Integrated Marketing Communications Chains -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Integrated Marketing Communications Chains? Answer: Introduction The tourism industry contributes towards a significant portion of the economy of the economy of a country. The current study explores the potential market for the Australia based cosmopolitan motel. It has been seen that the motel is frequented by business class as well as tourists. Therefore, developing a clear picture regarding the Australian tourists industry can help in the development of the marketing plan. The report explores the different aspects of marketing in order to develop a promotion plan for the cosmopolitan motel. In this respect the aspect of digital communication had also be taken into consideration for promotion and marketing of the cosmopolitan motel. Background The current assignment focuses on the management and marketing methods adopted by the cosmopolitan Motel and serviced apartments. It is located centrally in the Rockhampton and situated over the Corner Albert and Bolsover streets. It aims at providing the best in class hospitality and accommodation services. Some of the competitors of cosmopolitan motel are- Glen more palms, Best western cattle city, Golden fountain motel etc. The target customers of the cosmopolitan motel are the ones on vacation as well the business classes ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The cosmopolitan motel has been rated as a top rated beachfront motel in rockhampton. The goal is to design effective plans and marketing strategy for adding more value to the cosmopolitan motels. It could be used for maximizing the profit earning capacity of the cosmopolitan motels compared to its competitors. In the year 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has published a Tourism satellite account (TSA) which studies in-depth regarding the tourism industry of Australia. The TSA estimates the contribution of the tourism to the economy by calculating individual areas that if frequented by the visitors ("Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework - OECD", 2018). The TSA defines a tourist as anyone who has been travelling to a region for a period of less than a year and which is outside of their normal geographical location. As per the TSA data the output from tourism was around $ 34 billion in 2010, which 2.6 percent of Australias GDP ("Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework - OECD", 2018). On the contrary the GDP contributed from domestic tourism has considerably fallen. This is because there has been a remarkable shift within the Australian citizens of travelling abroad, which accounts to almost a sharp rise of 12% ("Searching: Aust ralian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018). Therefore, the Australian tourism sector banks heavily on the international tourists. As per the reports published by ABS in the year 2010-2011, 45% of total tourism expenditure was undertaken in regional areas ("Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018). Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels can consider expanding its branches to the important cultural and regional centres in order to attract maximum customers. Research methods A qualitative research method has been used for analysing the current position of the cosmopolitan motel. The consumers have been interviewed regarding the services and facilities offered by the cosmopolitan motel. The survey and competitor analysis highlighted the cosmopolitan motel to be a five star motel ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The survey had been conducted with respect to the quarterly census of accommodation establishments established by the ABS which is known as the Survey of tourist accommodation ("Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au)", 2018). It laid down the criteria based upon which the motels or services apartments are rated. In the current report a five P analysis have been conducted in order to gather sufficient information regarding the target market, customer value and competitors value proposition. Attributes Factors Product The hotel has 38 guestrooms along with pool and barbeque grills. The location of the hotel is at the heart of the rockhampton which allows frequent visits by the tourists. The licensed restaurants of the cosmopolitan motels ensures that only fresh cooked foods are made available to the customers ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The motel rooms are air conditioned along with tea coffee making facilities. There is free Wi-Fi made available in each and every room. The undercover parking facilities are well approved by the customers ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). Healthy breakfast made available to the guests. Price The rooms are available as single, twin share, triple share. However, the price of booking a single motel bedroom for overnight starts at 107 Australian dollars which is cost effective compared to its competitors ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The budget allocation should be done based upon the sustainability parameters. A significant portion of the motel budget is contributed by the annual Revenue per available room (RevPAR) Therefore, lowering the prices of the rooms can generate negative RevPAR. Promotion The fall in the rates of domestic customers calls for advanced promotional strategies over social networking sites such as facebook and twitter along with hotel booking sites such as wotif, agoda etc . The motel can offer