Project on Hospitality IndustryCustomer Relationship Management

Sumitted to:Prof. Reeti Agarwal

Submitted by:

Ayush Verma (JL13PGDM134)Kunal Singh (JL13PGDM145)Sarah Kazmi (JL13PGDM161)Surabhi Gupta (JL13PGDM170)Rupa Gorai (JL13PGDM183)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

While doing this project in the atmosphere of encouragement and advice we have enhanced our knowledge and learned a lot of things. It’s our proud privilege to single out, for special mention of a few individuals who contributed to the enrichment of my knowledge.

It’s our prerogative to express our profound sense of respect and indebtedness to our teacher and guide Prof. Reeti Agarwal, for her valuable guidance, encouragement and continuous support.

We would like to place on record our sincere gratefulness to all those who helped us out to complete this project.

Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENT:

ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................................................................................1

CHAPTER 1............................................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION TO INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION........................................................3

WHAT IS IMC?...................................................................................................................................................4

ELEMENTS OF IMC..........................................................................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2:...........................................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY.........................................................................................................................7

MARKETING PLAN OF BIG BAZAAR (4 Ps’)..............................................................................................11

Assessment of the Marketing Communication Objective...................................................................................14

RESPONSE HIERARCHY................................................................................................................................15

TOOLS OF COMMUNICATION......................................................................................................................16

AGENCIES INVOLVED...................................................................................................................................19

LOYALTY PROGRAMS..................................................................................................................................24

CHAPTER 5...........................................................................................................................................................28

COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF CRM PRACTICES..................................................................................28

Comparison........................................................................................................................................................29

Analysis..............................................................................................................................................................29

CHAPTER 6...........................................................................................................................................................31

RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................................................31

CHAPTER 7: BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................................33

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

WHAT IS IMC?

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.

It is the process for planning & executing coherent brand messages that create a unified brand image & customer relationships and monitoring them for consistency and synergy.

The management and control of all marketing communications.

Insuring that the brand positioning, personality and messages are delivered synergistically across every element of communication and are delivered through a single consistent strategy.

The strategic analysis, choice, implementation and control of all elements of marketing communication with efficiently, economically and effectively influenced transactions between an organization and its existing potential customers, consumers and clients.

ELEMENTS OF IMC

The various elements of IMC are as follows:

1. Advertising2. Personal Selling3. Sales Promotion4. Public Relation5. Direct Marketing

The additional elements of IMC

6. Packaging7. Events and sponsorships8. Customer service

ADVERTISING: -

Advertising is the communication relayed from companies to persuade an audience to purchase their products. This communication is usually through various forms of paid media -- TV and radio commercials, print ads, billboards and more recently, product placement.

PERSONAL SELLING:-

Personal selling occurs where an individual salesperson sells a product, service or solution to a client. Salespeople match the benefits of their offering to the specific needs of a client. Today, personal selling involves the development of longstanding client relationships.

SALES PROMOTION:-

Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organisation to promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service (i.e. initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of the marketing communications or promotions mix). Sales promotions are varied, such as free gifts, discounted prices, joint promotions etc.

PUBLIC RELATION:-

Public relation (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a non-profit organization) and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The aim of public relations is to inform the public, prospective customers, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders and ultimately persuade them maintain a certain view about the organization, its leadership, products, or of political decisions.

DIRECT MARKETING:-

Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising which allows businesses and non-profit organizations to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques that can include cell phone text messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, database marketing, fliers, catalogue, etc.

PACKAGING:-

Packaging is a container and conveyor of information. A package can help in brand building by presenting various kinds of brand information – from ingredients to recipes that suggest multiple uses. The design, and packaging of the product, its container and packaging, its price, and the retail stores that sell the product, all communicate something to buyers.

EVENT AND SPONSORSHIP:-

Events are highly targeted brand associated activities designed to actively engage customers and prospects and generate publicity. Sponsorship is financial support of an organization, person, or activity in exchange for brand publicity and association.

CUSTOMER SERVICES:-

Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.  A customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer has of the organization. A positive interactive experience strengthens customer relationship and vice versa.

CHAPTER 2:

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

Retail Industry

According to Philip Kotler, Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services to the final consumers for personal, non-business use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sale volume comes primarily from retailing. These are the final business entities in a distribution channel that links manufacturers to customers. Manufacturers typically make products and sell them to retailers or wholesalers. Wholesalers resell these products to the retailers and finally, retailers resell these products to the ultimate consumers. Any organization selling to final consumers whether it is a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer-is doing retailing. It does not matter how the goods or services are sold (by person, mail, telephone, vending machine, or internet or where they are sold-in a store, on the street, or in the consumer’s home). A Retailer thus, provides value creating functions like assortment of products and services to the consumers, breaking bulk, holding inventory and provides services to consumers, manufacturers and wholesalers.

Retailing broadly involves:

1. Understanding the consumers’ needs

2. Developing good merchandise assortment and

3. Display the merchandise in an effective manner so that shoppers find it easy and attractive to buy.

Retailing thus, may be understood as the final step in the distribution of merchandise, for consumption by the end consumers. Put simply, any firm that sells products to the final consumer is performing the function of retailing. It thus consists of all activities involved in the marketing of goods and services directly to the consumers, for their personal, family or household use. In an age where customer is the king and marketers are focusing on customer delight, retail may be redefined as the first point of customer contact.

