Assignment

Marketing
What is marketing? Kotler and Keller (2006) defines it as identification and meeting of human wants and social needs profitably. A marketing oriented organization gives adequate preference to marketing in order to focus on the needs of the customer and to attain profit maximisation. Marketing is done by surveys, researches, campaigns and suggestion/complains boxes, etc. (Mc Alistair & Pessimister, 1982). The main features of marketing oriented organizations are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Pay preference to marketing Stay close to customers Ahead of their competitors Decisions are made keeping customer in mind. Policies and structures are simple. Marketing strategies are flexible and long term.

Lets have a look at the few market oriented businesses; Apple, Nike, McDonalds etc. These companies have achieved world fame by constantly monitoring their markets and then adjusting their marketing mix ( 4Ps). They know they consumers are not only buying their core products but also the value associated with those products e.g. design, convenience and status etc. They tactfully use the rational and emotional aspects to influence a purchase decision. On the other hand non-marketing companies are good at producing a quality core product but never appreciate the motivational factors of the consumers. That is why they are usually driven out of the market when faced with competition. Armstrong and Kotler (2009) explains two folds of marketing 1. 2. To attract new customers by giving them superior value To keep and grow our present customers by delivering satisfaction.

Park Plaza Hotels Europe PPHE Group:

Introduction:
Our primary activities are owning, leasing, developing, operating and franchising full service upscale and lifestyle hotels in major getaway cities and regional centres more in Europe than the rest of the world. The majority of the Hotels operate under two distinct brands Park Plaza Hotel and Resorts and Artotel. PPHE have exclusive licence from Carlson hospitality and travel company to develop and operate Park Plaza hotel in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Artotel brand is fully owned by PPHE Hotel group.

About Carlson Rezidor:

The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the worlds largest and most dynamic hotel companies. It has a fantastic portfolio of 1,319 hotels in operation and under development, a global footprint covering 81 countries and territories and a powerful set of global brands: Radisson Blue, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and Hotel Missoni. With our long, successful history in global hospitality, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has a rich expertise across all key segments, all business models, plus a strong and expanding revenue generation capability. Our 80,000 inspiring people collectively deliver system-wide revenues of USD 7 billion. We aspire to be the number one hospitality company to work for and invest with. And we intend to grow the number of hotels in operation by at least 50 percentreaching more than 1,500 hotels in operation by 2015.

Key Strengths:
Powerful distribution and marketing Network through the partnership with Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Focus on expanding, luxury affordable market segment Multi Brand approach High quality portfolio with an attractive geographical spread. PPHE level of market orientation is very high due to the fact that it runs its marketing activities under one big umbrella. Using the market orientation check list (MARKOR) indicates the effectiveness of the organisation in all three dimensions. Intelligence Generation: 5.5 Intelligence dissemination: 5.8 Responsive ness: 6.55 PPHE group is very much marketing oriented organization. Hospitality due to its diversity of customers can only be successful, if its customers are satisfied and this is only possible by extensive marketing. This is also a very significant tool to stay ahead of your competition. Strategic Objectives
1 Improving overall performance through innovative marketing and revenue generation

Mission

Continue to focus on generating business through our own channels. Expand our on line foot print, develop new strategic alliance. 2 Improving our operational performance through better service quality Grow guest and employee satisfaction and loyalty through continuous monitoring and responding to customer feedback, tailored made culture and training program and launch of youniversity business school 3 Utilising our partnership with Carlson and promoting business and Continue to embrace all marketing revenue growth. through Carlson Partnership. 4 Driving revenue through our asset portfolio Successfully deliver renovation projects. 5 Improving our financial structure and performance Continue to grow our margins through our improved structure, asset management and cost effective management. All of the above strategic objectives and groups current achievements, business still need to expand and develop with the pace of the world and the growing need. There is a cut throat competition these days and hospitality

industry is not an exception. For us to keep up with the pace of the world and the hospitality industry PPHE group also needs to adapt the modern marketing strategy.

Concept and Process of Marketing

Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering, and exchanging products of value with others. Kotler, Philip (1997), Marketing Management, 9th Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Marketing ( Management) is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals American Marketing Association. Hospitality industry is a service sector where standard of services with satisfying prices play a key role to the industry. Therefore second definition of marketing is more appropriate.

Marketing Concepts
The marketing concept includes four important factors: (Korgaonkar & Wollin, 1999) Target market Customers need Integrated market Profitability

Target Market it is impossible for any organization to operate in every market and to satisfy the every need of every customer. Customer Needs The success of the marketing process depends that real needs of the customers are met and better than competitors. Integrated Marketing When different departments of an organization work together for the satisfaction of the customer e.g. Sales, F&B, Rooms division, HR etc. Profitability The ultimate goal for any organization is to make profit. The job of marketing managers is to keep a balance between the satisfaction of the customer and profit of the organization.

