As you no doubt realise by now, the hospitality industry is incredibly competitive. In order to make your business, product or service stand out, a well-planned and effective marketing strategy is vital. Marketing plans need to not only focus on attracting new customers, but also create a strong brand reputation and retain existing customers.
A product marketing plan is a map for getting your product seen by as much of your target audience as possible and as effectively as possible. The marketing plan will build on the market research and analysis you have just done to deliver your message and allow you to track what works and what doesn’t work.
Creating a marketing plan is a multi-step process which takes you from your concept through to delivering it to your target audience and measuring its performance (MacNeil, 2024). This process includes these steps, which is a summary of the information here (click the link for examples and more detail):
Define your plan
To ensure your plan contains all the relevant components, ask yourself these questions:
- What resources do you need?
- What is the vision?
- What is the value?
- What is the goal?
- Who is your audience?
- What channels will you use?
- What is the timeline?
Market research
- Identify target market demographics, psychographics and behaviours.
- Identify market trends and customer needs and desires
- Competitor analysis
Identify the metrics for success
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator) metrics will help you to measure and track the performance of marketing activities.
- Using SMART goals will help to ensure marketing targets are unambiguous and quantifiable.
Value proposition
- Clearly articulate a value proposition which articulates the unique value your product offers.
- Determine how you want to position the product in the market place (Brand Positioning).
Marketing mix
- 8Ps of Marketing (we looked at this earlier in the programme):
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
- People
- Physical Evidence
- Processes
- Performance
Marketing budget
- Determine what costs are associated with marketing activities, which could include advertising costs, social media management, event costs and promotional materials.
- Allocate budget to the activities and prioritise high-impact strategies.
Implementation plan
- Create a detailed timeline for marketing activities and specify when and where each one will take place, who is responsible and expected outcomes.
- Break down each activity into actionable steps.
Monitoring and evaluation
- Continual evaluation: regularly track your KPIs to assess the effectiveness of marketing activities by evaluating sales data, website traffic and customer feedback.
- Adjust the plan: adjust strategies based on your evaluations.
(Adapted from Asana| Marketing Plan)
Marketing activities comprise many different types of component, and a combination of several of these should be used to create a powerful campaign plan. Some of the activity types include:
- Lead Generation: Strategies aimed at attracting and converting potential customers into leads through various marketing channels. Read more here
- Ads: Paid advertisements, including digital, print, and social media ads, designed to promote your product and reach a broader audience.
- Email: Targeted email campaigns to engage with leads and customers, nurture relationships, and promote offers or updates. Read more here.
- Content: Targeted email campaigns to engage with leads and customers, nurture relationships, and promote offers or updates. Read more here.
- Video: Use of video content, such as promotional videos, tutorials, and testimonials, to visually communicate your product's value and engage customers. Read about creating video for marketing campaigns here.
- Events: Hosting or participating in events like trade shows, webinars, or launch parties to promote your product and interact directly with your audience. Find out more about events for marketing here.
- Social Media: Leveraging social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to build brand awareness, engage with your audience, and promote your product. Explore how social media can help your marketing activities here.
- Website: A well-designed, user-friendly website that acts as the hub for your online presence, providing information, resources, and direct purchasing options for customers. Find out how to make your own website here.
- Product Marketing: Specific campaigns focused on promoting and positioning your product in the market, highlighting its features, benefits, and unique value. Read more about product marketing here.
- Public Relations (PR): Managing your brand’s image and reputation through media coverage, press releases, and building relationships with journalists. Find out more about public relations here.
- Analyst Relations: Engaging with industry analysts to ensure they understand your product and position it favourably in their reports and recommendations.
- Customer Marketing: Focusing on existing customers to encourage repeat business, loyalty, and advocacy through personalised offers and communication.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): Optimising your online content to rank higher in search engine results, increasing visibility and driving organic traffic to your website. Discover how to harness SEO to improve your online visibility here.
- Conversational Marketing: Using chatbots, messaging apps, and direct interactions to engage with customers in real-time, providing personalised experiences and support.
Now you have knowledge of the steps needed to create your marketing strategies, it’s time to plan the strategies you will employ for your own product or service.
