“A NEXT YEAR MARKETING PLAN”
(For a single property operation)
Name of Project Plan or Proposal
_____________________________________________________________________________
 
“A quality framework determines the quality of content”
 
Project
 
You are required to prepare a next year marketing plan for a real or imaginary individual hospitality or Tourism company. For this assignment you are required to conduct a market research project.  A written research paper and public Power-Point presentation that will make-up the final graded components.
 
 
Rational of the Project
 
This project will enable you to demonstrate your understanding of the Hospitality and Tourism Marketing concepts and methods that you have learned in this class. This assignment will give you an invaluable opportunity to develop a yearly marketing plan and an understanding into how hospitality managers use marketing concepts and theoretical knowledge in industry/or to a real world situations. In this assignment you will assume that you are the marketing manager or owner of a hospitality property or Tourism entity. The report will be prepared for your general manager/owner or vice president of marketing, bank, or community planning commission.  If you are starting from scratch with your entrepreneurial spirit in mind, you may be preparing the plan to acquire a business licence or bank loan for asset budgeting moving forward. In either case a marketing plan that is step by step would be required.  Your goal with the project should be innovation, engagement and impact regarding the proposed business strategy and overall plan.  The audience should be invited in as a proposed investor or participator in the overall implementation of your idea and marketing plan.
 
Assignment
 
In this assignment you will develop a marketing plan for a new/existing hospitality or tourism business. You can choose a new hotel, a restaurant or any hospitality or tourism business; only that it be somewhat realistic, legal, and of course, profitable! Suggestions include an area that you are interested in, either personally, or as a possible career. You can use your imagination as much as you like. The primary concern of the assignment is to improve your marketing knowledge and ability and get some real engaged experience in writing a marketing plan. In addition this project will provide you with invaluable experience when you enter the real business world.
 
Purpose of a Marketing Plan
 
A marketing plan serves several purposes within any hospitality and tourism company:

• Provides a road map for all marketing activities of the firm for the next year.
• Ensures that marketing activities are in agreement with the corporate strategic plan
• Forces marketing managers to review and think about objectively all steps in the    marketing process
• Assists in the budgeting process to match resources with marketing objectives
• Creates a process to monitor actual against expected results.

 
Preparation of a Marketing Plan
 
The development of a marketing plan is a rigorous process and cannot be accomplished in a few days. However it is an excellent training device for hospitality students who wish to be a manager in the future. The marketing plan shows how the company will establish and maintain profitable customer relationships. A marketing plan serves to document how the organization’s strategic objectives will be achieved through specific marketing strategies and tactics and is the basis of the operation budget.
 
Preparation Guideline for the Project
When you prepare this marketing plan you will assume that you are the manager/director of marketing of a single hospitality and tourism firm or an independent operator hoping to start a business or create an empire.
 
 
NEVER START YOUR PROJECT BEFORE READING!
 
You are strongly advised to utilize/read business marketing plans that are hospitality and tourism related when developing your plan. Your assignment should include two cover pages (one general, one specific) with a title of project, your name and business associates, class, date, and class period. In the second page, add a table of content followed by sections covered. The third page is an “executive summary” page of the project. All sections should be separated by dividers or blank papers.
 
The report must be a word document, with double spaced, in a standard, legible font, 11 points (times new roman, or arial), with the margins -1.25” on left ,1” on right side, and 1” top and bottom. All pages should be numbered. Graphs, charts and other visuals are encouraged – make your report with color and visual appeal! You may use any industry information, census data, or other factual sources to support your plan.
 
At a minimum, your report must contain all the information as indicated in the “Minimum Plan Requirements for Each Section without counting pictures, graphs or tables. There is no maximum length, because every operation requires different types and different level of information (My expectation is no less than 12; and more than 20 pages).
Assumptions of the Project
 

• I strongly advise you to prepare a list of specifications of the property (real or imaginary). This includes (if a hotel) – the location, classification, number of guest rooms, types of rooms, meeting rooms, number of outlets by names, total number of employees, employees working at each department, major customer segments, average room prices by seasons, high and low seasons, etc., (If a restaurant) -the location, classification, number of seats, average daily/weekly/monthly customers, hours of operation, average meal prices per customer, etc., Once you prepare this specification list, then it will be easy to estimate the revenue and expenses.

