The Hospitality Marketing Mix: Your Guide to 5-Star Results
The world has changed. We all know that. But have you considered how the changes have impacted your business?
If you're still using the same old marketing strategies that worked in 2020 and 2021, chances are they aren't working now. You need to embrace new technology and new ideas if you want your business to grow and thrive in 2023—and beyond.
In this blog, we'll look at The Marketing Mix for the Hospitality Industry, so that you can get up to speed with the very latest trends, no matter where you are in your career or how many years of experience you have under your belt!
The Theory of The Marketing Mix…
First of all, what is The Marketing Mix?
You've probably heard the term "Marketing Mix" before. But what does it mean, exactly?
The Marketing Mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to achieve its marketing goals in the target market environment. These tools include product, price, promotion, and place. These are also known as the 4ps. All of these components can be applied to everything in our Marketing Mix!
Why is The Marketing Mix important for the Hospitality Industry?
The Marketing Mix plays a HUGE role in your business marketing strategy…
It is the key to success when it comes to any business, but especially for those in the Hospitality Industry. Attracting new guests from all over the country – or even the world – and encouraging repeat customers is developing brand awareness through your marketing strategy.
• It helps with your budget and not overspend.
• It gives you an advantage over your competitors.
• Helps to make targeting and segmentation decisions.
• Gives a better understanding of your market operations
• Highlights key areas needed to be improved
Let's talk about how the 4p's apply to The Hospitality Industry!
Product
This is the P that starts it all! The product is the goods and/or services offered by your Hospitality Industry to your customers. This is what your customer ultimately cares about the most, so prioritising to make it consumer-ready and as good as it can be is vital for your business!
Your product/service could be the purchase of a hotel room, fitness center, pool, restaurants, concierge, housekeeping service, etc. You can't just sell anything and expect to do well. You need to be selling something that customers will want to buy, and that means offering something unique and better than competitors' products. For example, if you have a restaurant in your hotel, you might choose to offer an exceptional dining experience. You may want to focus on your great service. Or maybe you'll choose to go in a different direction altogether! Whatever you decide, make sure it's something that will help you stand out from the crowd.
Your goal in the Hospitality Industry is to provide customers with an enjoyable experience. Whether that enjoyment comes from eating a good meal, relaxing in a luxurious spa, or getting a good night's rest away from home, making sure each individual guest is taken care of is paramount.
You should always think about the following when creating your product/service:
Quality: Higher product quality makes everything else you do in marketing and sales so much easier.
Image: This refers to how people see your product, and this is what separates products.
Branding: Closely linked to “image”, this is the brand story you build around your product and how it incorporates with your wider brand image.
Features: The features of your product or service, which should place a heavy emphasis on USPs and benefits for your target customers.
Variants: The different versions of your product or service, who they target and how you differentiate them.
Price
Price is the amount your business charges your customers for its product or service!
The price you choose will typically depend on the kind of customer you’re trying to attract, and how you position yourself in the marketplace.
Importantly, you should never try to compete on price alone. When you focus on just being the “cheapest” brand, you can begin to lose profits very quickly.
This is because customers are willing to pay for more than just a cheap product or service—they want value for their money! The goal for your Hotel, Restaurant, or Spa, should be to provide this value by creating an experience that is worth paying for, rather than simply offering a cheap product or service.
A few points to consider when taking Price into account…
Demand-based pricing
In demand-based hotel pricing, hotels charge higher prices during peak seasons—think Christmas, and summer holidays —and lower prices during off-seasons.
There is a lot of data involved in this process: historical data on occupancy, revenue, room rates, average guest spend, and other valuable metrics; future forecasting reports; and more.
Understand Your Gross Profit Margin
For example, if you own a restaurant, your focus should be on your gross profit margin percentage. It's what you have left over after you've met all expenses directly related to selling your product (primarily cost of goods and direct labor).
Day of week (DOW) pricing
Can you pinpoint weekly travel patterns in your market? Do you have a high percentage of travel during the week? Do occupancy rates trend higher on Tuesdays than Wednesdays?
Promotion
Promotion is all of the ways you tell your customers about your products or services and how you then market and sell to them. This can include things such as advertising, direct marketing, and in-house promotional activities.
At this stage, it's important to think about what exactly makes your Hotel, Spa, or Restaurant unique, and how you can communicate that in a way that will appeal to your customers. If you're going for something more quirky or fun, then maybe a social media competition would be best. If you're more serious or professional, then maybe an article is the way to go. It all depends on what works best for you!
When you're thinking about your promotion strategy, it's important to remember that it's not just about getting more people to know about your brand. It's also about making sure that the customers who do know about your brand feel like they can trust you, and are excited about what you have to offer.
So for instance, if you want to get the word out that your Hotel has a great pool and spa, but you don't want people to think of it as a party spot, then maybe you should focus on articles that highlight the health benefits of swimming. Or if you want to show off a new service at your restaurant—like a new take on an old classic—then maybe write up some recipes that incorporate that dish into something totally new!
Why is Promotion so important?
-Builds brand awareness
-Creates interest
-Provides information
-Reinforces brand
-Stimulates demand
-Differentiate product/ Service
Place
Place refers to where your product or service will be sold!
It is important to ensure that the product/service is in the right place at the right time. Without proper product placement, customers are likely to look elsewhere for what they need or desire.
For example, restaurants tend to choose high-traffic areas close to shopping and other attractions. Some other variables that are part of the ‘place’ decision include the type of channel, location, assortments, coverage area, inventory, and transportation.
For your Hospitality business, your place could be…
Your website- For many cases, the primary channel for selling rooms, your restaurants tables, or Spa bookings is your own website. It is an excellent opportunity to communicate what is unique and special about your property!
Offline - Don’t overlook off-line channels! Similar to bookings coming from your website, offline channels, such as phone or email, allow you to set the tone of the end-to-end guest experience and maximize profitability. The key is to monitor these channels and be responsive to inquiries, especially if you have strong off-line production.
The location of your Hospitality Services…
When it comes to mastering the concept of hospitality marketing, location is critical. It’s not enough to just have fantastic entertainment, mouth-watering dishes, or incredible hotel rooms; you also need to have the right destination to sell your services/
Location can be a great way to define your brand and make sure that you stand out from the competition. Think about what you want your identity to be with your target audience and choose a place that defines you.
For example, if you want to be known as a place that is family-friendly and provides fun activities for kids and adults alike then maybe an amusement park would be a good option for you. On the other hand, if you want people to know that your establishment is upscale then perhaps a high-end restaurant would work better than any other type of venue.
