Tactful Modern Marketing - Coursework Example

Tactful Modern Marketing Name Course Lecturer Date Executive Summary The advent of Internet has opened new modes of online marketing where most businesses have taken such worldwide platforms. Social media marketing represents new business model from the most expensive item to the least (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Business finds it important to listen to customers and keep up with demands. Today’s technological advancement has defined the way to do it based on customers’ interests. The move has promoted business survival and development from daily sales through opened up markets. For most business social media marketing has been a primary point of advertisement and marketing of their products and services. The social media create value through virtual worldwide market that brings the buyers and sellers together in transactions. Successful organizations have relied on customers contacted through social media platforms as their main sales and marketing team, product development force, merchandising and security department. Technology has allowed customers move to be traced which provide the business with important information about its customer. Conventional business organizations have to spend much money to know their customers and to persuade their feedback which is offered without charges online. The business has therefore to devote a team for this purpose and to double the selling activity. Business management must identify the key activities to be done and their coordination, conduct partner networks, avail critical resources and structure the cost of products. They must then lay a strategy for maintaining business-client relationship which they established and carry through their distribution channels to serve various client segments and obtain revenue flows. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Background 5 3.0 Aspects or Issues & Problems 6 4.0 Management 6 4.1 Resource management 6 4.2 Marketing time management 8 4.3 Human resource 8 5.0 The Strategy 9 5.1 Multimedia usage 10 5.2 Offline and online advertising integration 11 5.3 Message adaptation 11 5.4 Local Social Network 12 6.0 Conclusion 12 7.0 Recommendations 13 8.0 Implementation plan 14 References 15 1.0 Introduction The paper discusses the new marketing avenue in the social media and the process of creating and developing online business. As a new mode of marketing, social media marketing demand more efforts than the traditional methods. It will emphasize on the role of business entrepreneur to take all responsibilities in business and marketing management and development. According to Constantinides & Fountain (2008), it is a mandate to set a business plan which will provide guidance for marketing for the management. The plan will act as a model for better understanding of all business services, managerial team and financial needs. Combination of these requirements is vital to achieve both long-term and short-term marketing outcomes and results. Planning will allow the business marketing team to take responsibilities of risks and rewards. Marketing is strategic that without an effectively developed plan the sales and revenues stagnate and reduce which is harmful for business survival (Flint, 2004). The business plan will focus on the most critical concerns of social media marketing and show how it effectively evaluate the contribution of marketing to business success. The finished plan shall communicate the products as well as the plan which form the basis for financial proposal. Through the plan, it will be possible to identify the customers, market areas and aspects of competitive conditions. The analysis of social media marketing and the business recommendations will aid the decision making processes. It will also be used as an essential guide to operating a successful business; criteria for measuring business progress and specify the future direction for the business. 2.0 Background Comfort Hotel is an upscale hotel which is located in large city and a clientele with high expectations. Its urban location makes it a place for many senior executives, personalities in entertainments and sports. The hotel offers great menus, conference halls, fitness and golf clubs, jogging trail and high class accommodation. The quality standard is comparable to few other international hotels. There are expensive electronic and technological features which makes services quicker. Various guest find about our services through directories in the airports and ports terminus. Various others get through our long served customers who commend our services to new foreign visitors and international personalities like sportsmen, entertainers and business persons. Significant portion of customers are also contacted through the hotel website. The hotel has had major renovations which has improved the services through promotion of remote-accessed services. The trend has been to integrate technology advances in every progress of hotel services. It has been possible to serve the guests in the night at their rooms without one on one interaction with the hotel staff. Sensing technology has enabled the services through the fitted bars containing fresh products for customers use. However, the hotel has been full to capacity only during holidays and when there are major conferences in the city. Getting continuous customers is unpredictable and more so with untraceable marketing and advertisements methods. Most of guest with reputation freely interact with their fans and friend on social media platform. By launching and managing the marketing efforts on social media, it is possible to double the number of hotel guest, gain recognition and continuous flow of customers (Brown, 2003). 3.0 Aspects or Issues & Problems Making the marketing strategy work is an important consideration for the hotel. The marketing efforts must produce value. The first issue is on how the customers will be traced and gets relevant information about them. Resources in terms of financial support and personnel are very important to know those customers and ensure their feedback. The marketing management team will work on to make marketing a data driven strategy in order to measure and control it. To do this they require merchandising and marketing schemes as well as the tools for presentations of hotel services. As professional personnel they require to learn the ethos of social media marketing and the manner to deal with customers (Zhang, Prybutok & Strutton, 2007). The marketing on social media is tough and competitive and thus changes will be adopted according to demands through the set procedures. The strategy will confirm value for money as it will dynamically allow flexibility. This will be promoted by giving concise information to potential customers and hinting on hotel website where services are more elaborated. The trend will reduce the future follow up and marketing costs. To deal with intensive completion in the industry, collaboration of services will be vital. The role of hotel therefore requires the human resource, resources, integration strategy, timescale and procedures to accomplish an effective marketing online (Kiang, Raghu & Shang, 2000). 