Republic of the Philippines

City of Taguig

Taguig City University

General Santos Avenue, Central Bicutan, Taguig City

MODULE 2– FINALS
COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
COURSE MODULE in

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

I. LESSON 07- MARKETING FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

II. INTRODUCTION

This chapter is about marketing in the hospitality industry. First of all, what
is marketing? Simply put, marketing is managing profitable customer
relationships. The aim of marketing is to create value for customers and capture
value from customers in return. Essentially, there are five steps in the marketing
process: understanding customer needs, designing customer driven strategies,
integrating marketing programs, and building customer relationships whilst
capturing value for the firm.

III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, you should able to:

LO1. define marketing;

LO2. enumerate the 7 Ps;
LO3. discuss the marketing trends in the hospitality industry; and
LO4. define digital marketing and enumerate the different types of digital
marketing

IV. LESSON PROPER

Marketing, more than any other business function, deals with customers.
Although in this chapter more detailed definitions of marketing and how it is
used in the hospitality sector will be explored, perhaps the simplest definition is
this: Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. The twofold goal
of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value, and to
keep and grow numbers of current customers by delivering satisfaction
(Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).
Walmart, for example, has become the world’s largest retailer and company
by delivering on its promise, ‘Save money, Live better.’ Nintendo surged ahead
in the video-games market behind the pledge that ‘Wii would like to play,’
backed by its wildly popular Wii console and a growing list of popular games

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and accessories for all ages. And McDonald’s meets its ‘I’m lovin’ it’ motto by
being ‘our customers’ favorite place and way to eat’ the world over, giving it a
market share greater than that of its nearest three competitors combined (Kotler
& Armstrong, 2013).

The Service Revolution

Across Europe and indeed around the world, the service sector of the
economy is going through a period of almost revolutionary change in which
established ways of doing business continue to be shunted aside. At the second
decade of the 21st century, all ways of life and work are being transformed by
new developments in services. Innovators continually launch new ways to
satisfy existing needs, and meet these heretofore unknown needs as well. The
same is true of services directed at corporate users.
Although many new service ventures fail, a few succeed. Many long-
established firms are also failing or being merged out of existence; but others
are making spectacular progress by continually rethinking the way they do
business, looking for innovative ways to serve customers better and taking
advantage of new developments in technology. This is as true for the hospitality
sector as for any other business sector.
B2C
Services marketing People use an array of services every day, although
some of these, like talking on the phone or using a credit card, even taking a
bus ride, or withdrawing money from an ATM, are often so routine they almost
escape notice unless something goes wrong. Other service purchases may
involve more forethought and may be more memorable experiences, for
instance booking a cruise vacation, getting financial advice, or having a medical
examination. The use of these services is an example of service consumption
at the individual, or business-to-consumer (B2C), level (Lovelock & Wirtz,
2011).
B2B
Hospitality organizations also use a wide array of business-to-business
(B2B) services, varying according to the company size to some degree, but
usually involving purchases on a much larger scale than those made by
individuals or families. An independent restaurant business, for example, will
often purchase their food from various suppliers, most of which deliver to the
business. In the restaurant business, food provenance is everything nowadays;
customers often want to know the origin of the seafood, meat or vegetables
used. This can be part of a marketing plan for the business. Having the source
of one’s produce on the menu, for example, can be a particular selling point to
restaurant customers (Ball, Rimmington, & Rowson, 2007).

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Core Business, Time-Based Performances and Desired Results
Current trends suggest firms are outsourcing more and more tasks to
external service providers in order to focus on their core business. So what are
services? The formal definition of services is: economic activity offered by one
party to another, most commonly employing time-based performances to bring
about desired results in recipients themselves or in objects or other assets for
which purchasers have responsibility (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011). Time-based
means something a firm does within a certain time period, for example providing
dinner for customers in the restaurant that evening. Desired results are
outcomes desired by a customer, e.g. the wish to have dinner with friends that
evening. Other examples are going to a theatre to be entertained, to a university
to get an education, to visit a hotel to have somewhere safe to stay and sleep
when away from home. These are desired results of service activities. Put
simply: in exchange for their money, time and effort, service customers can
expect to obtain value from access to goods, labour, professional skills,
facilities, networks and systems. However, they do not normally take ownership
of any of the physical elements involved (Lovelock & Wirtz, 2011).
What is so special about services marketing?
Service marketing focusses on the distinctive characteristics of services and
how these affect both customer behaviour and marketing strategy. Many
hospitality services, for example, are produced and delivered with the customer
present at the service firm’s facility (staying in a hotel or eating at a restaurant).
The presence of the customer in a service facility means that capacity
management becomes an important driver of a firm’s profitability. If too few
customers are present, for example, the high fixed costs of operating and
staffing the facility cannot be covered. If too many customers show up, their
service experience often deteriorates as service providers get busier;
customers who have to be turned away may not want to come back having
been disappointed by not being able to stay in the hotel or eat in the restaurant
a first time.
Pricing of Services
To address this constant struggle of having the right number of customers
show up, pricing of services tends to be highly dynamic and complicated.
Consider the pricing of airline tickets and the terms and conditions attached to
a discounted ticket. Prices change all the time, and typically depend on time
and date of travel, how long in advance a flight is booked, the duration of the
stay, whether tickets are flexible and allow for changes in travel dates and
itinerary, and whether they are refundable. Such pricing is also called ‘revenue
management’ or ‘yield management.
Traditional 4 Ps and Additional 3 Ps
In hospitality services marketing, the traditional 4 Ps of the marketing mix
(product, pricing, promotion/market communications, and place/distribution)