seasonal discounts along with organising special events such as musical night and fun games during special occasions such as Christmas and new years. Digital communications media could be used for promotion of services provided by the motels such as hosting a specific facebook business page for the motel to attract maximum customer attention as well as pasting links of the events and seasonal discounts offered in the e-mails which are sent to the priority clients (Chiu,Wang, Fang Huang, 2014). Additionally, sending personalised text messages to the customer group of the motels can help in developing affective bonds with the customers along with promotion of the events organized by the motels. Place The place or location of the motel is of utmost importance in attracting the maximum number of customers. Here, the cosmopolitan motel is located at the centre of rockhampton which is a preferable location in terms of travelling. The motel is located at a distance of maximum 20 minutes from some of the important cultural and community centres which significantly increases its customer value ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). It is located nearby to the airport making it easily accessible to the visitors. People The motel is mainly frequented by business class and tourist. The motel flaunts large dining halls which can be used for conducting business meetings ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). The tourists visiting the place are from different ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, respecting their culture in terms of providing special discounts during festivals and events can be a tourist attractor. Table 1: 5 P analysis (Source: author) Attributes Cost Flooring and roofing of the rooms 0.5 million Australian dollars Installing of equipments and furniture 0.75 million Australian dollars Car parking an adding banquet features 1.5 million Australian dollars IT installation 2.3 million Australian dollars Table 2: budget allocation for cosmopolitan hotel Source: ("About Us | cosmopolitanmotel", 2018). In this respect, a value proposition could be designed for the cosmopolitan motel based on its unique range of products and services. As mentioned by Baum (2016), the value proposition of a hotel is one of the most important conversion factors. The value proposition could be explained with the help of a simple Venn diagram, where the services offered by the motel should lie at the centre. As commented by Covin, Garrett, Kuratko Shepherd (2015), the value proposition of a motel should be suggested in a manner which makes it different than some of its competitors. A value proposition could be suggested for the cosmopolitan motel in four easy steps such as: Designing a great headline Using strong promotional strategies such as use of digital media for reaching out to the diverse groups of customers Advertising regarding the unique and tailor-made services as per the requirements of the guests using online social networking sites as promotion through company websites. Measuring the affectivity of the value proposition on a timely basis Current value analysis The average value of rooms offered by the cosmopolitan hotel which has been successful in attracting the large base of customers that the motel get could be referred to as the current value attached with the brand (Carlson, OCass Ahrholdt, 2015). One of the key features of the cosmopolitan motel which provides it with a competitive advantage in comparison to some of its similar market players is the low prices of the rooms. Therefore, based on the fact that the motel particularly attracts the business classes; the brand value associated with the motel needs to be enhanced. However, as argued by Covin, Garrett, Kuratko Shepherd (2015), the brand value differs with individual customer perception and value. As mentioned by Hudson Hudson (2017), perceived value can be seen as a complex construct, where the difference of opinion forms the major perspective of thinking. The customer perceived value can be explained as the differences between the perception of the customer regarding the benefits and costs associated with a product when compared to others (Wang, Wang, Chung Chung, 2015). The perceived value is explained in terms of relationship between the customers and the products. It is measured in terms of the benefits the customer gets in turn of the money they have spent on certain services and products. It can be summed as an overall assessment of the utility of a product/ service, based on what is given and what is offered?. The customers perceived value could be described in four different ways: 1. Low price, 2. Requirements of the customers withi n a product 3. Quality offered worth the price, 4. What is got for what is given?. A number of theories and models could be used in order to explain the customers perceived value such as the value hierarchy model, proposed by woodwurf. It could be divided into three hierarchy levels such as desired attributes, desired consequences, desired goal or purposes. Under this theory the customer may develop a relation with the products or services based upon their goals or purposes. On the contrary, the customer may think the product to be attributes which may facilitate them in achieving the stated goals or objectives. For example, some of the customers visiting the cosmopolitan motel may like to revisit it owing to enhanced services offered by the motel. On the contrary, some may like to visit the motel owing to its feasible location which makes travelling to