Retail Concept

The retailing concept is essentially a customer oriented, company-wide approach to developing and implementing a marketing strategy. It provides guidelines which must be followed by all retailers irrespective of their size, channel design, and medium of selling.

The retailing concept covers the following four broad areas:

1. Customer orientation: The retailer makes a careful study of the needs of the customer and attempts to satisfy those needs.

2. Goal orientation: The retailer has clear cut goals and devises strategies to achieve those goals.

3. Value driven approach: The retailer offers good value to the customer with merchandise keeping the price and quality appropriate for the target market.

4. Coordinated effort: Every activity of the firm is aligned to the goal and is designed to maximize its efficiency and deliver value to the customer.

ORGANIZED V/S UNORGANIZED RETAILING

Unorganized retailing/traditional retailing:

According to the National Accounts statistics of India ‘the unorganized sector includes units whose activity is not regulated by any statue or legal provision, and/or those, which do not maintain regular accounts. In the context of retail sector, it could therefore be said to cover those forms of trade which sell an assortment of products and services ranging from fruits and vegetables to shoe repair. These products or services may be sold or offered out of a fixed or mobile location and the number of people employed could range between 10-20 people. Thus, the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the neighborhood baniya, the local kirana shop, owner manned general stores, provision stores, flea (Thadi) markets, hand cart and pavement vendors, the vegetable, fruit vendor, Mom and Pop Stores, local sabji mandi, weekly haats, general readymade garment shop or a footwear shop, general electronic shop etc. the, the paanwala, the cobbler, etc. would be termed as the unorganized sector.

Organized or modern retailing:

Organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, departmental store, discount stores, drug stores, factory outlets, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. The organized retail stores are characterized by professionally managed stores or large chain of stores, providing goods and services that appeal to customers, in an ambience that is encouraging for shopping and agreeable to customers. For example: Vishal Mega Mart, Big Bazaar, Wills Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Trends, Spencers, Reebok, Nike, Catmos, Lilliput, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Barista, Cafe Coffee Day, Koutons, Cotton County, Peter England, Titan, Raymonds, Sony, Samsung, Next, LG, Apollo Pharmacy, etc.

RETAIL IN INDIA

Retail is India’s one of the largest industry accounting for over 10% of the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and around 8% of the employment. The market size of the Indian retail industry is about $ 350 billion US dollars. The retail format in India can be divided into organized and unorganized retails. The share of un-organized retail in India stands at approximately 93%.There are over 12 million retail outlets in India with 95% of the outlets having an area less than 500 sq ft. The share of organized retail in India stands at 7% amongst which the major players are Future Group, Shoppers Stop, Landmark (Life Style), Trent, Vishal Mega Mart. The largest among these retailers is the future group with overall revenues of 1.5 billion US Dollars.

The Indian retail industry is one of the most vibrant industries in the country. It is currently ranked at 20th position among the top 30 developing countries identified by management consulting firm AT Kearney in its 2014 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI).

India remains an appealing, long-term retail destination for several reasons starting with its demography – half of India’s population is less than 30 years of age and roughly one-third of the population lives in cities. The disposable income of Indians is increasing - allowing them to spend more and try new products, brands, and categories. Further, with the online medium of retail gaining more and more acceptance, there is a tremendous growth opportunity for retail companies, both domestic and international.

CHAPTER 3: INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY

Big-Bazaar is a chain of hyper markets in India with more than 100 stores in operations. It is a subsidiary of Pantaloons Retail India Limited which is part of Future Group and IMC Final Project follows the business model of United-States based Wal-Mart. It is one of the fastest growing departmental stores in India and aims at having 350 stores by the year 2010. Big Bazaar has democratized shopping in India and is much more than a hyper-market. Over 170,000 products are sold under one roof that caters to every need of the family making Big Bazaar India’s favourite shopping destination. Big Bazaar is the destination which provides products at prices lower the MRP thereby setting a new level of standard in price, convenience and quality. Big Bazaar sets out itself as a pan-Indian model that can enter into most towns in India and democratize shopping everywhere. At Big Bazaar, customer will definitely get the best products at the best prices -- that is what Big Bazaar guarantee. With the ever-increasing array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods and much more at prices that will surprise customer. In addition, this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar plans to add much more to complete customers shopping experience.

MARKETING PLAN OF BIG BAZAAR (4 Ps’)

The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketers. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offer, and is often associated with the four P's: price, product, promotion, and place. In service marketing, however, the four Ps are expanded to the seven P's or Seven P's to address the different nature of services.

The marketing mix of Big bazaar discusses the Service marketing mix or the 7 P’s pf Big bazaar.

PRODUCT:

Big Bazaar offers a wide range of products which range from apparels, food, farm products, furniture,child care, toys, etc of various brands like Levis, Allen Solly, Pepsi, Coca- Cola, HUL, ITC, P&G, LG, Samsung, Nokia, HP etc.Big Bazaar also promotes a number of in house brands like:

DJ & C Tasty Treat Clean Mate Sensei Care Mate Koryo and 44 other brands.

PRICING:The pricing objective at Big Bazaar is to get “Maximum Market Share”. Pricing at Big Bazaar is based on the following techniques:

Value Pricing (EDLP – Every Day Low pricing): Big Bazaar promises consumers the lowest available price without coupon clipping, waiting for discount promotions, or comparison shopping.

