Unit 301 Task A

1.  Describe the type, vision, two aims, two objectives and two goals of the business. 

Jane Masters is running her own hotel, she has built it up to be a warm place, that her customers can be comfortable at, with restaurant and other facilities such as conference rooms etc.
Jane would love to have more 1:1 business meetings take place in her hotel, possibly local businesses or people away on business that would benefit from the facility more.
She wants to increase the room occupancy from 20% to 50% in the next 24 months, get more locals using the resturant to increase the amount of people coming in, achieve national recognition for the hotel.

2. Describe two brand statements and two value statements of the business.

The hotel is known for being warm and welcome in the area which is something the brand can be proud of as it brings customers from recommendations. The employees value the customers, and believe that they are always right and that no request or anything is too big of a demand.

3.a.  Identify four audience groups of the business.

Locals, business people, catering for people having weddings and those just wanting a break from everyday life.

3.b. Describe how the audience groups identified in question 3 a) are made aware of the brand and values. 

Jane uses local papers to advertise which is good as she showing her support in the community, she also provides leaflets in the tourist office. Jane has registered her hotel with review websites which will allow her audience to see what the ratings are and how satisfied past customers have been with the service. It is mentioned that most of her customers come from people recommending the hotel which shows that people are happy with the brand and the values that the employees have towards their customers.

4. Identify how influencers can be made aware of the brand and values. 

Influences for the business would be restaurant critics, reviews and newspaper articles. They would be able to view the reviews online and see the feedback from various customers over time, this would give them a good idea to the kind of business it is and the values that they have for their customers. Also they could actually go and stay in the hotel themselves and have the experience for themselves and then see the values first hand.

5. Explain, with examples, three ways the business could use Social Media as part of their marketing plan.

Social media would help Jane's business a lot. Firstly when it came to the restaurant in the hotel a facebook page could be made which could advertise opening times, deals that are happening, like sunday lunch with a free drink, this would attract customers quickly as it would be available to a lot of people all at once. Secondly, she could start a hashtag on facebook, twitter or instagram which would encourage customers to share their experience at the hotel and link the hotel to their photos while on holiday, this would be a nice personal touch to the business so you can see how past and present customers found the hotel and their time there. Lastly, Jane could start a blog which would be available for anyone to read about the hotel, the staff the rooms and the surrounding area, all with the aim of attracting new customers and thanking old who will hopefully come back again. In the blog she could include links, photos and details about the hotel and restaurant.

6.a. Suggest the main four Social Media tools/channels that can be used in the business.

Facebook, twitter, instagram and local adverts (newspaper) would all be good social media platforms for the business to use.

6.b. Evaluate the four Social Media tools/channels chosen in question 6 a).

Facebook, twitter and instagram would all allow customers and different audiences to get information, news and feedback quickly. Whereas the local newspaper would be good for the locals and older ones who aren't used to technology. Any social is good and can be an advantage when used correctly, so if updated and used carefully then all the above social media choices would help the business grow its customers from all over and not just in the local area.

7. Briefly describe what success will look like when using each of the chosen Social Media tools/channels in question 6 a) for a business.

An increase in customers would be clear if the social media was working, as more people would be reached from all over the country. People would be leaving positive comments and feedback on the businesses social media pages and telling others about it. The social media accounts would be getting more followers and overall seeing a increase in interest to the hotel.

8. Describe three methods the business can use to measure success of the Social Media tools/ channels.

Jane could use the following three methods:
Website analytics
Human analytics
And finally analytical tools which would be available on social networks and video channels to measure the success of the social media platforms.

9. Explain, with three reasons, why the business should have a Social Media Policy and Guidelines. 

Social media can be viewed by hundreds of people, and so it is important that the staff of the business understand the importance of the impact social media can have on the business's reputation. So they shouldn't post personal posts, it should be primarily for the business as people could get the wrong idea that they aren't serious about bringing customers to the hotel.
The same tone should be used throughout to keep consistency and keep it professional.
Staff should also be aware of confidentiality and bare this in mind when using the social media platforms.

10. Explain, with one reason, why the business should have a Reputation Management Policy. 

Making sure the business has a good reputation is vital so if something occurs on social media which might damage the reputation all the staff should know how to handle this. Because once something is put on the internet it is there and acting quickly a mistake could be made and make the situation worse. So a policy could be that only the manager are able to access the accounts when something happens until the problem has been resolved.