Understanding Services Marketing

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts (BTHR) is a kind of hotel that provides a more private environment in terms of accommodation and other recreational and social facilities in Asia. This paper seeks to explain the origin of Banyan, factors that contributed to its success and sustainability and lastly the kinds of services and products offered by Banyan that makes it different   from the others. The study reveals that a business does not only becomes successful due to the amount of capital or products and services offered but  also the type of marketing practices a company opts for affects business. (Wirtz, 2011)

The business was founded in 1994 by Ho Ping, a travel enthusiast and his wife Claire Chiang   an advocate for corporate social responsibility .Ho had managed family businesses that were mainly based on price competition for survival in the industry. Ho thought it was only price competition advantage that determined survival of the business until one time a business in Thailand that based on the same idea of low cost competition was closed down due to too much competition from the companies that could operate at a much lower cost. These incidents made Ho realize that not only do price competition leads to business failure but also the business lose its future. He decided to come with a business idea whereby the company would be the price maker and not price taker: A strong brand with competitive advantage. Ho found a gap in the hotel industry that needed to be filled. The giant chains could not fill the gap that is; the market needed someone to offer it with private intimate accommodation. (Blythe, 2009) Apart from offering that unique private accommodation, Ho aimed at bridging he price gap that existed among different big hotels. By the fact that Ho and his wife had travelled widely around the world, they had been exposed enough to realize that people do not need accommodation alone. Other services are demanded by the market. The two therefore venture in the hotel industry and by 2009; BTHR had many resort, spa and craft galleries. (Wirtz, 2011)

Marketing conditions refers to the state of market into which a company is entering or into which a certain product which is new is introduced. The concept of market conditions entails factors such as intensity of competition, competitors level and market growth rate. BTHR faces different competitors but as a company, it developed different strategies that gives it a competitive advantage for instance it offers unique products that  other hotels do not offer .BTHR market growth rose at a higher rate because it was promoted using different means that reached a wider market. (Blythe, 2009) It faces low or moderate competition because its products are quite different from the ones provided by other hotels in the same industry. (Wirtz, 2011)

Analyzing Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts

This refer to an effort to influence  consumers perception of a product relative to the view of brands from the competitors .The aim of marketing positioning is to capture or occupy a different, unique and advantageous position in the mind of the consumer. BTHR developed many strategies that would position it as a unique hotel. First of all, it convinced consumes of better services by providing services different from all the luxurious hotels. It provided private romantic and intimate accommodations. Romantic environment is created by lighting candles as a surprise to the couples during the evenings. BTHR also distinguishes itself by embracing cultural heritage such as indigenous crafts that portrays culture and traditions of the community The company distinguishes itself too by not only providing services adhering to environment conservation practices for  example the planting of Banyan tree that was done at some point. All these practices makes BTHR unique thus attract more people and this becomes a competitive advantage for the company. (Wirtz, 2011)

This refers to a specific category of people that is identified as the people focused on to receive an advertisement, campaign and product. BTHR in its marketing and service provision focused on   different groups discussed as follows. Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts aimed at providing services to guests from different countries in different countries across Asia and Europe. It targeted on those people who needed accommodation services and extra services such as spa, romantic spaces and products that portray cultural heritage. BTHR served consumers in twenty three countries of the world. In other words, Banyan’s main aim was to provide private atmosphere that values privacy of its customers. (Wirtz, 2011)

Services marketing refers to the wide category of marketing strategies aimed at selling anything that is not a physical tangible product. These services may include medical care, rental of spaces and houses to spa treatments. Services marketing range from advertisements, promotional deals and informational content. Marketing the strategies implemented by companies to ensure that their marketing is successful. The principles and practices of marketing in relation to Banyan Tree Hotels and Resort are discussed as follows. There are seven principles that are applied for a successful marketing. This is according o a marketing theory commonly known as the Marketing mix theory.

The theory helps business people and marketers determine their types of brands to be offered. The first P is the product. The product should suit the function or task that consumers want it for. In the case of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Ho, the founder of the company had discovered a gap in the hotel industry in that as much as other big hotels offered accommodation, people there is a segment of the population that needed private accommodation and extra services such as spa and a romantic and intimacy environment for couples. (Roy, Mutum, & Nguyen, 2017)Therefore, BTHR was able to meet the customer’s needs that had been lacking in the hotel industry. Any new product introduced to the market should be what the consumers are expecting to be given. (Wirtz, 2011)