Promotional Pricing: Big Bazaar offers financing at low interest rate. The concept of psychological discounting (Rs. 99, Rs. 49, etc.) is also used to attract customers. Big Bazaar also caters on Special Event Pricing (Close to Diwali, Gudi Padva, and Durga Pooja).

Differentiated Pricing: Differentiated pricing i.e. difference in rate based on peak and non-peak hours or days of shopping is also a pricing technique used in Indian retail, which is aggressively used by Big Bazaar.e.g. Wednesday Bazaar

Bundling: It refers to selling combo-packs and offering discount to customers. The combo-packs add value to customer and lead to increased sales. Big Bazaar lays a lot of importance on bundling.e.g. 3 Good Day family packs at Rs 60(Price of 1 pack = Rs 22)5kg oil + 5kg rice + 5kg sugar for Rs 599

PLACE:

The Big Bazaar stores are operational across three formats — hypermarkets spread over 40,000-45,000 sq ft, the Express format over 15,000-20,000 sq ft and the Super Centers set up over 1 lakh sq ft. Currently Big Bazaar operates in over 34 cities and towns across India with 116 stores. Apart from the Metros these stores are also doing well in the tier II cities. These stores are normally located in high traffic areas. Big Bazaar aims at starting stores in developing areas to take an early advantage before the real estate value booms. Mr. Biyani is planning to invest around Rs 350 crore over the next one year expansion of Big Bazaar. In order to gain a competitive advantage Big Bazaar has also launched a website www.futurebazaar.com, which helps customers to orders products online which will be delivered to their doorstep. This helps in saving a lot of time of its customers.

PROMOTION:

The various promotion schemes used at Big Bazaar include: “Saal ke sabse saste 3 din” Hafte ka sabse sasta din “Wednesday bazaar” Exchange Offers “Junk swap offer” Future card(3% discount) Shakti card Advertisement (print ad, TV ad, radio) Brand endorsement by M.S Dhoni and Asin Big Bazaar has come up with 3 catchy lines written on hoardings taking on biggies like Westside,

Shoppers stop and Lifestyle. They are: “Keep West- aSide. Make a smart choice!” “Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice!” “Change your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice!”

PEOPLE: Well trained staff at stores to help people with their purchases Employ close to 10,000 people and employ around 500 more per month. Well-dressed staff improves the overall appearance of store. Use scenario planning as a tool for quick decision making multiple counters for payment, staff at store to

keep baggage and security guards at every gate, makes for a customer-friendly atmosphere.

PROCESS:

Big Bazaar places a lot of importance on the process right from the purchase to the delivery of goods. When customers enter the stores they can add the products they which to purchase in their trolley from the racks. There are multiple counters where bill can be generated for purchases made. Big Bazaar also provides delivery of products over purchases of Rs. 1000.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:

Products in Big Bazaar are properly stacked in appropriate racks. There are different departments in the store which display similar kind of products. Throughout the store there are boards/written displays put up which help in identifying the location of a product. Moreover boards are put up above the products which give information about the products, its price and offers. Big Bazaar stores are normally ‘U shaped’ and well planned & designed

ASSESSMENT OF THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVE

LONG TERM OBJECTIVE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION:-

The overall long term communication objective for Big-Bazaar it influence customer to think that they will get the best and value deals for their everyday and modern requirements at big-bazaar with all the experience of modern retailing environment at the lowest prices. An extension of this objective would be to occupy a unique and distinct brand position in the minds of the consumers such that for their every requirement, they think of big-bazaar.

RESPONSE HIERARCHY

The response hierarchy model that would be applicable to brand building exercise of Big Bazaar is as follows:

Exposure, Reception and Cognitive Response: This refers to the awareness stage in the classical AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action) model. In case of brand building exercise for Big Bazaar, these stages would cover generation of awareness about the brand. The exercise can be set to have a target of 70-75% of the awareness in the target group. Attitude and Intention:

Attitude and intention towards the Big Bazaar brand can be developed by catchy advertisements comparing the offerings of the brand with respect to that of other retailers. The intention could further be boosted by celebrity endorsements, partnerships.

Behavior: This is the last stage in the response hierarchy where consumer actually involves in making purchase at the store location. This needs to be influenced through the personal selling efforts in stores.

TOOLS OF COMMUNICATIONThe tools of communication used by Big Bazaar are:

ADVERTISING:

Before designing the advertising campaign for the Big Bazaar brand, the message that needs to deliver about the brand through advertisement needs to be designed. It would involve following three elements: Style of the Message: Style of the message would be Value and Benefit Provider and attention seeker Tone of the message: The tone of the message would be positive. Message Text: “Is se sasta aur achha aur kahi nahi” – This single line statement would convey the value offered by the various offerings of the Big Bazaar. Advertising campaigns for Big-Bazaar will take place in the form of following:

PRINT ADS:

This would take place in the form print advertisement in newspaper and everyday magazines. The advertisements would initially aim at educating the consumer about Big-Bazaar as a brand. An effective communication as has been followed by the brand is the regular newspaper print advertisement with tag line of “Is Se Sasta Aur Accha Aur Kahin Nahi” and comparison of prices of various consumer products at Big-Bazaar vis-à-vis local market prices. Big-Bazaar news paper advertisements will be presented just before the launch of any new scheme. This will create aura about the Big-Bazaar brands in the minds of consumers.

