TOURISM PETER ROBINSON MICHAEL LÜCK STEPHEN L. J. SMITH

TOURISM PETER ROBINSON MICHAEL LÜCK STEPHEN L. J. SMITH

14 Tourism and Destination Marketing

Learning Objectives To understand the principles of marketing To consider the marketing mix To evaluate the importance of technology in marketing tourism

What is Marketing? Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers’ requirements profitably (CIM) A set of decisions and processes that every organization uses to carry out an exchange with others The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy organizational objectives

The Marketing Mix Also known as the 4 Ps (Product, Place, Promotion, Price), or Known as the 7 Ps in the Extended Marketing Mix (adding People, Physical Evidence and Process)

Product ‘A product is a complex mix of tangible and intangible attributes including packaging, colour, price, manufacturers prestige, retailers prestige, and manufacturers and retailers services which the buyer may accept as offering satisfaction of wants or needs’ (Stanton, 1981)

People (Internal Marketing) The people element includes all human actors [internal audiences*] who play a part in service delivery and thus influence the buyers perceptions (Hudson, 2008) The people part of the marketing mix relates to all stakeholders involved in the product or service during its lifecycle. They portray [internal audiences*] and benefit [consumers] from the brand values (Wale, 2008) Internal marketing programme is adopted consisting of establishing a service culture; developing a marketing approach to HRM (e.g. teamwork) and dissemination of marketing information to employees – the aim to enable employees to deliver satisfying products and services to customers (Kotler et al., 2009) People need to be recruited, trained, provided with tools and appropriate internal systems, and rewarded for good service to deliver and retain the brand image

Place (1) ‘Place decisions refer to the ease of access which potential customers have to a service. Place decisions can therefore involve physical location decisions , decisions about which intermediaries to use in making a service accessible to customers and non-locational decisions which are used to make services available.’ (Palmer, 2001, pp. 11–12) ‘In the four Ps of the marketing mix, it is place which represents distribution and access to the product.’ 152) (Seaton and Bennett, 1996, p.

Place (2) ‘The way in which the goods and services are made available or accessible to the market constitutes the place element of the mix, also referred to as distribution. The importance of careful management of product distribution is sometimes undervalued. The ways in which consumers can book hotel accommodation will depend on the place element of the hotel’s marketing mix. Booking may be possible at travel agencies or at other hotels in the same chain, for example.’ (Pender, 1999, p. 36)

Promotion Promotion is the part of the marketing mix, which uses marketing communication methods to sell products and services to targeted consumers

Promotional Methods Personal selling Telemarketing Direct mail Trade fairs and exhibitions Commercial television Newspapers and magazines Radio Cinema Point of sale displays Packaging

Price Components of cost Price, cost and value Price elasticity Costing and setting prices Pricing policies Pricing strategies

Price, Cost and Value Price – The actual prices of the product set by the supplier Cost – The end cost (financial or otherwise) to the consumer Value – The evaluation made by the consumer of the price and cost set against the features and benefits of the product

People Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage Consumers make judgements and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees with whom they interact Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude and service knowledge to provide the service for which consumers are paying

Physical Evidence (PE) The environment in which the service is offered and consumed Physical evidence encompasses the tangible face of service products including; premises, vehicles, company websites and appearance and behaviour of staff (Wale, 2009) An important part of the augmented product is the physical environment. They include all aspects of the servicescape that affect customers, including both exterior attributes (such as parking and landscape) and interior attributes (such as design, layout, equipment, and décor. Signage and atmospherics are also part of the servicescape (Hudson, 2008). Many businesses provide themed servicescapes, e.g. The Hard Rock Café, Disney

Process (1) The process relates to the processes involved in the life cycle of a product or service from conception to after sales, it is the key to Brand Management. Brand management is standardization of a product, service or brand The process part of this involves producing a product or service that reflects the mission, vision and values of a company (Wale, 2009) Operationalizing the product or service through documented standard operational procedures (which clearly describe the operational process of products and services) Standardized processes are audited through internal and external audits. Internal audits include operational checklists, external mystery guest audits

Process (2) These in turn are linked to bonus related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of a company (linking back to values) adding an incentivized reason for conforming. Is there a complaints procedure; are there auditing systems in place to alert you of customer problems before dissatisfaction sets in? (Wale, 2009) Process is the service encounter: how customers are treated at the place of purchasing and consuming e.g. anything that affects the customers perception of the service product on offer e.g: friendliness and helpfulness of staff, speed with which customers are served

Class Activity In groups, develop the Marketing Mix for: – A hotel company of your choice – A restaurant of your choice – A theme park How does the Marketing Mix differ in each example?