4.0 Management 4.1 Resource management The marketing will have an approved budget and the processes will ensure it is completed within it. Strategies for promotion, advertising, market segmentation, distributing and pricing of services will be core considered in the budget. The marketing task force will be involved in resource planning, cost estimation, cost budgeting and cost control (Hair, Bush & Ortinau, 2000). The outlined plan should identify the people, equipment and materials and specific qualities in each case to perform marketing activities. They will develop approximation of costs and resource need to compete those activities and allocate overall cost estimate to marketing activities and also control changes to the marketing budget. All these processes will interact with one another and through the effort of the marketing team. The cost will be directly related to the information needs of stakeholders and the expected outcomes. The profit margins, market share, financial analysis and visitors’ trend will be compared with the outcomes and objectives set at the beginning. A relative budget can implement and support day to day business operations. The conditions like operating capital, services marketing skills and close labor management will place the marketing strategy at lower cost than its competitors. To achieve a significant market penetration, the hotel marketing strength must be considered. The marketing strategy will employ low cost advertisements but which promote effective productivity. The cost will be intensified according to the experience of the enterprise in social marketing. The data available about the effective areas and categories of people contacted through social media marketing will direct further application of resources to intensify outputs. The hotel will develop ability to explain the most beneficial localities and advertising strategy (Mullins, Walker, Boyd & Harper, 2005). 4.2 Marketing time management This will involve the processes involved in marketing strategy to ensure timely delivery of marketing inputs. The major processes overview provided will detail the activities which are to be done and produce various deliverables. The activities will be matched to the need and time of the year and events within the city. This will place the most required services at the best time the customers are need for them. In the routine marketing, there is expected to have a comprehensive activity sequencing where activities are identified and interactivity documented. The marketing efforts will be structured to make them effective in the way they precede each other. As Wilson & Gilligan (2012) argues, the activity duration will be estimated where a number of placing ads and periods needed to for a placing it defined. The objective is to reduce over advertisement that may cause the marketing appear common and unappealing. The activities may be performed together for relatively short period or long ones depending on the number of resulting potential customers. Each activity will be directed to an explicit deliverable and within a relative amount of time to reduce time and resource wastage. Marketing will intensify in reference to geographical locations with possible customers at a particular time of the year like tourists, sportspersons and business executives. 4.3 Human resource According to Smith & Zook (2011), social media marketing has become sophisticated as business using it is dynamic and responsive to its varying needs. The hotel should ensure that it has key personnel who understand the way to create online communities through being presence and knowledge of the process. The team is critical to customer tracing, contact and giving tips to the hotel services and best offers for bulk customers. Professionalism and skills are highly expected as they will translate into business success and consideration of costs. The team will be at focal point of operation and report constantly to management about progress, challenges and expected outcomes. Through their work, the customers will then be communicated to evaluate the services and develop strong relationship which will deliver possibilities for return or recommendation to other customers. The team will balance the needs of the customers and the hotel expectations as representatives of the hotel. Through their mandate, they will suggest the most effective ways of marketing the hotel services and trace their results. They are responsible to initiate, plan execute, control and terminate marketing processes with regard to inputs, outputs and other service factors. A major function will be communication planning which will determine the information needs for the stakeholders, the time they need it and the manner in which it will be given. The risks identifies will be analyzed effectively and a planned response will ensure techniques and procedures of enhancing opportunities by reducing threats to marketing objectives (Thackeray, Neiger, Hanson & McKenzie, 2008). 5.0 The Strategy As Dibb, Simkin, Pride & Ferrell (2005) observes, creating a marketing strategy will be a process which will consider many factors. The most important factors will be chosen according to how they address unique needs and business considerations. However, the overall objective of every single strategy will be dependent on hotel readiness. As Juin (2000) argues, where market is attractive, there will be a need to invest the best resources to support proposition. Low marketing cost will translate into hotel profit by gong with the most effective strategy in the market. The marketing managers have a key role to ensure they listen to the customers by responding to their needs. Online support materials will be ensured to respond to customers’ communication needs. Efficient text and video chatting will effectively push the marketing to higher levels. The most effective strategies are described below with their comprehensive undertakings for the utmost outcomes. 5.1 Multimedia usage Pictures are worth of than thousands of words in advertising platforms. The hotel pictures, services, and videos are necessary information that must be considered for the customers to know what is on offer for them. The modes of creating these pictures and videos are easy and less costly for the hotel. Taking and covering conference or hotel events can highlight much of hotel culture and services. Consumers will then be satisfied and convinced of that the hotel is an upscale and service oriented. Videos will also explain related information lie transport and security inside and outside the hotel premises. These directions are most impactful compared to other articles or audio adverts. Good videos can be created and non-technically used by effective marketers. Multimedia therefore breaks the faceless business and promotes customer interaction and influx of sales and the hotel will appear open, friendlier and legitimate (Rust, Lemon & Zeithaml, 2004). Multimedia marketing will show the fun of hotel services, interactions with employees and the most important care given to the customers. For instance at YouTube it is possible to place such videos and attract thousands of viewers. The best thing about the social media marketing is data driven as statistics are recorded on viewers and comments are also made which may promote improvements and follow up. Those interested can be contacted through placing more videos about the hotel through their emails. The method is simple and effective (Scott, 2011). 