The main purpose of hotel product positioning is to enable customers to distinguish hotels from other competitors. In order to achieve this goal, the following work is usually needed:
Step 1: Identify competitors and analyze competitors' products.
Hotel competitors are actually substitutes for hotel products, that is, hotels with the same or similar characteristics as hotels (such as the same or similar areas, hotel star ratings, customer groups, prices, etc.). ).
When determining competitors, hotels often make the mistake of simply judging hotels with the same star rating or other hotels with similar business scope as competitors. The same three-star hotel, some take the tourism team as the target market, some take the conference as the main target market, and some take the individual business market as the target market. Hotels belonging to different target markets cannot be direct competitors of each other. Similarly, taking the conference market as the target market, the conference market division of five-star hotels is different from that of three-star hotels because of the different division standards. Therefore, the competitors of hotel products should be limited to the same or similar target market.
There is a simple test method to judge whether a hotel's products compete with similar products of this hotel: when the hotel reduces the price of the products, observe whether the customers of the other party have moved over. If so, it means that the other party is a competitor of the hotel. The more customers flow, the higher the degree of competition, and vice versa.
After determining the competitors, the hotel must take various channels to collect the product information of competitors, understand what products competitors in the target market provide to customers, compare them with similar products in our hotel in terms of quality, quantity, price and characteristics, and make clear the positioning of competitors' products.
The investigation of competitors' products can be carried out through various channels, such as investigating customers who have bought competitors' products to understand their purchasing experience, product evaluation and other information; You can also send people to your competitors for on-the-spot consumption and observation to get accurate information about their products. You can record the survey data of each competitor, summarize the overall competition in the target market and compare it with our hotel.
Step 2: Choose the competitive advantage accurately and establish the market image.
Through the previous step, the hotel conducted a detailed and in-depth investigation and advantage analysis of competitors and their products in the target market, and found out the advantages of the hotel, which is the main basis for the positioning of hotel products.
Hotels may face a situation where multiple competitive advantages coexist. At this time, it is not appropriate to emphasize all the advantages, because sometimes it will leave customers with the feeling of "selling melons", and too much information will lose focus, which is not conducive to deepening customers' impression. Therefore, hotels should use certain methods to choose from many competitive advantages, evaluate and select the most suitable advantageous projects, and initially determine the positioning of hotel products in the target market. Duan accurately and effectively spread the positioning concept of hotel products to the target market. The advantages of hotel products will not automatically appear in the target market. In order to make these advantages play a role and affect customers' purchasing decisions, hotels need to establish a distinct market image according to the characteristics and advantages of products, and communicate with customers actively and skillfully in the target market through product promotion, thus attracting customers' attention and interest and gaining customers' recognition.
When the hotel publicizes and communicates with the target market, it should try to avoid public misunderstanding caused by improper publicity and give full play to its own advantages. For example, the positioning of communication for the public is too low to show its own characteristics; Or the positioning is too high, which does not conform to the actual situation, misleading customers into thinking that the hotel only deals in high-grade and high-priced products; Or the positioning is vague, and it is impossible to form a unified and clear understanding among customers.
Step 3: size up the situation and adjust the product positioning.
Customers' understanding of hotels and their products is not immutable. Even if the positioning of the product is appropriate, there will be deviations in the following situations:
6? 1 competitors in the target market launch new products, which are located near hotel products, encroaching on some markets of hotel products, resulting in a decline in the market share of hotel products;
6? 1 The preference of customers has changed, which makes the preference for our hotel products shift to some products of competitors.
When encountering the above situation, the hotel should take concrete measures to adjust or even reposition the products according to the changes. Before making a positioning adjustment or repositioning decision, the hotel should consider the following factors:
First of all, hotels should accurately determine the full cost of transferring their product positioning from one target market to another;
Secondly, what kind of return can the hotel get from the new positioning of its products?
The amount of income depends on the number of buyers and competitors in the target market, the average purchase rate, and the sales price of hotel products in the target market.
Hotels should carefully compare the revenue and expenditure forecasts one by one, weigh the advantages and disadvantages, and then decide whether to make a new positioning for hotel products, so as to avoid hasty adjustment and cause a situation where the loss outweighs the gain.
