7.1 The Basics of Promotion and Marketing within the Industry
Marketing within the world of travel and tourism is expensive, elaborate, and extremely prominent and this is true across various forms of media.
As an individual who is seeking to work within this field, it is therefore important for you to be able to understand the marketing and promotion machine that drives the entire industry. You may not be directly involved in this part, but in most occasions the people that come to you will do so as a result of some form of marketing that took place at some point down the line. First, we need to begin by discussing the basics of marketing and promotion within the industry and like the industry itself, it does cover different angles and have various aims.
The basic idea behind the promotion and marketing of this industry is exactly the same as you will find anywhere else. Your entire aim is to make sure that your product or service is getting out there in front of those individuals that have been deemed to be your target market.
Thanks to the Internet and the ease with which we can learn about new destinations, new flights, hotels, and things to do it is fair to say that the promotion of the industry has changed quite considerably. Gone are the days when all people had to go on was the travel brochure that was available at the travel agent.
Now, we have the ability to almost go on a virtual tour of a hotel and depending on where you are going you can even tour the streets thanks to Google. This has led to people within the marketing side of the industry having to become more focused and concentrated on what they have to do when trying to alert people to the mere existence of the destination that they are trying to promote.
If you are indeed involved in this part of the industry, then there are clearly some basic steps that you need to take into consideration in order to make the kind of impact that you are looking for.
Do remember that there is no need for you to have a marketing degree of any kind in order to get involved with this because often you will be involved in the implementing of a strategy rather than creating the strategy on your own.
What makes a location or service special?
The first thing that often stands out when you are dealing with the promotion of any location or service is that the marketing campaign has to tell people why it is so special. Why would somebody want to use that airline? Why would somebody want to stay at that hotel? Why would this form of entertainment be so popular for others? What makes other people go to a certain location?
These are the kinds of questions that people want to have answered when they are thinking about going to a location and it is essential that the marketing is able to provide those answers to give customers some idea as to whether they wish to learn more about a certain destination.
Who is it for?
Another important point is that the marketing has to reflect who a service is for or who should be heading to a certain destination. This can often be seen by the way in which images or text are used along with certain taglines that make it abundantly clear to whom the product is aimed. When you are working within the industry, it does mean that you have to be aware of the marketing for a certain location so you can be better prepared for the kind of customers that you are going to be dealing with.
Affordability.
The affordability of a type of travel, hospitality, or location in general is also something else that should be covered by the marketing of a destination or service. Of course you want the marketing to reflect the kind of price bracket that people are looking at simply because it does make sure that you get the correct customers coming through the door or contacting you from the get-go. Marketing, and the correct implementation of the message, will certainly help you to be largely dealing with those individuals that are more likely to want to spend money and make full use of your services.
What to expect.
In addition, marketing should also provide potential customers with a sense of what they should expect when they go ahead and start to either book or even just plan on using your services or going to a particular destination. Is it a family destination? Is it a budget flight company? Is it a 5 star hotel or a hostel? All of these kinds of messages really should appear on your marketing simply because of the way in which it directly influences how people will be able to reach a conclusion about whether or not they wish to proceed any further.
The level of service.
Finally, marketing may also be the perfect opportunity for you to promote the level and quality of service that an individual should expect to receive when they spend money with you. Marketing may describe the quality of the flight and the extras you receive. It may describe the facilities that a hotel has in place. It may be connected to how far you will go as a company to provide individuals with the absolute perfect holiday no matter what their heart desires. In other words, from the marketing that you put out in the tourism industry, it should be easy for potential customers to begin to get an understanding as to whether or not they wish to go ahead and spend money.
Those are the key basic principles of marketing and promotion within the tourism industry and of course it could be argued that it is often more specific than this when you go to certain industries. This is where your understanding of the services and products that you offer really comes to the fore.
Do remember that on most occasions you are not going to be involved in the creation of the marketing or the message that is being put across although you clearly need to be aware of the aims of the campaigns in the first place.
Remember, there is no guarantee that you will be involved in the marketing aspect and yet it still has an impact on the way that you operate within the industry.
7.2 The Size and Scale of Marketing
If we now switch our attention to the actual size and scale of the marketing that takes place within the industry this will provide you with a better insight into the machine that is driving those customers to your door. Getting exact figures as to how much money is spent on marketing in a single year is going to be difficult. There are some ideas out there, although it has to be accepted that they are just rough figures.
There are estimates that marketing in the United States reaches around $10 billion each year although this does appear to cover every aspect of the industry. However, this can only be an estimate simply because it is impossible for us to piece together the total sum of money spent on marketing in so many different industries.
The one thing to keep in mind is that when you have an industry that is worth so much money that it stands to reason that the amount of money spent on marketing also has to be sky high. In addition, with there being so much competition out there, no matter the part of the industry you are working in, then it also means that there is a need for businesses to spend more money to stay ahead of the competition.
Furthermore, each part of the industry has to partake in marketing so even if you are working in a small business the percentage of turnover that is dedicated to marketing can be quite substantial. However, it is how the budget is used that is key and whenever you are working within a certain part of the industry, it is important that you are aware of the message, the market you are aiming for, and what to expect from the customers as a direct result of the marketing message that was put out there.
For example
Clearly a small local museum is going to spend less money on marketing than a major tourist attraction in the heart of London and yet it is still equally important to both businesses. In actual fact, it is the way in which the marketing is used that is the key rather than the amount of money that is spent on it, and this does provide you more clues as to who you should be targeting when you are 'selling' the attraction to customers.
