Promotional Plan of the Ginger Hotel - Report Example

Marketing Introduction A marketing/promotional plan refers to an outline or framework of marketing strategies, resources and tools an organization uses to develop a product/service. It is one of the most crucial planning tool used by managers to promote a successful operation. It also helps them launch new product and services, market them and venture into new markets (Pettigrew, 2003). For effective market operation, most organizations use marketing strategies to deliver their objectives. In fact, the strategies guide how the objectives of the organization will be achieved within a given period (Withey, 2013). The focus on product development infused with much emphases on the needs of the consumer is the main differentiator of the ginger hotel. It is for this reason that the ginger hotel products and services will remain competitive in the market. Nevertheless, when going through marketing plan, it is wise to carry out appropriate research and planning so as to ensure that the strategies and the plan result in yield effective marketing (Mullin, 2010). Mission statement The main activity of the ginger hotel will be the provision of hospitality products and services. The organization will provide an inclusive service ranging from food serving, accommodation and conference rooms; all related hospitality. Therefore, the mandate will be to provide excellent services to all customers. Current market position Budget hotel is a new business set up without the existing customers, projects or clients to account for. Nevertheless, its proprietors are learned, cooperative experienced in the hospitality industry and they have the financial ability to carry out a successful business. Product Budget hotel will provide a range of products, mainly ginger foods. All the foods selected will be of the best quality appropriate for the purpose. Competitors: - although the products are available in most hotels in UK, their qualities are varied. The expertise of Budget hotel will ensure that only the best quality meals are provided to the customers. Furthermore, the products will include accommodation and conferencing, a wide range of in-built appliances like microwaves, ovens, cook tops as well as dish washers (Burrow, 2008). These products are useful for all hotels and purposely suits the entire project. Competitors: - although these products are all over in the market, Budget hotel will offer them as subsidies rather than stand-alone products. One hotel in the eastern UK offers the same products these products, but it isolates all the other sides. Most of the do not supply full products to satisfy the customers fully (Ward, 2000). Place Budget hotel will have an exhibition of its ginger products for clients to visit. This will allow for demonstrations of available products, providing enough space for project discussion, planning and signing of contracts (Saxena, 2010). On the other hand, Budget hotel will pay visits to its esteemed customers at their homes or place of work to strike deals and sign contracts. This will provide a favorable customer service and promote customer loyalty to the products. Somehow, the organization will face competition from nearby hotels (Pettigrew, 2003). For instance, the hotel comfy in the city provides home service to its customers. However, Budget hotel will count act it because it is limited to kitchen makeovers. Therefore, it will provide excellent washrooms, kitchen and laundry facilities. This will enhance its market share because of its ability to provide a range of products and services (Calkins, 2008). Price Budget hotel pricing policy will include: a. High margin b. Priced traditional customers c. Price competitively set against quality competition d. Discounts when pricing different jobs at a go e.g. meals, accommodation and laundry. e. Discounts for prompt payments f. Offer on progress payments g. No price fix already set prices Promotion Budget hotel is a new business without prior existing marketing activities. There is no existing brand awareness within the hospitality industry. The graphic designer will design a business logo, brochures/business cards and letterheads with the aim of promoting the business. Furthermore, business website will be developed to display products and services of the business and other relevant information. The organization will also make use the local magazines and newspapers to advertise its products. These media are preferred because they are cheap and covers several people. Although other media like radio and television are also important, they are more expensive and limited to few people (Burrow, 2008). People Budget hotel will recruit competent staff to work in various positions. The proprietors are experienced and qualified personnel ready to work with the other staff. It will offer on-job training to the workers. Training will focus on: Marketing skills Selling Communication Customer service General hospitality rules The proprietors will attend a seminar on starting and running successful business at the nearby training college. They will also join the master’s hospitality association as well as attending appropriate