Recommend a possible marketing plan to achieve Jolin's objectives (lines 80–81). Justify your recommendation.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Knowledge: Explanation of a marketing plan: marketing budget, objectives and coordinated marketing mix
2. Knowledge: Definition of marketing mix – price, place, product and promotion
3. Knowledge: Definition of the 4C - customer solution, cost to customer, communication to customer and convenience to customer
4. Application: Objectives to increase occupancy rates from 78% and revenue
5. Application: Failure to reach forecast occupancy rates in luxury, family and budget hotels
6. Application: Fixed room price and the three hotel types for different customer profiles
7. Application: Target consumer in country X and overseas,
8. Application: Issue with customer service/quality
9. Application: CU is lowest in family hotels
10. Analysis: Product: complaints indicate quality needs to be addressed, including refurbishment and upgrading facilities
11. Analysis: Product: introduce events e.g. music weekends, children's workshops
12. Analysis: Price: no indication that price is an issue. To cover this possibility introduce dynamic pricing to increase occupancy rates, offer discounted deals for some categories e.g. two families booking together
13. Analysis: Promotion: tie in deals with e.g. conferences, festivals, concerts, beach attractions for some of the hotels
14. Analysis: Promotion: research the success of the various methods used
15. Analysis: Promotion: successful as occupancy rates high and NH profitable. Need to be more focused in targeting consumers by research into categories and specified methods to reach them
16. Analysis: Place: Work with a greater range of travel agents
17. Analysis: Place: hotels fixed location. Could offer service for placing consumers in other hotels if NH is full
18. Analysis: These elements should complement each other and work together – e.g. target students in other countries, use university publications and student media, price low enough to meet student expectations, provide basic facilities.
19. Evaluation: No indication of budget available – change to marketing mix could be expensive and cost more than increase in occupancy or revenue.
20. Evaluation: Assessment of possibility of success of proposals
21. Evaluation: Conclusion on relative importance of mix elements
22. Evaluation: Success depends on other factors – economic and market conditions in Country X and other countries
23. Evaluation: Content also influenced by discussion with senior management
24. Evaluation: Different approach for the different market segments may be required – not a one size fits all.