5.2 Offline and online advertising integration As Safko (2010) argues, social media may extend the online tendency to other offline advertising like radio, cable and print. This can be done through the third parties in specific countries thought to be a good source of customers who do not use the social media services. They can advertise the services through the local or regional means. The target for this includes the business magazines, tour guides, transport manuals and radio that promote events around the hotel locations. Facebook ads are such photos that are set for conversion with simply downloading and pasting without affecting the original content and aspects. 5.3 Message adaptation As hotel becomes more sophisticated in the use of social media marketing, it will be possible to leverage the most online platforms. Instead of delivering similar messages across multiple platforms, it will be easier to tailor the communications to every individual site. A specific writing can spread easily on Facebook but fails on Twitter or FriendFeed. An understanding of different sites will impact on how messages are customized so as to ensure they perform on every site. It is also effective to reduce redundancy for user with multiple uses of platforms. The user may find it overly receiving multiple identical messages and communications. This maximizes the potential to communicate to such potential customers with different ways for the same purpose (Parry, 2001). 5.4 Local Social Network Local searches will promote a big win for the hotel. Placing adverts and making them visible to most local consumers who look for business in their working, living or nearest areas is very important. The hotel site can be made available in the local directories for the customers to access them when in need. The local networks are easily updatable both for the news for most customers who feels the business is interactive rather than passive (Peltier, Drago & Schibrowsky, 2003). Social media marketing brings interested people together and the networks expansion promotes trust. Engaging the local viewers and customers will build a strong support, loyalty and confidence to recommend the services to other like members both local and international. The customers and potential others can then be able o text and reserve for services in advance. 6.0 Conclusion Creating the basic social media marketing and presence is an easy task. However, getting the community engaged by essentially gaining their interest is something more difficult. There is therefore a need to take advantage of various strategies which help in building an effective online customer’s community. Efforts are thus vital to make marketing more effective. The business requires a developed schedule which analyzes the activity sequence, durations, and resource requirements in creating substantial marketing schedule. The schedule will become a point of reference in the consequent years and marketing efforts. It will also be flexible enough to accommodate control. Management support is core to ensure continued learning, experience and coordination of marketing and a tactical team should be mandated for marketing efforts. The team acts as a bridge between the business and customers where they respond to the needs in the organization and ensure long-lasting relationship and loyalty with customers by showing concerns. Marketing risks are contained through an engaging evaluation measures which allow timely response to make marketing strategies relevant to the market. A strategic marketing must therefore be integrated, planned, initiated, developed and changes according to the needs and the task require a competent team and resource supply. 7.0 Recommendations The marketing team will study, analyze and adopt social media marketing strategies that are effective for various places, clients and time (Kahn, et al, 2002). This will estimate the growth in hotel services demands. They will take benefits by looking at those businesses which have successfully used social media and gained benefits from implementation. This will help in avoiding massive investment risks and add more information on tactical marketing. They will develop a marketing plan or a model which explains the way marketing process will be managed taking into consideration the production levels and resources availability. The management will then use it to evaluate the outcomes and benefits of marketing and to trace the effectiveness of the plan inputs. The plan will be update after a period of time after frequent evaluations to ensure that appropriate marketing efforts are set in place (Hoffman & Fodor, 2010). The purpose for this is to avoid repeated mistakes and failures with the use of common plan and also make the team open for competitive marketing. Prioritize on most effective strategies, while adopting dynamic marketing in different times of the year, geographical locations and to different customers (Chaffey, et al, 2009). The goal for this is to reap maximum benefits from periodic events. 8.0 Implementation plan Item Implementation Frequency C cost Evaluation Remarks Multimedia usage Preparation of video clips; images of services, facilities, and launching on YouTube & Pinterest Analysis of viewers/ week & tracking them 440% of total cost Total viewers Feedback Effective Good Interventions Offline and online advertising integration Uploading photos on Facebook Customers networking Offline advertisements through print (international) Likes & comments Customer calls & responses 225% Effective markets Networking rates Productivity Message adaptation Different texts suited for different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) Twice/ month 220% Responses Comments Feedback Improvements Dynamism Intervention Local Social Network Posting to major organization, executives and potential local customer. Establishing connection through current customers. Promotion for frequent customers Maximum tracking and follow up 115% Consistency of local customers Extended recommendations Customers participation Loyalty Improvements Feasibility Effectiveness References Brown, M. T. (2003). An analysis on online marketing in the sport industry: User activity, communication objectives, and perceived benefits. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12(1), 48-55. Chaffey, D., et al. (2009). Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Prentice Hall. Constantinides, E., & Fountain, S. J. (2008). Web 2.0: Conceptual foundations and marketing issues. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 9(3), 231-244. Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2005). Marketing: Concepts and strategies (p. 850). Houghton Mifflin. Flint, D. J. (2004). Strategic marketing in global supply chains: four challenges. Industrial Marketing Management, 33(1), 45-50. Hair, J. F., Bush, R. P., & Ortinau, D. J. (2000). 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