By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
Mastering these skills will help you successfully bring products to market and attract customers in the real trade world.
Compiled by: Bonface Ochieng
Marketing plays a pivotal role in the success of catering and accommodation businesses in Kenya, where competition is intensifying due to growing tourism and hospitality sectors. Understanding and applying the marketing mix enables managers to design strategies that attract and retain customers while maximizing revenue. This chapter focuses on key marketing mix elements: defining essential marketing terms and exploring how packaging influences customer perception and product success in the catering and accommodation industry.
The marketing mix is the set of controllable elements an establishment combines to reach its guests and achieve its marketing objectives.
The marketing mix is the combination of product, price, place and promotion decisions an establishment blends together to serve its target market.
A product portfolio is the full range of services, such as room types, menus and event packages, that an establishment offers at any one time.
Promotion covers the activities an establishment uses to inform and persuade guests to choose its services, such as advertising and special offers.
Price is the amount charged for a service, set to reflect its value to guests while covering the establishment's costs.
Place covers how and where guests access the establishment's services, such as through direct booking, a website or a travel agent.
Market programming is the planning, scheduling and coordination of an establishment's marketing activities over a given period.
A product portfolio is examined through several elements that describe its range and depth.
The elements of a product portfolio include its width, the number of different product lines offered, and its depth, the number of variations within each line.
A product line is a group of closely related services, such as all the room types in an establishment or all the set menus a catering service offers.
The product mix is the complete set of product lines and individual products an establishment offers across its whole range.
Each product passes through life cycle stages of introduction, growth, maturity and decline, and an establishment reviews its offerings differently at each stage.
A product portfolio can be broad, offering many different types of service, or narrow, focusing on a few closely related services, depending on the establishment's chosen market.
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Create a free accountThis chapter explored key concepts essential to applying the marketing mix effectively. It began with the definition of marketing terms, including the concept of a product portfolio, which encompasses the range of products a company offers to meet diverse customer needs. The discussion then moved to packaging, highlighting its role in protecting products and attracting consumers. Various promotion methods were examined, emphasizing their importance in communicating product benefits and influencing purchasing decisions, along with a balanced view of their advantages and disadvantages. Market programming was introduced as a strategic approach to planning marketing activities for maximum impact. The chapter also covered competitive pricing strategies, which are crucial for positioning products in the market while ensuring profitability. Finally, the significance of selecting an appropriate marketing place was discussed, focusing on how distribution channels affect product accessibility and customer satisfaction.
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