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are adapted to the distinctive features of hospitality services; because of the
personalized nature of hospitality services, these differ from other services
marketing concepts (e.g. car hire or banking services) in that, in the hospitality
sector, customers are very much part of the service delivered. Then, there are
the additional 3 Ps of services marketing: people, physical evidence and
process.
Process Experience
The process of service delivery is often as important as the function of the
service. A service is a process from an organization’s point of view, but from a
customer’s perspective it is an experience. The quality of the experience is a
function of the careful design of customer service processes, adoption of
standardized procedures, rigorous management of service quality, high
standards of training and automation. Services marketing helps ensure that
these processes are designed to be viewed from the customer’s perspective
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2013).
Frontline Employees
Physical environment includes the appearance of buildings, landscaping,
interior furnishing, equipment, uniforms, signs, printed materials and other
visible cues that provide evidence of service quality and guide customers
through a service process. The design of a physical environment can have a
profound impact on customer satisfaction and service productivity. People
relate to the frontline employees of the firm. From a hospitality customer’s point
of view, when service employees are involved, the people are the service. This
means that frontline employees need to possess the required technical and
interpersonal skills and a positive attitude. People can be a key competitive
advantage for many service firms. Services marketing includes building
customer loyalty, managing relationships, complaint handling, improving
service quality and productivity of service operations, and how to become a
service leader in the hospitality industry.

Top 10 Latest Hospitality Marketing Trends

Here are the upcoming 10 Hospitality marketing trends within the hotel
industry that can help grow your business:

1. Personalization Marketing

Personalized marketing allows companies to deliver individualized content

to target customers through the use of automation technology and data
collection. The goal of personalization marketing is to engage potential
customers by communicating with them as individuals. For hotels and tour
operators, it’s important to personalize their services for their guests and clients
through targeted emails. For example, targeted emails can be sent to potential
customers whenever an upcoming discount is offered by the travel agency or

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hotel. Personalization marketing is one of the most direct hospitality marketing
strategies you can use to establish a more personal relationship with your
customers and encourage them to make a return visit.

2. Voice Search
As the next generation of Web users prefer communicating through voice
activation, this can be a great opportunity for the hospitality industry. Voice
search is a type of voice control and recognition technology that primarily works
with tablets, smartphones, and other similar devices. In fact, this marketing
trend could soon eliminate the need for Internet users to press buttons or type
their search queries online. Hotel guests can book a hotel room via their
smartphone by just speaking to the device. They can even control the room’s
functions, such as lights, music, or heating through voice search. It is expected
that more online marketers will start investing money into this new trend in the
near future.

3. Customer Experience Marketing

In the competitive world of hospitality industry, customer experience is

essential in gaining loyalty. Keep in mind that providing an excellent customer
service on its own doesn’t always result in direct profits. It is crucial to develop
comprehensive customer experience marketing plans to meet the needs of your
hotel or travel company. To generate healthy returns and a steady stream of
returning clients, you must compile analytics from online customer testimonials
on review websites. This will provide you with a wealth of information about
your customers’ preferences, how your company can do better, and which
factors will lead to future conversions.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence has the ability to streamline processes and provide

valuable insights. Most online hotel room seekers tend to use aggregator
websites to book their accommodation through, while some may land on a
hotel’s homepage but leave without booking. In most cases, users would prefer
to speak with a hotel staff without having to enter preferred dates and check-in
details, which can be quite time-confusing. By using artificial intelligence
chatbots on your website, you can provide a personalized service and develop
a robust system. Thanks to AI technology, your guests will even be able to place
their room service requests through your AI-enabled website, which will surely
save your hotel staff time.

5. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is fast becoming a great opportunity for hospitality

marketers to remain relevant in a highly competitive industry. Influencer
marketing is a digital version of the traditional word-of-mouth for increasing
hotel brand awareness and generating direct bookings. By using this strategy,
you can reach a much larger audience and attract more customers to your hotel
or travel business through credibility and trust building among consumers. For
example, your influencer marketing campaign can be specifically aimed at

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young people who are increasingly choosing Airbnb services over conventional
hotels. You can engage your potential customers with authentic content that
doesn’t sound too brand-oriented.

6. Virtual Reality

When online users look for information on tours and hotels, they can make
better decisions through videos and pictures rather than content. This is where
virtual reality will have an impact on users’ experiences as they can virtually put
themselves right there in the hotel room or resort to see whether it meets their
needs or not. Virtual reality is not just an entertaining marketing feature, but it
also offers endless possibilities. The hospitality industry can use virtual reality
to show their customers the local sightseeing attractions. For example, if your
hotel receptionist recommends the local waterpark, your guests can check out
the place through VR before they go. Virtual reality helps take away the guests’
or travelers’ uncertainty and is an essential tool for all hotel and tour operators
to use.

7. User Generated Content

User generated content is created and shared by online end-users. It can

come in different forms, such as testimonials, comments, forums, blog posts,
and social publications, to name but a few. When a prospective customer looks
for your brand’s content online, he or she will normally read the customer
reviews about your company on other websites or social media platforms. If you
implement user generated content correctly, you will be able to increase your
brand awareness significantly. This strategy will also help you get more room
bookings. One effective way is to encourage your guests to share their
experience on social media. To do this, you can run contests, create brand
hashtags, or create photo opportunities at your hotel.

