Introduction
The following is a new product development strategy and analysis that was designed by Zeng Research and Development Company. The company is developing hospitality management software for the hotels to enable easy execution of their services. The software name is the Easy Tour designed to improve tourists’ experience in the hospitality facilities. The Easy Tour software will make hotel management an exciting activity by having capabilities, which will simplify hotel management. The software has a ready market in the hotel industry all over the world. The details of the software, availability, as well as the viability of the target market, are discussed.
The product
The product is the Easy Tour management software designed to cater to the diverse needs of stakeholders in the hospitality industry to ensure that they receive maximum benefits from the industry. Much software for the hospitality industry is for the front office operations alone forcing the hotel industries to operate manually or have another form of software for the back-office operations. The software has the following features that make it popular.
The first one is that it has both front office and back office operations management capability. The front office capabilities are room selection, checking the status of the room whether it is occupied or vacant. In the back office with costly and time-consuming operations, the software can record accounts receivables as well as payables (Becker, 2003).
The software will have a guest relationship module to assist in relating to the guests. This capability enables the user to find loyal and regular guests. The software records the guests’ biodata such as date of birth, education, and status as well as health information making it easier to offer appropriate services to the guests. In guest management, the software allows the guests to give their feedback by filling a form. This enables the user to review feedback and obtain relevant information. Also, the software will incorporate payroll management capability to help users follow up on the payments, the date of issue, and any other payroll management service.
The software will include laundry management of the guests to ensure that they are attended immediately. The other feature is that the software will have a housekeeping module for easy scheduling of duties. The software will, therefore, be suitable for all hotel managers (Becker, 2003).
Place distribution
The software distribution will take place through the internet where the company will create a website for distributing it. However, traditional methods of distribution will still apply through electronic retailers especially those who deal with the software used in the hotel rooms.
Promotion
The promotion of the software will be through the internet because it is the most cost-effective way of reaching the potential customers who in this case are the hoteliers. Most of them have access to the internet searching for the destination of the clients. Target advertising for businesses will apply using mailing lists to reach potential customers. The hotel managers and major decision-makers will be the target of the promotions to ensure that they are aware of its presence. As part of the marketing strategy and creating awareness about Easy Tour software the company will select a few hotels, give them free software as a sample, and later use their testimonials to market the software. Personal selling will be part of promoting the product through a demonstration of how the software works.
The Software name is a brand indicating that touring the hotel will be easier with the software and for the manager it will be easier to operate the hotel. In promoting the product, the company will use Facebook as well as Search Engine Optimization (Becker, 2003).
Pricing
The enterprise resource planning software is usually costly and the small businesses cannot afford it. The pricing of the Easy Tour software will be in such a way that it is affordable even by the small hotels that operate as Small and Medium Enterprises. Most of the front office software for the hotel industry costs $300. However, with all the features and capabilities of the Easy Tour Software, it will cost $500, which is affordable. The advantages offered by the Easy Tour software make it costly.
The target market segmentation
The target market for this product will be hotels in the hospitality industry. The hotel industry has experienced a recession due to the global recession that made many people reduce their spending habits (Brown, 2008). With decreased revenues, the hotels must formulate cost-effective ways of operating their business. This will ensure that the costs incurred to operate a business are less than the revenue generated to make a profit.
The software could not have come at a better time than this because the demand is high. The software will enable the hoteliers to minimize spending, especially in management. With the software, most of the back-office operations require only one person to do all the work. The hotel will, therefore, reduce operating expenses because the employees required are few. The first target market will be the large hotels in the hospitality industry, as they will benefit a lot from the product (Brown, 2008).
The target market also includes Small and medium travel companies in the hotel industry as they may use the software to manage their operations. Since the target markets are businesses, the psychographics may not include personal data. However, the target market is any hotel with front and back-office services and it is interested in reducing the costs of operation. The target market will be global as the hotel industries are everywhere and the customers demand the services. The increased internet accessibility makes it possible for anyone to buy the software online from the market (Brown, 2008).
Conclusion
With the need to reduce costs of operation in the hotel industry, appropriate software technologies in handling the back office operations are necessary for promoting the performance of the industry. Incorporating technological advancements in the hotel industry will not only benefit the hotelier but also the guests accommodated by guaranteeing quality services. The customers will always use the services, which are of high quality regardless of the cost.
The development of Easy Tour software that incorporates all operations in the hotel makes it one of the cost-effective ways of reducing costs of operation. The multiple features of the software make it a distinct product. The capabilities of the software increase its perceived value such that its actual value will be lower compared to its features and capabilities. The development of the software will be a step forward for the industry.
References
Becker, M. (2003). Process management: A guide for the design of business processes. London: Oxford University Press.
Brown, C. (2008). Managing the next wave of enterprise systems: Leveraging lessons from ERP. MIS Quarterly Executive, 2(1).