Introduction
The hospitality industry is one of the largest and fastest industry with some many exciting companies like hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, nightclubs, food service, conference services, lodging, and accommodation (Caruana, 2003). Hospitality forms one of the major economic activities across the globe and is one of the highest revenue generating sector globally. As such, this area faces some challenges and competition both locally and internationally. The industry needs to adapt better marketing strategies that meet customer demands so as to survive the game. Marketing is a step process that encompasses identification of consumer needs and preferences, development of products and services in a way that matches customer preferences and delivery of the services and outputs. Marketing aims at acquiring information and distributing the information in a manner tailored to customer needs with the objective of high sales, big number of customers and customer satisfaction. This paper will explore how marketing is important in the hospitality industry and examples of poor hospitality marketing I have witnessed. I shall draw critical examples from two venues namely; Java Coffee shop and Pablo’s Restaurant for this paper.
Importance of Hospitality Marketing
Marketing plays a significant role in the hospitality industry which cannot be ignored. Marketing introduces new and existing products to the market. Marketing allows hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and other hospitality companies to communicate with customers and markets about available and new products/services. Communication is two-way and allows customer feedback enabling the industry to design, create, and modify products and services that match customer/market needs and preferences. Communication creates consumer awareness of the available goods and services. Marketing thus allows client interaction to ensure high customer satisfaction and long-term relationships. Marketing also aims at motivating hospitality employees to provide high-quality client services while increasing their productivity.
Additionally, the promotion has led to a rise in income generation and market demand for more goods and services. Marketing creates awareness of new and existing products and provokes the desire to acquire the goods and services. Marketing helps designing products and services in ways that make customers want to purchase and consume the goods. The primary objective is to generate new sales and increase profits. Good marketing strategies convey availability of products to a wider audience thereby allowing for a demand of these products/services. The role of marketing thus is awareness creation. When customers are aware of available products and services they will buy them and this will increase profits in the industry.
Marketing allows for consumer research, and this enables the industry to identify what the customer needs and wants are. Marketing strives to identify gaps and voids that exist in the market and work toward filling these gaps and voids so as to satisfy client needs for instance, Pablo’s Restaurant. The industry then develops strategies for providing customers with what they need at a reasonable cost and profit. Research generates consumption rates thus allowing for the production of more goods and services or modification of the products and services, helping the industry to maintain past customer relationships and create new relationships with potential clients.
Bad Hospitality Marketing
Restaurants and coffee shops form a significant part of people’s lives in today’s society. We interact with restaurants and coffee shops on a daily basis. America, for instance, generates approximately, 580 billion dollars annually with the industry employing over 13 million people (Parsa et al. 2011). Additionally, the restaurant and coffee shop industries expanding at a higher rate. The majority of individuals agree having ordered food and coffee from restaurants and coffee shops. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the bad hospitality marketing that I witness in my daily interactions with restaurants and coffee shops. Good marketing does not only help restaurants and coffee shops get new customers but also helps in income increment and building long lasting relationships with clients. Bad hospitality marketing can cost restaurants and coffee shops a great deal. In this paper, I outline some grave mistakes that I encounter in restaurants and their solutions.
I once noticed a beautiful and eye-catching hotel advert showing enticing photographs that provoked me to check the restaurant only to be disappointed with their services (Parsa et al. 2011). The advert set me up for a great disappoint, the hotel staff was unfriendly and didn’t care about the customers. I sat for almost an hour waiting to be served, but nobody presented. I had to find the services myself and the food did not meet the standards as advertised on the billboard. The restaurant was dirty with some insects flying over food. I got so irritated and swore never to go back to the same restaurant. My recommendation for this restaurant is that they should spare their money and resources and make the hotel shine first. They should enhance their customer services and observe hygiene.
Another major bad hospitality marketing I notice in some restaurants and coffee shops is the omission of hospitality staff in the commercialization of their products (Parsa et al. 2011). Restaurant and coffee shop owners spend a lot of cash in large media advert and online marketing. The restaurants are beautiful and attracting, but a majority of their staff do not have a grasp of the services offered and all the products available such as Pablo’s Restaurant. Employees do not have any idea on food recipes and do not know how it tastes like; they simply cannot point out on what is best for a particular customer until they consult (Parsa et al. 2011). It is imperative to note that the restaurant sales team plays a crucial role in marketing thus they should be equipped with the right marketing material and information. Such information will boost their confidence when they are explaining their products to customers hence convince customers into buying.
The location is a paramount strategy in hospitality marketing (Parsa et al. 2011). There is this beautiful coffee shop I love, the Java Coffee shop located at the outskirts of the main city. They offer the best coffee in town, and their services are excellent that make me want to give them a five-star rating. However, they do not have many customers because of their location. The coffee shop is not easily visible and is a few kilometers from the major town on a terrain road. Location discourages some people from going to the cafeteria on a daily basis. My recommendation is that they relocate their services to places that are easily accessible to a larger number of customers.
Conclusion
Marketing is finding out customer needs and giving them what they need at a price they can pay. When a client’s needs are not met, they will find a place where their preferences are prioritized, their needs met and are satisfied. Marketing plays a crucial role in meeting customer needs and preferences thus enable survival of the hospitality industry. Restaurants and coffee shops should, therefore, develop effective strategies to create awareness to the public about their services and products. Hospitality industry should strive toward offering the best of their services and products while satisfying their clients with the purpose of maintaining and creating new and lasting relationships as in the case of Java Coffee shop. Good marketing will ensure that restaurants and coffee shops meet their objectives and overall results.
References
Caruana, A. (2003). The impact of switching costs on customer loyalty: a study among corporate customers of mobile telephony. Journal of Targeting,Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 12(3), 204-222.
Parsa, H., Self, J., Sydnor-Busso, S., & Yoon, H. (2011). Why Restaurants Fail? Part II: The Impact of Affiliation, Location, and Size on Restaurant Failures (forth coming). Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 46(3), 304-322.
Pereira, L., & Almeida, P. (2014). Marketing and promotion in the hotel industry: A case study in family hotel and hotel group. Tourism and Hospitality International Journal, 2(1), 92-105.
