Question:
Brief
The Sheraton Hotels has asked you to create a marketing plan.
These points should be taken into consideration:
-This plan should be based on this assignment. It should also include other sources of information such as business reports, books and websites, magazines, newspapers and other academic sources.
You must use academic concepts such as segmentation criteria and marketing mix.
When appropriate, you should use specific academic concepts in your assignment.
References should be used throughout the assignment.
-The use theoretical frameworks (SWOT analysis and Michael Porter’s five force), etc.
It must be applied in a practical manner to Sheraton Hotels’ situation analysis.
Answer:
Introduction: A structured and sequential marketing strategy is a set of activities designed to achieve specific marketing goals within a defined time frame.
A marketing plan is essential for identifying the preferences of customers and determining the company’s ability to meet their business needs (Hollensen, 2015).
Based on the identified market needs, the marketing plan determines the budget and business functions.
The structured marketing plan must also include the development of effective strategies to strengthen the business’ position in desired locations (Westwood 2016,).
This study will focus on Sheraton Hotel’s sequential and structured marketing plan for expanding the UK business.
This study will include the identification of the micro and macroenvironment, the internal market analysis and product segmentation.
The entire study will analyze the acceptance of products or services on the UK market, depending on the marketing objectives.
To understand how foreign markets can be served, the 7P’s marketing mix will be developed.
Background of Sheraton Hotel offers the finest hotel and resort services in over 70 countries.
It is committed to providing excellent quality accommodation services to customers from different countries.
Starwoodhotels.com 2017 states that the company makes frequent and repeated changes to improve the customer’s experience.
Notifying customers that Starwoodhotels.com 2017 has suggested some of the most successful deals in terms of merger and acquisition, strategic alliance and effective partnerships with other local and international hotels is important.
The company is currently trying to increase the UK business market by strengthening its brand identity (Rosenberg Hansen & Ferlie 2016).
This marketing plan is designed to help identify and maximize the potential of both internal and external businesses in order to achieve this goal.
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your business will help you understand the potential for global expansion in the UK market.
Further details are provided on the identification of the micro and macroenvironments.
PESTLE Analysis PESTLE analysis is a useful strategic tool that allows you to understand the country’s external market.
PESTLE refers to the influence of legal, economic, social and technological factors on business.
These factors can be used to provide insight into the business strategies that will help you expand your business in the global marketplace.
Analyzing the external market is further described in PESTLE Analysis. Political factors are essential to expand the business in another count.
The political instability of a place can have a significant impact on the merger business functions.
Recent terrorist attacks in London have reduced the number of tourists visiting the city.
The political situation in London may make it easier for Sheraton Hotel to succeed.
Economic Factors It is important to identify the economic structure of a country before establishing a business entity.
Recent turmoil in Europe could have a major impact on the business.
The financial crisis of 2007-2009 also reduced profits in the hotel sector (Bickhoff Hollensen, Opresnik 2014).
The economic crisis could have an impact on Sheraton Hotel’s position in the UK market.
The country’s economic structure is influenced by the UK hospitality industry.
It is a great thing to get involved in the community.
Sheraton Hotel offers the most exceptional customer experience in terms of providing superior hotel facilities (Rosenberg Hansen & Ferlie 2016,).
The company can benefit from the social influence in the UK market.
Technological Factors UK has a lot of technological advancements.
Foreign businesses find the improved technology and expanded internet channels very favorable (Ho 2014).
The company can establish a business entity in any country that has made technological advances.
Legal factors The constant changes in legislations could have a significant impact on your business.
Also, Brexit has significant effects.
Sheraton Hotel has seen a significant increase in business in the UK due to changes in tariff rates and employment laws.
Environmental Factors. It’s well-known that the hotel industry is notorious for polluting our environment.
The carbon emissions from hotels are significant.
Sheraton Hotel must consider both the corporate social responsibility and environmental welfare when expanding its business in the UK.
Table 1: PESTLE Analysis (Source : Ho 2014). Porter’s Five Forces Michael Porter created the marketing analytical tool that analyzes the company’s external market.
This analytical tool contains five dimensions that must be taken into account when expanding a country’s business market.
Below is the fiver force analysis of Sheraton Hotel UK: Figure 1: Porter’s Five Forces (Source : E. Dobbs (2014)) Bargaining Power of The Buyer (High). The UK’s hotel industry is contributing to its economic structure.
Customers are constantly looking for the best hotel experience (Rosenberg Hansen & Ferlie 2016).
The UK has a higher bargaining power than the US.
Low Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The availability of suppliers is therefore limited.
Sheraton Hotel will have the ability to choose the best suppliers to provide the best service to its customers.
The suppliers have a very low bargaining power.
High Threats of Substitutes
The constantly changing needs of customers is increasing the risk of substitutes and substitutions.
The UK is more vulnerable to substitutes.
Threats of New Entrants (Low). Establishment of a hotel in this broadly based industry is complicated by many issues related to the legislations, politics and capitalism factors.