8. Augmented Reality

One of the most interesting hospitality marketing strategies is augmented

reality. This tool works by altering one’s perception of their physical
surroundings through the use of computer technology. Augmented reality
allows hospitality businesses to change the way their clients perceive the
environment they are in. Hotels, for example, can sell rooms online by
enhancing their features through AR. There are hundreds of ways you can
entertain your guests through augmented environments, such as allowing the
guests to see virtual depictions of their favorite celebrities in the hotel. You will
also be able to use this tool to send virtual keys to your guests through their
smartphones.

9. Video Marketing

Travel industries and hotels can use video marketing to engage their target
audience from YouTube videos, Instagram, or Snapchat, to going Live on
Facebook. Gaining brand exposure and capturing the attention of your
audience can be done through written content, but in order to engage them
instantly, why not give them easily digestible videos about your hotel or resort.

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 For example, you can use video marketing to capture the relaxing moments
guests can enjoy in your hotel’s facilities. Keep in mind that your videos or
photos must be very high quality in order to attract customers.

The range of options available to marketers is almost endless, from live

streams of hotel activities, through to promotional videos highlighting hotel
features, and interviews with customers, sharing their experiences. The
growing prevalence of 360-degree video also opens up greater opportunities to
fully immerse audiences.

10. Remarketing

This marketing tool involves targeting potential customers who have already
viewed your website or shown interest in your services. Remarketing is a way
of re-engaging people who have spent time browsing pages on your website,
but without booking a room. You can use this tool to re-connect with those who
have visited your site and offer them a discount to encourage them to return.
For example, you can set up this strategy through Google analytics by the
users’ demographics or interests. It is also possible to filter these searches to
collect the information you need about the people who visit your website.

DEVELOPING NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

New products and services are the lifeblood of all businesses. Investing in their
development isn't an optional extra - it is crucial to business growth and profitability.

But embarking on the development process is risky. It needs considerable

planning and organization. This guide will outline the key stages in the lifecycle of
products and services so you know when the time is right for your business to start
the development process. It will explain how a planned and phased development
process will help you make the wisest investment and budgeting decisions. It will
also advise you on how best to create a development team and manage a project.

The lifecycle of products and services

There are five key stages in the lifecycle of any product or service.

Development - at this point your product or service is only an idea. You're

investing heavily in research and development.

Introduction - you launch your product or service. You're spending heavily on

marketing.

Growth - your product or service is establishing itself. You have few

competitors, sales are growing and profit margins are good. Now's the time to work
out how you can reduce the costs of delivering the new product.

Maturity - sales growth is slowing or has even stopped. You've been able to
reduce production and marketing costs, but increased competition has driven down
prices. Now is likely to be the best time to invest in a new product.

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 Decline - new and improved products or services are on the market and
competition is high. Sales fall and profit margins decline. Increased marketing will
have little impact on sales and won't be cost-effective unless new markets are
identified.

Manage the lifecycle

Identifying where products or services are in their lifecycle is central to your

profitability. Effective research into your markets and competitors will help you do
this.

You can extend the lifecycle of a product or service by investing in an "extension

strategy". You could:

• increase your promotional spending

• introduce minor innovations - perhaps by adding extra features or updating
the design
• seek new markets
But ultimately this only delays a product or service's decline.

Ideally, you should always have new products or services to introduce as others
decline so that at least one part of your range is showing a sales peak.

Developing your ideas

There's a lot at stake when developing a new product or service. To minimize

risks and allocate investment and resources wisely, you should consider a number
of factors:

• Will your new product or service meet customers' specifications? For

example, consider its design, ease of use and performance benefits.
• How technologically feasible is the product or service? Can you meet the
design, resource and manufacturing requirements?
• Are you clear about what you hope to achieve with the new product or
service? Does it meet the strategy outlined in your business plan and play
to your business' strengths?

The clearer you are about your plans, the better you can analyze the risks
involved.

The following tips may also be helpful:

• consult members of your team about your development plans - they may
contribute insights that you've overlooked
• seek the views of suppliers and other business associates - their specialist
expertise could be invaluable
• test lots of ideas at the start of a project - it costs relatively little to assess
which are most promising, but make sure you stop work on ideas that don't
meet your criteria before committing a lot of time and resources
• ask your best customers what they think of your plans

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 • consider the regulatory framework within which your new product or
service will operate
• don't overlook the environmental impact of your plans
• look beyond a new product or service's immediate potential and consider
the longer term

Match products and services to market needs

New products and services have to offer benefits that meet your customers'
needs. You need to discover what these are.

Market research, using techniques such as surveys and focus groups, will help
you do this.

Remember that although the end user of your product or service might be your
most important customer, you may have to take the needs of other parties into
account.

For example, if you were planning a new DIY product, you would need to
consider how retailers would stock it as well as how it would benefit professional
decorators. If you're creating a toy, you should consider what parents as well as
children will think of it.

Your competition

Not only must you meet your customers' needs, you have to do so in a way that
is better than the alternatives offered by the competition.

Your new product or service needs a unique selling proposition - a feature or

property that makes it stand out in the marketplace. Before entering the market,
you need to determine:

• how customers’ needs are currently met

• why customers would choose your product or service rather than the
competition's, both now and in the future
• what risks you are prepared to take to launch your product or service into this
market

Pricing your proposed service or product

Establishing a pricing strategy for a new product or service is an important part

of the development process. You should consider pricing the moment you decide
to take an idea forward as it will determine how much you can afford to invest in
the project.

You will need to take the following factors into account:

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• The benefits - or value - to the customer of your product or service compared
with what the competition has to offer. Will the price be one that customers
are prepared to pay?
• Whether or not you're first to market. Is your product or service revolutionary
or are you following a market trend?
• The selling channels you want to use, which will affect your promotional
spending and distribution costs.
• The speed with which you want to establish your product or service.
• The expected lifecycle of your product or service.
• Whether you are covering your costs.
Strategic pricing can be used to drive sales and regulate demand.

The project development process

An effective development process for products or services should be divided

into a number of key stages:

Idea generation - to capture new ideas.

Idea distillation - to screen out those ideas not worth taking forward.
Concept definition - to consider specifications such as technical feasibility and
market potential. If you're planning a new product, you should consider the design
process now.
Strategic analysis - to ensure your ideas fit into your business' strategic plans.
Concept development - to create a prototype product or pilot service.
Test marketing and finalizing the concept - to ensure your product or service
can be modified according to customer, manufacturer and support organizations’
feedback. This means deciding the best timing and process for piloting your new
product or service.
Product launch - the trickiest stage. Before setting a date, you must determine
how to sell, promote and support your product or service. Getting it right first time
is essential. But any decisions to delay your launch should be balanced against the
danger that your competitors will beat you to market.

In practice some of these stages may overlap, but the presence of a staged
process will help keep timing and costs under control.

Creating a project team

Every potential new product or service requires a dedicated development team.

In creating your team, you need to include people with a variety of skills. For
example, as well as a creative ideas person you may also need a technical expert,
a marketing specialist, someone who can source components and someone who
understands the supply-chain difficulties you could encounter.

All team members should understand your business' objectives and be

committed to them.

There are many forms of effective team working and the right one for you will
depend on your business' needs. For example, team members might:

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 • work as a unit dedicated to one project, reporting to a project manager
• work exclusively on one project but remain in separate departments
reporting to department heads who are under the project manager
• work on several projects at once with both a department head and project
manager to monitor progress

Teams need someone in a project management role to lead, co-ordinate and

motivate the team. See the page in this guide on how to manage a development
project.

Investment and cost control

Developing new products and services is an inherently risky process. You must
plan any investment carefully and strictly control your costs.

You need to:

• factor any future investment in products and services into your strategic
business plan
• plan exactly where this investment will be directed
• justify the expenditure on every project
• manage your costs

Before making investment decisions, consider how much your business stands
to gain from a completed product or service. Weigh this against the risks you face.

Phasing new product development

One way to minimize your risks is to phase investments in projects. By

reviewing a project at the end of each phase or stage of development, you can
identify products or services that are unlikely to be successful before resources are
wasted. If the product or service fails to meet established criteria, the project is
ditched. If it meets them, resources sufficient to enable it to reach a next,
predetermined, stage are allocated.

Finding support

A range of government grants and tax breaks is available for research and
new product development.

Cost control

It's essential to keep a close eye on costs when you develop new products and
services to avoid them spiraling out of control. You should:

• estimate development costs in advance, as described below

• monitor expenditure throughout the development process
• introduce phased investment, as described above

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 There are two main ways to estimate costs:

• a top-down approach where you consider previous comparable projects and

use them as a benchmark

• a bottom-up approach where all team members agree on the costs they
expect to incur with one project manager, who will then estimate the total cost

Remember that your costs could include staffing, materials, technology,

product design, market research, prototyping and incremental overhead costs.

Manage a development project

Project managers are essential to ensure the successful development of new

products or services. They'll be responsible for:

• controlling costs and allocating resources - for further information, see the
page in this guide on investment and cost control
• drawing up the key parameters for the product or service's specification
• coordinating the product development team - for further information, see
the page in this guide on creating a project team
• timetabling the development process
• troubleshooting

Timetabling the development process

Your project manager should draw up a critical path for the completion of key
tasks. SMART (specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-limited) objectives
can help to control and coordinate the development team's advance along this path
and stages can be used to monitor progress.

However, flexibility must be built into your plans. Any number of unknowns
can come into play and result in, for example, a change in the project's
specifications or expected completion date.

10 UNDENIABLE REASONS CUSTOMER SERVICE IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR

BUSINESS by Swetha Amaresan

When your business is on a low budget, there are probably several functions
that are high-priority when allocating funds. Of course, your product team could
use some financial assistance and marketing -- especially advertising -- could
always use a little padding.

However, it might seem like a waste to invest money in your customer

service team. After all, how can it really improve?

Customer service is importance to your business because it's retains

customers and extracts more value from them. By providing top-notch customer
service, businesses recoup customer acquisition costs and cultivate a loyal

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following that refers customers, serves as case studies, and provides testimonials
and reviews.

Investing in customer service helps activate your flywheel because loyal

customers will help you acquire new customers, free of charge, by convincing
prospects to interact with your brand. And, their positive testimonials will be more
effective than any of your current marketing efforts -- and cheaper, too.

Aside from that, below are a few more reasons why you should invest in
your customer service team.

1. Customer retention is cheaper than customer acquisition.

An increase in customer retention of merely 5% can equate to an increase

in profit of 25%. This is because repeat customers are more likely to spend more
with your brand -- 67% more, to be exact -- which then results in your business
having to spend less on operating costs.

