Relais Christine Boutique Hotel - Situational Analysis, Market Strategy, Strategies, Cost, and Implications - Example

ASSESSMENT 3: INTERNET MARKETING PLAN Name Institution Professor Course Date Assessment 3: Internet Marketing Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Situational Analysis 4 Analysis of Hotel Target Market 4 SWOT Analysis 5 Strengths 5 Weaknesses 5 Opportunities 5 Threats 6 Market Strategy 6 Marketing Mix 7 Product 7 Place 8 Promotion 8 Price 9 Strategies, Cost, and Implications 9 Social Media Marketing 9 Gamification Strategy 10 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 11 PPC Advertising 11 Blogging 12 Conclusion 12 List of References 13 Executive Summary The assessment will focus on the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel in Paris, France. Relais Christine Boutique Hotel comes out as a delightful luxurious entity aiming at preservation of its intimacy of the private residence. The hotel exists at the heart of Saint-Germain des Pres, thus, 700m from Notre Dame. In addition to the services, the company tends to provide lovely garden, as well as a fitness center. Relais Christine Boutique Hotel aims at exploiting the modern styled rooms with free Wi-Fi, as well as flat-screen TV with the satellite channels. The rooms also have air conditioning. On the other hand, certain rooms at Relais Christine Boutique Hotel tend to have direct access to garden and private terrace. One of the issues, which makes Relais Christine Boutique Hotel destination worth visiting is its appropriate location just off the Seine within the context of Paris. Additionally, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel plays a critical role in offering concierge, as well as bicycles. Furthermore, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel tends to have convertible Smart Car for the visitors to rent with an extra cost. Introduction The purpose of this report is to engage in the presentation of the formal written marketing plan for the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel in Paris, France. The report will focus on the integration of appropriate strategies in pursuit of the set objective or purpose of the research. The marketing plan will incorporate tracking and analysis of the customer behavior, as well as conversions. The marketing plan will aim at enabling Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to drive customers to the websites. The report will also integrate fully detailed costs, examples, and implementation concerning strategies. In the achievement of the purpose of the marketing plan, the report will focus on the integration of diverse sections. This is through assessment of the target market of the hotel, marketing strategy, marketing mix, strategies, and implementation of the most appropriate approaches. These elements will play critical role in the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness in the achievement of the marketing goals and targets of Relais Christine Boutique Hotel. Situational Analysis In the aforementioned statement, the report will focus on the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel in Paris, France. In this section of the report, the focus will be on assessment of the target market, SWOT analysis, marketing mix, market strategy, and appropriate strategies to improve the revenues and profit levels of the company at the end of each fiscal period. Analysis of Hotel Target Market Relais Christine Boutique Hotel aims at offering or providing certain type of ‘experience’ through integration of valuable approach and attitude. The institution aims at concentrating on entertaining the guests through creation and integration of appropriate atmosphere with the ability to attract all the senses. This is through incorporation of effective architecture, design, lighting, color, art, and music. With hotels, consumers tend to pay for the attributes and experiences, which they value such as experience, safety, ambience, ‘ego-fit,’ and location (Boutiquehotels-paris.com, 2016). Evidently, value tends to have emotional and financial attributes. It is the obligation of the hotels to determine whatever consumers tend to value and willing to pay for. In the emerging markets, the level of GDP growth is leading to increasing numbers of the populations joining the middle classes with the ability to have higher disposable incomes. This is through using the increased disposable incomes to spend on travel and hotels. Categorically, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel focuses on targeting middle to high classes with substantive amount to spend on travel, hotels, and experience (Kastarlak and Barber, 2011). The customers of the hotel are majorly in their early 20s to mid-50s with the mid-to-upper income averages. Furthermore, the institution aims at targeting creative people through development or generation of quality products and services, which will attract innovative-minded persons. SWOT Analysis Strengths One of the major strengths of the company is effective location within Paris, France enabling visitors or consumers to check-in at appropriate time with ease in the midst of diverse mechanisms or approaches. Additionally, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel has valuable reputation and image, which makes it attractive to the consumers seeking to experience the attractiveness of the vicinity. Thirdly, the hotel has adequate sales or revenues enabling it to achieve its goals and targets