Marketing and Promotional Techniques

Marketing

Marketing encompasses all activities used by businesses to promote and sell their products or services to customers.
It includes promotional techniques designed to attract attention and encourage customers to make a purchase.

Marketing Research

Marketing research is crucial for understanding customers, including their location, what they want, and what they can afford.
Target research emerges from broad research and focuses on specific issues relevant to particular groups or aspects of an initiative.

Market Share

Market share represents the portion of a market controlled by a particular company or organization.
A competitive edge consists of special qualities and resources that give a company an advantage over its competition in the marketplace.

Core Market

The core market is the primary group of consumers that make up the majority of your customers.

Niche Market

A niche market is a small segment of your core market with specific needs for a product or service.

Purpose of Marketing in Tourism

To identify customers.
To propose products and services to customers.
To develop brand and local images, encouraging customers to spread positive word-of-mouth.
To stand out from the competition and gain a competitive edge.
To attract customers by meeting their needs and expectations.
To promote businesses through various marketing channels, both digital and print, to generate brand awareness.

Marketing Budget and Costs

Market Research Costs

Market research can be expensive, especially when hiring a marketing company.
Fees charged by marketing companies can be high.
Alternatively, a company can employ its own researchers, which also involves costs.
Using the internet can reduce costs by providing information about competitors, their products, services, and pricing.

Brainstorming Costs

Brainstorming sessions with customers can clarify costs and identify loyal customers.
These sessions may involve expenses such as hiring a conference room and preparing food for participants.

Communication Costs

Communication costs form a large part of the marketing budget.
Examples include brochures, flyers, leaflets, and posters.
The quality of printed materials needs to be high, as low-quality materials can negatively affect how customers perceive your products and services.
Telephone and cellphone costs are also significant, especially when customers call a toll-free number.
Consider the costs of telephone lines, fax machines, paper, ink, and toner.

Internet Costs

Internet costs are crucial for businesses to be accessible to potential customers.
Having an attractive website is important for making bookings and sending/receiving information.
Using Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) connections can provide the necessary internet access.

Travel Costs

Travel costs include local and overseas travel, accommodation, food, and entertainment expenses.
Overseas travel involves visa expenses, hotel accommodation, airport taxes, and entrance fees.
Vehicle costs include petrol, toll fees, maintenance, and car rental fees, plus relevant insurances.

Airfare Costs

Airfare costs cover domestic and international flights, airport taxes, baggage charges, and transport to your destination to exhibition materials

Gateway

Gateway refers to the accessibility of road, air, or water networks to various national countries at various locations and countries.

Personnel (Staff) Costs

Most tourism businesses may carry out marketing functions in itself, but it is likely to be employed.
These could include market researchers, marketing planners, sales representatives, and marketing managers.
All staff members expect a salary, medical fund, pensions and benefits that come with working tourison businesss.

Promotional Techniques in the Tourism Industry

Above the Line Promotional Techniques

Above-the-line techniques target large groups of potential customers with minimum personal interaction.
Mass media, such as television and the internet, are used.

Below the Line Promotional Techniques

Below-the-line methods are more personal.

Above the Line Advertising

Examples include video walls, audio-visual presentations, digital displays, cellphone advertising, and web-based advertising.

Below the Line Advertising

Personal selling involves interpersonal communication skills and face-to-face interaction with the customer.

Sales Promotions

Sales promotions involves offering incentives to encourage the purchase of tourism products.
Examples include free giveaways, samples, vouchers, and in-store discounts.
Travel agencies might promote holidays at special offers in their shops.

Promotional Sponsorship

Promotional sponsorship involves giving financial support to an organization in exchange for association with the sponsor's name or brand.
This assists the sponsor to be spotted.

Exhibitions, Shows, and Expos

A special event at which an organization promotes its products or services.
These can also be referred to as shows or expos.
Tourism Indaba held in Durban is an example of Shows and Expos.
Enable potential customers to gather as much information as possible before deciding to buy a product or service by bringing together many industry representatives.

Promotional & Advertising Techniques: Advantages & Disadvantages

Newspapers

Advantage: Can reach national audience.
Disadvantage: Information may be delayed, usually in black and white, and readers can easily ignore.

Magazines

Advantage: Can reach a national audience, reader can refer to information.
Disadvantage: Competing products also advertise.

Billboards

Advantage: Can reach nation target audience, can be used to reinforce other media.
Disadvantage: Difficult to measure effectiveness, only give limited information.

Sales Promotions

Advantage: Increased short term sales, inject new life into a brand.
Disadvantage: Usually in black and white, and readers can easily ignore it.