Figure 5. 1 Customer Acquisition Cost

Source: Hubspot, 2019

According to our research team, the customer acquisition cost (CAC) -- how
much it costs to acquire a new customer -- is more for a company that doesn't
invest a small percentage of its budget in customer service. Ultimately, investing in
customer service can decrease your churn rate, which decreases the amount you
must spend on acquiring new customers and decreases the overall CAC.
(Hubspot, 2019)

2. Customer service represents your brand image, mission, and values.

You may have an idea of what your brand represents. However, your customers
can't get into your head. They'll make assumptions based on your social media
presence, advertisements, content, and other external marketing.

Your customer service team, however, is your connection to your customers.

Thus, that team has the responsibility of representing your brand to them.

Without your customer service team, you have no means of direct

communication. Due to this, your customer service team is essential in relaying to

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customers what you want your brand image to be. They can help influence
customers and convince them of your strengths over competitors.

3. Happy customer service employees will create happy customers.

No employee is going to enjoy coming into work if they feel under-appreciated

compared to employees on other teams. The same goes for your customer service
team. After all, 87% of employees who are happy with their jobs are willing to work
extremely hard for their business's customers.

It's important to note that 55% of employees who strongly disagree about being
happy with their jobs will still work especially hard for customers.

However, their reasoning behind serving customers is less about wanting to

provide quality service. Instead, it's about maintaining their professionalism and
integrity, not wanting to get fired before quitting, being empathetic to customers,
but getting recognition from them in the end.

Therefore, if you want your customers to do their best work, they should feel
respected and appreciated. Only then will they find intrinsic motivation for doing a
good job and serving their customers the right way, which will lead to your
customers also feeling more respected and appreciated.

4. Happy customers will refer others.

And, when your customers are happier, they're more likely to spread the
goodness to friends, family, and coworkers. In fact, according to our research, 77%
of customers have shared positive brand experiences with others. Think about it:
if you have a stunning experience with a brand, you're probably going to rave about
it to your friends over dinner later that night. It's natural; you want your close ones
to commit to a brand that you trust.

It's a chain reaction. If you have a happier customer service team, they'll work
harder to satisfy and exceed the expectations of your customers. Then, those
customers will be extremely happy with your brand and refer others to it. Your
customers can be your best -- and cheapest -- form of word-of-mouth advertising,
as long as you give them a reason to do so.

5. Good customer service encourages customers to remain loyal.

If a customer has a positive experience with your brand, there's no reason for
them to look elsewhere. As said before, it's a lot cheaper to retain an old customer
than to acquire a new one. In this sense, the higher a customer's lifetime value --
the total revenue a company can expect a single customer to generate over the
course of their relationship with that company -- the higher the profit for your
company.

In comparison to, possibly, hundreds of competitors with similar products and

services, your company has to do more than relish in the exciting features of your
products. By providing stellar customer service, you can differentiate your company
to customers. Loyalty is rooted in trust, and customers can trust real-life humans

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 more than the ideas and values of a brand. So, by interacting with your customer
service team, those customers can build, hopefully, life-long relationships with your
business.

6. Customers are willing to pay more to companies who offer better customer
service.

50% of customers increase their purchasing with a brand after a positive

customer service experience. In fact, 86% of customers would pay up to 25% more
to get a better customer service experience. Clearly, customer service matters so
much to customers that they would literally pay more to interact with a brand that
does it well.

These are statistics that can't be ignored. In an era where companies are
learning to prioritize customer service, any company that doesn't do so will crash
and burn.

Customers are influenced by even a single experience; one positive experience

could be the deciding factor for them to stick to a brand, whereas one negative one
could send them running to a competitor.

7. Customer service employees can offer important insights about customer

experiences.

It doesn't matter how you perceive your brand. What matters is how your
customer perceives it.

For instance, if you work for an athletic wear company, you might associate
your brand with fitness, health and wellness, and people who play sports. However,
your customers may purchase from you because they associate your brand with
leisure, comfort, and attractiveness. So, you should align your marketing with those
values as well.

Your customer service team can answer a lot of these probing questions for
you. Rather than having to spend time and money on constantly surveying
customers, you can have your customer service employees simply ask these
questions while interacting with customers. Their response can give you a lot of
insights into improving your products, marketing, goals, and employee training.
Without a solid customer service team, your brand may fall behind on shifting
customer trends.

8. Customer service grows customer lifetime value.

If you're running a business, customer lifetime value (CLV) is a pretty important

metric. It represents the total revenue you can expect from a single customer
account. Growing this value means that your customers are shopping more
frequently and/or spending more money at your business.

Investing in your customer service offer is an excellent way to improve customer

lifetime value. If customers have a great experience with your service and support
teams, they'll be more likely to shop again at your stores. Or, at the very least,

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they'll share their positive experience with others, which builds rapport with your
customer base.

This makes new customers more trustworthy of your business and allows you
to upsell and cross-sell additional products with less friction. New users will trust
that your sales team is recommending products that truly fit their needs which will
create a smoother buying experience for both the customer and your employees.

9. Proactive customer service creates marketing opportunities.

If you're looking for a cost-effective way to invest in your business, you should
consider adopting proactive customer service. Rather than waiting for customers
to report issues, this approach reaches out to them before they even know they
exist. That way, customers know you're constantly working to remove roadblocks
from their user experience.

But proactive customer service isn't just used for customer delight. It's also an
effective marketing tool for introducing and promoting new products and services.

