Marketing of New Hotel

A marketing strategy is essential for the development, growth and sustenance of a business as well as ensuring that the business maintains its competitive advantage.

The best example of a Marketing Plan is one that is not dependent on just one or two forms of Marketing. "Your plan should be to test many different forms of Marketing on a small scale. This can include Internet Marketing, E-Marketing, Direct Mail, Telephone Marketing, Advertising, Referrals, Direct Sales, Guarantees, Pricing Strategies, Up-Selling and Cross-Selling, Special Events, PR. (Chris Cardell's Free Marketing Plan Newsletter.)" People worry that trying out all these methods will be expensive. Actually, the opposite is true. The key is to carefully test and measure each new element of the Marketing Plan to see what exactly works in your favor. This principle of testing is imperative in order to avoid making very costly mistakes. For example, adding direct mail, newspapers or even yellow page advertising to the mix may be quite beneficial to what Star Hotel is attempting to accomplish. According to advertisng.com, when beginning a new campaign, a company

must start by testing things like direct mailing on a small scale. Starting out small and measuring the results will lead to the addition of new elements at virtually no risk. An effective advertising plan is only one part of Star Hotel's overall marketing plan. The effective use of advertising and promotional materials will help develop a strong marketing plan. It is very important to have everything integrated and working together. The better the marketing plan, the more effective the advertising plan will be. The marketing plan accurately describes the market, customers, products or service and the competition. The marketing plan calculates the size or potential of the target market. It helps to efficiently allocate money and resources to areas where a greater concentration of cash flow is needed. "The marketing plan will provide focus, guidance, and direction for effective advertising and business practices.(Chris Cardell 2005)" Star Hotels marketing plan is designed to help with proper customer retention and management. The plan will help Star Hotel give a clear planned, all-inclusive, and reliable message to its customers, its' employees, its' investors, and business partners.

If Star Hotel is off target in its advertising campaign, it could be very costly and eventually could lead to a demise of the company. "The most creative advertising in the world is worthless if it misses the target audience. The best offer in the world is worthless if it does not offer the benefits your clients want.(Chris Cardell, 2005)" Even well planned and executed advertising has little value if you don't keep it in front of your customers. "In today's world of infinite information, it takes at least three exposures just to get your message through the first time. And then you face a huge rate of forgetfulness from your clients.(Chris Cardell, 2005)" Effective advertising comes from good planning, good budgeting, a long-term commitment, and a lot of work. Star Hotel will need remarkable ads that will get the results expected. Also, the hotel will need to keep them in front of the targeted audience for the long term. Since the entire concept of the hotel is different than the competition, Star Hotel will need to constantly be in the face of its targeted market in order to remind then of the hotels uniques features and benefits. According to Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing Management,

* Effective advertising lowers your cost of doing business. Your phone rings, and clients walk in the door. It's a fact.

* Minimal, limited duration, or random advertising equals wasted money.

* Advertising is not creative or funny if it does not bring in clients.

* Advertising has a cumulative effect, and is a long-term investment. Sales response builds over time if advertising is consistent.

* With consumer goods and services, marketing and advertising affects your market share more than price does.

* Effective advertising comes from solid planning and high quality production.

* Synergy is a real thing in advertising. It comes from the cumulative effect of all of your marketing materials working together.

* There are limits to what advertising can accomplish, even with an unlimited budget. Advertising cannot make up for poor quality, service, or timing.

* Every company should go through the advertising planning process.

In the realm of creating an effective advertising plan, the marketing plan will position the company in terms of product, price, and place. There is a solid decision about what market segment Star Hotel will compete in. Consideration has been given to the products and services, distribution, pricing, guarantees, quality, policies, etc. The goals and objectives have been set and are clear to the point in that, this hotel is not targeting the average everyday consumer. Because of this unique feature, Star Hotel would be accurate in deciding how to promote the hotel to achieve the objectives and goals that have been set from the start. To begin, Star Hotel will have the responsibility of defining its' targeted customers and remaining true to its uniqueness.

"The number one reason advertising fails is because it is poorly targeted.(Chris Cardell, 2005)" No advertising is going to be successful if its target audience is not well defined and understood. Star Hotel is aimed primarily at protecting the privacy and personal affects of its customers. The targeted group for Star Hotel, does not include the whole world, so advertsing to the whole world would not be beneficial. Second, in many companies, "20% of the customers account for 80% of sales, and often 100% of the profits.(advertising.com)" These are the high end customers that Star Hotel will target. Third, "one out of ten people strongly influence the other nine.(advertisng.com)" This group of "influencers" are considered the movers and shakers of the world. They participate heavily in community and business activities. They interact with several different large groups on a regular basis. They can and they will influence the success of many business to come. Because of the exclusivity of Star Hotel, it would be very easy to define who they are. It would be the responsibility of those incharge of the marketing and adverising, to get the message to these people. The advertising plan needs a clear and to the point, written definition of who the