TV ADS:

Big-Bazaar commercials will be shown on the various channels in India. These ads will convey about the various offerings of the Big-Bazaar such as Fashion Collections and Jewellery, Home and Personal Care, Electronics, Furniture. The advertisement will focus on the variety and quality of the specific offerings and convey the core values of Big-Bazaar as a place where these products are available at the lowest available price with the environment of modern Indian retailing. The TV ads would be aired during prime-time hours of the channels where mostly the household members watch television.

ROAD-SIDE ADVERTISEMENTS:

Road side advertisement will take the form of road side billboards which would be displayed at prime locations in the cities and towns conveying the central idea of Big-Bazaar of low prices and quality products. The bill-boards will display the catch phrases about Big-Bazaar aiming to attract the consumers.

RADIO ADS:

The objective of radio based advertising is to inform the customers at the new happening at Big-Bazaar outlets while at the same time conveying the culture of Big Bazaar of offering the values deals for a broad range of products.

SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion activities for Big-Bazaar will take place through the following forms:-

COUPONS:

In order to boost sales, various discounts coupons will be offered to buyers at Big-Bazaar such as “buy 2- get 1 free”, discount coupons on bulk purchase. Such a step would help to increase sales per consumer of the Big-Bazaar. At the same time, coupons can be printed in local newspaper ads and magazines mentioning the discounts that can be availed on these coupons with respect to specific purchase. This will help draw consumers to the store and initiate purchase.

CONTESTS:

Contests will be hosted by Big-Bazaar with some incentive which will help to generate awareness about Big-Bazaar as a brand. The theme lines of the contest will help spread awareness about the various offerings of Big-Bazaar and best deals offered by Big-Bazaar thereby boosting Big-Bazaar brand.

PREMIUMS: Premiums will be offered to buyers during special occasion in the form of an offer which could be either free or at a low price that provides incentive for the buyers. It can be in the form of “Rakhi” gift during the times of Rakshabandhan or a Photo frame of Lord Ganesha during the times of Ganeshotsav etc.

DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS:

PERSONAL SELLING:

Personal Selling would aim at educating customer at the point of purchase and help them making a better purchase decision with respect to consumer products. This ould help to build consumer satisfaction and give consumer a feeling of having made a right decision. There are following essential elements critical to personal selling in the context of big-Bazaar. - Well trained staff

- Motivation to employees to think out of the box and take innovative steps.

Training would be provided to the staff about the different products in the store and persuasive and communication skills in order to interact effectively with the buyers. Training would be provided to the sales person at the store evaluate buyers’ preferences for a particular product, build conviction about the brand and influence the buyer to purchase the brand. While doing this, a continuous effort would be made to educate the buyer of the core culture of Big-Bazaar of value deals and provide efficient customer value to the consumers.

PUBLIC RELATION AND PUBLICITY:

The objective of Public Relations and Publicity as a marketing communication mix for Big-Bazaar as a brand is to establish good-will in the minds of the consumers. The various Public Relations and Publicity campaigns which will be used to build Big-Bazaar brand would be though the following:

1. Events: This would involve arrangement of special events such as exhibits, contests, competition.

2. Sponsorships: Sponsorship of national events and highly regarded causes such as AIDS awareness campaign.

3. Association with consumer products exhibitions. All these would help develop credibility about Big bazaar brands in the minds of consumers.

AGENCIES INVOLVEDBig Bazaar has launched a promotion drive covering the three prime media, television, print and social media over the years. The media campaigns was developed by Mudra Communications.

The DDB Mudra Group, a part of the DDB Worldwide Communications Group, is India's first and largest integrated marketing communications and services network. DDB Worldwide is owned by Omnicom Group Inc, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies (revenues US$12.69B according to Advertising Age in April 2008).It was earlier known as Mudra Communications Limited and Mudra India. It also started Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad which is considered India's first academic institution dedicated to communications and advertising studies.[1] In 2011, Mudra group was acquired by Omnicom Group, subsequently rebranded as DDB Mudra group and merged with DDB Worldwide.

Various campaigns by Mudra Group for Big Bazaar:

“Saal ke sabse saste 3 din” Hafte ka sabse sasta din “Wednesday bazaar” “Keep West- aSide. Make a smart choice!” “Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice!” “Change your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice!

Message

 The message that needs to deliver about the brand through advertisement needs to be designed. It would involve following three elements:

Style of the Message: Style of the message would be Value and Benefit Provider and attention seeker. Tone of the message: The tone of the message would be positive. Message Text: “Naye India ka Bazaar” This single line statement would convey the modern retail format

of the Big Bazaar.

Various tools and their messages

Print Ads: This would take place in the form print advertisement in newspaper and everyday magazines. The advertisements would initially aim at educating the consumer about Big-Bazaars a brand. An effective communication as has been followed by the brand is the regular newspaper print advertisement with tag line of “Naye India Ka Bazaar” and comparison of prices of various consumer products at Big-Bazaar vis-à-vis local market prices. Big-Bazaar newspaper advertisements will be presented just before the launch of any new scheme. This will create aura about the Big-Bazaar brands in the minds of consumers. 

TV Ads: Big-Bazaar commercials will be shown on the various channels in India. These ads will convey about the various offerings of the Big-Bazaar such as Fashion Collections and Jewellery, Home and Personal Care, Electronics, Furniture. The advertisement will focus on the variety and quality of the specific offerings and convey the core values of Big-Bazaar as a place where these products are available at the lowest available price with the environment of modern Indian retailing. The TV ads would be aired during Prime-time hours of the channels where mostly the household members watch television.

