Northwestern Visayan Colleges

COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771

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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771

THE MARKETING PLAN

Objectives:

At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:

 Outline the parts of a marketing plan.

 Visualize how a marketing plan can be applied to tourism establishments.
 Create a simple marketing plan for a tourism.

INTRODUCTION

Let us begin with the end in mind.

The parts of the marketing plan will be briefly discussed in this chapter to show how all the marketing
concepts come together. There will be extensive discussions of the individual concepts in the
succeeding chapters. By the end of this book, you will have more than enough information to come up
with a marketing plan of your own for a chosen establishment.

A marketing plan serves as a practical, concise, and strategic tool for tourism practitioners on future
action plans that are carefully studied, taking into consideration the current status of the company and
external forces that may propel or hinder the growth of the business.

Having a marketing plan though does not guarantee sales, but employing a well-thought-out and well-
researched plan gives you a much better chance to capture a new market and build long-term
relationships. The right marketing plan identifies everything from (Lavinsky, 2013):

1. who your target customers are; to

2. how you will reach them; to
3. how you will retain your customers so that they repeatedly buy from you.

Many enterprises in the tourism industry are small- and medium-sized. Some small businesses have
great ideas on how they can market their services, but writing it and putting it into a concrete plan is
somehow tedious and unnecessary. However, to grow and sustain the business, a written marketing
plan should be seriously considered, as a business could move at a great speed but in the entirely
wrong direction. A written marketing plan will help consolidate ideas and suggestions to improve the
business. A marketing plan is important in any organization because it:

1. serves as a road map for all marketing activities of the firm;

2. aligns the marketing activities with the corporate strategic plan;
3. encourages marketing managers to review and objectively think through all steps in the
marketing process; and
4. assists the budgeting process to match resources with marketing objectives.

The marketing plan is a working document developed by hospitality and tourism establishments that
seriously want to grow their business in the forthcoming year. With the fast pace of changes in the
marketplace, mainly due to technological advancements, a yearly plan is recommended. Though long-
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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771
term plans may be drawn over a five-year or ten-year period, a marketing plan prepared yearly is ideal.
This annual plan is reviewed on a quarterly basis so that all stakeholders know where they stand by
comparing actual versus projected figures.

Shoemaker et al. (2007) state that there are three key elements to a successful marketing plan: (1) it is
workable, (2) it is realistic and flexible, and (3) it has measurable and achievable goals. The marketing
plan has to be simple and easy to execute. It should not be a bunch of uncoordinated and disconnected
activities. The goal is productivity and not just activity. Since the plan is subject to review to adapt to
changes in the marketplace, especially to respond to what the competition is doing, the plan has to be
stable yet flexible. Finally, it has to be achievable. A lot of companies end up frustrated because of
their grand plans. The marketing plan should take into consideration that goals need to be set high so
the company will stretch but not too high that employees will become frustrated. The company needs
to ensure that it has ample resources to achieve its goals.

THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The marketing plan starts with an executive summary. It is similar to the abstract of a research paper.
The goal of the executive summary is to give a brief and logical presentation of the contents of the
marketing plan. It is written with the top executives in mind. As top executives have limited time to
sift through the detailed plan, the executive summary provides adequate information that presents the
objectives, strategies, and budget of the company. It should be brief and simple using short sentences
and paragraphs. It is written with a "buy-in" strategy in mind. The summary should be convincing
enough for top executives to give the marketing team their support.

Introduction

1. Current Situation of the Company

The marketing plan begins with an introduction to the current situation of the company. It
discusses the existing product lines, current distribution system, and promotional strategies
implemented to reach its actual sales targets.

It then compares actual sales performance versus sales target. Percentages are used to analyze
the company's bottom line. Occupancy rates, average room rates, and all other profitability
measures will show how the company. performed in the previous year.

2. Environmental Factors

The external environment has an impact on the marketing success of the business. External
factors can cause the decline or increase of one's business. These factors may include tourism
promotions done by the local/regional/ national tourism office, development of airline routes
and infrastructure, new tourist attractions in the area, new convention centers being built, etc.
These external factors may positively or negatively affect one's business.

3. Competitive Analysis

Competition plays a big role in the success of a business. How a tourism establishment
responds to new players in the market and new strategies of existing markets will make an
impact on the firm's profitability. The marketing team must have a thorough knowledge of its

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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771
competitors and their activities. This will enable the company to know how to respond
accordingly.

4. Marketing Trends

Knowledge of marketing trends will help marketers plan out product development and
promotional strategies. How has traveler motivation changed in recent years? Do people still
prefer tour packages or have they moved to do-it-yourself tours with the advent of online
bookings? What's the impact of smartphones and social media on the dining choices of
individuals? Recently, buffet dining has been the trend for family celebrations. The presence
of Viking's, Yakimix, Buffet 101, and all these eat-all-you-can restaurants are changing
pricing and product strategies. Will fine dining restaurants become a thing of the past since
people prefer the value-for-money buffet? However, the COVID-19 pandemic has once again
changed the trends for dining and travel.

