Molesworth Manor Communication Campaign - Coursework Example

MOLESWORTH MANOR COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN Executive summary Molesworth Manor (MM) has- in an outstanding manner- served an enormous contingent of clients since its inception. Currently, this firm enjoys a greater number of return guests who, due to our services, come back each year. This, of course means, they find the services better than elsewhere hence the need to keep them. Nonetheless, with the emergence of other entrants and other factors, it is imperative that Molesworth Manor embrace diversity. Whereas these clients return each year, there tends to be a concern in the various months of the year when the turn up is pretty low. As a result, it is vital that Molesworth Manor devise a way to avoid this occurrence since the profitability may be ultimately affected. It is for this reason that empty nesters have been targeted as the next market for Molesworth Manor. This is a group of lonely people since they have no school-going children unlike the ones that Molesworth Manor has been targeting. The current situation is that this group is not among the people targeted by Molesworth Manor. Yet, these people need not wait for their children to come on holiday to book for rooms at Molesworth Manor. Therefore, it is highly recommendable that this group be targeted this year. For this sole reason was this reported created to ensure that Molesworth Manor remains profitable irrespective of the period. Marketing communications objectives Molesworth Manor (MM) has been actively engaged in the hospitality industry for several decades now where its brand has been tremendously celebrated. The geographic location of Molesworth manor favours it in various ways including having some of the wealthiest counties around. The towns of Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey are some of the towns named as the wealthiest with every household having at least one car (Spence 2014). Further, this hotel’s location prides itself for having a great number of empty nesters. Additionally, the infrastructure is not a problem in the area meaning clients can access the hotel without any inconveniences at all. In light of the above, the objectives Molesworth Manor wishes to achieve in this campaign include finding a solution to the months when there is low occupancy. Normally, Molesworth Manor is mostly booked during the school holidays when the families spend several days there. However, the months of February, March and October are adversely affected since not many families book the hotel during this time. This report intends to ensure this issue is solved by having another group individuals occupy the hotel to ensure the low-turnout is adequately addressed. Further objective include increasing the occupancy rate 40% in comparison to the previous one, which stood at 36% in 2013. In order to make this a success, Molesworth Manor intends to create the awareness to the targeted market, which are the empty nesters. For a business communication to be effective, one of the requirements is product awareness to the customers since it is not possible to subscribe to a service, which is not known (Skinner 2010). Therefore, Molesworth Manor intends to ensure that all empty nesters in the said location are aware of these services. Once a service or a product has been introduced, it is imperative that the strategies used are persuasive enough. Additionally, constant reminding of the same is vitally important especially when the service is being introduced for the first time or to a new audience (Dominici 2009). In light of these insights, Molesworth Manor’s other objective seeks to create this campaign with an aim of convincing the target market to subscribe to the services. Recently, Molesworth Manor has greatly relied on some online agencies to have clients and there is need to reduce this reliance without necessarily affecting the sales. Whereas these agencies have been somewhat effective, their high commissions charges are have significant effects on the profit margin. Consequently, Molesworth Manor intends to resort to Facebook advertising as opposed to these agents whose services are pretty costly. Situational Analysis In a recently conducted research, several findings about Molesworth Manor were noticed including the competition, the target market and the SWOT analysis. As has already been stated, the target market for this communication is the empty nester group in the South and Southeast of the UK. Various reasons have led to this group being the target market starting with their income capacities, their access to Molesworth Manor and more importantly, the need for these services. Currently, the majority of the customers who flock Molesworth Manor are of 25 and 55 age-brackets meaning the other market is yet to be exploited. Sadly, the 25-55 bracket is not available throughout the year hence the need to have another group remedy the situation. In regard to competition, Molesworth Manor has The Customs House, Woodlands Country-House Hotel, Treverbyn House, Treann House, SymplyPadstow and The Metropole as the major competitors. In its SWOT analysis, Molesworth Manor prides itself for having a higher number of returning guests of up to 40% annually. Additionally, the firm is constantly featured on various platforms including the Tripadvisor, travel guide materials as well as on its website. Notwithstanding these strengths, Molesworth Manor has some weaknesses with one of them being lack of indoors facilities such as spas and indoor pools unlike its other competitors. Further, there are only 21 beds meaning it can seldom accommodate a higher number. In addition, the reviews on TripAdvisor are not enough in comparison to others. Nevertheless, Molesworth Manor has some opportunities it could capitalize on including its location, which is near the road. Apparently, many people visiting the hotel prefer travelling by a coach to avoid inconveniences. Additionally, since Molesworth Manor is flexible in many ways, clients tend to come back more often. For instance, Molesworth Manor allows last-minute bookings, negotiable discounts and any-time booking is allowed too. Threats facing Molesworth Manor include losing out on some overseas clients since some are apprehensive of staying outside the city. Clients who prefer booking via online agencies may be lost since the company seeks to stop using this platform. However, this is a controllable threat since another medium – phone, email and Facebook page to be precise- can complement this platform. The unpredictable UK weather is another deterrent in this business though it affects even the competitors. Communications marketing strategy According to Martin (2005), while advertising is important, business owners ought to be focused mainly on the expected end-result. That is to say whenever an advertisement is being made, the designers has to construct it in a way that cause the customer to take an action of buying the service. In order to ensure success in this area one of the most important things to do is consider the best medium to use (Walter, 2006). Apparently, the perceived platform may not always be the most effective one hence the need to identify the one corresponding to the target’s