The Place of Marketing in the Service Industry

The Place of Marketing in the Service Industry

CHAPTER ONE

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study is aimed at critical analysis of the marketing problems experience in service industries like hotels.With the above problem statements, the main purpose or objectives of this research work will be as follows:-

Finding out to what extent Davos Hotel Enuguhas gone in the application of advertising as one of the tools for marketing on service
Finding out what benefit have accrued to the application of advertisement in their business.
To determine if the Davos Hotel Enuguis offering or not of all Services advertised

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This chapter reviewed the work of some writers and at same time views critically some of those write ups stated below: –

Onyeke, (2001:20) pointed out that some elements of promotion, for instance, advertising, improves standard of living. According him, every business requires early study on some process of informing the public of its existence and merits. He stated that consumers are made to be aware of the availability of numerous alternative solutions to their problems since it makes no sense to build a better mouse trap and keep it secret. He opined that the awareness of the availability of better services pushes the consumers to work hard to earn enough income that will enable them afford the hitherto “Luxuries”. He equally stated that “without advertising, people will leave very dull lifestyles and their standard of living would be static without hope of progress”.

Therefore, in the same vein, every hotel requires some process of information and need of informing the general public of its existence and merits. Most importantly it will not make any difference, if a nice hotel with well skilled and natured staff, as well as adequate amenities is well built and kept “secret”.

However, it is better to create the awareness to keep the name of the hotel in the mind of the public so that they can patronize and as well encounter them repeatedly. This also stimulates impulse purchases by offering small incentives which automatically differentiates it from realm of other hotels.

Kotler (2001:597) said that “advertising appears effective in increasing the volume purchased by loyal buyers”.

This promotional element stimulates the sales when the product being promoted or advertised has good qualities but destroys a bad quality product as well. Hotel business which has good qualities will be enhanced using advertising and destroyed if the hotel does not live up to the expectation of the customers. Olakunori (2000:353) said, that “it is not enough to produce high quality goods without letting the goods get to the final consumers. Continuing, Okakunori said that, Nigerian entrepreneurs are now conscious of the fact that they should provide the consumer with quality product in the places where they are needed and inform the customer that such a product exists.

In fact, with the nature of economic situation, people have cut back on marketing expenditure, including sales promotion and advertising. Some have stopped the idea of advertising while those that believed in advertising as the most powerful promotional elements still carry some little advertising. For instance, up to sixty five hotels exists in Enugu and all actually compete for patronage, and that they cannot do without advertising of some sort.

Also, Udeagha (1999:213) said that minus advertising and promotions generally, that brand would be dead. That advertising is known to create brand image and to promotional elements such as advertising, a hotel can create good image of itself before the public. Writing further, he remarked that advertising contributes to the economy by contributing to personal selling and making it cheaper operation. He equally said that advertising plays an information role. He also went further to say that advertising helps to raise the standard of living of the masses and creates awareness. He at this stage considered the role of advertising in the development of economy with particular reference to its contribution to the improvement of locally manufactured goods. He stated categorically that advertising efforts have greatly forced manufacturers to raise the standard of goods and services.

Conclusively, he stated that it as help immensely, in the employment of thousands of youths who are citizens in various field of endeavors.

From the above stated, it is clear that a hotel that undertakes advertising will cut down on the cost of using personal selling like employment of sales people to take on the activities of the hotel. Any Hotel that undertakes advertising ensures easy disseminating of useful information and at the same time, customers are exposed to the numerous hotels in Enugu and they will be in a better position to choose which one to patronize.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

This chapter briefly intimates the reader with the research design and methodology applied in order to reach conclusions. The design and method actually express the mode of data and analysis.

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

The nature of this research and objective of study is to determine the promotional problems experienced in service industry. Davos Hotel Enugu was selected for an in-depth study for this purpose.

This has prompted the researcher to adopt the use of survey approach to obtain first hand information.

SOURCES OF DATA

While carrying out this study, the researcher gathered data through primary and secondary sources. However, reliance was placed more on the data gathered through the primary sources.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

INTRODUCTION

For any research work to be meaningful the data collected must be analyzed and interpreted to facilitate the process of decision making. Interpretation and analysis of data are the means by which research questions are answered and the stated hypothesis are tested. Analysis of data involves the ordering and breaking down into constituents parts of the data collected. This involves statistical calculations performed with the raw data collected to provide answers to the research questions. The process of interpretation entails taking the result of the analyzed data and making inference to the research question in order to draw conclusions about their relationships. One would therefore conclude that data on their own are meaningless and of little importance until they are analyzed and interpreted to provide the basic facts.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The analysis of various data collected revealed a number of thought-provoking findings, which not only ensured the basic research question raised in chapter one of this research work but also created opportunity for further research in related topics. Based on this findings, some useful recommendations were mode and conclusion draw on the topic.

CONCLUSIONS

The following are the conclusion of the study. The establishment of good standard Davos Hotel Enugu is a very welcome development because:

They have actually played in a major role in the service
They have provided very essential facilities to many people especially in the area of business.
Travelers from one part of Nigeria to Enugu Urban have always found comfort in these hotels.
People who reside in Enugu urban have also found these hotels of immense value.

ASSISTANCE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH

These hotels equally employed many categories of workers and through this means, have helped to fight the problems of unemployment.
These hotels and their staff have also paid taxes to the government thereby helping in the growth of the economy.

USE OF ADVERTISING/PROMOTION IN CREATING AWARENESS

From this research, we are able to discover that these hotels made use of advertising in the running of their business.
The made use of all the modes of advertising

Sales promotion

Radio

Television

Personal contact

Hand bills

With the above advertising/promotional strategy, the following were achieved:

Creation of awareness to potential customers.
Increase in the sales of their goods and services.
Generation of employment to people.
Increase patronage from the public
Additional or increase in their profit
Patronage by these selected hotels to the media house.
Improvement in the hotel industry due to competition among themselves.

Problems

However, the following problems were notice in hotel marketing advertising.

Finance:

Although advertising/promotion is of immense value in hotels business, the researcher through the responses received from respondents, found out that advertising involves much finance and that not all the hotels have the finance for advertising and this is a very serious hindrance. Advertising for special people: in many case, certain advertisement from the way they are framed, look very expensive for special and wealth people in the society.

Recommendations

Based on the above findings, the following recommendations are made:

Establishment of decent hotels by the government and licensed individuals should be encouraged.
Government should bring out a guide for the establishment of standard hotels.
The Board of service industry under which hotels fall, should be empowered to discipline the proprietors of any hotel that performs below acceptable standard.
Government should assist hotels by carrying out promotions/advertising of their services for them at a special rate which should be lower than the rate which the media houses charges.

The Board of serviceindustry/Government should help hotels fight the problems they are facing by:
- Monitoring or censoring the type of advertising as well as promotion these hotels place to make sure it makes the desired meaning or impact to the society.
- The masses need to be educated adequately in order to promote and patronize these hotels.
- All negative ideas about hotel promotions and advertising should be discarded.
- Professionals in the hotel and serviceindustry should be encouraged by government with the setting up of colleges and institutions to train professionals who will.

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