Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably (Chartered Institute

of Marketing definition) Marketing is about finding out what your customers need or want, and providing it while making a profit. It is a process which underpins all of a companys activities. It is also a good idea to point out what marketing is not, i.e. marketing is not the same as selling, marketing is not just about advertising. Marketing and selling Marketing is not the same as selling, nor is it just about advertising. Advertising and selling are both important elements in the marketing process, but are not the only elements involved. Marketing is an essential core business cost, not an optional activity. It is not a luxury, to be afforded when your budget runs to it and discarded when it does not. When things are tough, thats usually the time to increase your marketing activities.(ASVA Visitor Attractions Marketing Guide) Marketing involves: 1. Taking stock of your business and analysing its strengths and weaknesses in the context of the business environment in which your business operates. 2. Finding out about your customers actual and potential and about their needs, wants, attitudes and expectations. 3. Responding to these, if necessary by changing or adapting what you provide or how you operate. 4. Setting realistic business objectives. 5. Promoting the business making sure the right messages get to the right people at the right time. 6. Continually monitoring and evaluating what and how well you are providing for your customers and the effectiveness of your marketing strategy in relation to your business objectives. Marketing is an ongoing process, not a one-off activity. It underpins all the activities of the business. Product orientation: Is essentially inward looking. Its focus is on the needs and operations of the business. Productoriented companies may place most emphasis on sales and advertising to persuade consumers that they need a product. Market orientation: Is essentially outward looking. Its focus is on the needs and expectations of the marketplace, i.e. the customer. Market-oriented companies may place more emphasis on market research and may produce or adapt products in line with what the customer wants. They will still use advertising and selling, but as tools to inform and persuade customers about a product which is tailored to their needs.

The marketing concept: Puts the customer at the centre of the companys activities. Marketing in Travel and Tourism The four Ps: the focus of marketing management decisions. 1. Product: this covers the shape or form of what is offered to prospective customers; in other words, the characteristics of the product as designed by management decisions. Product components include its basic design, such as the size and facilities of a hotel; presentation, which for service products is mainly a function of the atmosphere and environment created on the producers premises; the service element including numbers, training, attitudes and appearance of staff; branding, which identifies a particular product with a unique name; and image, which is a synthesis of all the product elements as well as the focus of promotional activity. In a modern marketing context, products in travel and tourism are designed for, and continuously adapted to match, target segments needs, expectations, and ability to pay. 2. Price: it denotes the published or negotiated terms of the exchange transaction for a product, between a producer aiming to achieve predetermined sales volume and revenue objectives, and prospective customers seeking to maximise their perceptions of value for money in the choices they make between alternative products. Almost invariably in travel and tourism there is a regular or standard price for a product, and one or more discounted or promotional prices reflecting the needs of particular segments of buyers, or particular market conditions such as seasonality. Setting the price too low can be just as damaging as making it too high. You may give out the wrong message about the quality of the product/service. People tend to be suspicious of products which seem too cheap. 3. Promotion: The most visible of the four Ps, promotion includes advertising, sales promotion, merchandising, sales force activities, brochure production and PR (public relations) activity. Promotional techniques are used to make prospective customers aware of products, whet their appetites, and stimulate demand. They also provide information to help customers decide, and generally provide incentives to purchase, either direct from a producer or through a distribution channel. The range of promotional techniques is so wide that the term promotional mix is frequently used in practice. It is important to appreciate the relationship between this P and the other three Ps to which it is integrally linked in the marketing process. However important and visible it is, promotion is still only one of the levers used to manage demand. It cannot be fully effective unless it is coordinated with the other three. 4. Place: For marketing purposes, place doesnt just mean the location of a tourist organisation or facility, but the location of all the points of sale which provide prospective customers with access to tourist products. For example, place for Disney World is not only Orlando, Florida, but also the numerous travel agents inside and outside the USA selling products which include Disney World admission. As a result of marketing decisions, prospective visitors to Florida can obtain promotional information and buy a range of products, which either include Disney