preferences. The overall goal of this communication is to have more people especially the empty nesters experience Molesworth Manor’s services. Because the targeted market is somewhat advanced in the age, it would be appropriate to employ strategies to get them to sign up for the services. Advertisement plays a pivotal role in promoting services and products but has to target the right audience lest a good advert end up in the wrong place (Shojaei, Sabaghi and Shirdel 2014). Therefore, these are some of the strategies to utilize in the advertisement: a web page, Facebook, magazines and Affiliate marketing. Marketing communications mix The content of an advertisement is vitally important as it tends to create a perception and often shows how a business views its prospects. Any advert that seeks to motivate a positive reaction from the targeted market ought to have an outstanding and realistic Unique Selling Proposition (USP) since clients prefer uniqueness (Creswell 2008). In light of the above assertions, this section focus on displaying, explaining and justifying the communications mix intended for this report. Facebook advertising Facebook has recently proved to be a successful platform for advertising owing to the large number of people using it for socializing purposes. In 2013, a survey showed that 56% of consumers in UK used the Facebook to compare feedback and recommendations (Ofcom 2014). Therefore, by using Facebook as a medium for advertising, the Molesworth Manor seeks to convert these visitors into real customers. In terms of the budget required, Facebook’s budget is normally dependent on various factors including the package a business may choose. In the case of Molesworth Manor, the budget will be $50 per week and the advert will run for two weeks consecutively. While the advert is ongoing, a Facebook page will be created in a bid to interact with the clients who may need to enquire. Since there is budget constraint, the advert will stop after the two weeks after which the other platforms will be used. The figure below will double-up as the Facebook advertisement and the Facebook page logo to ensure uniformity as consistency is imperative in creating a marketing campaign (Constantinides2006). The Molesworth Manor shall capitalize on the great number of people returning for the services where they shall be requested to subscribe to the Facebook page and recommend services to others. Facebook advertisement: Figure 1.0 Other approaches In the marketing mix, various components can be applied to aid in the spreading of the product message including direct marketing, public relations and publicity, events and interactive marketing. In a bid to ensure this service reaches as many people as possible, Molesworth Manor shall start recording the email addresses of the clients who frequent the hotel after which promotional messages shall be sent upon their free subscription. Further, interactive marketing shall be encouraged where clients shall be asked to express their preferences in regard to the services offered at Molesworth Manor. For this step, Molesworth Manor shall professionally engage the empty nesters in understanding the kind of services they would like to see. Since this initiative may not feasible in conducting it physically, Molesworth Manor shall have a web page (see figure below) specifically for this group. One of the buttons to install in this site will enable visitors to specifically leave their recommendations. Figure 1.1 In the recent times, affiliate marketing has proved to be an important of driving sales up. All one is required to do is identify a highly frequented web site and post their advertisement there. For some website, the commission is only charged per sale made while others it is an impression. For Molesworth Manor, the approach to use will entail paying a little commission for a complete sale. That is to say there will be no parting with money if at all the client did not reserve a room with Molesworth Manor. Budgeting and scheduling Figure 1.1.2 Particulars Budget Schedule Advertising on Facebook $100 The first two weeks Affiliate marketing $50 The first three weeks Magazines $100 Monthly Events $200 Twice a month Telephone costs $50 Various occasions Implementation and monitoring With the competition rising up in this industry, it would be imperative that this plan is implemented immediately. The first step will see the creation of the Facebook page followed closely by placing of the advertisement. This way, the clients who see the advert will find it easier to interact with the Molesworth Manor staff. Additionally, Molesworth Manor will seek publicity by engaging in activities likely to attract the target group. For instance, some religious centres tend to have seminars for this group and Molesworth Manor will sponsor some these in a bid to have the much-needed publicity. A marketing plan’s success can only be determined by the previously set guidelines, as one is able to adjust non-functional areas as per the original framework (Christou 2011). The success of this plan will be measured using various approaches including the number of people from the target market enquiring about the services. In addition, after engaging in the vigorous marketing, the results will be assessed after which necessary steps will be taken. Further, the kind of recommendations received through the website will be vital in understanding how well the plan reached the target. Molesworth Manor will have several other ways of receiving messages or enquiries specifically form this target. That is to say, there will be a new email, cell phone number, and a staff dedicated for this group. Bibliography Christou, E. (2011). Exploring Online Sales Promotions in the Hospitality Industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 20(7), pp.814 Cresswell, M. (2008). Does every proposition have a unique contradictory?. Analysis, 68(298), pp.112 Constantinides, E. (2006). The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 22(3-4), pp.407 Dominici, G. (2009). From Marketing Mix to e-Marketing Mix: a literature overview and classification. IJBM, 4(9). Martin, I. (2005). Branding Strategies, Marketing Communication, and Perceived Brand Meaning: The Transfer of Purposive, Goal-Oriented Brand Meaning to Brand Extensions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 33(3), pp.275 Ofcom (2015). Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report 2014. [online] Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/research- publications/adults/adults-media-lit-14/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2015]. Skinner, C. (2010). Innovation in the internet age. Business Strategy Series, 11(6), pp.407. Shojaei, M., Sabaghi, S. and Shirdel, N. (2014). Investigating effectiveness of clandestine advertisement and organizational strategy in brand management. 10.5267/j.msl, pp.2521. Spence, P. (2014). Mapped: here are the richest places in every part of England and Wales – Telegraph. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11136151/Mapped-here-are-the-richest-places-in-every-part-of-England-and-Wales.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2015]. Walters, F (2006).The importance of marketing strategy. Strategic Direction, 22(8), pp.23 Read More