hospitality courses. Furthermore, trade shows will be organized at regular intervals for staff to enrich their skills. For consistency in the market, the managers will make a monthly subscription for business and trade magazines (Universities Association , 2007). Processes At the moment, Budget hotel does not have written procedures. Nevertheless, it has outlined all the procedures governing its customers and staff and their expected behaviors. Physical evidence All the staff of Budget hotel will wear uniforms with business logo mounted on the left hand pocket. The vehicles will be painted to match the staff uniforms and the organization. Once the premises are furnished, all the assets will be installed. The staff is responsible for the overall cleanliness and neatness of the business premises. Market overview Budget hotel is fully aware that internet as one of the most powerful marketing tool. This calls for designing very powerful website to capture many customers using it. Senior management staff like managers will use palm computers as phones to ensure they are reached anytime by the clients. Most people in the area are double income families with high demand for hotel services. SWOT analysis Budget hotel has a number of marketing strengths. These includes: i. Financial and managerial competence of the owners ii. Committed staff iii. Full consensus between proprietors and the set objectives iv. Strategic business location with potential customers v. Fully networked with potential clients and suppliers vi. Stable financial resources Weaknesses Although Budget hotel will have greater opportunities, it has some weaknesses. These are: a. Lack of sufficient resources b. Small work premises c. Lack of business track records d. Inefficient business equipment and facilities e. Inefficient development and research facilities f. The business is sole dependent at its inception stage g. Lack of guaranteed finance security for proprietors Opportunities There are a number of ample opportunities that Budget hotel will venture in UK markets. The main opportunities are: Increasing market because of preference by families towards hotel products Bad reputation of the existing businesses Readily available casual workers and trainees Increased disposal of income in market Availability of exhibition premises in the area Possibility of future expansion into other related businesses Threats There is need for Budget hotel to be fully aware of the following threats and look for ways of overcoming them. Diversity of geographic market Bad reputation of the hospitality industry within the areas of reliability and quality Possibility of overcoming economic downtowns Presence of competitors in the industry High cost of materials, machinery and equipment Possible government policies and regulations Hardship in recruiting and retaining appropriate staff Key issues When analyzing SWOT, the following issue are very worth considering a. Naivety and lack of brand mindfulness b. Enough funds for business projections but few resources to enhance growth Objectives i. To capture the capture the market and meet the customer demands ii. To create awareness, develop interest and motivate the people in using the products iii. To launch a market platform for all the customers Sales For the next 18 months, Budget hotel will undertake: 10 service jobs at a value of $ 1000 each Install modern kitchen machinery and equipment Revenue Over the next 19 months, Budget hotel will: i. Have served and retained over 1000 customers ii. Complete all the pending projects including installation of technology infrastructure Introduction of the Strategy According to the reports from the market research, it shows that increase in middle income families has increased the demand for ginger products ( Gay, et al., 2007). Such families have gained much interest of late on the hotel products thus becoming favorable market for the products. Furthermore, market research indicates most of the existing industries have very bad reputations. Therefore, the owner believes that he will take competitive advantage by providing best products and services accessible to all customers (Miller, 2009). The owner also believes that a good marketing strategy involves a combination of good networking, development of sound reputation and full commitment. To achieve this, the strategy will be accomplished by distributing brochures and visiting potential customers in some areas. Target market The target market includes: People in need of spacious dining rooms and entertainment facilities Middle income families People in need of upgrading their status Travelers, tourists and government officials Institutions like colleges and universities Branding strategy Budget hotel will slowly create brand awareness for both the logo and the name. This will be part of the overall marketing strategy for now and future. According to Tammy & Dave , (2009), branding strategy is done to ensure that advertising and marketing materials are created in line with the hotel’s identity and corporate style. Product strategy Budget hotel offers personalized products whereby the customer service is part and parcel of the business operations (Luther, 