supersede the major competitors such as Hilton. The hotels also need to improve on the internal mechanisms in order to maximize on the efficiency. In addition, training of employees and improvement of management skills should be given a priority. Lastly, the pricing of products should be undertaken in consideration of the quality of products being offered. References Top of Form Top of Form Doole, I. & lowe, R. (2008). International marketing strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation. New York, NY: South Western Educational Publishing. USA Hawkins, D. & Mothersbaugh, D. (2008). Consumer behavior: building marketing strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Maddox, J. (2007) Internet web site marketing strategy. Hampton: Mega International Records. Onkvisit, S. & Shaw, J. (2008). International marketing: strategy and theory. New York, NY: Routledge. . Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More