Road-side advertisements: Road side advertisement will take the form of road side billboards which would be displayed at prime locations in the cities and towns conveying the central idea of Big-Bazaar of low prices and quality products. The bill-boards will display the catchphrases about Big-Bazaar aiming to attract the consumers.

Radio Ad: The objective of radio based advertising is to inform the customers at the new happening at Big-Bazaar outlets while at the same time conveying the culture of Big Bazaar of offering the values deals for a broad range of products.

MAURYA SHERATON DEFINES CRM as:-

“Customer Relationship Management is a process of managing customer relations in an organized way”. They aim at managing “each moment of truth” that is experienced by the customer. There are various contact points where the hotel comes in direct contact with the customer which are known as ‘Touch points’ in the CRM language. These touch points are considered important as there is direct interaction with the customer and they

provide valuable input to the hotel. The input provided by the customer has to be captured in such a way that it becomes information and can be used by various processes within the hotel. This can be done with the help of technology and the aim is that whenever there is a customer interface with any of those processes they are able to use that information in servicing the guest in a most efficient manner.

CRM PROCESS AT MAURYA SHERATON HAS BEEN DIVIDED IN TWO STEPS:

1. Identification of all Customer Relationship management ‘vehicles’

2. Integration of these Customer Relationship management ‘vehicles’

I. IDENTIFICATION OF ALL CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ‘VEHICLES’

DATA CAPTURE VEHICLES

Maurya Sheraton has identified 5 such vehicles (from marketing point of view) which are also the touch points for the hotel in the process of managing its Customer Relationship. These vehicles are:

1. Field selling2. Loyalty Programmes3. Distribution Points4. Web5. Call Center

1. FIELD SELLING

When a sales group or a marketing executive of the hotel makes a sales call to a corporate then it is called field selling. Field Selling includes Prospecting which means searching and seeking for new customers. Current Accounts are one of the best sources to uncover new business that is within these current accounts, as they harbor many sources of untapped business potential. They also provide Leads and referrals. Leads are potential customers with whom no contact has yet been made and learning of potential customers from current customers is called referral. Field selling is considered the most important vehicle for the CRM function as the initiative is on the part of the hotel to contact the prospective guest. Since the representative of the hotel meets the customer personally, he is able to strike a chord instantly and has a fair chance of representing the hotel. The difference between the customer and consumer is apparent at this stage as, the person who uses the hotel is a consumer (guest) and the person who helps him make this choice is the customer (link), this link, in most cases, is the administration personnel who is responsible for making reservations. So with the help of field selling the executive is able to make a direct contact with the ‘link’, the admin person and is able to take the feedback on a continuous basis and helps to customize the offering. The main objective of this is to maintain ‘one to one’ contact with the customer on a regular basis and also to maintain reasonable visibility so that whenever there is a requirement the hotel is the most obvious alternative for the customer to consider.

2. LOYALTY PROGRAMS

2nd vehicle for CRM identified by Maurya Sheraton is the loyalty programs. These programs are designed to reward the loyal guests of the hotel. Every time a guest check in the hotel his every touch point or interface with

the hotel. Every time he spends on a service provided by the hotel.(use of Room, Restaurant, laundry, Telephones etc.). The transaction is recorded at each individual point and is added to the final bill presented to the guest at the end of the stay. There are certain points attached to the number of rupees spent by the guest. Therefore higher the amount of the bill the higher will be the number of points attained by the guest. These points are credited to the account of each guest with the help of technology. These are called loyalty points. There accounts having the loyalty points are unique to every guest. Therefore whenever after the first time that guest check into the hotels the guest history also affects the loyalty points. The higher the number of points. The more loyal is the guest. The points can be redeemed by the guest for either free stays at the hotel or free gifts as listed by the hotel or free meals depending upon the number of points accumulated. The objective of having a loyalty programme is not only to make the guest feel rewarded for his stay but also by providing a choice to the guest to reduce them at the hotel they essentially “Gross self” the other services which would be used paid by the guest in case he redeemed (for example) his points for a flee stay he would spend on the supporting services like laundry Telephones, restaurants etc and the revenue generated from these could be earned by the hotel. Therefore instead of numbers of revenue they actually gain the revenue as well as certain the customers for life with the help of the loyalty. The loyalty Program is called welcome avail which is for the consumer. They have another loyalty program for the link. The administration personnel which is called welcome link motivated to provide more business to the hotel. Therefore the more the number of bookings the links gives to the hotel the more number of points are credited to his account which are again redeemable at the hotel either by way of free stay or gifts. This is seen as an important way to keep the source of business motivated towards a long term relationship.

3. DISTRIBUTION POINTS/ CENTRAL RESERVATION SYSTEMS

A customer can simply make a call at the reservation center to make a booking with the hotel. It sounds simple but it could get complex in case he does not receive the expected or the desired response. Therefore Maurya Sheraton sees this distribution point as an opportunity to establish CRM as the respondents at the reservation center could turn a prospective customer into a ‘sale’ or could let go off the opportunity to do so by not being point enough or not giving out there information as desired by the guest. The information regarding all guest reservations is managed through computer software, therefore when a customer make calls to query about a reservation all his hotel usage history pops up in the system which gives a chance to the executive at the reservations to instantly recognized the customer and address him by his name. This moment of truth which is experienced by the customer with a feeling of recognition to the customer who feels well service at the first touch point itself. The input or instruction received from the customer at the stage are recorded in the reservation system for further reference by the hotel operations. Therefore the wheel does not get reinvented every time a standard instruction is to be followed. This leads to removal of an irritant and that ultimately leads to a satisfied customer willing to return.