Fourth, the hotel product positioning strategy
(1) Seize the market position, and avoid the reality;
When the hotel fully evaluates the market position of competitors, the actual needs of customers and the attributes of hotel products, and finds that the competitors in the target market are strong and unable to compete directly with them, the hotel should turn its attention to the market gaps that the competitors have not taken into account or ignored, and organize its own products to meet the unmet or fully satisfied needs in the market, thus forming a foothold with the competitors. This positioning method is less risky and easy to succeed.
The successful product market positioning of American hotels in 1960s, such as budget motels, has very realistic guiding significance for the competition of China hotel industry. This kind of hotel provides a choice to meet basic needs and save money for mass travel. It has no meeting room, banquet hall and various entertainment and leisure facilities, but only provides sanitary, comfortable and low-priced rooms, which is very attractive to passing guests who just want to have a good rest. Many small and medium-sized hotels in China often upgrade their products by means of additional investment when facing the competitive pressure from big hotels and hotel groups, and strive for high-quality and complete projects as competitive capital. Doing so will cause greater pressure and even waste on the already limited resources. In fact, the domestic market in China is booming, and domestic tourists will become a huge market in the future. They asked the hotel to provide products suitable for their economic ability. This demand is ignored by some four-and five-star hotels, and this is precisely the market gap of small and medium-sized hotels, and such a market will have great potential.
(2) Forced attack, * * * enjoy the market:
Hotels with rich resources and strong strength often adopt such a product positioning strategy. When it is found that there are many competitors in the target market, but the market demand potential is still great, the hotel adopts the strategy of forced crowding, chooses the overlapping market positioning with competitors, strives for the same potential target customers, and directly competes face-to-face with competitors in terms of products, prices, promotions, channels and other aspects and links, so as to sit in the right place with competitors.
By adopting this tough product positioning strategy, hotels must comprehensively and accurately estimate and analyze competitors and competition results. Hotels must be very clear about whether they have richer resources and stronger management ability than their competitors, whether they can do better than their competitors, and whether the profits in the competition can balance the cost of winning the competition. If you don't know enough and try to be brave, it is likely to lead the hotel astray, which is very dangerous.
As can be seen from the previous discussion, the hotel industry has low barriers to entry and high barriers to exit, which has caused competitors to enter one after another when the market is prosperous. Once the market situation is reversed, hotels will definitely try their best to survive if they can't quit the competition. At this time, in the competition, it is often "forced by the situation", and it is hard to fight hard.
It will be a painful thing for both sides and even many parties. 1999 The hotel price war in a provincial capital city of China caused the local hotel industry to lose hundreds of millions of yuan, and the consequences can be imagined.
In order to avoid vicious competition, even hotels should consciously look for new market vacancies instead of just focusing on the traditional "profitable" market. It will be a wise choice for hotels to formulate product positioning strategy, and the above two strategies should be carried out simultaneously, with emphasis in different periods.
No matter what product positioning strategy is adopted, hotels should put forward the following eight items for their products:
1? 6? 1 Who is the target of the hotel? What is the goal of the hotel?
2? 6? 1 What are the differences between hotels and competitors? How can I make myself different?
3? 6? 1 In what way will the hotel lead? Are there any advantages that the hotel can take advantage of?
4? 6? 1 What disadvantages does the hotel need to overcome? Is it possible to turn disadvantages into advantages?
5? 6? 1 Of all the market segments, which one is the most important to our hotel?
6? 6? 1 How do hotels expand or change their habit patterns?
7? 6? 1 Does the hotel take advantage of tangible and intangible advantages?
8? 6? 1 What products are customers most likely to choose from the hotel?
References:
1. 100 hotel management case, Zhong, Ding, Huacheng Publishing House, June 2004, 1 version.
2. Hotel Marketing Zheng Hong, Guangdong Tourism Publishing House, 1, 2004.
3. Case Diagnosis of Hotel Loss, Liu Ying, Jinan University Press, June 2004, 1 edition.
4. Marketing under the condition of knowledge economy, Tang Decai and Qian Min, Southeast University Press, April 2002, version 1.
5. Market Positioning and Functional Quality Strategy, edited by Bai Guang, China Economic Publishing House, April 2004, 1 edition.