Marketing Communications Marketing communications forms a key aspect of the delivery of tourism and hospitality services. The sector is dependent on marketing because of the industries’ special characteristics as services These sectors are said to be intangible because it is not possible to experience the service prior to purchase Theodore Levitt (1981) suggested that ‘instead of talking of “goods” and of “services”, it is better to talk of “tangibles” and “intangibles”’ (McCabe, 2009)

Advertising Advertising communicates the brand image and personality to the consumer. Memorable adverts have used characters, typology, colours, personalities and music (Wale and Phoenix, 2009) Advertising must appeal to market segment, hit the target market and achieve the desired effects of positioning, e.g. make the customer feel and think the positioning, high-quality highcost such as first-class travel (Wale, 2009)

Public Relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public. The practice of PR is planned around the core business activities of an organization (in line with its mission, vision and values). In practice the PR role is a balancing act of providing ‘good image’ information and managing ‘bad news’ stories. It involves making sure that all activities carried out by the organization, its intermediaries and stakeholders maintain the reputation of the business. (Wale and Phoenix, 2009)

The Promotional Message AIDA: effective promotional messages should: Grab Maintain Create Lead to ATTENTION INTEREST DESIRE ACTION

Activity: Promotional Methods Select a product or service in your industry, e.g. budget airline/restaurant ‘chain’ meal/ music event/football match What promotional methods are used and for what purpose? Which are most effective and why?

e-Distribution Electronic distribution is evolving very rapidly and accommodation managers face the following challenges: Increasing number of distribution channel networks that must be managed daily Complexity of electronic distribution Need to be more responsive to the market Increase exponentially comments on hotels over Internet, Web 2.0, blogs and social networks Need to keep the rate integrity in all distribution systems (Rate Parity) Turnover in reception, lack of human resources and therefore difficult management and training World markets in a crisis economy, unstable and uncertain, which determines a vision of your planning in the very short term The electronic distribution requires a dual effort to manage the distribution of bookings and consistent messages and pictures in the electronic world Adapting to a changing global environment where customers, players, actors, producers need to find new working places and new ways to work together (Hotel iTour, 2010)

e-Marketing The last decade has seen an explosion of e-marketing spurred by a rapid revolution in the development of communications technology. The economic downturn in 2008 resulted in marketing departments scaling down and consolidating their marketing activity. When marketing budgets are tight, companies will use the cheapest most effective forms of communications to reach consumers. E-marketing can be very cost effective, as packaging and distribution costs may be avoided. (Wale and Phoenix, 2009)

e-Communications e-Communication, electronic communication or virtual communication is effectively the standard communication tools deployed electronically. Email, instant messaging, voice mail, conference calls, web conferences and video conferences are all types of ecommunication (Benson, 2004)

Search Engine Marketing Search (engine) marketing is a technique used by brands looking to help customers find their products and services online faster and with less effort. The Internet is used by businesses to motivate customers and maintain consumer interest in their brands. The aim is to be top of the list when a user searches. Companies will pay a premium for this service, as it relates to increased sales and the ability to analyse consumer behaviour data. (Fernandez, 2008)

Viral Marketing and Web 2.0 Based on the concept of word of mouth marketing (person to person communication), viral marketing involves spreading a message across multiple media making it reach more people. It relies on people using various elements of social media to forward the message (Charlesworth, 2009) Web 2.0 is a term that encompasses a certain type of online application often labelled as UserGenerated Content or UGC, as the consumer is the main content contributor. Web 2.0 can be split into five categories: blogs, social networks, content communities, forums/bulletin boards and content aggregators (Constantinides and Fountain, 2008)

Class Activity Evaluate the marketing that you can find on the Internet for hotel companies and travel operators What methods are being adopted? Assess their effectiveness

References Benson, L.K. (2004) Power of E-Communication. HRD Press, Amherst, Massachusetts. Charlesworth, A. (2009) Internet Marketing, A Practical Approach. Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier, Oxford, UK. Constantinides, E. and Fountain, S.J. (2008) Web 2.0: Conceptual foundations and marketing issues. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practise 9(3), 231 244. Fernandez, J. (2008) Click to Refresh. Marketing week, 23 October 2008. Hudson, S. (2008) Tourism and Hospitality Marketing: A Global Perspective. Sage Publications, London. McCabe, S. Marketing Communications in Tourism & Hospitality. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, UK. Pender, L. (1999) Marketing Management for Travel and Tourism. Stanley Thrones, Cheltenham, UK. Wale, D. (2009) Marketing. In: Robinson, P. (ed.) Managing Operations in the Travel Industry. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Wale, D. and Phoenix, F. (2009) Sports Marketing. In Bill, K. (ed.) Sport Management. Learning Matters, Exeter, UK.