World admission, or make such visits probable in terms of vacation locations and motivation. Travel agents are, of course, only one of the ways in which place or access is created for Disney World customers, or indeed for most other products in travel and tourism. Finding out about your target market Good marketing is based on sound information about: (a) Your current customers (b) Those potential customers who at present do not come into your organisation. Gathering such information can be done in a number of ways, including: Desk research, using published information talking to people who have the sort of information you want conducting surveys, on- or off-site, into the backgrounds and opinions of existing or potential customers. Before thinking about how to collect this information, you must be clear about how you are going to use it. The main uses are in the following areas: Marketing strategy: targeting existing and potential customers most effectively can only be done if you know as much about them as possible Pricing: keeping track of reactions to the perceived value for money that you provide is an important element in pricing decisions Investment planning: making sure you provide appropriate facilities for your potential customers is crucial to attracting them to your organization. Your potential customers You need to have a clear view of the broad target market for your product/service. There are two factors involved: (a) What kinds of people are available to you? (b) What kinds of people do you want to attract? Gather as much information as you can about the primary target for your tourism business or organisation, including, for example, details such as their socio-economic characteristics. Customer surveys Conducting customer surveys is the most effective method of getting hard statistical data on your present customers, i.e. their characteristics and their opinions; but before you go to the time and trouble of conducting a survey, makes sure that you are going to use the results to inform your marketing/development strategy. In a travel agency it is very easy to obtain information about your actual and potential customers. Each time a customer makes an enquiry even if they dont follow through and book a holiday/flight etc, it is usual practice to ask for a name, address, and contact number and how much the person would like to spend, thus creating a rich database.

Market research Purpose To find out about: Your product/service and customer attitudes to it Your customers themselves Market trends Your competitors How effective your marketing is. Types: 1. Quantitative: provides statistical information in response to Who,What, Where, When, How type questions; e.g. numbers of customers, revenue generated from different ancillary products/services, the proportion of customers with children, the numbers of people who live outside the immediate area as distinct from local residents, how far customers travel to buy your product. 2. Qualitative: provides information about attitudes and opinions about your product in response to Why type questions, e.g. reasons/motivation for visiting a particular place or purchasing a particular product, opinions on value for money, likes and dislikes 3. Primary: direct from the marketplace, e.g. by customer survey, customer comments forms, observation, staff feedback 4. Secondary: secondary sources, e.g. internal records, research carried out for/by other organizations, e.g. Travel Trade National and Area Tourist Offices. Methods: Customer surveys and self-completion questionnaires Visitors books and customer comments forms Observation Feedback from frontline staff Focus groups Mystery shopper Desk research. Customer Service Aims: delighting not merely satisfying Benefits: Customer service is key to keeping ahead in an increasingly competitive marketplace where the products can be very similar Lower staff turnover higher morale and loyalty Lower absenteeism More satisfied customers = repeat business and recommendations

Advantages of a market-led approach Money is spent on developing products and services that people want rather than on sales promotions to persuade them to buy something that doesnt necessarily match t heir needs. Greater customer satisfaction leading to repeat business, higher turnover and more profit. By adopting an outward-looking approach businesses can respond quickly and appropriately to changes in the business environment and market trends. A good marketing plan: Sets clear, realistic and measurable targets for example, increasing visitor attendance by 10%; Includes deadlines for meeting targets; Provides a budget for each marketing activity; Specifies who is responsible for each activity. Poorly thought-out objectives will cause problems. For example, you might set a target for the number of new inquiries. But if none of these inquiries turn into actual visitation, you will have increased costs without any benefits. Make it Happen A plan will not happen by itself. You need to make someone responsible for monitoring progress and following up on overdue activities. Reviewing progress will also help you learn from your mistakes so that you can improve your plans for the future. Control As well as setting out the schedule, the plan needs to say how it will be controlled. You need an individual who takes responsibility for pushing things along. A good schedule and budget should make it easy to monitor progress. When things fall behind schedule or costs overrun, you need to be ready to do something about it and to adapt your plan accordingly. From time to time, you need to stand back and ask whether the plan is working. What can you learn from your mistakes and how can you use what you know to make a better plan for the future. Consolidation and/or extension exercises involve the application of marketing principles, using exemplars of marketing practice

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Genevieve McCabe (2005), MARKETING IN TR AVEL AND TOURISM: AN INTRODUCTION (HIGHER); First published 2005 Learning and Teaching Scotland 2005