Introduction
A country’s tourism sector depends on its hospitality industry and business environmental factors. The hospitality industry involves services like lodging, food and drink, event planning, and travel and tourism. Marriott International Inc. is one of the most popular hospitality companies worldwide. With a story that began in 1927, the company has continually integrated technology and improved its services. Consequently, it has gained an excellent brand image in the hospitality industry. Unlike many hospitality firms, Marriott International targets business travelers and tourists visiting various destinations. Although its marketing strategy is effective, digitization can improve it to attract other organizations to team-building activities.
Company’s History and Products
History
Marriott International Inc. has an inspiring story dating back to 1927. Between 1927 and 1956, the company’s founders, J.Willard and Alice Marriot started a business during the Washington D.C’s mugging summer (Marriott International, 2019). The business was guided by a ‘good food and good services at a fair price’ philosophy. In 1957, the founders ventured into the hotel business and opened the first world motor hotel in Arlington, Virginia (Marriott International, 2019). Between 1986 and 2011, the company expanded by opening hotels in foreign countries and acquiring existing brands like The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. The firm operates in about 131 countries with more than 7000 properties (Marriott International, 2019). Therefore, the company’s expansion strategy has significantly boosted its global presence
Products and Services
Marriott International Inc.’s primary products are the hospitality services like lodging and resorts. The company divides its products into three parts: core, actual, and augmented amenities like resorts, lodging, and hotel (Marriott International, 2019). The services are associated with high-end hospitality facilities that are unique and meet the needs of persons in the upper economic class. Over time, the products have been modified from simple stand-off shops to eye-catching skyscrapers (Rosner et al., 2019). The firm’s product life cycle is at its maturity stage since it has integrated technology and modern architectural designs (Rosner et al., 2019). Marriott International has adopted digital advertisement as its marketing strategy, significantly improving its consumer base and profits. Marriott International Inc. is a reputable brand offering hospitality services advertised through digital platforms.
Target Market
Primary Market
The company targets customers in the tourism and hospitality industry. The primary target markets are corporate travelers and tourists visiting different attraction sites in various countries. The target market demographics include married couples celebrating their honeymoon and persons with lucrative incomes. The group’s psychographics includes people with high-end lifestyles and those working for reputable corporations. Most of the company’s target market is interested in enjoying other countries’ ambiance or visiting foreign countries for business purposes. Therefore, Marriott International offers deluxe services attracting people with a lucrative income.
Potential Market Segments
Comfortable hospitality services attract customers with different demographics, psychographics, and behaviors. The main demographic factors that the company may consider are social class and income. Meanwhile, the psychographic factor to consider is the traveling purposes: tourism or business. The market segment should include people who are active on digital platforms. The customers can be divided into three main categories: corporate, tourists, and over-the-road travelers. The corporate segment includes business persons and companies that conduct meetings and team-building activities at the hotel’s premises. The tourist segment includes all persons traveling for tourism purposes. Meanwhile, the over-the-road segment covers customers who seek lodging, food, and drink services from the company.
Consumer-Decision Making Process
Marriott International has integrated technology into its marketing activities. A dependable website containing information on various services depending on the hotel location and country is crucial to the business. The target market and other consumers are most interested in the prices, location, and ancillary services like the availability of internet connections and conference halls. Moreover, the consumers may be interested in the cuisine prepared in a particular hotel. Some consumers, especially tourists and luxury travelers, prefer the availability of transport services. The information on prices, location, and ancillary services help potential clients make purchase decisions.
Marriott International engages customers in decision-making by curating seamless and personalized services. They can book their accommodation with other hospitality services through the company’s website and the Marriott Bonvoy mobile application (Marriott International, 2019). The mobile app allows the consumer to go through the available hotel options, including rates. The corporation offers cancellation services that allow customers to cancel or reschedule their reserved accommodation (Marriott International, 2019). Most of the company’s clients are at the purchase decision level of the consumer decision process since they have all relevant information and are ready to buy its products or services. Technological interrogation makes it easy for Marriott International Inc.’s customers to make purchase decisions.
Recommendations
Product Decisions
Marriott International offers a wide range of hospitality services that attract customers interested in luxury. Although the current product decision strategy is good, the firm can improve its services in two ways: creating innovative services and developing new service lines. Innovative services can be enhanced through sustainability and adequate market research. Consequently, the company should collect consumer feedback and use the information to improve existing services and create new ones. Innovative and new services enhance a company’s service line by attacking many customers.
Pricing Decisions
Product price is crucial since it determines a company’s financial performance. The company has adopted a value-based pricing strategy attracting luxurious travelers only. However, the corporation can adopt a competitive pricing strategy that would allow the services to be sold at a price similar to its competitors. The approach would allow the company to attract consumers that favor the company’s competitors due to price differences. Moreover, the company could allow other modes of payment, including tourism insurance and payment in installments before visitations. A competitive pricing strategy and alternative payment modes would enable the company to attract more consumers.
Distribution and Promotional Decisions
The company’s distribution strategy is excellent since the hotels are located along the beaches, near highways, airports, and central market centers. However, the company could open more hotels near tourist attractions like parks and historical sites. Meanwhile, Marriott could use social media platforms and international events like the World Cup tournaments to promote its products and services. In addition, marketing influencers like top musicians and athletes could bring more customers on board. The company’s distribution and promotional strategies could be improved to attract clients.
Conclusion
Marriott International Inc. is a reputable hospitality company that started as a simple food store. The company expanded and acquired other brands to become a popular brand in the industry. Marriott International Inc. offers lodgings, resorts, and conference services. The primary company’s market target is people with high incomes. The targeted market can be segmented according to social class and visitation purposes. Although the company has dependable strategies, improving them could help boost its performance. Marriott International Inc.’s marketing strategy is effective and can be improved to create a loyal consumer base.
References
Marriott International. (2019). Our Story. Www.marriott.com; Marriott International. Web.
Rosner, J., Urdaneta, C., & Yepes, M. (2019). Marriott International: Exploring and Understanding Disruption in the Hospitality Industry in South Florida Jose Darsin. Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 11(1), 99-117. Web.