Discuss the role that marketing research can play in helping Marriott formulate

Question

Discuss the role that marketing research can play in helping Marriott formulate sound marketing strategies.

Marriott would like to further penetrate the non-business-travelers segment in the United States. Define the management-decision problem.

Define an appropriate marketing research problem based on the management decision problem you have identified.

What type of research design should be adopted? Justify your recommendation.

Use the Internet to determine the market shares of the major hotel chains for the last calendar year.

What type of internal secondary data will be useful to Marriott?

What type of syndicated data will be useful to Marriott?

Discuss the role of qualitative research in helping Marriott further penetrate the non-business-travelers segment in the United States.

Marriott has developed a new hotel package for families on a vacation. It would like to determine consumers’ response to this package before introducing it in the marketplace. If a survey is to be conducted to determine consumer preferences, which survey method should be used and why?

In what way could Marriott make use of experimentation? What specific experimental design would you recommend?

Illustrate the use of the primary scales for measuring consumer preferences for hotel chains.

Develop Likert, semantic differential, and Stapel scales for measuring consumer preferences for hotel chains.

Develop a questionnaire for assessing consumer preferences for hotels when on vacation.

What sampling plan should be adopted for the survey of question 9?

A question asked the respondents to check as many of the seven hotels that they had stayed in the past 3 years. How should the data for this question be coded?

If marketing research to determine consumer preferences for hotels was to be conducted in Latin America, how would the research process differ?

How can Marriott make use of social media to enhance the effectiveness of its marketing research?

Discuss the ethical issues involved in researching consumer preferences for hotels.

How should the sample size be determined for the survey of question 9?

How would you conduct the training and supervision of the field workers for the survey of question 9?

According to Marriott’s vice president of Marketing and Public Relations, quality, price, service, amenities, comfort, and convenience are all independent variables that affect the preference for a hotel chain. Assume that in a survey of hotel chain, each of the independent variables is measured on a 7-point scale, with 1 = poor and 7 = excellent. Preference for hotel chain is also measured on a 7-point scale, with 1 = not at all preferred and 7 = greatly preferred. Each respondent rates Marriott and three competing hotel chains on all the independent variables as well as preference to stay there on a vacation. What statistical technique(s) would you use to answer the following questions?

About 13 percent of the respondents have missing values on one or more variables. How would you treat the missing values?

MARRIOTT: Marketing Research Leads to Expanded Offering:s LD With roots that go back to before the Great Depression, Marriott International sccess. According to Gordon Lambourne, vice president, Marketing and Public www.marriott.com) has come a long way from its founding by husband and wife Relations, the Marriott brand identity is all about commitment to service excellence, John and Alice Marrictt. As of 2011, Marriott had a presence in 68 countries with a strong focus on employees that work in the hatels, taking care of the associates so more than 3,500 properties. hat they can really focus on their jobs and provide a level of service that customers demand and expect today and that service is consistent throughout the world fronm This sustained vast expansion over the last several decades is due in large part o marketing research. Marriott began pioneering segmentation in the hospitality Philadelphia to Hong Kong. Each of Marriott's hotels has a different personality with industry by expanding its product offering in the 1980s, both upward and dowward a distinct design and service level that make the guests feel like they are in London in quality from its flagship Marriott brand. Marriott found from facus groups and or Munich or Paris, but all these hotels have a common thread running through survey research that it could have many types of hotels serving different market therm that identifies them as Marriott hotels. segments, and that these market segments, although all providing the same basic meeds, would not compete with each other. Certain brands under the Marriott ather, actually help bring in more business. According to Gordon Lambourne, each umbrella serve the business traveler. Courtyard by Marriott, with pricing and scaled brand does an excellent job of going out to its particular segment, because each has back service levels compared to the larger Marriot hotels, is targeted toward the its loyal following, and each markets itself independently and as part of a group that price-sensitive frequent business traveler. Courtyard hotels-said to be designed for is a portfolio of brand. There is some crossover, hawever, but Marriott views it as business travelers by business travelers-offer high-speed Internet access, ample a great opportunity to serve customers whose needs may change. So a customer workspace within the room, and other aeitiestat are appealing to the business looking for an extended stay might prefer the Residence Inn, but choose a full- traveler. Fairfield Inns are priced still more modestly to appeal to travelers who are ervice hotel such as the Renaissance for a shorter trip. So whatever happens, even more price sersitive. Other brands under the Marriott flag, such as the Ramada whtever that need might be, Marriott is well positioned to capture that customer The numerous Marriott brands, rather than creating competition for each line, serve more of a family-style vacation market, and that piece of business. with a focus toward comfort and affordability. or oifferenition is not based on service and pricing alone. Marketing research has revealed other attributes that are important For example, a fam- ily or a basic business traveler on a budget might be looking for a convenient location in addition to afford- ability. Hence, Marriott places Fairfield Inns along interstates and highways, because these targeted that adds value Conclusion MARRIOTT Marriott has been highly successful in using marketing research to develop a segmentation strategy of targeting different customers with different needs by providing different products and options. The diverse offerings have helped Marriott appeal to an increasingly wide range of clients and win greater business. Continued relianca on marketing research will be critical to Marriot's success in the future. groups travel by car. Convenient location becomes another attribute and enthances perception of the Marriot brand name. Questions When Marriott began its Fairfield Inn and Suites brand, it started simply as Fairfield Inn. Then, with marketing research (focus groups and surveys), Marriott found that its Fairfield Inn customers desired a luxury-class room within the value hotel of the Fairfield line. Responding to this, Marriott changed the name to Fairfield Inn and Suites and added high-class rooms that contain amenities such as a spa. Discuss the role that marketing research can play in helping Marriatt formulate sound marketing strategies. Marriot would like to further penetrate the mon-business-travelers segment in the United States. Define the management-decision problem. Aralysis of internal secondary data identified a substantial number of travelers 3. Define an appropriate marketing research problem based on the management who stayed in Marriott hotels for more than a few nightsFocus groups and surveys decision problem you have identified.

Explanation / Answer

1.
The marketing research can provide the precise information about each target segment regarding the preference, orientations and budget size. Accordingly, the hotel group can create customized integrated communication plan for each segment. It will correctly communicate the message to the target audience. As a result, marketing strategies will not only achieve the objectives, but also it helps the hotel group in creating new business development, one of the primary objectives of the marketing communication plan. Besides, the marketing research also helps in understanding the customer needs and accommodate those needs into the servings so that existing customers are retained.

2.
The management decision problem is:
The identification of the needs and preferences of the no-business class travelers in new untapped areas of the USA so that the hotel can serve them better with best in class services.

3.
The marketing research problem is:
To formulate a marketing research plan with suitable techniques and research design to solve the problems identified by the management. It will help the management to understand the trends and preferences of the target customers so that management can devise the strategy.

4.
It will require the exploratory research design using the survey questionnaire and focus group interviews. It will bring out the hidden information about the target group. On the basis of these information, the hotel group will provide the array of services that is most liked by the customers.
Further, the exploratory research design is most suitable because it will explore the customer’s views, preferences and other attributes liked by the customers.

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