different parts of the region an easier and convenient option for them. The dynamic concept of perceived value proposed by woodruff has been successful in explaining the complexity of perceived value. However as arg ued by Covin et al. (2015), the model fails to explain the different components or elements of perceived value. The model also fails to explain the preference attributes which contributes to customer value as well the consequences desired Similarly, the Utilitarian and hedonic model could also be used to explain the customer perceived value. The model states the customer preference for a product or service is not just governed based on their utilities or requirements (Dillon, 2016). However as argued by Hudson Hudson (2017), the preference of a customer for specific services is also governed by the feelings or experiences one have received from those services. The customer perceived value can be divided into a number of components such as functional value, monetary value, social value and emotional value. As commented by Kandampully, Zhang Bilgihan (2015), the values are defined as the eyes of the customer. The functional value is the fixed market rate for the products or services based upon the special features. The monetary value refers to the price paid which is relative of the services provided (Robinson et al., 2016). The social value refers to the impression created regarding the products or services in front of the public eye (Ruhanen, Whitford McLennan, 2015). The psychological value refers to the factors which develops a positive feeling within the customers regarding the services based on past experiences. These factors together combine to offer utmost customer satisfaction based upon which the services offered by the cosmopolitan motel. In this respect, availability of cost effective rooms, better ratings provided by the customers as well as overall satisfaction rates of services are some of the features which help in promoting a positive customer perceived value (Law, Leung, Lo, Leung Fong, 2015). The digital communication modes can be used in order to promote the social value associated with the services of the cosmopolitan motels and serviced apartments. The customer satisfaction data can be used for online promotions which help in attracting more customers, which could be achieved by conducting online polls. Marketing promotion plan In order to expand the business of the cosmopolitan motels there is a need to plan the marketing promotional strategies effectively. Some of the tools of marketing have been used over here for effective brand positioning and promotion of the cosmopolitan motels such as porters five forces analysis, brand value and positioning analysis. Porters five forces analysis The porters five forces of analysis can be divided into a number of specific components such as bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threats of substitutes, threat of new entrants and rivalry among existing firms. It helps in analysing the competitive advantage of a specific firm over others. Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers forms one of the crucial components of motel industry. It could be referred to as the convincing power of a buyer to lower the prices of a room by negotiation. However as argued by E. Dobbs (2014), the lowering the prices of a room as a result of negotiation between customers and the motel staffs could generate negative RevPAR. This could in turn affect the gross profitability ratios of the motel. Therefore, in order to cope up with the demand of the buyers the motel staffs have be given effective training which helps them in negotiating effectively with the customers. Bargaining power of suppliers The cosmopolitan motel provides a range of services and solutions under the same roof. In addition to the availability of rooms they run their own restaurant, bar and lounge. They also offer free wi-fi along with premium services in rooms. In order to provide so many services at the same time they need a definite chain of suppliers. However, the cosmopolitan motels and serviced apartments maintain a cordial relationship with their supplier bases (Eid, 2015). This helps in coping up with the unnecessary rise in the prices of the raw materials. Threats of substitutes and entry of new firms The cosmopolitan motel and serviced apartments faced stiff competition from some of its similar market players as glen more palms, golden fountain motel. The changing market dynamics along with greater customer demands requires improvisation in services (Chiu et al., 2014). In order to gain a competitive advantage the fellow competitors of the cosmopolitan motels are also drastically reducing the prices of their rooms and services. Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels need to build upon some of the specific features offered by it such as super quality food long with premium hospitality services (Law et al., 2015). Rivalry among existing firms There is cut throat competition amongst the existing firms within the same industry. As commented by Payne Frow (2014), effective digital communications serves as an important component of the red ocean marketing strategy. Additionally, promotions through social media and online versions of newspapers can be effective. Brand value chain analysis: Attributes Factors Motel infrastructure Hierarchical organizational structure ; state of the art facilities Human resource management Effective staff training and development programs; High level of commitment from management Technology development Extensive use of digital media for communication processes in business development Procurement Long strategic relationship with suppliers Table 3: brand value chain analysis for cosmopolitan motel (Source: Pizam et al., 2016) Brand positioning analysis Motels Customer satisfaction rate Annual revpar cosmopolitan motels 89% 8.5 million glen more palms 68% 6.5 million golden fountain motel 73% 7.3 million Table 4: brand positioning analysis Figure 5: graph showing brand positioning analysis Conclusion There has been rampant growth within the tourism industry of countries such as china and India. On top of that the domestic tourism market of Australia is falling which strongly affects the profits earned by the hospitality industries. Therefore, the cosmopolitan motels and serviced apartments need to bank upon digital communications means and processes for reaching out to a wider lot of customers including the domestic and the international markets. Additionally, raining the quality of the products and services can also help in the development of a competitive advantage. Moreover, effective market expansion strategies could also be developed in order to attract the customers. References About Us | cosmopolitanmotel. (2018). Cosmopolitanmotel.com. Retrieved 17 January 2018, from https://www.cosmopolitanmotel.com/about.shtml Baum, T. (Ed.). (2016).Human resource issues in international tourism. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 150-236. Carlson, J., OCass, A., Ahrholdt, D. (2015). Assessing customers perceived value of the online channel of multichannel retailers: A two country examination.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,27, 90-102. Chiu, C. M., Wang, E. T., Fang, Y. H., Huang, H. Y. (2014). Understanding customers' repeat purchase intentions in B2C e?commerce: the roles of utilitarian value, hedonic value and perceived risk.Information Systems Journal,24(1), 85-114. Covin, J. G., Garrett, R. P., Kuratko, D. F., Shepherd, D. A. (2015). Value proposition evolution and the performance of internal corporate ventures.Journal of Business Venturing,30(5), 749-774. Dillon, B. (2016). Marketing Travel to Millennials: Is Social Media the Ticket?, pp.58-65. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), 32-45. Eid, R. (2015). Integrating Muslim customer perceived value, satisfaction, loyalty and retention in the tourism industry: An empirical study.International Journal of Tourism Research,17(3), 249-260. Hudson, S., Hudson, L. (2017).Marketing for Tourism, Hospitality Events: A Global Digital Approach. London: SAGE, pp.269-321. Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., Bilgihan, A. (2015). Customer loyalty: a review and future directions with a special focus on the hospitality industry.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,27(3), 379-414. Law, R., Leung, R., Lo, A., Leung, D., Fong, L. H. N. (2015). Distribution channel in hospitality and tourism: Revisiting disintermediation from the perspectives of hotels and travel agencies.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,27(3), 431-452. Payne, A., Frow, P. (2014). Deconstructing the value proposition of an innovation exemplar.European Journal of Marketing,48(1/2), 237-270. Pizam, A., Pizam, A., Shapoval, V., Shapoval, V., Ellis, T., Ellis, T. (2016). Customer satisfaction and its measurement in hospitality enterprises: a revisit and update.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,28(1), 2-35. Robinson, R. N., Robinson, R. N., Kralj, A., Kralj, A., Solnet, D. J., Solnet, D. J., ... Callan, V. J. (2016). Attitudinal similarities and differences of hotel frontline occupations.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,28(5), 1051-1072. Ruhanen, L., Whitford, M., McLennan, C. L. (2015). Indigenous tourism in Australia: Time for a reality check.Tourism Management,48, 73-83. Searching: Australian Bureau of Statistics (www.abs.gov.au). (2018). Search.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 17 January 2018, from https://search.abs.gov.au/s/search.html?query=motel+industry+in+australiacollection=absform=simpleprofile=_default Seric, M., Gil-Saura, I., Ruiz-Molina, M. E. (2014). How can integrated marketing communications and advanced technology influence the creation of customer-based brand equity? Evidence from the hospitality industry.International Journal of Hospitality Management,39, 144-156. Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework - OECD. (2018). Oecd.org. Retrieved 17 January 2018, from https://www.oecd.org/cfe/tourism/tourismsatelliteaccountrecommendedmethodologicalframework.htm Tsai, Y. L., Dev, C. S., Chintagunta, P. (2015). Whats in a brand name? Assessing the impact of rebranding in the hospitality industry.Journal of Marketing Research,52(6), 865-878. Wang, C. Y., Miao, L., Mattila, A. S. (2015). Customer responses to intercultural communication accommodation strategies in hospitality service encounters.International Journal of Hospitality Management,51, 96-104. Wang, Y. C., Wang, Y. C., Chung, Y., Chung, Y. (2015). Hotel brand portfolio strategy.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,27(4), 561-584. Yoo, I. Y., Lee, T. (2016). Multicultural competence and job embeddedness of foreign employees in hotels: A comparison research between Australia and Japan.CAUTHE 2016: The Changing Landscape of Tourism and Hospitality: The Impact of Emerging Markets and Emerging Destinations, 919. Zhechev, V. (2016). Integrated marketing communications of hotel chains.The Routledge Handbook of Hotel Chain Management, 274.