Therefore, there are fewer threats from new entrants.
Sheraton Hotel has the ability to take advantage of this opportunity by investing in the capital necessary to set up the business entity.
Rivalry (High). Sheraton Hotel has been able to establish a UK business entity by leveraging direct competition from Hilton Hotel and Marriot (Vignali 2015).
To compete in this highly competitive market, it is important to make use of all technological advances and provide additional value-added services.
Hotel competitors are therefore more fierce.
Internal Market Analysis Sheraton Hotel’s value chain analysis provides valuable insights into the internal market.
Three factors are the core of the business’s core value.
Figure 2: Value Chain Analysis The company has focused on the core competencies below in order to sustain the value chain.
Building long-term relationships and loyalty by taking appropriate actions. Developing the teamwork and international knowledge. Keeping the company focused on the right things by maintaining good judgments and associating with the communities and societies.
To ensure that the organisation is able to conduct business globally, internal market analysis identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.
It also identifies market risks and opportunities that could impact the business functions in a significant manner.
The SWOT analysis can be used to identify the potential business opportunities for the establishment of the entity in the UK market.
Strengths Sheraton Hotel’s brand identity is a strong one.
The company has a successful history of strategic acquisitions.
The company has established the business entity in over 70 countries.
The company has launched remarkable marketing campaigns that have attracted more customers.
It is actually spreading brand awareness worldwide.
Weaknesses It is much more difficult for competitors to duplicate the product or service specifications and innovative features.
There are greater chances that the brand’s identity will be diluted if the business expands in other countries.
Business Development Opportunities There are huge opportunities for business development due to the high-end and sophisticated needs of UK customers.
The company has the chance to offer the UK luxury services and products, as well as a sophisticated promotion process (Shiri Anvari and Soltani 2015).
To ensure a sustainable position in the UK market, the company can benefit from the current growth of the hotel industry.
The availability of advanced technologies will help to improve the business processes.
Threats Continuous pressures from global competitors can be very dangerous for the business’ sustainability.
The company may lose ground in the UK market if it fails to innovate.
Global economic conditions are crucial for the industry.
The Sheraton Hotel Marketing Objectives. Recognizing the market’s external and internal conditions is key to the development of market objectives.
These objectives include: To critically evaluate the quality of UK hospitality services. To identify the needs and wants of UK citizens. To achieve 10% market share within the next year. SMART Objectives S – Specific. This ensures that the timeline is set and the performance parameters can be improved.
It is realistic that the market share estimated can be achieved in one year.
Table 2: SMART Objectives Source: Author. STP Analysis Below is a segmentation, targeting, and positioning of Sheraton Hotel. Segment: The company offers accommodation and leisure services for business travelers.
To gain a large customer base, the company must provide excellent customer service.
Targeting The company targets vacationers, international and local tourists, business travelers, and families who plan to visit the resort and hotel.
Positioning (Lehr 2015) The hotel’s exceptional customer service is a major advantage in attracting more guests to the resort.
It is important to meet the needs of UK customers in order to grow the business.
Marketing Mix (7 P’s of Marketing) The marketing mixture is a collection of the various components of business markets that have a significant impact on determining if a business can be found in favourable locations.
These 7P’s are further described below: Product By providing luxury hotel and resort services, the company ensures that customers have high-quality experiences.
The sophisticated holiday experience is driving customers in the UK to seek out business products and services.
It is essential that the business focuses on the customer’s preferences in order to innovate and grow its UK customers.
Place Sheraton Hotel must identify the remote location in the UK where it will establish its hotel and resorts.
People can travel to that area for vacation (Grunig & Morschett 2017).
To expand in the UK market, it is important to identify the demographic location.
Pricing The higher the value of products and services, the more expensive they must be.
The company must focus on the right pricing strategy in order to make hotel services affordable for the customers.
Promotion The company can market itself in a positive way through technological and networking advancements (Siguaw & Simpson 2015).
A luxurious display of products and services could be a great way to attract people.
The company has the opportunity to develop promotional activities in the UK.
Processes This determines how the services are distributed or delivered.
The company has a primary responsibility to ensure customers receive the services in a timely manner (Luo Roach, Jiratchot 2016,).
It would be beneficial to adjust the processes in order to increase customer base.
The customer will be more trustworthy if they have access to the necessary physical elements.
Customers who are satisfied with the services will be more likely to stay with the company for a longer period of time.
The company can distribute the leaflets and brochures or post the information on social media to promote the business.
To ensure sustainable growth of the business, it is important to manage the target market.
The Sheraton Hotel must identify the basic needs of potential customers.
It is important to prioritize the target market more precisely.
The study identified the market potential for Sheraton Hotel in the UK.
According to the study, the company must conduct adequate market research in order to identify the long-term market potential.
The company will be able overcome the obstacles in the new country and develop a sustainable position along with a stronger customer base.
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Family Hotels, Resort Hotels
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Family Hotels, Resort Hotels
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