Full Project – Role of social media to the marketing of hotels products and services

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

According to Nigeria Marketing Association (2008), marketing refers to “an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. In essence, marketing is a consumer-oriented philosophy or way of doing business; companies that are consumer oriented will put consumers’ needs and wants on their top priority. From this perspective, the ultimate goal of marketing is therefore to create and retain profitable customers by satisfying their demands (Cheung, 2006). It is worth noting that the goal of retaining profitable customers is particularly challenging in Nigeria. This is because people in Nigeria have to be oriented and the word-of-mouth effects are especially strong (Sigala, 2003).

Hospitality marketing is unique because it deals with the tangible product, like a bed in the hotel or food in the restaurant, but it also deals with the intangible aspects of the hospitality and tourism industry(Pitoska, 2013). It is about the experience in a trip and social status it brings eating in a fine-dining restaurant. Hospitality marketing is very critical in the success of any hospitality and tourism product, organization and tourist destination (Govers, 2004). Proper marketing effort promotes a product or service that fills the needs and wants of the consumers and at the same time, bring profits to the organization or country that features it.

Social media marketing is any marketing done online via websites or other online tools and resources. These include paid services while other methods are virtually free. A wide variety of social media marketing methods are at your disposal, including: direct email, SMS/text messaging, blogs, webpages, banners, videos, images, ads, social media, search engines, and much, much more (Wang, 2008).

The increasing presence of the Internet in daily lives has resulted in the Internet an essential media in marketing communication. To gain competitive advantage in the demanding tourist market, it is important nowadays for a hotel company to have its own website, promote its products through social networks and mobile applications, use e-mail as a channel of communication with its business partners and customers, and apply all available information-communication technology (ICT) (Gohary, 2012). It needs to provide all information for potential clients in one place at any time of day, from anywhere in the world. That can be possible by using innovative ways of communication and by adapting business operations to demanding requirements of the modern tourist market. This imposes the innovation of practices and the implementation of new technologies in business processes. Therefore, there is a need for awareness about the necessity of applying ICT in the hotel business (Dobraca, 2011).

Previous studies have highlighted the importance of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry (Sigala, 2003; Pitoska, 2013). They were mainly focused on the role and importance of websites in the marketing of a tourist destination (Govers, Go, 2004; Wang, 2008; Woodside et al. 2011), the importance of social media for destination marketing organisations (Ružić, Biloš, 2010), and destination choice (Tham et al. 2013) etc. In addition, previous studies cover topics related to the application of social media marketing in hospitality such as the effect of social media marketing on consumer behaviour (Andrlić, Ružić, 2010), the application of e-mail marketing (Dobrača, 2011) and web promotion in the hospitality industry (Ružić et al. 2011). A set of papers are related to website quality in the hotel industry (Law, Cheung, 2006; Panagopoulos et al. 2011; Schmidt et al. 2008). However, “as the theory in the field of social media marketing is still in its infancy and not yet well established, there is a need for having more well-established studies that could be considered as a step towards theory building in the field of social media marketing” (El-Gohary, 2012: 1257). Since there is a lack of publications which deal with a general level of implementation of social media marketing in the hotel industry, it seemed justified to conduct research on the application of social media marketing in the hotel industry and thereby contribute to the study of this issue.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The hospitality industry tends to be very customer-centric and also one that prides itself by reaching out to its guests and providing a personalized experience. In traditional marketing, our lives are saturated by print media, radio and television. The downside of traditional marketing is the high cost and it is a one-way communication. Social media encourages customer engagement, and it being on Web 2.0, promotes two-way traffic. It allows for a faster response and a low cost investment than is typically achieved with traditional marketing.

1.3 Objective of the Study

General objective: The general aim of the research is to examine role of social media marketing of hotels products and services in Katsina metropolis.

The objective of this study are stated as follows:

To find ways that hotel can benefit from social media marketing in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina.
To know how the social media marketing for hotels, ways to attract and retain in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina.

To find the top reasons why you need hotel social media marketing strategy in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina.

To find the strategy that boosts social media marketing in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina.
To find the tips and ideas `to increase your hotel’s online visibility in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina.

1.4 Research Question

What are the ways hotels can benefit from social media marketing in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina?
How is social media marketing for hotels, ways to attract and retain in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina?

What are the top reasons you need in hotel social media marketing strategy in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina?

What is the strategy that boosts marketing in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina?
What are the tips and ideas `to increase your hotel’s online visibility in Liyafa Palace Hotel Katsina?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The importance of this study is to bring to limelight the importance of social media marketing on Restaurant a case study of Liyafa Palace Hotel.

This research work will be significant to students who want to take up hospitality as a course of study and for business. It will also be of great importance to the general public. Enhancing opportunities for interaction and engagement among like-minded members of Facebook and WhatsApp page to foster sharing of interests and carrying out similar purposes for joining. Incorporating various features of Facebook and WhatsApp page that provide positive experiences (e.g., entertainment, pleasure, and enjoyment) with the brand. Monitoring members‘ communications to identify new market segments and provide customized services based on common interests about products/services, visiting purposes, and other factors.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This research work examine ‘social media marketing in the hospitality industry: This study reveals the Role of Social Media to Marketing of Hotels Product and Services in Katsina Local Government. It also highlights that social media marketing is an important tool to improve the hospitality sales and revenue.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

In carrying out this study, a number of constraints were encountered:

Time Constraint: The researcher may not be able to get enough time to research for more data so as ensure a valid and reliable study.

Financial Constraint: Lack of adequate fund may limit the validity of the study.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Social media: are interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing of information, ideas, career interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.

Marketing: is profitably using the results of studying short term and long term needs of those who can pay for a one-time, or in most cases, a steady flow of service or product placement. In 2017, The New York Times described it as “the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallets.

Hotel: is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis.

Sector: is an area of a city or country which is controlled by a military force. Officers were going to retake sectors of the city.

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