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Chapter 18:
Chapter Objectives
1. Understand why it is important to have a marketing plan and be able to explain the
purpose of a marketing plan.
Teaching Suggestions
The following explanations and suggestions are outlined based on the Chapter Objectives.
1. Understand why it is important to have a marketing plan and be able to explain the
purpose of a marketing plan.
The marketing department should operate with direction and be proactive; therefore,
marketing plan must be written each year.
A marketing plan serves several purposes within any hospitality company:
Provides a road map for all marketing activities of the firm for the next year
2. Prepare a marketing plan following the process described in this chapter.
This is an excellent final project for the course. Have students come up with a hospitality
Chapter Outline
I. Purpose of a Marketing Plan [Slide 18-3]
A. Serves as a road map for all marketing activities of the firm for the next year.
B. Ensures that marketing activities are in agreement with the corporate strategic
plan.
II. Tips for Writing the Executive Summary [Slide 18-5]
A. Write it for top executives.
B. Limit the number of pages to between two and four.
III. Corporate Connection [Slide 18-6]
A. Relationships to other plans
1.Corporate goals: profit, growth, and others
B. Marketing-related plans also include the following:
1.Sales
C. Corporate direction
IV. Environmental Analysis and Forecasting [Slide 18-7]
A. Positioning statement (although it should be its own Roman numeral)
B. Analysis of major environmental factors [Slide 18-8]
1.Social
C. Economic drivers of growth
1.The aerotropolis
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D. Competitive analysis
E. Marketing trends: Monitor visitor trends, competitive trends, related industry
trends. [Slide 18-9]
F. Market potential
1.Market potential should be viewed as the total available demand for a
G. Marketing research
1.Macromarket information: Industry trends, socioeconomic and political
V. Segmentation and Targeting. The selection of segments is the result of the following:
[Slide 18-10]
A. Understanding who the company is and what it wishes to be.
VI. [Slides 18-11 to 18-12]
A. Objectives [Slide 18-11]
1.Quantitative objectives: Expressed in monetary terms, expressed in unit
measurements, time specific and profit/margin specific.
3.Actions
a. List primary marketing/sales objectives for next year.
b. List sub-objectives for next year.
B. Rating system objectives
C. Quotas [Slide 18-12]
1.
D. Communicating the plan [Slide 18-13]
E. Top management
F. Board of directors or group of investors
VII. Action Plans: Strategies and Tactics [Slide 18-14]
A. Cluster marketing
B. Sales strategies
2.Grow key accounts
4.Eliminate selected marginal accounts
C. Advertising/promotion strategies
1.Select a blend or mix or media.
3.Design a media schedule showing when each medium, including
noncommissionable media, will be used.
5.Carefully transmit this information to management.
7.Ensure responsibility for the outcome.
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D. Pricing strategy
1.Carefully review pricing objective with departments responsible for
pricing, planning, and implementation.
3.Describe pricing strategies to be used throughout the year.
4.Make certain that price, sales, and promotion/advertising objectives are
synchronized and working in support of corporate objectives.
E. Product strategies
1.Describe the involvement of the marketing department in major strategic
VIII. Resources Needed to Support Strategies and Meet Objectives [Slide 18-15]
A. Study and then list the need for new marketing/sales personnel, including
temporary help during the next year.
B. Study and list the type and amount of equipment and space that will be needed to
IX. Marketing Control [Slide 18-16]
A. Sales force members often wish to protect themselves and give lower sales
estimates than are actually possible.
B. The company has certain sales objectives it expects based on the needs of the
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X. Presenting and Selling the Plan [Slide 18-17]
A. Members of marketing/sales departments
XI. Preparing for the Future [Slide 18-18]
A. The participatory planning process allows people to understand the management
process.
B. People learn to become team players during the process.
C. People learn to establish objectives and set timetables to ensure they are met.
Answers to Discussion Questions
1. What is the purpose of a marketing plan?
This is a good topic for class discussion. For example, a marketing plan provides the road
2. What is the relevancy of environmental factors to an annual marketing plan?
Break students into groups and assign each group a hospitality operation. Ask them to
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3. Why is the determination of market potential so important?
This is another good topic for class discussion. For example, while the measure of true
4. How should market segments and targets be described in a marketing plan?
5. Should marketing objectives be described in quantitative terms? Why or why not?
6. What is the relationship, if any, between marketing strategies and marketing
objectives?
7. Is marketing control really necessary in a marketing plan or is it an optional
managerial exercise?
Marketing control is very much a part of marketing plans, at least for companies wishing