The marketing problems that the ‘Orchard Country Hotel’ have are; it is 3 miles away from Lyme Regis; families are not going to want to stay so far away from the main tourist place, they want to be in the main hustle and bustle of it all; its not a typical ‘sea side’ hotel and it attracts an older clientele. Strengths The strengths are; Rachel is very keen and enthusiastic and also, luckily for Rachel, the hotel had a good reputation before she took over management. It was only due to the death of the previous owner that it was no longer in business when she bought it.

Weaknesses The weaknesses are; Rachel has no experience in the hotelier business and is over spending; the hotel is out of date and needs modernising and the customer list is not very big so she needs to start an advertising campaign to build on the list. Opportunities The opportunities are to attract new clientele by using the niche markets available, for example; sailing weekends; guided and non-guided countryside walks; historical weekends; family fun weekends; 50+ weekends and romantic weekends.

There is so much history and things to do in and around the area like; literary connections with Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter and local author John Fowles; for the walkers there’s Golden Cap, Beer Head and many more coastal and countryside walks and views, fossils and wildlife; for country house’s and garden lovers there’s Forde Abbey, Mapperton and Abbotsbury; for shoppers there’s Lyme Regis, Sidmouth and Honiton, which is renowned for its lace making and many antique shops. Threats

The threats that could possibly be a problem are; Foot and Mouth; terrorists and competition from other hotels. Primary target markets The primary target markets for the ‘Orchard Country Hotel’ are the existing customers, who are mainly older people. Secondary target markets The secondary target markets for the ‘Orchard Country Hotel’ are all the niche markets that could possibly be used. These could be; sailing weekends; guided and non-guided countryside walks; historical weekends; family fun weekends; 50+ weekends and romantic weekends. Short-term marketing objectives.

The short-term marketing objective is to encourage the return of guests by giving them the best service so that their return is guaranteed and to get more of the same type of clientele and therefore breakeven. Medium-term marketing objectives The medium-term marketing objective is, that in two to three years when the business has the money to invest in more extravagant advertising, to look at breaking into the niche markets. Long-term marketing objectives The long-term marketing objective is to concentrate on the niche markets and fully developing them.

Short-term marketing communication objectives The short-term marketing communication objective is to use brochures for advertising and word of mouth, making sure it reaches the target market. Medium-term marketing communication objectives The medium-term marketing communication objective is to advertise to a greater range of clientele nationally by use of tourist magazines. Long-term marketing communication objectives The long-term marketing communication objective is to advertise in specialist magazines in conjunction with the niche markets.

Marketing communication strategy The marketing tools to use for advertising are the Internet, Tourist Hotel Magazine, local buses, local press and local radio. The Internet is free advertising and can be used all year round. The Tourist Hotel Magazine is expensive but it advertises for a whole season, that advert needs to be placed in February well before the summer season starts, to attract the holiday makers. The local buses are a good place to advertise because they are big, people will see the advert when they are out and about.

March would be a good time to do this, as it is just a bit closer to the start of the summer season when people are thinking more about taking a break. The local press is a good way of advertising as most people buy their local newspaper. October would be a good time to advertise in there for the Christmas custom. The local radio people listen to the radio at home, in the car and at work. Advertise in November as another way of getting Christmas custom. There isn’t much of a budget if any for advertising but I am recommending that i?? 2600 is put aside for it.

This is much needed advertising to help build on the existing customer list. Controlling and evaluating expenditure To find out if the advertising put in place is working and which ones are working the best and worth their money Rachel needs to find out from the customer where they heard about the ‘Orchard Country Hotel’. This can be done by either asking them on their booking in form or at the end of their stay with a customer satisfaction questionnaire. This information can then be used to decide on the best ways to spend money on future advertising.