InFo

Approaches to Marketing

1. Product Orientation

A production orientation is a philosophy that focuses on the

internal capabilities of the hotel rather than on the desires and

needs of the marketplace. A production orientation means that in a

hospitality environment, management assesses its resources and

asks these following questions:

•

What services are most convenient for a hotel to offer?

•

Where do our talents lie?

There is nothing wrong with assessing a hotel’s capabilities; in fact,

such assessments are major considerations in strategic marketing

planning. A production orientation falls short because it does not

consider whether the goods and services that the firm produces

most efficiently also meet the needs of the market place.

Here, the roadside motels provide convenience and lower rates and

steal customers away from the traditional ‘established’ hotels. The

hotel operators thought that the products that they designed were

the most important success factors. For them, the product defined

by tradition was sacred. In today’s market place, operations of this

type are disappearing and being replaced by those that are in tune

with changing consumer demands. The fact is that consumer needs,

tastes and preferences are rapidly changing, and it is the consumers

who define what will and will not succeed.

2. Sales Orientation

A sales orientation is based on the ideas that people will buy more

goods and services if aggressive sales techniques are used and that

higher sales result in higher profits. Not only are sales to the final

buyer emphasised but intermediaries are also encouraged to push

manufacturers’ products more aggressively. To sales-oriented firms,

marketing means selling things and collecting money.

It is quite common in hospitality organisations to find people who

think of selling as the entire extent of marketing. The assumption is

that if you sell hard enough, the guests will buy. Therefore, the

focus of a sales orientation is still the product, or what an operation

has to offer. Operators who think marketing is just advertising and

selling fall into this category; so do operators who look only at the

promotional side of their business.

Selling is a very important business activity; however, the real

danger of the sales orientation is that any success due to selling

may create an illusion that ‘sell, sell, sell’ is the way to prosper. When

an operation offers products and services that fit the needs and

preferences of its guests, selling can contribute greatly to the

success of that operation. However, when guests’ tastes change or

the operation fails to satisfy the guests for any reason, the sales

orientation is doomed to failure. Remember, satisfying the guest is

the key to repeat sales and a vital part of marketing.