4. WORLD WIDE WEB

The World Wide Web is part of the internet it is a computerized, interactive, multimedia system to import and/ or access information worldwide. It issued for both person and business purposes. But Maurya’s focus is on the business side of using the web. In hospitality there are several avenues that one can take up to set up web site to share information and could not business with a potential customer. Since the web gives a convenience and allows the access to information at any time it is considered as one of the vehicles for CRM. Though Maurya, recognizes the potential of this system and is in the process evolving a filling automated system where the reservations can be made by the customers on time and also the confirmation is received back on a real time basis. Presently they

have information postal which only allows the customer to request a reservation which has to be checked manually by the hotel reservations and then only the confirmations are given. This is a touch point of customer relationship because a speedy and accurate response could win you a customer. And since it is on an individual basis. It is more personalized and customized because the customer puts in his preferences when requesting a booking. Therefore once it is entered in to the hotel’s data base the customer does not have to repeat his preference as they are automatically suggested by the reservation form on the net.

5. CALL CENTRE

Maurya has a Call center dedicated to servicing the loyalty program members. Here the customers can call in and find out about any information related to their membership. Whether query relates to accumulation or redemption of points it can be accessed through these center. This facility has been out sourced by Maurya and is out by the premises of the hotel. This has been done to service the quest in a most personalized and efficient manner. Call centers can now even be accessed in e-mail. As it is the most cost effective and time effective way of accessing information. Call centers are seen as CRM touch point because they usually provide solution to a problem that is being faced by a customer. Therefore the intangibles of listening, understanding and providing a solution to a problem at the right time adds to the process of retaining the customer – There is a rapport which is built between the customer and the respondent which goes a long way in future correspondence with the center.

II. INTEGRATION OF THESE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ‘VEHICLES’

The second step in the CRM process is to integrate the information which is received through these touch points. From a marketing point of view it is important to get the desired input back from these touch points in such a way that all the bits and pieces picked up by different touch points can be organized and used as valuable information by various other touch point to offer the right product to the right customer and that too at the right time. All this is done by creating a data base.

Database marketing is a technology driven tool used to teach out to identified customers in the market place. It is precision making, a one- to one sales approach to in individual customers and clients. Database Marketing applies the concept of market segmentation, yet instead of forgetting a particular group of customer’s database marketing reaches out to customers individually. The names addresses and buying habits of individuals customers are called from databases. Now new generations of faster, more powerful computers are enabling marketers to zero in on even smaller niches of the population, ultimately aiming for the smallest consumer segment of all that is the individual.

Building a Database

Database marketing in the hospitality ind. Began to / building a guest history of database feel regular clientele. This Dbase curtails basic Information which as name, addressing purpose of times, preferred method of payment, room type preference, nickname and so forth . Thus when a customer checks information such as this is on file and readily accessible for the guest service agent to register in an efficient and personalized manner. Prior to this regular guests were repeatedly asked the same questions over and over again each time they checked into the hotel. From seasons and Ritz carton are renowned for their extensive guest history databases. They include details as a preference for feathered or non feathered pillows, breakfast menu item preferences, and preference lines for

make-up calls. For frequent travelers training of some one know and care about your personal preferences, your likes and dislikes, in an asset. This type of service enhances guest satisfaction and encourages repeat customer patronage. For Maurya Field setting, loyally programs reservation systems, web & call centers, are major source of database development Maurya has 30,000 members in its databases. They regard these management of their database as an asset because it enables a superior customer understanding.

Using the Database

Product and service improvement is just one result of tapping into a database. Developing special promotions and employing direct mail to promote these campaigns is another major use of database marketing. For example, a sales team hand completed a review of the upcoming 26 Jam Weekend . This review revealed that bookings date were some what below forecast and that a special promotion may be in order to spent the business. The sales team then enveloped special promotion packing to encourage bookings for this weekend. They searched their welcome break holiday package database and scratched it to identify and segment the customers who tend to (1) book on long weekends (2) book on a short term basis and also (3) respond to promotional campaigns. The direct mailing was used as a principal means to reach out to these customers. Activities like these are today referred to as database marketing. It is aggressive selling to the potential customers who drove particular needs and wants that match or “fit” the needs of the noted. Therefore out of the Database of 30,000 members only a few but almost some customers were contacted by direct mailing which resulted in sizeable sale during the otherwise lean weekend at Mughal Sheraton Agra.

DATABASE MINING

Database mining is the process by which you distill your target customers groups. Out of the massive data files typically found in hospitality operations. In other words there are systematic ways to distill through a database of a multitude of databases to get the information for which one is reaching. As quoted in the previous example. Some hotels out source this task to companies that specialize in this field best do it internally. It enables users to easily integrate co/ property management, reservations and point of sale systems, automatically extracting operating data from legacy databases for use in the marketing database. The systems analysis tools allow users to profile their most profitable customers analyze their buying habits, and develop & assess. The performance of targeted marketing campaigns. The biggest advantage of database mining is that it help to focus the efforts and available resources into one direction which is most profitable and outbase mining helps to eliminate the non-profitable customers and hence reduces the costs and enhances the profits. The profits enhanced one not only in monetary terms but also in terms of customer loyalty and long term retention. Companies in hospitality that are adopting the database marketing approach to enhance sales are seeing increased customer satisfaction which further results in increase revenues. From the point of view of the internal customers a new profession is emerging in the hospitality Industry to get and keep a customer. The profession is technology-based, it is sophisticated and is called database marketing.

