Marketing
is the sum total of activities that keep a company focused on its customers and
ensure that the company's offerings are valued by those customers.
Marketing
program design and implementation are generally defined and formatted under the
elements referred to as the 'Ps' of marketing - that is, product, price, place
and promotion. To these four, we have added five others that apply
to tourism & hospitality industry - partnership, packaging, programming,
positioning and people. All elements hold equal importance in the marketing process. In
other words, marketing is a company-wide endeavour incorporating the activities
of all departments and personnel.
Product
From your customers' point of view, the product or
service you are offering is the mixture of benefits they think they will
receive. Thus, it is not necessarily the rooms, cottages, meals,
attractions, recreation facilities or personal service you offer; instead, it is
the way the customer see such facilities and services being put to use for their
own benefit or enjoyment.
Partnership
Since customers usually want to purchase an overall experience at a give
destination, it makes sense for two or more businesses that offer complementary
products or services to cooperate by pooling their marketing efforts.
By entering this type of partnership, you can offer a product that more closely
matches your customers' needs.
Packaging
In many respects, this is a form of partnership - at least to the extent that
combinations of facilities and services are offered to potential customers.
The main differences are that with a package, all the facilities and services
are covered by a single price and they can be purchased in a single transaction.
Programming
This refers to any special events and activities you organize, which expand on
the product(s) you are offering - for example, children's programs at resort,
murder mystery weekends at lodges/inns, gourmet & wine-tasting festivals at
restaurants and recreation retreats at wilderness lodges. All of
these activities expand on the product and so give customers an extra reason to
buy.
Price
This obviously refers to the price customers are asked
to pay for the product or service that they are buying. The main
point here is that you must make sure your customers receive what they regard as
value for money.
Positioning
This refers to the market niche that your business caters to and to the way that
you differentiate your business from your competitors'. The
key factor to bear in mind is that your positioning must be consistent.
Place
This refers to the place in which your customers buy
your product. You may sell directly to them or they may select your
product through certain channels of distribution. Travel
agents, tour operators, tour wholesalers provide the main channels of
distribution.
Promotion
This is the range of activities by which you make
potential customers aware of your product(s) - and make them want to buy it.
The range of activities include advertising, personal selling, sales promotions,
publicity and public relations.
People
This is the ninth 'P' of tourism marketing, and it refers to the people who work
for your business. They constitute one of your principal marketing forces.