For example, if you create a new feature that solves a common problem with
your product, your customer service team can refer it to your customers. They can
use your CRM or ticketing system to look up customers who have had this problem
in the past, reach out to them via the service ticket, and introduce the new feature
as well as its benefits. And, this can sometimes be more effective than a sales pitch
because customers feel like the service rep truly understands their issue after
troubleshooting their problem.

10. Excellent customer service is a competitive advantage.

No matter what industry you're in, you want your business to stand out. After
all, nobody strives to be the "second-best" at something. You want to be better
than every other company you're competing with and you want your customers to
know it, too. That's the key to keeping customers loyal and getting them to
continuously interact with your brand.

Customer service can be an excellent differentiator for your company. In fact,

60% of customers stop doing business with a brand after one poor service
experience. And, 67% of this churn is preventable if the customer's problem is
resolved during their first interaction. That means if you provide excellent customer
service, you'll not only retain your customers, but you'll acquire your competitors'
as well.

It's undeniable that a well-trained, positive customer service team can make
your company the best version of itself. Their ability to communicate directly with
customers can totally revolutionize your company and grow your customer base.

THE WHO, WHAT, WHY, & HOW OF DIGITAL MARKETING

by Lucy Alexander

With how accessible the internet is today; would you believe me if I told you
the number of people who go online every day is still increasing?

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 It is. In fact, "constant" internet usage among adults increased by 5% in just
the last three years, according to Pew Research. And although we say it a lot, the
way people shop and buy really has changed along with it -- meaning offline
marketing isn't as effective as it used to be.

Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience in the right
place and at the right time. Today, that means you need to meet them where they
are already spending time: on the internet.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic

device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search
engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and
prospective customers.

What is the role of digital marketing to a company?

While traditional marketing might exist in print ads, phone communication, or

physical marketing, digital marketing can occur electronically and online. This
means that there are a number of endless possibilities for brands including email,
video, social media, or website-based marketing opportunities.

At this stage, digital marketing is vital for your business and brand awareness.
It seems like every other brand has a website. And if they don't, they at least have
a social media presence or digital ad strategy. Digital content and marketing is so
common that consumers now expect and rely on it as a way to learn about brands.

Long story short, to be competitive as a business owner, you'll need to embrace

some aspects of digital marketing.

Because digital marketing has so many options and strategies associated with
it, you can get creative and experiment with a variety of marketing tactics on a
budget. With digital marketing, you can also use tools like analytics dashboards to
monitor the success and ROI of your campaigns more than you could with a
traditional promotional content -- such as a billboard or print ad.

How does a business define digital marketing?

Digital marketing is defined by the use of numerous digital tactics and channels
to connect with customers where they spend much of their time: online. From the
website itself to a business's online branding assets -- digital advertising, email
marketing, online brochures, and beyond -- there's a spectrum of tactics that fall
under the umbrella of "digital marketing."

The best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital marketing
campaign supports their overarching goals. And depending on the goals of their

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marketing strategy, marketers can support a larger campaign through the free and
paid channels at their disposal.

A content marketer, for example, can create a series of blog posts that serve to
generate leads from a new ebook the business recently created. The company's
social media marketer might then help promote these blog posts through paid and
organic posts on the business's social media accounts. Perhaps the email marketer
creates an email campaign to send those who download the ebook more
information on the company. We'll talk more about these specific digital marketers
in a minute.

Types of Digital Marketing

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This is the process of optimizing your

website to "rank" higher in search engine results pages, thereby increasing the
amount of organic (or free) traffic your website receives. The channels that
benefit from SEO include websites, blogs, and infographics.
2. Content Marketing: This term denotes the creation and promotion of content
assets for the purpose of generating brand awareness, traffic growth, lead
generation, and customers. The channels that can play a part in your content
marketing strategy include:

• Blog posts: Writing and publishing articles on a company blog helps you
demonstrate your industry expertise and generates organic search traffic
for your business. This ultimately gives you more opportunities to convert
website visitors into leads for your sales team.
• Ebooks and whitepapers: Ebooks, whitepapers, and similar long-form
content helps further educate website visitors. It also allows you to
exchange content for a reader's contact information, generating leads
for your company and moving people through the buyer's journey.
• Infographics: Sometimes, readers want you to show, not tell.
Infographics are a form of visual content that helps website visitors
visualize a concept you want to help them learn.

3. Social Media Marketing: This practice promotes your brand and your content on
social media channels to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate
leads for your business. The channels you can use in social media
marketing include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat,
Pinterest.
4. Pay Per Click (PPC): PPC is a method of driving traffic to your website by
paying a publisher every time your ad is clicked. One of the most common types
of PPC is Google Ads, which allows you to pay for top slots on Google's search
engine results pages at a price "per click" of the links you place. Other channels
where you can use PPC include:

• Paid ads on Facebook: Here, users can pay to customize a video, image
post, or slideshow, which Facebook will publish to the newsfeeds of
people who match your business's audience.
• Twitter Ads campaigns: Here, users can pay to place a series of posts
or profile badges to the news feeds of a specific audience, all dedicated
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 to accomplish a specific goal for your business. This goal can be website
traffic, more Twitter followers, tweet engagement, or even app
downloads.
• Sponsored Messages on LinkedIn: Here, users can pay to send
messages directly to specific LinkedIn users based on their industry and
background.

5. Affiliate Marketing: This is a type of performance-based advertising where you

receive commission for promoting someone else's products or services on your
website. Affiliate marketing channels include:

• Hosting video ads through the YouTube Partner Program.