How does customer relationship management percolates room to the internal customer?

The first step in CRM to the internal customer is to create awareness among them towards the concept, advantage and disadvantages of the function. Then equip them by training them in their own requisite functions & scope of CRM within that function. At Maurya they are trained to train more about the guest and this company so that

when he talks the guest he can strike a conversation that is of some interest to the guest. That may not be necessarily related to his stay at the hotel but these informal conversations with the guest can help build an excellent rapport of the guest which will lead the guest to know the employee by the name. In future interactions it is possible that the guest may only wish to most of his work done through that employees. This is also a form of customized and personalized selling within the hotel Maurya does not have a separate training for CRM. Any time when they have a special promotional scheme for a particular property, the marketing team (who has formulated the promotional scheme) puts together the details of the scheme clearly marks out what is the customer expecting from the property and also if these are some special arrangements to be made for it. This team briefs the General manager of the property about the customer expectation. The General manager then decides the path of trickling down of that information, who should know & how much to know. In Maurya Sheraton they use a phrase to explain this percolation which is “Nice to know and needs to know” which essentially means that it is nice to know for all employees of a particular property about the running of the promotional scheme at their property but not all need to know about every aspect of the scheme as it may not be relevant to their scope of work but they do need to know the timer points of the scheme relating to their scope of work.

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Various Loyalty Programs:

Club ITC - A World Apart

Experience the grand coming together of fine fashion and fine living with Club ITC - a distinctive loyalty programme brought to you by ITC. Club ITC’s privileges are manifold – from recognition led benefits to rewards and more… Your Point earnings will now accumulate faster as each time you stay at over 45 participating ITC Hotels or shop at over 85 Wills Lifestyle Stores, you will earn ‘Green Points’ on all eligible spends*, redeemable against a host of rewards. 

Club ITC features 3 distinct membership tiers – Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Eligibility criteria for Membership to Silver

At least one valid stay at participating ITC Hotels Or Spend of Rs. 7500 at participating Wills Lifestyle stores

Raise the Bar. Silver Turns to Gold.

A minimum of 8 stays Or 16 nights at ITC Hotels Or Spend of Rs 25,000 at Wills Lifestyle stores Or A combined spend at both of Rs 1 Lakh

And Gold to Platinum

A minimum of 16 stays Or 30 nights at ITC Hotels Or Spend of Rs 50,000 at Wills Lifestyle Stores Or A combined spend at both of Rs 2.5 Lakhs

Benefits Silver Gold Platinum

ITC Hotels

Earning of Green Points on eligible spends* 3% 4% 5%

Personalized check-in

Gift certificate of  INR 500 on completion on 3rd stay**

Suite upgrade Certificate on completion on 5th stay**

Free weekend night Certificate on completion of 12th stay**

Earn Green Points on fine dining experiences even as a  non-resident guests (minimum eligible amount of  INR 2000 )

No extra room charge for accompanying spouse

50% off on published room tariff for suites on weekends (nights of friday / saturday)

Priority on room reservation with a 72 hour notice

Upgrade to Best Rooms, Including Standard Suites, on availibility, at check in

In-room welcome-amenities

Complimentary in-room hi-speed internet (HSIA)

Complimentary in-room tea/cofee service throughout your stay

Late check-out till 4 p.m. subject to availability

WELCOME LINK

Program Details:

WelcomLink is an enchanting realm of rewards, privileges and services, meticulously crafted to honor the link between You & Us. With an extraordinary assortment of privileges and benefits, the Programme empowers and recognizes members who patronize ITC Hotels.As a member, you can earn WelcomLink Points at 1% of eligible room revenue for every materialized room night booked by you. You can choose to book at over 50 participating ITC Hotels, WelcomHotels and Fortune hotels in more than 70 destinations across the country. WelcomLink Points can be redeemed for an array of exciting rewards from luxury getaways & fine dining experiences to travel privileges, fashion apparel, lifestyle merchandise and more…Additionally, members can enjoy a host of special benefits such as Bonus Rewards, Instant Redemption facility and online account access. The WelcomLink programme also comes with personalized Customer Service & Reservation teams that are ready to assist you at every step, all year round.

Programme Benefits:The benefits of the WelcomLink programme are manifold. As a WelcomLink member you have access to all of the following programme benefits:

1. Accelerated Earnings: Earn WelcomLink Points at 1% of eligible room revenue for every materialised room night booked through your WelcomLink membership account.

2. Power of Choice: Choose to book from a range of branded properties across ITC’s Hotel Group with over 50 participating ITC Hotels, WelcomHotels and Fortune Hotels situated across key cities in India.

3. Rewards Unlimited: Take your pick from an array of redemption options thoughtfully assembled to make your membership more rewarding. From luxury holidays and fine dining experiences to fashion apparel, lifestyle merchandise and more.

4. Instant Redemption: As a member you can now redeem your WelcomLink Points in the blink of an eye. All you need to do is swipe your membership card at select ITC Hotels to instantly settle your points against spends incurred towards accommodation and fine dining experiences.