at the end of each fiscal period. Weaknesses One of the major weaknesses of Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is the intensive competition from other hotels in the highly competitive industry. Secondly, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel suffers from ineffective and inefficient marketing strategy limiting its revenues and profits. There is need for the adoption and implementation of appropriate strategies to enable the organization or institution to maximize its revenues and profit levels at the end of each fiscal period. Opportunities One of the opportunities for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is the adoption and implementation of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for maximization of the output of marketing. These platforms will be ideal in enhancing the awareness of the consumers concerning the company. Additionally, social media platforms will enable the organization to increase its consumer base, which translates to the increase in the revenues or profits, thus, opportunity for improvement of the image and reputation. The increase in the GDP levels of the emerging nations is vital in enhancing the number of the middle class consumers with substantive amount of disposable income to spend on travels and hotels. It is possible for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to engage in tapping this income or resources to improve its image and reputation at the end of each fiscal period. Furthermore, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel will focus on the utilization of the emerging technology to facilitate appropriate experience among the consumers. Threats One of the major threats concerning the operations and transactions of Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is the act of terrorism. In the course of 2015, Paris, France was a target of terrorism acts, thus, enormous security threat to the consumers. From this perspective, the company might be able to experience decline in the revenues and profit levels because of the decrease in the number of the people visiting the hotel. Market Strategy Marketing is one of the critical issues or components in the achievement of the goals and targets of the business entities. In this context, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel has focused on the integration of diverse marketing strategies in pursuit of effective and efficient communication with the consumers. In the first instance, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel has been able to utilize and exploit branded advertising with the intention of establishing the mood and expectation for the consumers. Additionally, the company aims at exploitation of the online marketing to guide, as well as influence consumers through SEO, SEM, and customer reviews on the travel related sites (Brown, 2003). Relais Christine Boutique Hotel has also been able to incorporate or employ public relations in the creation of visibility and credibility via third-party endorsements. The company also engages in the strengthening of the internal sales teams through incorporation of the practice pricing strategies, e-mail marketing, and valuable CRM programs to generate strong corporate and partner alliances. Marketing Mix Marketing mix comes out one of the major concepts of the modern or contemporary marketing, which tends to come up in general discussions of marketing. Business entities and institutions focus on the utilization of marketing mix in the course of pursuing its marketing objectives in the target market (Montgomery, 2001). In the course of making diverse marketing decisions, business entities tend to consider product, price, place, and promotion as the elements of the marketing mix. Evidently, effective and efficient mix of these marketing features contributes to the realization of the goals and targets of the business entity in question. Product Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is an institution operating in the hospitality industry. In this industry, the institution focuses on the development or designing products with the primary objective of satisfying the needs and wants of the business, as well as leisure travelers. For instance, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel aims at provision of highly designed or facilitated rooms to attract luxurious customers (Hurley, 1988). These hotel rooms tend to vary in quality, as well as services they offer with the intention of targeting consumers demand specific type of room. For instance, it is possible for the business consumers to have diverse needs from the hotel room in comparison to the leisure traveler, thus, the need for diversity in the room development. Furthermore, the hotel aims at offering different food products to serve diverse needs of the consumers. Place In the hospitality industry, place of business or organization proves to be critical in the achievement of success. For instance, the location is vital for the visitors, thus, the tendency for the consumers to execute substantive assessment of which hotel, as well as where to choose in satisfying their needs (Rutes, Penner, and Adams, 2001). In this context, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is appropriately placed within Paris with the intention of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in addressing the needs and expectations of the consumers. This appropriate location of the hotel is ideal in influencing transportation