Introduction
Hosting a guest house in a small town requires a well-designed marketing strategy to attract guests and establish profitability. Marketing for the low-involvement buying process requires developing a marketing strategy that includes objectives. Objectives and strategy implementation steps should be accurate and easy to measure for performance.
Low-involvement Buying Process Objectives
Increase profit by 15%
This will be achieved by setting a price 5% below the market average to help clients make a quick decision based on price. Thus, it will help to achieve maximum occupancy and increase revenue. Another approach used will be strategic pricing to increase pricing efficiency. It will include differential and dynamic pricing strategies applied on booking websites and direct channels.
Promotional material targeting customers’ basic needs
This will be done through market research to understand the desired price and terms of placement. This will be done through end-of-stay surveys and questionnaires distributed via email. Therefore, in the promotional materials, it will be possible to initially mention details that are important for a prospective client, such as the presence of certain amenities, services, etc. In addition, understanding the basic needs will help to improve customer satisfaction.
Increase customer return rate by 5% and increase ROI
It always costs more to attract new customers than to return old ones. A loyalty program with cumulative discounts for repeat customers will help increase the percentage of returning customers living in the same guest house and therefore promote long-term relationships. This will reduce investments in advertising, increase the company’s or individual shareholders’ profit, and, accordingly, return on investment (ROI).
Innovation Process Model
When adding innovative solutions, it is required for marketing professionals ensure they are effective. The innovation process allows indicating the implementation steps (Kotler and Keller, 2012, p. 572). For the strategies of increasing profit and ROI through a loyalty program, prices below the market, and strategic pricing, the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) system will be developed, which will evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies. In addition, there will be a trial period that will show how promising the strategies are in actual use. In the case of market research to understand customer preferences and personalized recommendations, the indicator will be the level of customer satisfaction and the increase in sales during one month period. If the strategies do not prove to be effective, a revision will be necessary.
Opinion Leaders
So-called influencers can affect people’s opinions and drive sales. Thus, through people with a popular opinion, it is possible to make a PR campaign about the reduced price and the loyalty program. Their use can be moderately effective given the small town of the guest house location as the costs may be higher than revenue.
Word of Mouth Communications
Word of mouth promotion is an efficient strategy for a guest house in a small town, both online and offline. This can improve the reputation and create awareness so that the prospective client initially approaches the booking websites in order to find this particular guest house. Such a strategy can be implemented by provisioning a high level of service, which in parallel will increase the percentage of returning customers. In addition, word of mouth will affect the understanding of the needs of the clients, as there will be direct feedback.
In conclusion, for any type of product or service, including the hospitality business, it is possible to choose the correct marketing strategy that will be effective for sales. For a guest house in a small town, market research, as well as a loyalty program and special pricing strategies, will help build effective marketing. This type of promotion will bring results in the form of constant occupancy, profitability, and customer return.
Reference List
Kotler, P., and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management. 14th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall