(10) RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
go wrong instead of just walking away. (Shoemaker, 2007)
Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining
and enhancing long-term relationships with individual
customers as well as other stakeholders for mutual benefit.
RM sees the customer as an asset. Its function is to attract,
maintain, and enhance customer relationships.
RM as an ongoing process of identifying and creating new
value for individual customers for mutual value benefits
and sharing these benefits over a lifetime of association.
Levels of Relationships
1. Basic – sells a product and does not follow up after the
sale.
2. Reactive – sells a product and encourages customer to
call if he has concerns or questions but will not make
the first move to ask.
3. Accountable – representative gets in touch during and
after the event to solicit customer feedback.
4. Proactive – salesperson phones customer from time to
time to update on product innovations in the prospect
of future sales.
5. Partnership – company works continuously with the
customer to discover ways to deliver better value.
Dimensions of Relationship Marketing
 Customer Retention
 Customer Loyalty
 Referrals from Satisfied Customers
 Complaint Management System
Customer Retention
In order to retain customers, the following elements have
to be understood by the tourism marketer;
1. The value of customer satisfaction.
2. The cost of lost customers.
3. The importance of resolving customer complaints.
Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is the likelihood that customers are to
return and are willing to perform activities with the
organization. Customers spend more money while within
the company premises and tell management when things
Referrals from Satisfied Customers
 Positive word of mouth will be most likely
generated by satisfied and loyal customers.
 With the advent of social media, electronic word of
mouth creates a wider range of positive reviews.
Complaint Management System
One of the most challenging tasks of a service industry is
handling complaints.
What should be the perspective when things do not go as
planned and customers begin to complain?
1. Always bear in mind the first rule in customer
service: The customer is always right!”
2. If one thinks he is not, then rule no. 2 is: “Go back
to rule no. 1.”
3. Feedback is an important tool in knowing what
our market wants. Complaints are negative
feedback from customers. Consider complaints as
a gift.
Internal Marketing
In relationship marketing, quality should be the concern of
everyone in the organization. Quality cannot be
established by just the front liners or guest contact
employees, it should also be embraced by non-guest
contact employees.
 The principle of internal marketing is to market
hospitality jobs to employees just as they market
hotels and/or restaurants to our customers.
Defining Constructs of Relationship Marketing
 Trust
 Satisfaction/ Experience
 Loyalty
 Commitment
 Service Quality
 Communication
 Empathy/ Customer Orientation
 Relationship Quality/ Value/ Duration
 Reciprocity
 Culture
Benefits of Building Relationships with Customers
 Research proves that a small increase in loyal
customers can result in a major increase in
profitability.
 Research has shown that a 5% increase in customer
retention can result to 25-80% increase in profits.
 A customer’s lifetime value is the net profit received
from doing business with a given customer during the
time he continues to buy from you.
Resistance to Relationship Marketing
1. Novelty-seeking behavior of tourists.
2. Challenge to work closely with customers.
3. Irrelevance of Relationship Marketing.
Reasons People Fail to Build Customer Relationships
1. Ignore inquiries.
2. Ignore customer emails.
3. Do not return calls within a reasonable amount of
time.
4. Fail to get to know the customers.
5. Fail to satisfy the customers.
6. Fail to deliver what was promised.
7. Do not act on complaints.
8. Find fault in the service delivery by pointing
fingers at everyone else except oneself.
(11) DESTINATION MARKETING
Destination Image
Destination image is commonly defined as "the sum of the
beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has of a
destination" (Crompton, 1979, p. 18)
Baloglu and McCleary (1999a) defined image as "an
individual's mental representation of knowledge (beliefs),
feelings, and global impressions about a destination" (p.
870).
"impressions of a place" or "perceptions of an area"
(Echtner and Richie, 1991)
If highly positive and congruent with the tourist's
personality and self-image, will give a high likelihood of
being chosen as a destination.
Brand Identity
Brand identity refers to the essence of the brand, the
characteristics that make 'it' what it is.
 Brand identity is the central aspect of the branding
process; it defines how stakeholders want the place to
be perceived. (Hannah & Rowley 2013).
Destination Brand Identity Development
 Appointment of a brand champion
 Identification of the brand community
 Conduct of a destination audit
 Production of a brand charter
Strategies for Promoting Destinations
 Film Tourism (New Zealand, Ireland etc)
 Celebrity Endorsement (Psy of Gangnam Fame)
 Hosting of Mega-Events (Summer Olympics,
Beauty Pageants etc)
 Participation in Trade Fairs (World Expo)
 Catchy promotional gimmicks (Australia’s Best job
in the world)
 TV, Radio, Internet commercials
Film-induced Tourism
 Film is considered to be the most effective imaging
medium (Coy, 2010)
 Labeled as film tourism, film-induced tourism or
movie-inducted tourism
This refer to visitation of sites where movies and television
programs have been filmed as well as tours to production
studies and film-related theme parks (Beeton 2005).
Success Stories of Film Tourism
 Universal studios
 South Korea – Hallyu Wave (Koreanovelas and K-pop)
 Lord of the Rings for New Zealand
 Survivor Series for Caramoan Islands
Attributes of a Successful Brand
 it can be a name, symbol or both and is well known.
 It is unique and cannot be copied, especially by
competitors
 It is reflective of the consumer's self-image
 It represents intangibles of a product
 It informs and influences a consumer at the point of
consumption
 It provides the foundation for all marketing activity.
Four Broad Strategies for attracting tourists to a
destination
 Image Marketing
 Attraction marketing
 Infrastructure marketing
 People Marketing
Five Image Situations
Five image situations destinations may find itself in:
 Overly attractive image
 Positive Image
 Weak Image
 Contradictory Image
  Negative Image
Image Marketing
 Attracting potential buyers by projecting a strong
image.
 An image should both be believable and realistic
Attraction Marketing
 Destinations need to invest in developing
attractions, both natural and man-made.
 Bohol is an example of a destination that invested
on developing both man-made and natural
attractions.
Infrastructure Marketing
 Infrastructure should be put in place for a holistic
development of a place.
 This includes the development of streets,
highways, effective transport systems, airports,
seaports and telecommunications network.
People Marketing
 Marketing the destination through its human
capital.
 Maximizing the strength of the Filipinos as the
world’s most hospitable people.
Key Challenges:
Morgan and Pritchard (2002) suggest five key challenges
faced by destination marketers as follows:
(1) limited budget,
(2) politics,
(3) external environment,
(4) destination product, and
(5) creating differentiation.
 Assists the budgeting process to match resources
with marketing objectives.
3 Key Elements to a Successful Marketing Plan
 It is workable
 It is realistic and flexible
 It has measurable and achievable goals.
The Executive Summary
 Write it for top executives
 Make it brief and simple by using short sentences
and short paragraphs
 Organize the summary in a logical manner –
objectives, strategies and budget
Introduction
1. Current Situation of the Company
2. Environmental factors
3. Competitive Analysis
4. Marketing Trends
5. Market Potential
6. Marketing Research Findings
Background of the Plan
 Property Needs Analysis
 SWOT Analysis
 Market Positioning Statement
Objectives
 Quantitative – expressed in monetary terms, units
of measurement, time specific and profit/margin
specific
 Qualitative – corporate goals, subjective objectives
 Objectives must be Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART)

Two requirements for Competitive Advantage of Target Markets

Destinations  Primary Market – Key Result Areas
 Establish a strong and unique positioning  Secondary/Marginal Accounts
 Deliver excellent quality experiences and value for  New Accounts
money
MARKETING STRATEGIES
(12) THE MARKETING PLAN  Product Strategies (product development,
innovation, upgrading etc)
Purpose of a Marketing Plan  Pricing Strategy (review pricing objectives,
 Serves as a road map for all marketing activities of decide on pricing strategies, discounting etc)
the firm.  Promotional Mix (develop advertising,
 Aligns the marketing activities with the corporate promotions, sales, publicity, public relations
strategic plan. strategies to meet marketing objectives.)
 Encourages marketing managers to review and  Distribution Strategies (identify key
objectively think through all steps in the intermediaries that will be helpful in achieving
marketing process and objectives.)
Timetable
 This section includes specific activities, their
expected time of roll-out, duration and person-in-
charge.

Budget
 Projected annual income (broken down monthly)
 Resources needed to implement the plan

o Manpower Requirements
o Capital Expenditures
o Other monetary support needed

Conclusion
Short reiteration of the silent points of the marketing plan

Tourism Promotions Board (TPB)

 TPB is the marketing arm of the Department of
Tourism
 Highlights of its current strategies:

o Use of tri-media advertising in key global areas

o Digital and Online presence via social networking
sites
o B2B and e-commerce platforms
o Promoting the Philippines for MICE tourism