Credit card - merchant status.
Dealing with suppliers
All about IR35.
Taking on staff: Pay and holidays.
Overtime/shift work.
Part time/full time.
Temporary/seasonal.
Recruiting/interviewing.
Wages.
Staff benefits.
Business equipment: Personal computers.
Laser printers.
Photocopiers.
Telephones.
Accounting software.
Work from home: Could you work from home?
Insurance.
Organising office space
Marketing and PR: Marketing.
Currency - exchange rates.
Dealing with tax: Dealing with tax.
National insurance.
Tax for self-employed.
Advertising: Customer base.
Advertising.
Direct mail.
Business cards.
Rules/Regulations: Health and safety.
Strict regulations on kitchens.
Food hygiene requirements.
Absolutions facilities.
Employment laws.
Miscellaneous: Laundry.
Electricity.
Business rates.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is a simple but effective means of carrying out an analysis of the Orchard Country Hotel. The SWOT analysis is probably the first step in putting together a marketing plan or business plan for their business.
STRENGTHS: What are the strengths of your product? What makes it better than other products? Are these strengths being sufficiently exploited? Are you being sufficiently defended? What do other people see as your strengths? What do you do well?
Consider this from your own viewpoint and from the point of view of the people that you deal with. Don’t be modest – be realistic.
WEAKNESSES: What are the weaknesses of your product? What makes it inferior to other products? Are there any strategies you should be using to offset these weaknesses? Should you be removing these weaknesses completely? What could you improve? What do you do badly? What should you avoid?
Again, contemplate this from an internal and external basis – do other people seem to detect weaknesses that you do not see? Are your competitors doing better than you? It is best to be aware and face any grave facts sooner rather than later!
OPPORTUNITIES: What external factors are there, that could be adopted if appropriate resources were allocated? Are there any interesting trends that you are aware of?
One of the biggest opportunities, especially for a small hotel, must be to set up a web site. Local events are always popular. Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.
THREATS: What external factors are there, that threaten to reduce your market share? What obstacles do you face? What is your competition doing? Are the required specifications for your services changing? Do you have bad debt or cash flow problems?
Carrying out this analysis will be helpful – by pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting Rachel and John’s problems into perspective. The SWOT analysis is a structure for evaluating strengths and weakness, and the opportunities and threats that are encountered. It will help them focus on their strengths, minimise weaknesses, and take the maximum possible advantage of the opportunities available.
Relevant Marketing Theory - Solving Problems identified.
Identifying a market with growth potential is key to a successful business. So if you enjoy meeting people and have a passion for quality of service, running a hotel could be the key that you are looking for. Firstly, consider what type of hotel you want to run. Some businesses pitch for both business and private clients. The types of clients you attract depend, largely, on the hotels location. A hotel that combines proximity to a reasonably sized town with the quiet of the country can appeal to a wider segment of the market, than say, isolated or inner city hotels. The size of the hotel, its location and the clientele you are aiming to attract will all determine the cost of the hotel and therefore how much capital you will need.
Having training and experience in the hospitality trade will be of great benefit in being able to provide a high quality of service, which guests expect. Essentially, the ability to work with people and deal with staff and the public is necessary – people skills are important. People travel more now and so expectations have increased, guests expect to get good value for their money. Quality does not mean having to be expensive, but it does mean having to be good at your price level.
As Rachael does not have the relevant training; it would be a good idea if she employed an experienced manager to run the hotel, even on a year’s contract. Especially in the first year, as she tries to get to grips with advertising, maintenance, building a reputation, finding new customers, and all the other things that are happening. Having a manager would be useful to her as the hotel would run smoothly, pleasing the guests, and she can learn from pick up tips/ideas from the new experienced manager for when she regains control of the reins.
Skills that are needed, include, stress management, time management, financial management and flexibility.
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Development time is a factor ‘high’ on the list of priorities. This is the time it takes to develop the project. It involves several factors, such as product complexity, newness, clarity of customer requirements, the effectiveness of the new hotel’s development process, quality, effective management, priority and prior experience with in the hotel industry.
The responsibilities of your Marketing Adviser
Running your own business can be a lonely job. You can be faced with a mountain of decisions to be made, covering every aspect of the business: accounting, marketing, premises, employment, tax and a whole lot mote. Fortunately there is a lot of help available – all you need to do is find yourself a decent marketing advisor, to help ease the pressure off your shoulders.
A marketing advisor is someone who be able to listen, analysis problems, find and offer impartial information, problem solve, suggest innovative ideas, develop action plans, challenge you and find you specialist help if they cannot offer it. He/she will become your mentor, coach, net worker, facilitator and researcher rolled into one.
Primary and Secondary Data
It is inexpensive and faster to adopt secondary data, and the information is easily obtainable. The secondary information will help to increase the hotelier’s knowledge, thus making the business more viable. After the secondary data has been used, primary data can be sought, by researching further information from other sources, also ensuing the methods needed.
Long, Medium and Short Term Objectives
The objectives are a needed result to be achieved by a specific time. An objective is broader than a goal, and one objective can be broken down into a number of specific goals. Like goals, objectives serve to provide guidance, motivation, evaluation and control.
Long Term: New customers
Keep previous customers
Facilities for: ramblers/artists/chefs
Upmarket restaurant.
Management/small business development course. Good customer care.
Quality food.
Stay aware of situation.
Plan ahead.
Determination to do well.
Delegate when able to.
Stay realistic – especially with budgets/accounts. Listen to your customers (they are your ‘bread and butter’).
Dominate market in your area.
Think of the future – you and your business.
Medium Term: Transport to/from Lyme Regis.
Run special offers.