• Posting affiliate links from your social media accounts.

6. Native Advertising: Native advertising refers to advertisements that are

primarily content-led and featured on a platform alongside other, non-paid
content. BuzzFeed-sponsored posts are a good example, but many people also
consider social media advertising to be "native" -- Facebook advertising and
Instagram advertising, for example.
7. Marketing Automation: Marketing automation refers to the software that serves
to automate your basic marketing operations. Many marketing departments can
automate repetitive tasks they would otherwise do manually, such as:

• Email newsletters: Email automation doesn't just allow you to

automatically send emails to your subscribers. It can also help you shrink
and expand your contact list as needed so your newsletters are only
going to the people who want to see them in their inboxes.
• Social media post scheduling: If you want to grow your organization's
presence on a social network, you need to post frequently. This makes
manual posting a bit of an unruly process. Social media scheduling tools
push your content to your social media channels for you, so you can
spend more time focusing on content strategy.
• Lead-nurturing workflows: Generating leads, and converting those leads
into customers, can be a long process. You can automate that process
by sending leads specific emails and content once they fit certain criteria,
such as when they download and open an ebook.
• Campaign tracking and reporting: Marketing campaigns can include a
ton of different people, emails, content, webpages, phone calls, and
more. Marketing automation can help you sort everything you work on
by the campaign it's serving, and then track the performance of that
campaign based on the progress all of these components make over
time.

8. Email Marketing: Companies use email marketing as a way of communicating

with their audiences. Email is often used to promote content, discounts and
events, as well as to direct people toward the business's website. The types of
emails you might send in an email marketing campaign include:

• Blog subscription newsletters.

• Follow-up emails to website visitors who downloaded something.
• Customer welcome emails.

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 • Holiday promotions to loyalty program members.
• Tips or similar series emails for customer nurturing.

9. Online PR: Online PR is the practice of securing earned online coverage with
digital publications, blogs, and other content-based websites. It's much like
traditional PR, but in the online space. The channels you can use to maximize
your PR efforts include:

• Reporter outreach via social media: Talking to journalists on Twitter, for

example, is a great way to develop a relationship with the press that
produces earned media opportunities for your company.
• Engaging online reviews of your company: When someone reviews your
company online, whether that review is good or bad, your instinct might be
not to touch it. On the contrary, engaging company reviews helps you
humanize your brand and deliver powerful messaging that protects your
reputation.
• Engaging comments on your personal website or blog: Similar to the way
you'd respond to reviews of your company, responding to the people who
are reading your content is the best way to generate productive
conversation around your industry.

10. Online PR: Online PR is the practice of securing earned online coverage with
digital publications, blogs, and other content-based websites. It's much like
traditional PR, but in the online space. The channels you can use to maximize
your PR efforts include:

• Reporter outreach via social media: Talking to journalists on Twitter, for

example, is a great way to develop a relationship with the press that
produces earned media opportunities for your company.
• Engaging online reviews of your company: When someone reviews your
company online, whether that review is good or bad, your instinct might
be not to touch it. On the contrary, engaging company reviews helps you
humanize your brand and deliver powerful messaging that protects your
reputation.
• Engaging comments on your personal website or blog: Similar to the way
you'd respond to reviews of your company, responding to the people
who are reading your content is the best way to generate productive
conversation around your industry.

11. Inbound Marketing: Inbound marketing refers to a marketing methodology

wherein you attract, engage, and delight customers at every stage of the
buyer's journey. You can use every digital marketing tactic listed above,
throughout an inbound marketing strategy, to create a customer experience
that works with the customer, not against them.
Here are some classic examples of inbound marketing versus traditional
marketing:
• Blogging vs. pop-up ads
• Video marketing vs. commercial advertising

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 • Email contact lists vs. email spam

12. Sponsored Content: With sponsored content, you as a brand pay another
company or entity to create and promote content that discusses your brand or
service in some way.

One popular type of sponsored content is influencer marketing. With this type
of sponsored content, a brand sponsors an influencer in its industry to publish
posts or videos related to the company on social media.

Another type of sponsored content could be a blog post or article that is

written to highlight a topic, service, or brand.

Sales & Marketing Manager

A Sales and Marketing manager in the hotel industry is responsible for

maximizing a hotel’s revenues by developing programs to increase occupancy
and make profitable use of its accommodation, meeting and leisure facilities.

The manager must maintain awareness of the factors that influence the
hotel industry and gain a deep understanding of the needs and attitudes of a
hotel’s customers.

A manager will be responsible for coordinating marketing and promotional

activities to meet customer needs, working closely with other hotel staff to
ensure customers are satisfied with the facilities and their time there.

The Sales and marketing team has a substantial influence on the profitability
of the business.

He or she have to define roles that reflect the strengths of your products and
assign responsibilities for achieving the sales performance required by the
company.

When your marketing strategy builds on the roles taken on by the members
of your team, they can set achievable targets and take responsibility for meeting
their objectives.