Marketing Conditions and Competition

The second P is place. When coming up with a new product or service, it should be done in a way that is convenient for the consumers to access. BTHR came up with unique hotel services such as spa, galleries of indigenous crafts and other heritage products. The products are offered within the hotel to ensure that the customers have easy access to them. This is a marketing tool that is so strategic when it comes to a successful marketing. The third P stands for price. This principle holds that the price set by a company should be representing a good value of money .The price should not necessarily be low but it should offer a service or product whose value is appealing to the consumers. (Zeithaml, Bitner, & Gremler, 2010) BTHR was started by Ho after realizing the wide gap between the luxurious Aman hotels and the other hotels in the industry. He therefore opted to come up with his private-like hotel that would offer more services compared to other hotels but at a cheaper price. Therefore, the customers felt satisfied by the services even with less consideration of the prices. (Wirtz, 2011)

Promotion is another principle of service marketing. This refers to the dissemination of product or service message to the right audience bin a manner that is pleasing to them. BTHR carried out the company promotion. To be more appealing, BTHR was promoted and advertised as a hotel that would offer private romantic and intimate smallish accommodations unlike the luxurious big hotels in the entire industry that would only offer a common accommodation. The promotions were also made through magazines and agents as well as inviting editors and writers to the hotel premises. (Wirtz, 2011)

Apart from these main Ps, there are other additional principles of marketing. The next P is people. It is well known that all businesses and companies rely on the people who operate them either from front line sales or managing directors. What matters a lot is having the right people to run the business. (Winer, 2014)As managing directors, Ho and his wife had the best experience because they had traveled widely and collected ideas by identifying the market gap. Ho himself had initially managed the family business and therefore had some experience. Banyan Tree also offered training to its employees on basics of customer relations. (Wirtz, 2011)

Process is also another P whereby, service delivery is usually done with the customer present so that service offering is part of what the customer is paying for. At BTHR, customers would pay for the hotel and get all the services like spa under the same cost price. This brings clarity on payment agreement between the business and the customer. Physical evidence is also one of the principles in that as much as services are not tangible; companies try their best to ensure that there is something given to the customer that is an evidence of the service provided for instance BTHR lit surprise candles for couples to create that romantic intimacy environment among them. (Wirtz, 2011)

Marketing Positioning and Unique Services

Many companies in all industries recognize the vital role played by services marketing practices in drawing customers closer. Many services marketing companies are restructuring their businesses processes which give the businesses long-term sustainability. This is done by doing things in the manner whose impact intensity is highly felt. The first step to achieving good services marketing practices is by comparing your company with others in terms of competition. This helps one identify the position of his or her business in the industry. The following is a discussion on services marketing practices and analyses on whether BTHR has been able to achieve this. The first practice is the knowledge that services arte intangible. (Temporal, 2001)Services offered can neither be touched nor seen hence difficult for customers to value them. However, though services are intangible, customers can judge them by their quality of the offering .RITZ CALTON.BTHR ensures that the customers get quality services by training their employees on simple but basic customer care concepts for instance how to greet and serve the customer. If served well, the customer is pleased and satisfied by the service .Another practice is the fact that competitiveness in service sector can be improved by redefining business procedure. This is where the service providers come up with new products and services to offer in the industry hence pool up the other companies to a stiff competition. For instance BTHR’s founder, Ho, identified a gap in the hotel industry that could not be filled by other big hotels in the industry and ventured into that business by offering private accommodations that comprised of an environment that created a romantic and intimacy environment. In conclusion, for businesses to cope up with the high competition the services marketing firms must follow the most achievable practices and mostly done by redefining of the business procedures. (Wirtz, 2011)

Conclusion

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts according to the case study is portrayed as a unique kind of business in the hotel industry because it was developed based on a gap in the market and not just out of excitement and profit motivation like other businesses do. It also has a strong base of founders in that out of their travel world wide, the two directors have gained much experience that enables them to run the businesses with a competitive advantage. The case study has proven that success if a business is not only based on how low the prices of its products are but also its ability to be price maker rather than price taker.

Basing on theories such as marketing principles, i.e. the seven Ps, BTHR can enhance its operations and marketing by considering the following factors. First, is the principle product this principle holds that a firm should ensure that the products offered are the right ones to meet the needs of the customer. From the case study, BTHR was able to survive n the industry because t provided what others could not and in addition it filled a market gap that had remained opened for many years as much as hotel industry is concerned. It is therefore recommended to keep its uniqueness it the business

References

Blythe, J. (2009). Key concepts in marketing. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE.

O’Kane, B. (2011). Marketing basics. Cork: NuBooks.

Roy, S., Mutum, D., & Nguyen, B. (2017). Services Marketing Cases in Emerging Markets. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Sharma, S. (2008). Service marketing. Jaipur: Paradise Publishers.

Temporal, P. (2001). Branding in Asia. Singapore: Wiley.

Winer, R. (2014). Marketing management (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Wirtz, J. (2011). The Banyan Tree: branding the intangible. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 1(1), 1-12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/20450621111110474

Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M., & Gremler, D. (2010). Services marketing (1st ed.).