If the small tourist attraction was linked to something to do with mining and its history then clearly your knowledge has to be very specific and so will the market that it is aiming for. However, if you worked for the British Museum in London then they still market, but your knowledge and awareness of who is going to come in through the door will certainly have to be more varied than before.
As a result, the way in which you go about your business has to change as you can be a fountain of all knowledge for a small location but this is impossible when dealing with something on a larger scale. What we are saying is that the size and scale of marketing within this industry is vast although there are more important points to keep in mind when it comes to you and your career.
FACT
Marketing is an essential core business cost in travel and tourism, not an optional activity.
Source: Educationscotland.gov.uk
7.3 How it Impacts on Your Own Career
If you believe that you are not actually directly involved in the marketing or promotion of the industry, then the chances are that you are completely wrong.
In actual fact, people that deal with customers in some way, shape, or form, will be drawn into the promotion of something within the industry simply because of the nature of the world in which you are working.
It is best to look at it from this perspective. No matter which part of the industry you work in you are already being subjected to talking to customers about certain locations, products, or services that have been marketed in their own unique way.
The way in which it impacts on your own career is rather interesting to note:
It affects your knowledge.
We have stressed time and time again the importance of knowledge and putting it to the correct use and that applies even with the marketing. You must be aware of what the marketing is saying to be able to provide the correct service to your customers or clients.
For example
If the marketing is pushing a location as being fun for the family then your knowledge has to reflect that, as it is pointless spending time learning about the romantic nature of a destination if that is not what is being pushed.
It affects the product or service you offer.
The marketing behind a product changes how you put across the product or service that you are involved with, no matter the industry that we are talking about. The marketing changes your sales pitch or the questions you deal with as they are all linked together.
It affects how you deal with customers.
The way in which the marketing affects how you deal with customers is quite apparent, especially if we refer back to the example that was given above comparing a small mining museum to the British Museum. That may be a rather specific example, but you can use the same principles of comparing and contrasting what a business has to offer and the scale on which it can offer its products or services across the board. This, in turn, changes how you deal with customers, as a smaller location will require more specific knowledge, whereas a larger location deals with more general questions, so the things you have to handle on a daily basis change.
It affects the type of people you have to deal with.
As marketing effectively helps people to understand the type, or quality, of product or service that they should expect to receive, it does then also alter the kind of people you generally have to deal with.
For example
You would hardly say that the same kind of people who frequent the Ritz in London would also stay in a Premier Inn in London, so the way in which you handle people is going to be all important. Now, how does this affect your career? In all honesty, it should make no difference as each individual should be seen as equal no matter how much money they spend. If you are good at your industry then by all accounts you should be able to move between establishments, or companies, without there being any problem whatsoever.
Marketing does make a difference to your career as you have to take the messages that are put across in the various campaigns and then make the most of it. It is up to you to correctly interpret the message and then use it to your advantage to make sure that the customer before you gets what they want and are happy with the service or product.
Happy customers turn into happy returning customers and that is one of the best ways in which you can improve your career no matter the industry you are operating in.
7.4 Key Methods Used in the Promotion of the Industry
When it comes to understanding the key methods that are used when promoting the industry, the one thing that stands out is the need for it to portray destinations as being absolutely perfect for certain needs or wants.
The methods that are used are designed to really push across a particular message to the market that they are aiming for and it is interesting to look at how two different destinations are marketed in an attempt to get the money out of your bank account.
We can use an example of marketing for a trip to the Maldives and a trip to Disney World in Florida. Both are going to be expensive, but both have two completely different markets that they are aiming for. Clearly Disney World is going to be aimed at families, and the Maldives is more of a romantic, honeymoon exotic location.
This is something that is very apparent in the marketing for both locations.
Any form of promotion for Disney World is a blend of attracting not only the kids, but also the parents that are going to have to spend the money to go there. The marketing has characters, it creates a sense of magical adventure, fun for all the family, and it is all in wonderful weather and everybody is full of energy.
On the other hand, the Maldives is marketed as a tropical island with people relaxing on the beach and swimming in the Indian Ocean. You will very rarely see kids appearing in the media campaigns and instead there will be a tendency to show couples together just soaking up the view. It is more laid back, less energetic, and yet still gorgeous and the weather is divine. In addition, the accommodation is marketed as being different, which it is, and it is clear that the people that the Maldives is being promoted to are completely different to that of Disney World.
So, why is that?
Clearly there are different needs and wants and the marketing that takes place within the industry looks at each and every destination or location and determines what their target market is going to be and what they will be looking for when they are there.
The promotion that is associated with each location may very well cost the same, be produced to the same standard, but at the end of the day there are completely different reasons and messages that lie behind the marketing material.
This is only one example of how two different locations can use two different marketing approaches in order to target their market. However, you can also use the same principles and apply it to anything including airlines. The marketing for the likes of Ryanair is going to always be different to British Airways, for example, as they are pushing different things to different people and, it could be argued, a completely different market entirely.
For you working in the travel and tourism industry, you have to be aware of the message that is being put out there by the marketing to then make sure that you are pushing the correct things to the correct market.
MODULE SUMMARY
In this module, we have looked at the promotion and marketing techniques that are used within the industry.
However, it is important to stress that the exact methods that you may end up using will vary depending on the location, which is why it is so important for you to get to grips with what the customers are looking for in order to correctly match them up with locations that the marketing has deemed to be suitable for them.
In the next module, we will look at taking marketing further by focusing on social media.
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