Responsibilities
• Successfully promoting and managing the brand
• Working with advertising agencies
• Managing relationships with agencies and partners
• Overseeing budgets for advertising, marketing, and promotions
• Monitoring competition
• Supervising the Marketing and Sales Department staff
• Generating new ideas for customer incentives and accommodation
or business packages and other sales and marketing duties.
• Who does the Marketing and Sales Manager report to?
• The Marketing and Sales Manager reports to the General Manager

Skills

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 • Work well with people
• Have fantastic presentation skills
• Be an excellent negotiator
• Have exceptional communication skills
• Use current technology for the benefit of the hospitality property, for
example social media such as blogs,
• twitter and RSS feeds if they can be used appropriately.
• Think creatively to come up with exciting new campaigns
• Own a driver’s license and a vehicle

V. SUMMARY OF THE LESSON

In any business, a solid marketing strategy is critical to building a brand,

attracting new customers and maintaining loyalty. The hospitality industry is no
different. Because customer loyalty is key, marketing managers and executives
devote a lot of time and resources to building brand awareness and creating
ongoing, interconnected campaigns. These marketing efforts usually include
both print and digital collateral that target former guests while also attracting
new clientele. However, this particular industry has a unique set of challenges
that must be overcome. Understanding the importance of marketing in the
hospitality industry can help you get ahead and stand out in the competitive job
market.

THE BASICS

Hospitality sales are different from consumer goods sales because

marketers must sell tangible as well as intangible products. In many cases this
means that they are marketing services rather than goods, and success hinges
on creating the right feeling in the consumer. For example, a resort will want to
cultivate a relaxing, fun atmosphere that is recognizable to customers and
inspires those same feelings in the consumer.

Because the hospitality industry is mostly made up of tourism and other

experiential services, a consistent brand identity is also very important.
Marketers want to ensure that brand recognition exists so that customers will
use their services again and again. Repeat customers bring in a sizeable
portion of revenue, so marketing strategy must be split between maintaining
relationships with past customers while seeking out new ones.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Companies in the hospitality industry use various methods to develop and

maintain an effective marketing plan. The following are some of the general
strategies that marketers use for brand success.

RESEARCH

Customers choose hotels and other hospitality services for a variety of

reasons. From location to facilities and perks, companies have to be sure that
they’re providing what buyers are looking for. The role of marketers is to identify

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 what factors make customers choose a particular hospitality service, and this
requires extensive research. By speaking to current and former guests,
monitoring customer reviews on websites, reviewing industry data and more,
marketing professionals learn what makes a hospitality service stand out, as
well as how it can be improved.

AWARENESS

If potential customers don’t know about a service, they can’t purchase it.
That’s where brand awareness comes in. Marketers make sure information on
hotels, resorts and restaurants is easy to find and up-to-date. They can do this
by buying ad space on relevant travel sites, creating an engaging website and
collaborating with other, noncompeting hospitality services in the same market.

PROMOTION

Another smart strategy for attracting customers is to run promotions during

certain times of the year, usually when business is slower. Introducing
incentives and offering incentives are just some of the ways that marketing
professionals achieve this. Have you purchased a Groupon for a spa weekend?
That’s promotion at work.

RELATIONSHIPS

To ensure high levels of repeat business, good customer relationships are

vital. Not only do repeat customers usually promote a service through word-of-
mouth and social media, but they also create a stable revenue base. One way
to build relationships is through customer loyalty programs, which reward
customers who regularly use a particular hospitality service.

VI. SELF-PROGRESS TEST/ACTIVITY

1. Define marketing and discuss its importance in the business

2. Discuss the purpose of digital marketing and explain the types of digital marketing

VII. ANSWER TO SELF-PROGRESS TEST/COMMENTS

The teacher will provide rubrics in marking the students’ work.

VIII. SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS/MATERIALS

https://youtu.be/vPo-WqkwVoY. Personalised Marketing by Nicole Martin

https://www.revfine.com/personalisation-marketing-hospitality-industry/.
5 Ways Personalisation Marketing Can Benefit the Hospitality Industry
https://www.revfine.com/voice-control-hospitality-industry/.
How Can Voice Control Benefit the Hospitality Industry?
https://youtu.be/bpR7xzr7ipM.Book Travel Products via Voice Search
https://youtu.be/wnveXGdJQOk.o Customer Experience in the
Hospitality Industry

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 https://youtu.be/Y84M_7AiJto. Restaurant Table Booking Chatbot
https://youtu.be/AsLTfcu72FY. Example Hotel Chatbot
https://youtu.be/Lyg73o8JHdA. 360 Virtual Tour for Holiday Inn Express
Adelaide
https://youtu.be/CLKvfaqTLEQ. The West Restaurant 360 VR Tour
https://youtu.be/uIo0Boy5dBY. Example User Generated Content for Hotels
https://youtu.be/wrwpfhpuBM4. Menu AR – menu of restaurants in AR
https://youtu.be/H_VxlcdP0Kk. Augmented Reality Within the Hotel Industry
https://youtu.be/q0mDLWqp4gI. Example W Hotel Barcelona Promotional
Trailer
https://youtu.be/tnuchchuCj4. What is Remarketing?
https://youtu.be/XDpwDwcXGoU. What is digital marketing?

IX. REFERENCES

Chibili, Michael N. et al. (2016). Modern Hotel Operations Management.

London : Routledge

https://www.revfine.com/hospitality-marketing/ Top 10 Latest Hospitality

Marketing Trends

https://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/develop-new-products-and-
services/. Developing new products and services

https://blog.hubspot.com/service/importance-customer-service. 10 Undeniable
Reasons Customer Service Is Important to Your Business

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-digital-marketing. The Who, What,

Why, & How of Digital Marketing

http://hospitalitystudy.eu/sales-marketing-manager/. Sales & Marketing

Manager

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