5. Market Potential

Business development strategies are created based on the market potential of certain products
and services. Creating new demand for an existing product may be tough but creating new
demand through the introduction of a new product may be an excellent way to gain profit.

Some hotels may have high occupancies during weekdays especially those that are in the
business districts. Demand for the weekends should be built and increased. How can marketers
develop the weekend market?

6. Marketing Research Findings

Some established hotel chains and restaurants employ market research firms to evaluate the
external market and identify business opportunities. Smaller firms who may not have the
resources to do this can actually look into market research findings available online or industry
trends published in research journals to get an idea of the external environment, competitive
analysis, marketing trends, and market information.

BACKGROUND OF THE PLAN

This section reveals the background of why the marketing plan should be created.

1. Property Needs Analysis

Instead of just simply identifying the problems encountered, this section looks into gaps
within the company's profit areas. A property needs analysis is an analysis of major profit
areas of the establishment to see where revenue can be maximized. Instead of just looking at
where to cut costs, a property needs analysis will reveal areas of neglect that could actually
generate profit if given attention.

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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771

2. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)

The usual SWOT analysis needs to be employed when making a marketing plan. The
marketing team should be able to verbalize its strengths and weaknesses (internal attributes
that can be controlled) as well as its opportunities and threats (external attributes that cannot
be controlled and whose effects can be either maximized or minimized).

3. Market Positioning Statement

In line with its corporate mission and goals, a marketing plan should have a positioning
statement of how it wants to differentiate itself and its positioning in the marketplace.
Everyone in the organization should know how the company would want to position itself.
Does it want to be on the high-end or low-cost market, leisure or corporate market, or other
such positioning choices?

OBJECTIVES

Objectives are goals that companies want to achieve within a certain period of time. They provide a
clear direction for the strategies, tactics, and activities that will be done. By writing them down, the
company is committing to using all its resources to achieve them.

Be careful, however, in coming up with objectives that are vague and immeasurable such as "to be
the best hotel in the region" or "to provide quality service to all our guests." Objectives need to have
the following qualities:

 Quantitative - expressed in monetary terms, units of measurements, time specific, and profit
margin specific
 SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound

TARGET MARKET

This section shall discuss the primary, secondary, and marginal accounts of the business. A brief
description of the demographics and psychographics of the market segments identified shall be
placed in this portion.

 Primary Market - Key Result Areas

 Secondary / Marginal Accounts
 New Accounts

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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771

MARKETING STRATEGIES

An overarching creative strategy can help put together the marketing strategies. Similar to how the
Philippines declares that "It's More Fun in the Philippines" and comes up with products, services,
and promotional tactics that revolve around the common theme of "fun," tourism products and
services, based on their positioning, image, and branding, can create a marketing slogan that would
summarize what the product or service is about.

1. Product Strategy. A discussion on the new products to be launched, innovations, or

upgrading of products and services is included in this section. This may also include new
packaging ideas, product bundles, and new product features or enhancements.

2. Pricing Strategy. A review of pricing objectives, pricing strategies, and possible

discounting schemes is covered in this section.

3. Promotional Mix. A presentation of promotional tools to be used to achieve the strategies

is the main content of this section. Marketers may propose a variety of advertising options,
sales promotional tools, public relations activities, direct mail campaigns, personal selling
techniques, and the like to meet the marketing objectives. A media plan on when and what
media channels will be used is also included. It is not necessary to use all the promotional
tools. Use only the tools that will help meet both the objectives of the plan and the
company's budget.

4. Distribution Strategy. This section should include the key intermediaries that will be
helpful in achieving the marketing objectives. It should carefully assess the current
distribution system and make recommendations on how best to maximize the product's
reach using different distribution channels and marketing intermediaries.

TIMETABLE

This section should include specific activities based on the identified marketing strategies, their
expected time of roll-out, duration, and person-in-charge. It can be in the form of a Gantt chart
which could be as simple as this:
Person-In-
Activity

Charge

Aug.

Nov.
Mar.

May

Dec.
Apr.
Feb.

Sep.

Oct.
Jun.
Jan.

Jul.

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 Northwestern Visayan Colleges
COLLEGE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
3rd Floor, THM Building, Pastrana Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan
Email Address: Thm@nvc.edu.ph | Telephone No.: 268-3771

BUDGET

The marketing budget is a numerical representation of the marketing commitment. Some companies
do not think of marketing as an investment, but rather, as an expense.

Companies with this mindset normally allocate very minimal resources to marketing. The budget is
a control mechanism that ensures that the marketing efforts yield the target revenue within a specific
period of time (Lumsdon 1997).

Items incorporated in the budget should include projected annual income (broken down on a monthly
basis to address seasonality) and the resources needed to implement the marketing plan. These
resources shall include all expense items for each marketing activity, manpower requirements, capital
expenditures, and other monetary support.

CONCLUSION

This is a short reiteration of the salient points of the marketing plan.

Outline of a Marketing Plan

Executive Summary

I. Introduction

II. Background of the Plan

III. Objectives

IV. Target Market

V. Marketing Strategies

1. Product
2. Price
3. Promotion
4. Distribution

VI. Timetable

VII. Budget

VIII. Conclusion