Better usage of current technology.
Update furniture/renovate – if cash flow will allow
(otherwise – long term).
Corporate/marketing objectives- develop/keep customers.
Short Term: Consult Marketing Advisor
Employ temporary experienced manager.
New image.
Good reputation.
Advertising.
Getting new customers
Employing more staff.
Marketing.
Become more family friendly orientated.
Identify target customers.
Discounts and bonuses.
Penetration pricing.
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a key development tool for customer focused marketing. IMC is based on centralized marketing communication efforts; it includes a system of accountability and studies how different programmes affect your market and customers.
Marketers know that advertising is an investment, not an expense, because they are held responsible for specific results. The message can be put across to the target consumer by using the AIDA approach:
A = Attention - Grab customers attention
I = Interest - Make the message interesting
D = Desire - Which leads to a desire to visit
A = Action - They will take action and book
Elements of IMC:
- Research
- Marketing
- Advertising
- Promotions
- Public Relations
- Direct Communications
- Strategic Communications Plans
- Accountability
* Ascertain who the buyer is.
* Verify what is meaningfully unique about your product.
* Construct a business positioning strategy statement.
* Clarify the best message to communicate your product positioning to target buyers.
* Determine promotion and advertising options and costs in terms of available budget.
Making ‘Loads of Money’
To maximise your income – the main source is obviously from accommodation. Trying to attract guests year-round is a major factor. Devon and Cornwall are popular getaways, so targeting couples looking for a weekend break (away from the hustle and bustle of the City) is one option. You can also target a market that can provide a steadier source of guests; for example, as the hotel is in the countryside it could possibly have facilities for ‘ramblers’, ‘cookery lessons’ or ‘artists’ and hold all through the year to cater for them.
Offering supplementary facilities and events can help expand your earnings. The restaurant could be open for lunches and dinners, thereby enticing the guests to use the hotels facilities, rather than spend their money elsewhere.
Wedding weekends, Children fun weekends, Theme nights, Family/Singles/Couples packages, Special events (seasonal, sports, cultural and musical) and a variety of functions could be hosted at the hotel to boost its cash flow. In addition psychological pricing can be used, in that a method of set prices can be used, intended to have a special appeal to customers.
As the hotel industry tends to have an overall ‘seasonality’, as they have gone into the business venture as a couple, it would have been sensible if one of them had kept an outside income (especially in the beginning). This way they could have earned some money through the winter to help supplement their summer income.
A continuity plan could be used to encourage guests to come back or recommend a new customer. Incentives encourage guests to come back on a continuing basis over time. The plan is often based on some sort of saving or accumulation scheme such as points, discounts and coupons, etc.
Look at the economic climate, such as productivity income, wealth, inflation, pricing, poverty, interest rates, credit, transport and employment. The economic surrounding will have an affect on any business and its opportunities.
Use satisfaction selling, identify the prospective customer’s needs and then try to offer a solution that complies with those needs.
Getting your Business noticed
In order to achieve maximum success for your business, it always comes down to good old-fashioned ‘advertising’ to clinch the market. A suitable advertising ‘budget’ needs to be set in place; this is crucial, as it is worth investing in this to make safe your future. The decision about how much money should be spent for advertising during a specific time period to accomplish the specific objectives. The decision also involves the allocation of certain amounts the total advertising appropriate to the various media, creative approaches, times of the year and the production costs involved in preparing advertising messages for placement in various media.
Direct advertising should be used, issued by the hotelier by mail or personal distribution to individual customers or prospects (tourist information centres). Also used is the advertising literature appearing in folders. Leaflets, throwaway letters, delivered to prospective customers by mail or put in letterboxes.
Supplements are also cheap and great way to advertise, where by advertisements can be inserted during the printing process for the publication of a variety of newspapers and magazines.
Concept test and development can be used, where by a concept stated
(i.e. questionnaire) is given to potential guests and users, for their reactions. These reactions permit the hotelier to estimate the sales value of the concept and to make changes in it so as to enhance its sales value.
A data base needs to be set up, this will inform you on current and prospective guests that generally includes the demographic (characteristic of the population) and psycho graphic data as well as purchase history.
Well presented ‘business cards’ are always useful to the potential customer and his/her friends/family (your ‘prospective’ potential customers!)
A customer base needs to be set up, using existing customers and gaining customers, using advertising and promotions, telemarketing and mail shots, and the Internet.
When taking over an old business – you need to re-vamp it by giving it a new image. The consumer perception of the hotel that may or may not correspond with reality. For marketing purposes, the image of ‘what it is’ may be more important than ‘what it actually is’!
Media Plan
Conclusion
- Undertake a mini Swot analysis.
- Produce a Media Plan.
- Find a mentor, someone with the sense to see which way you are heading and to help you steer your self-motivation in the direction of success.
- Set realistic targets. Break down long-term goals into targets for this year, this month and this week. Have a checklist of things to do each day.
- Be positive – acknowledge the things that you have achieved, rather than the few that you haven’t, and remind your self that you have achieved something each day.
- Visualise success; think in terms of what you want, rather than the barriers that stand in the way.
- Recognise that breaks are beneficial, and leave you re-motivated and refreshed.
- Look after your health, if that breaks down, so does your business success.
- Don’t be afraid to seek out help when you need it.
- Identify what motivates you – money, independence or a fresh challenge.
- Take a step back, if you can’t see the wood from the trees, speak to someone outside the business for a different perspective.
Bibliography
Hall et al, 2000, Business Studies AS Level, Causeway Press Ltd
Marcouse et al, 1999, Business Studies, Hodder & Stoughton
Parker, 1999, Buying and running a small Hotel, How to Books