The customer journey is a series of steps, starting with brand awareness before they are even a customer, and which eventually lead to a purchase and customer loyalty. This journey represents the entire process a customer goes through from their very first interaction with the brand through to post-purchase experiences. By mapping and analysing this journey, you can identify key touchpoints where marketing efforts would make a significant impact and ensure a seamless and positive experience for customers.
The Marketing Funnel
A marketing funnel is a process which guides potential customers through from their first interaction with a product to purchase. A commonly-used model for marketers is the AIDA model (Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action), which helps to create targeted strategies to move people through the stages (Ong, 2024).
- Awareness: when a potential customer first becomes aware of your brand, product or service
- Interest: when that person expresses an interest in the product or service
- Desire (aka Consideration): when that person evaluates your product or service
- Action (aka Conversion): when that potential customer becomes an actual customer.
Look at the information on this site, which includes more details and links to explanatory videos for each stage.
Watch
Video Title: The Customer Journey & the Marketing Funnel | Google Career Certificates
Watch Time: 3’38”
Video Summary: This brief video describes the stages of the customer journey and explains how it aligns with the marketing funnel.
Source: YouTube Channel: Google Career Certificates
Analysing the Customer Journey
- Awareness: The customer becomes aware of your product or brand through various channels such as social media, advertisements, or word of mouth.
- Consideration: The customer evaluates your product alongside competitors, considering features, pricing, and reviews.
- Decision: The customer decides to purchase your product, either online, via a third-party platform, or in-person.
- Experience: The customer interacts with your product or service, including the booking process, check-in, dining, or any other aspect of their experience.
- Post-Purchase: After using your product, the customer reflects on their experience, which may lead to reviews, repeat business, or referrals.
- Touchpoints: These are the interactions customers have with your brand at different stages of their journey. Common touchpoints in hospitality include your website, social media profiles, online reviews, customer service interactions, and in-person experiences.
- Digital Touchpoints: Examples include your social media posts, email communications, online ads, and SEO content. These touchpoints are crucial in the early stages of the journey.
- Physical Touchpoints: These occur during in-person interactions, such as at the hotel reception, during dining experiences, or through direct customer service.
- Customer Needs: At each stage of the journey, identify what customers are looking for. For example, during the Awareness stage, they may need information about your product, while during the Experience stage, they may seek convenience and comfort.
- Pain Points: Determine any obstacles or challenges that could hinder the customer journey. These could include difficult navigation on your website, slow response times from customer service, or poor in-person experiences. Identifying and addressing these pain points can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Surveys and Reviews: Collect feedback from customers through surveys, online reviews, and direct communication. This data can provide valuable insights into how customers perceive your brand and their overall experience.
- Social Listening: Monitor social media channels and online forums where customers discuss your product or service. Pay attention to both positive feedback and complaints to understand their expectations and experiences.
- Enhance Touchpoints: Based on your analysis, improve the key touchpoints in the customer journey. For example, if customers find your booking process complicated, consider simplifying the steps or providing clearer instructions.
- Personalisation: Tailor your marketing efforts to different stages of the customer journey. For example, use targeted ads to attract new customers during the Awareness stage and personalised emails to encourage repeat business during the Post-Purchase stage.
- Consistency: Ensure a consistent brand message and experience across all touchpoints. Whether a customer interacts with your brand online or in person, the experience should be cohesive and aligned with your brand values.
- Track Metrics: Use analytics tools to monitor how customers move through the journey and where they might drop off. Metrics such as conversion rates, customer satisfaction scores, and repeat business rates can help measure success.
- Continuous Improvement: The customer journey is not static. Regularly review and adjust your strategies based on feedback and performance data to keep up with evolving customer expectations.
Create a Customer Journey Map
A customer journey map is a visual representation of the steps the customer goes through when interacting a brand, product or service and highlights key touchpoints, emotions and actions at each stage of their journey. It is an essential tool to understand and improve the customer experience by identifying pain points, opportunities and areas where the business can enhance customer satisfaction and engagement. Read more about customer journey maps here, then create your own customer journey map for your new hospitality product or service.
You’ve reached the end of the learning material for this topic. Let’s recap the key points, and then make sure you’ve completed all the forum discussions and activities. Make sure you understand these topics and how to apply them to your new product or service.
- Creating a marketing plan
- Marketing components
- Developing a marketing strategy
- The customer journey
