Marketing plan objective
The primary goal was to enhance customer retention and loyalty by increasing cross-property usage. It aimed to raise the rate of multi-property guest stays from 5% to 10% compared to the previous year.
Marketing situation
Problem situation: The Rosewood brand is not well-known and there is uncertainty regarding the best corporate branding strategy. The challenge is to create a strategy that enhances customer profitability and lifetime value without undermining the individual value of each hotel and losing customers. Rosewood is a luxury hotel management company with 12 hotels in various countries, and it has been in operation for 25 years.
The company is renowned for its distinctive, exclusive properties with a highly luxurious style. They have a total of 1513 rooms worldwide. Compared to corporate branded hotels (10%-15%) and individually bran
...ded hotels (5%-10%), the company has a low cross-selling rate of only 5%. Rosewood competes with both corporate branded properties and individually branded properties.
The main competitors of Rosewood are corporate branded properties such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, St. Regis, One&Only, and Mandarin Oriental, as well as individually branded properties like Auberge, RockResorts, and Orient Express. According to the comparison of property growth from 1996-2003, Rosewood's growth is 15% higher than the average of corporate branded properties and 20% lower than the average of individually branded properties. Despite this, Rosewood is the second largest in terms of the number of hotels within the sector of individually branded hotels. As for customers, there is limited information available. However, it is possible to group them into several categories in order to better understand their profile. These groups include wealth
families who may stay at the hotel 1-2 times a year for holidays or family events, high-income business travelers who appreciate the unique experience offered by a specific Rosewood hotel and value personalized services, and private owners who are likely to include members of wealthy families and business travelers.This particular segment of customers shows resistance towards larger hotel brands and fails to recognize the advantages offered by being associated with a bigger organization. The primary collaborators in this context are travel agencies and travel agents who actively promote the hotels. These individuals play a crucial role in recommending hotels to customers and effectively communicate the competitive edge and added value. Additionally, other hotels within the Rosewood family function as significant collaborators by promoting each other's establishments in various locations. It is worth noting that Rosewood employees also serve as collaborators since customer loyalty heavily relies on the quality of service they provide. In the industry as a whole, there has been a substantial increase of approximately 13% in the number of guests enrolled in frequent-stay programs.
This is an untapped opportunity for Rosewood and other hotel companies. The management of Rosewood recognized the importance of brand-wide customer lifetime value, as competitors were implementing long-term customer loyalty improvement initiatives. To address this threat and avoid losing opportunities in the long term, a change in the branding strategy was needed. A SWOT analysis was conducted to assess internal and external factors.
In terms of marketing strategy, there are various ways to achieve the objective, but it is crucial to determine the best branding strategy and implement a consistent marketing approach.
Regarding target and segmentation, specific information about the
customers in the case is limited. However, the target group for this strategy is current customers at Rosewood Hotels who have the potential to stay at other hotels owned by Rosewood. Within this target group, there are three main segments, as indicated in the 5C's analysis of customers. It is important to approach all current customers since there is no data indicating which customer currently drives cross-selling. The potential market consists of 115,000 guests per year, accounting for 62% of occupancy.The potential market occupancy potential of cross-selling can be calculated as follows: (115000 * 100%) / 62% = 185483 customers per year. The maximum increase in customers due to the new branding strategy would be 70483 customers, calculated by subtracting the current number of customers (115000) from the calculated potential (185483).
More realistic increase (assuming 10% increase in cross-property usage): (185,483 * 72%) - 115,000 = 18,547 customers.
Branding strategy
The recommended strategy is to shift from House of Brands to Branded House within the Brand Relationship Spectrum. This shift is necessary due to the challenges in the market, such as customer loyalty initiatives taken by competitors, and it will most likely increase cross-property usage, resulting in overall profitability for Rosewood. The focus should be on maximizing a customer's lifetime value for the firm rather than aiming for short-term lower costs. This strategy will enhance clarity and leverage for the customer, as they will know exactly what is being offered. It ensures that the same quality standard upheld by the corporate brand and individual brands of Rosewood hotels is maintained.
In the long term, this shift will increase the Net Profit per Guest and provide higher returns for
the company, as indicated in the financials and comparison of profits in Exhibit 3.
To prevent the loss of current customers who value individual brands, the corporate brand should be integrated without eliminating the current brand. For example: Cannel Bay, A Rosewood Resort.
Positioning.
To establish Rosewood as a collection of exclusive luxury hotels that provides each customer with a distinct experience at every individual property. For instance, J employer-branding positioning showcases a "Small-company environment, big-company impact" idea. The value proposition is centered around each hotel being uniquely luxurious with an assurance of the highest quality across the entire family of Rosewood hotels.
Product Marketing Tactics
The product is presented with the added benefits of corporate branding and collaboration among all Rosewood hotels. The packaging and attributes of the hotels should reflect both the name of the specific property and the corporate brand. Pricing is also a factor to consider.
The pricing policy should remain unchanged, but it is recommended to offer volume discounts to encourage frequent stays at Rosewood hotels (refer to the promotion for more details). These discounts should be available at all Rosewood hotels worldwide and through collaborating travel agents. Additionally, if the budget allows, it is advisable to advertise in both local and global media.
An incentive system should be established to increase overall profitability for managers of individual hotels at Rosewood. This can include bonuses for increasing cross-selling. Additionally, it is recommended to offer discount rates for current guests who choose to stay at another Rosewood hotel. Promoting free services, such as spa treatments, can also encourage guests to use multiple properties. In the long-term, it is suggested to implement incentives, such as frequent stay programs, to
increase the number of repeat customers.
Implementation plan, timing, and control.
Robert Boulogne, with support from John Scott, will be responsible for presenting and implementing the new marketing plan. For details on the main implementation steps and timeline, please see Exhibit 2.
The financial analysis and projections can be found in Exhibit 3: Customer Lifetime Value. It can be concluded that the new corporate branding strategy brings greater profitability to the company by increasing the net profit per guest. The key performance indicators that will be used to measure control are the percentage increase in cross-property usage and the number of loyal customers acquired per year.
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