Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies for Marriott Hotels

Segmenting, Targeting, And Positiong for Marriott Hotels

Marriott Hotels

Segmentation

The market segment is formed of several individuals who express similar needs and have similar expectations from the seller. In this case, the seller is Marriott Hotels who presents clients with hosting services. As their customer palette is formed of individuals who have similar, but not identical, desires and expectations, the strategies implemented should be structured on the same basis, but should also be flexible as to allow the satisfaction of numerous customers.

There are four levels of market segmentations Marriott Hotels should analyse to identify their target segment. First, there is the segment marketing, applicable to the Hotels as it reveals the potential customers as a unified group of individuals who share similar requests. This segment could be formed of travellers who desire a comfortable stay and who have reasonable expectations. The second level is the niche, designed for an exclusive group of people. In this case, Marriott' niche could be formed of extremely rich individuals who share the same need for privacy, beautiful views and exquisite foods. The third segmentation level regards the local communities. This could be formed of the inhabitants living in the vicinity of the hotel, who do not need accommodations, but a different set of services. These potential customers look for locations to organize and host their business and social events. The last level is that of customerization, including clients with particular needs and the seller's desire to meet those needs.

The criteria used for market segmentation generally include geography (only suitable for the local community, as the other clients can easily come from any part of the world), demography (applicable to all customers), psycographics (a combination of psychology and demographics) and customers' behavior.

3. Positioning

To properly position their hotels and services on the market, Marriott Hotels will emphasize on the high quality and increased standards of the Marriott services. They will also point out the numerous skills and trainings of their personnel, who is at all times available to satisfy the wide variety of needs customers might have.

A good positioning strategy will stress the needs of three different consumer categories. On the local market, Marriott Hotels will emphasize on the large number of events that can be organized and hosted within the hotel's restaurant. On the national and international markets, the hotel will point out the benefits of staying at Marriott, such as easy access to points of interest, impeccable services, wonderful view or hotel shops.

On the market of extremely wealthy customers, the hotels' marketing team will emphasize on the secluded location of the hotels, the privacy granted and the opportunity to customize and meet any need presented by the clients.