5. Bonus Rewards: In addition to the earning of WelcomLink Points for every materialised room night, you will now be awarded with a special bonus reward every time you achieve a key program milestone of 25 th, 50th&100th materialised room night.

6. Access anywhere, anytime: Enjoy seamless browsing from the comfort of your desk. Manage and monitor your account activity, track your Points earning, familiarize yourself with the redemption options available and make redemption requests.

7. At your Service, Round the Year: Personalised assistance exclusively for you. Our dedicated reservations team is on standby to assist you in making all your bookings. Additionally, our helpful customer service executives will gladly guide you through managing your account activities all year round.

ITC Culinaire

A fine selection of privileges curated especially for you; Club ITC Culinaire is a multifaceted program covering all aspects of a refined lifestyle for individuals of discerning taste

Fine Dining

Privileged earnings•    Earn Green Points @ 25% on all eligible Food & Beverage spends at ITC Hotels & WelcomHotels

  Enhanced savings•     Enjoy savings of 20% while dining at Fortune and WelcomHeritage Hotels

Rewarding milestones•     On every accumulated INR 25,000 spend on Food & Beverage, receive a gift certificate of INR 1,000.

Fine Living

Privileged Earnings•     Earn Green Points @ 5% on all eligible non Food & Beverage hotel spends at ITC Hotels, WelcomHotels and Fortune Hotels

Exclusive benefits•     Personalized check-in•     No extra room charge for accompanying spouse

•     50% off on published room tariff for suites on weekends (nights of Fri/Sat)

Rewarding milestones•     Gift Certificate of INR500 on completion of 3rd stay•     Suite Upgrade Certificate on completion of 5th stay•     Complimentary Weekend Night Certificate on completion of 12th stay(Stays to be completed within 12 months from the date of enrolling into Club ITC / Club ITC Culinaire, whichever is earlier.)

CHAPTER 5

COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF CRM PRACTICES

Comparison and Analysis of CRM practices of the companies

Comparison

Basis TAJ Vivanta ITC Maurya

Tools 1. Guest Preference Sheet2. Handling Complaints3. Fidelo4. Wow Card5. GRE Courtesy Call6. GSTS7. Room Feedback Form

1. Field selling2. Loyalty Programmes3. Distribution Points4. Web5. Call Center

Loyalty Programs 1. Taj Inner Circle Programme

2. Taj Advantage Plus

3. Taj Alliance Preferred Partner Program

4. Taj Epicure Plan

1. Club ITC2. WELCOME LINK3. ITC Culinaire

Benefits Loyalty points can only be utilized/ redeemed in Taj group of hotels.

Loyalty points can utilized in ITC hospitality as well as fashion sector (wills lifestyle).

Analysis

After going through the crm practices of both the companies, the methodologies and tools applied by them and various software’s to keep the proper track of their customers. We come to the conclusion that:

Taj provides more benefits to its regular customer while ITC focuses mostly on premium customer and have better package for that segment.

Taj has more loyalty programs as compared to ITC which helps them to retain their customers by one way or the other.

Taj provides their customer with the real time feedback at the time of their checkout on the web screen whereas ITC doesn’t have any policy regarding that.

Taj have several programs for their employees like STARS and TPP so as to make their employees motivated to perform the best service for customer delight whereas ITC has not any policies for their employees.

Taj Vivanta has tradition to welcome their guest in royal manner as “Nawabi style” in lucknow.

Taj has several applications like PMS, CRS and CIS to keep the track record of their customers whereas ITC has only one web database to store the customer information.

Taj has an SMS service to keep track record of missed/lost calls by the customers while they are away while ITC does not has anything like that.

Taj also employs a data mining technique to get and act on data and also give credit tto their employees who get the compliments from the guests while ITC has a simple data storage technique so as to store the data of their guests.

So after studying the following pattern of CRM of both the companies we find that Taj is doing better than ITC in several aspects as shown above.

CHAPTER 6

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS Survey: conduct monthly guest/customer survey, club survey, room comment cards, toll free guest

assistance centers can help in getting customer feedback and to improve in the areas where there is a lag.

Maintaining suggestion boxes at every touch points with the customers.

Taking feedback not only from external customers but also from the internal employees.

Proper check on the hotel staffs and processes efficiency by the management, say by employing the mystery customers.

Keeping regular track of the sales data for further leads and follow-up.

Employing effective CRM software to improve guest satisfaction, low operating cost, build guest loyalty and increase revenues.

Having Guest history programs: keeping a databank of customer profile along with such details as room preferences, amenities preferred special requests, meal preferences, wallet services, sending birthday cards to the loyal guests.

Employ an efficient system of complaint handling as complaints are the opportunities to improve, to impress the customers and to turn the complaining customers into loyal ones.

Giving recognition and rewards to attract the old customers.

Giving the customers a more personalized and empathic services as building good rapport with the customers goes a long way in having satisfied and return customers.

Improvement in knowledge & skill set of employees.

Improving staff’s attitude, commitment and performance

Encourage the customer to make complaints so as to get the chance of improving the services.

Providing ways for one-to-one interactions, e.g. website, call centre, kiosks etc, as well as identifying ways for disseminating and accessing information across the organisation and also as to get an better insight of the customers’ needs, wants, preference and buying behaviour

Pay extra attention to customers suggestions and thank them for their contribution by giving them special rewards.

CHAPTER 7: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wikipedia Slideshare ITC Maurya Taj group of hotels Taj Vivanta