We at PPHE group use marketing activities: To specialize in regular market research To focus on marketing structure. To ensure delivery of excellent services To attract the customers attention To build a lasting relationship with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders

The micro and macro environmental factors influence our marketing decisions. Some of the macro influencers are: Demographic people make the market and their needs bring the business. i.e. Age, location, sex, size, race, occupation, etc. Economy Economic environment means the purchasing capacity of people and the pattern of expenses made by them.

Natural Availability of natural resources i.e. water and pollution free zone. PPHE is listed as environmentally friendly hotel group. Technology Marketing decision are based on modern technology and continuous updating of modern trends. Political National laws, local laws, government agencies and other pressure groups also play important role in influencing the business. Cultural Cultural values are very important and for making decisions for marketing the peoples views must be considered carefully.

Buying Behaviour
It is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires The buyer is considered as black box in the marketing world. In hospitality industry their behaviour influences the marketing strategy to a great extent. In case of need and urgency the buyer or the customer normally skips the need to search for information and evaluation and directly goes to purchase decision but in general a customer seeks relevant information before making a purchase (Thompson, 1998). The marketing strategy is influenced greatly by the buyers preference of quality service with better pricing. The hotel group must consider this behaviour of the buyer for planning strategy. Another behaviour of the buyer is to gather adequate information before any purchase and the sources of information are personal sources like friends, neighbours, family etc., commercial sources like sales personal, advertising, etc., public sources like radio, TV, newspaper, consumer organizations, magazines, etc. and experiential sources like using the product or services or sharing the experience with someone who has used it (Kotler, 2003). The hotel group must not overlook this behaviour of the buyer and plan a strategy which handles this behaviour of the buyer adequately.

Marketing Mix
Maintaining competitive advantage through product development Ensuring customer satisfaction through distribution system Pricing strategy reflecting corporate objectives and market conditions

Promotional activities
For achieving the corporate marketing objectives the PPHE group has opted for specific promotional activities. The hotel group provides special care, attention and services to the corporate world when the meetings, seminars and symposiums are organized at the hotel. Gifts are wonderful things. We love to give them, we love to receive them and most importantly gifts create a bond. Successful brands have always found ways to reward loyal customers. Today there is even greater incentive for brands to rewards their biggest influencers due to social media. A nice gift can go long way simply to say THANK YOU!

Marketing Mix
At PPHE Product, Price, Place and Promotion are combined together in a balanced and systematic way to constitute a marketing mix and to influence demand. PPHE hotel group has different marketing strategy to promote its products and services to organizations and consumers. Consumers are made aware about the products and services of the hotel group by surveys, market researches and advertisements in newspapers, TV, internet and many other mediums. Organizations are approached by promotional letters offering specialized services at discounted price.

Future Marketing planning:

Some of the areas PPHE will be concentrating in the next marketing plan

Mobile Marketing
keep it brief and simple Mobile site that will optimise for a variety of mobile devices. Social networking links to your website. Apps and deliver videos to mobiles. Mobile search engine optimisation. Un-Controlled usage of SMS will leave negative impact.

Digital Marketing and Social Media:

Digital marketing and social media will make or break your business in 2014. Social media and digital marketing are constantly changing, and that natural evolution is behind the biggest and most sinister problem facing the industry: proving a direct return on investment. Social media is modern day word of mouth marketing. It is as simple as that. It is about how business today interacts and builds strong relationship with their individual customers on social media. It is not about one to many people, but it is about one to one. More and more businesses are achieving higher excellence in marketing and its strategies to meet the customer demand and how they react to different brands. It is very hard to understand marketing for a wide range of people and according to (Kotler and Keller, 2006). It needs to include What products need to meet customer demands, The product category, What price ranges they need to fall in,

Conclusion
The process of identifying, anticipating and efficiently satisfying the needs of customers with profitability is called marketing. In other words it begins with the customers and ends with them. The objective of a marketer is to search for a well- knit marketing mix because it guarantees long sustainability. The market place is very heterogeneous and it is very important to identify the target market segments (Kelly & Hoffman, 1993). To be ahead of the competitors is another objective of the marketing and this can only be achieved if the target market is provided with the quality services at reasonable prices and the customers are satisfied. The PPHE group has been in the hospitability for a long time and has huge customer recognition but with time, the needs of the industry are changing and the group also needs to maintain the pace.