2007). These products are offered at the site or customer’s doorsteps. This is their unique product strategy. Promotional strategy Public relation relations strategy Budget hotel likes good reputation as one of the best hotels which produce the best products and services. To maintain the good name of the business, the hotel will (Saxena, 2010): 1. Always be punctual and neat to attend customers 2. Provide interesting information resources for best hotels products and services in the media 3. A public relations agency will be frequently consulted for advice and skills to maintain the reputation level. Advertising strategy The organization will make frequent advertisements in the media, especially at its initial stages to increase the sales and make the hotel popular. Initial ads will be done by use of letter drop boxes, radio/TV, paper listings and public campaigns. By the end of the sixth month, ads strategy will be changed to renew the advertising approach. Sales promotion strategy This is one of the tactical strategies that will be used to capture the market share. Budget hotel will use the following strategies: Giving discounts at the first month of inception to attract more customers Giving discounts for multiple products and service After sale service e.g. washing of customer vehicles Sales strategy Initially, the organization will not employ sales staff, but after four months, at least two sales people will be recruited. This will enable the proprietors to concentrate on the internal operations. Nevertheless, website and media will be used for the time being (Mira Inc, 2010). Calendar and timing The action plan for Budget hotel is shown below Action Jan May July Dec Feb June Letterbox drop Direct mailing to customers Exhibition to customers Newsletters Ads in the media Budget approximations for expenditure ($) - exploratory costs Accommodation 1200 Accounting fees 490 Business planning 1690 Consultants 1000 Entertainment 230 Legal fees 240 Market research 1560 Publications 480 Samples 1390 Telephone, fax, letters, photocopying 1630 Travel 2700 Valuation fees 2000 Total: 14,610 Initial costs ($) Lease 2500 Electricity, gas and phone 500 Opening stock 4000 Insurance premiums 800 Wages 2500 Printing and artwork 2000 Credit card establishment fee 1290 Initial promotion 2100 Promotional cost 2000 Loan establishment cost 3000 Stationery and office supplies 2390 Computer software 2510 Installation 1310 Training 1500 Statutory charges 1000 Subscriptions for publications 500 Association membership fees 780 Total 30,680 Costing Budget hotel will: Buy equipment Buy and transform raw materials to finished products Provide hotel services Subcontract other related jobs However, these assumptions are made: Direct costs 377,000 Overhead expenses 74,160 Business profit 8550 Total 981,700 +88,580 Annual turnover by the end of the second year 490,000 To cover the profit overheads, the average mark up on equipment, direct costs and labour will be 25%. Consequently, quotations will be made specific on the type of job. Conclusion Having all said and done, preparing a market plan involves strategic plans to achieve the objectives. It requires proprietors who are well vast with planning tools to drive the business towards success. Although attaining a stable market operation is tricky, good promotional and marketing plans promote ideal operations (Tammy & Dave , 2009). There is need to identify opportunities, analyze the market strengths and weaknesses and venture boldly. Of course there are challenges but with great planning, it is easy to achieve. References Burrow, J., 2008. Marketing. 3 ed. London: Cengage Learning. Calkins, T., 2008. Breakthrough Marketing Plans. s.l.:algrave Macmillan. Gay, R., Charlesworth, A. & Rita , E., 2007. Online Marketing: A Customer-Led Approach. Oxford University : Oxford University Press. Gelder, D. & Paul , W., 2003. Marketing and Promotional Strategy. Rome: Nelson Thornes. Luther, W., 2007. The Marketing Plan: How to Prepare and Implement it. NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Miller, E., 2009. Blueprint for Your Library Marketing Plan. A Guide to Help You Survive and Thrive, Volume 6, pp. 67-98. Mira Inc, 2010. 2009 Marketing & Promotion Calendar. s.l.:2010 Marketing Calendar. Mullin, R., 2010. Sales Promotion: How to Create, Implement and Integrate Campaigns that Really Work. s.l.:Kogan Page Publishers. Pettigrew, J., 2003. This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion. NY: Billboard Books. Saxena, R., 2010. Marketing Management 4E. s.l.:Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Stapleton, J. & Michael , T. J., 2000. How to Prepare a Marketing Plan: A Guide to Reaching the Consumer Market. s.l.:Gower Publishing, Ltd.. Tammy , R. & Dave , P., 2009. Business Fundamentals for the Rehabilitation Professional. London: SLACK Incorporated. Universities Association , 2007. Marketing Promotion Policies in Agriculcure in India. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. Ward, S. V., 2000. Selling Places. The Marketing and Promotion of Towns and Cities, 1850-2000, Volume 1, pp. 231-262. Withey, F., 2013. CIM Coursebook 03/04 Marketing Fundamentals. London: Routledge. Read More