possibilities and accessibility to other facilities for the consumers. Promotion Promotion comes out as the function of diverse marketing and sales departments. In this section, it is critical to engage in the assessment of the tools, which Relais Christine Boutique Hotel uses in the course of communicating with the customers. For instance, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel aims at utilizing different websites to promote its products and services. Furthermore, the business entity has been able to incorporate brand identification to maximize its revenues and sales through reaching the desired consumer base. Brands contribute towards enhancing the awareness of the consumers in the course of identifying the company products (Kahan, 1998). The company also engages in the utilization of the traditional marketing mechanisms such as TV, Billboards, and PR practices in communicating to the consumers the available products and services at their disposal. Price Pricing decisions tend to have substantive influences on the demand, as well as profitability. In the hotel setting, business entities focus on the exploration of the rack rates and other attractive mechanisms in dealing with the consumers. Evidently, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel aims at offering quality discount for the generation of attention and careful consideration by the consumers in the highly competitive industry. Additionally, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel focuses on integration of diverse offers with the intention of attracting more consumers or customers at their disposal. Strategies, Cost, and Implications In the modern society, technology continues to play a critical role in the course of influencing diverse decisions and transactions of business corporations, especially in the hotel industry. Social Media Marketing One element of the technological advancements, which might enable Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to maximize its revenues and profit levels, is the social media marketing tools. In this context, it is possible for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to utilize Facebook as a marketing tool with the intention of communicating with the consumers or target audiences effectively and efficiently. Facebook comes out as one of the most valuable forms of media for the hotels, thus, one of the most appropriate mechanisms to oversee improvement of the hotel online bookings (Michman and Mazze, 2006). Most of the hotel Facebook pages tend to encourage guests to interact with them on diverse issues and elements. In such aspect, it is vital for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel will consider placing the details of its property on the Facebook page with attractive photos and contact details. Moreover, it is possible for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to engage in the utilization of the online-user generated travel reviews, which are highly influential in comparison to the personal recommendations from the families and friends regarding credibility. Such reviews enable the users to have the opportunity to see what their friends, as well as friends of their friends can see, thus, the platform to present their perspective and recommendation (Okonkwo, 2009). Categorically, Relais Christine Boutique Hotel will be able to exploit this powerful recommendation tool in assessing the demands and expectations of the consumers or target audiences. Other than Facebook page, it is possible for the business entity in the hospitality to create Twitter page as a social networking and micro-blogging platform in the midst of technological advancements in marketing. It is ideal for the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel’s clients or customers to be aware of their presence, facilities, special offers, and chances to interact effectively and efficiently (Chan and Guillet, 2011). Integration of Twitter, which is a popular tool among the hotels, will enable the company in question to expand its consumer base. Twitter might also be ideal in enabling Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to execute direct marketing through segmentation of the consumers from the list on this social tool in its marketing practices. Gamification Strategy Alternatively, it is ideal for Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to consider transforming or modifying its hiring techniques and practices, especially in the marketing department. This is through integration of the concept of gamification technology or approach in the recruitment, thus, the adoption or generation of quality employees with the desired conditions to enable transformation of the company (Gastaldi, 2012). The approach will enable the company to consider integration of simulations and gaming features based on roles in marketing. The approach will be vital in enabling the organization to reach highly qualified personnel to maximize the marketing opportunities and practices in the highly competitive industry. These elements of e-marketing will not drain the company enormous financial resources, thus, the need to facilitate their implementation effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, integration of these online marketing tools will liaise with the approach by the organization to maximize the outputs of the traditional marketing and pricing strategies such as utilization of special offers, discount, and TV advertising. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to the critical set of rules, which owners of the websites and bloggers must adhere to in the course of optimizing their websites for search engines, thus, the platform for the improvement of their search engine rankings. In the highly competitive economy, SEO is more important than ever. SEO is good for the social promotion of your website while improving the user experience and usability of the website. SEO also proves to be cost-effective in comparison to other online platforms and marketing tools such as PPC advertising (Chen, Shih, Chen, and Chen, 2011). The hotel should consider integration of this approach in the course of overseeing increase in the market share. It is ideal for the institution to consider optimizing its search engine with the objective of improving its visibility through unpaid search. Additionally, it is valuable to incorporate Google’s free SEO Starter guide in the optimization of the hotel website. PPC Advertising In online marketing, PPC refers to par-per-click, which is a model of internet market. In this context, advertisers have the obligation to pay a fee each time any user clicks their advertisement. Categorically, this is one of the ways of buying visits to your site rather than adopting organic approach in earning such visits (Chen, Shih, Chen, and Chen, 2011). One of the approaches or forms of PPC, which might be ideal for this company, is the use of search engine advertising. This will enable the company to bid for the ad places in the sponsored links in the search engine when users utilize keyword relating to the products and services the institution is offering. The approach will be ideal in ensuring that the organization has substantive increase in the consumer base. Blogging Blog marketing refers to the process in which online users and practitioners engage in publicizing or advertising the relevant website, business, brand, and services through blogs. One of the major reasons for using this approach in marketing by the company is to facilitate traffic to the organizational website. Secondly, blog marketing is critical in enabling the organization to increase its SEO (Chiang and Hsieh, 2011). Similarly, blogging will enable the hotel to position its brand as one of the industry leaders in pursuit of competitive advantage and sustainability. Blogging is also vital in facilitating development of better and effective customer relationships, thus, improvement of the image and reputation of the firm. Conclusion Conclusively, the assessment sought to focus on the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel in Paris, France. Relais Christine Boutique Hotel is a delightful luxurious entity aiming at preservation of its intimacy of the private residence. According to the findings of the report, the institution tends to have highly equipped rooms, which are ideal in the course of creating appropriate environment for the consumers. The customers of the hotel are majorly in their early 20s to mid-50s with the mid-to-upper income averages. In the course of improving the market share and size of the consumers, it is ideal for the Relais Christine Boutique Hotel to consider integrating the identified marketing mechanisms for effectiveness and efficiency. This is through incorporation of social marketing, gamification technology, SEO, PPC, and blog marketing to maximize the potentiality of internet technology in the contemporary society. List of References Boutiquehotels-paris.com, 2016, “The 20 best boutique hotels in Paris,” [online] Available at: http://boutiquehotels-paris.com/ [Accessed 9 November 2016] Brown, M.T., 2003, “An analysis on online marketing in the sport industry: User activity, communication objectives, and perceived benefits,” Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12(1), pp.48-55. Chan, N.L. and Guillet, B.D., 2011, “Investigation of social media marketing: how does the hotel industry in Hong Kong perform in marketing on social media websites?” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 28(4), pp. 345-368. Chen, C.Y., Shih, B.Y., Chen, Z.S. and Chen, T.H., 2011, “The exploration of internet marketing strategy by search engine optimization: A critical review and comparison,” African Journal of Business Management, 5(12), pp.4644-4649. Chiang, I. and Hsieh, C.H., 2011, “Exploring the impacts of blog marketing on consumers,” Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 39(9), pp.1245-1250 Gastaldi, F., 2012, “Internet, social media and luxury strategy,” In Luxury Strategy in Action (pp. 108-124) Palgrave Macmillan UK Hurley, J.A., 1988, “The hotels of Rome: Meeting the marketing challenge of terrorism,” The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 29(1), pp.70-79. Kahan, R., 1998, “Using database marketing techniques to enhance your one-to-one marketing initiatives,” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 15(5), pp. 491-493 Kastarlak, B.I. and Barber, B., 2011, “Fundamentals of planning and developing tourism,” Pearson Higher Ed Michman, R.D. and Mazze, E.M., 2006, “The affluent consumer: Marketing and selling the luxury lifestyle,” Greenwood Publishing Group. Montgomery, A.L., 2001, “Applying quantitative marketing techniques to the Internet,” Interfaces, 31(2), pp. 90-108 Okonkwo, U., 2009, “Sustaining the luxury brand on the Internet,” Journal of Brand Management, 16(5-6), pp. 302-310 Rutes, W.A., Penner, R.H. and Adams, L., 2001, “Hotel design: planning and development,” WW Norton & Company. Read More