 

• The most important parts of the project are: Executive Summary, Objectives, Strategies and Resources (What did you do? What will you do? How will you do?  How much do you need?)

 
 
 
Grading Criteria
 

1. Report Organization –How report guidelines were followed?
2. Viability – Can the marketing plan succeed under the assumptions presented in the report?
3. Effective Application of Marketing Concepts
4. Writing Expression – Are ideas expressed clearly in the plan?
5. Visual Appearance – Presenting the information in a clear, easy to follow format
6. 6. Power-Point Presentation – Effectiveness of the Power-Point presentation. Does the power-Point tell a Story of Your vision within the sales and marketing Plan?

 
 
 
Your Marketing plan should be divided into 11 sections as follow:
 

1. Cover Pages of the Plan

1. Executive Summary (Overview)
2. Internal Analysis
3. Environmental Analysis
4. SWOT Analysis
5. Key Factor Analysis
6. Objectives
7. Marketing Strategies
8. Marketing Action Plan
9. Resources
10. Marketing Controls
11. Supportive Data (Graphs, Charts, or other data)

 

1. References

 
START TODAY!!!
 
BE PROACTIVE!!!
 
As a future hospitality and Tourism manager being proactive is very important attribute to be successful.
Do not wait until the last minute to inform the professor that you are having problems either finding a topic or developing a marketing plan.
Please use a professional Language throughout the project !
You may get help from sales and marketing managers, if you know any.
 
Please Avoid uncertain, double-meaning or the ambiguous words, since they reduce the value of your study, such as: thing(s), excellent, huge, perfect, a lot, hundreds, thousands, millions, the best (of anything) and or similar words. Please Be Specific!!
SOME TIPS AND GUIDELINES
 
Visit hospitality company websites to get some insights

• Learn about company visions and missions, marketing strategies, customer market segments, industry market segments, marketing and pricing strategies.
• You may contact with one of the marketing managers and ask help.

 
A Few Tips about How to Write the “Executive Summary”

• Write it for top executives / owners as you are the marketing manager
• Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Avoid using words that are unlikely to be understood.
• Organize the summary as follows: Describe the next year’s objectives in quantitative terms; briefly describe marketing strategies to meet goals and objectives, including a description of target markets; describe expected results by quarter; identify the dollar costs necessary, as well as key resources needed.
• Read and reread the executive summary several times. Never write it once and then place it in the plan.

 
After completing the report

• Read and reread it a few times and see if the information at different part of the project are consistent with each other.
• See if the plan can work in a real hospitality setting
• Avoid redundant information

 
Preparation Guideline for Power Point slides

• The number of slides should not be less than 12 and more than 18, depending on how you present them within 15 minutes.
• Please use white or light color background and opposite colors for texting
• Each slide should not have more than 15 lines of text
• Pictures can make your slides more attractive

 
 
                                       Outline of the Marketing Plan

I.      Executive Summary

1. Property Profile

II.     Internal Analysis

A.    Marketing

1.      Products

2.      Prices

3.      Promotions

4.      Place (location factors)

B.    Market Position and Marketing Management Topics

C.   Human Resources

1.  The general performance of Human Resources function

D.   Operations

E.    Administrative Management

F.    Finance (Optional)

 

III. Environmental Analysis

A.    Operating factors (Microenvironment)

1.      Human Resources

2.      Ethics

3.      Customers

4.      Buyer Behavior

5.      Competitors

6.      Suppliers

B.    Remote Factors (Macroenvironment)

1.      Political Regulations

2.      The Economy

3.      Social Trends

4.      Technology

IV.     SWOT Analysis

V.    Key Factor Analysis

VI.    Objectives

VII.    Marketing Strategies

VIII.    Marketing Action Plan

IX.           Resources

X.      Marketing Controls

XI     Supportive Data