How to improve marketing and customer relationship management of the cottage holiday business RapoJärviLoma, the target market being the residents of St. Petersburg and Moscow?
Niemi, Noora (2011)
Niemi, Noora
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2011
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2011060911593
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2011060911593
Tiivistelmä
This study was created for a small family business operating under agricultural industry. The business operating by trade name RapoJärviLoma has been renting holiday cottages / holiday apartments in Kymenlaakso, Valkeala area from 2004. The recession of 2009 decreased the number of visits coming from Russia to Finland. The cottage holiday renting business working under agricultural industry didn’t have a marketing plan or a framework for customer relationship management.
The objective of this research was to find out the best marketing solution to attract holiday spenders from St. Petersburg and Moscow. By finding the best marketing solution the business aimed to raise the utilization rate of the cottages and to gain visibility. The study methods were mainly interviewing the cottage owner Jukka Niemi and exploiting relevant secondary data like statistics done by MEK and findings from Border Guard interviews. A short questionnaire was delivered to few travelers that had booked the cottages and the results have been reported in this thesis among other results. Some questions were asked face-to-face as the questionnaire was passed to the customers.
The business RapoJärviLoma didn’t have a marketing plan or clear customer relationship management plan. The customer contacting was not handled as efficiently as it could have been. The study results, marketing ideas and a customer contacting model were presented to the cottage business owners and people closely involved with the business to improve the business processes. The study aimed to find the most suitable solutions for marketing and customer management for the small business offering holiday house accommodation. In this study it was shown that the overall destination marketing and aiming to surpass customers’ expectations are vital for succeeding. This thesis includes a company SWOT-analysis and a brief overview of rural tourism with its challenges and opportunities. The Importance of customer focusing and the main challenges of service marketing are shortly explained.
The objective of this research was to find out the best marketing solution to attract holiday spenders from St. Petersburg and Moscow. By finding the best marketing solution the business aimed to raise the utilization rate of the cottages and to gain visibility. The study methods were mainly interviewing the cottage owner Jukka Niemi and exploiting relevant secondary data like statistics done by MEK and findings from Border Guard interviews. A short questionnaire was delivered to few travelers that had booked the cottages and the results have been reported in this thesis among other results. Some questions were asked face-to-face as the questionnaire was passed to the customers.
The business RapoJärviLoma didn’t have a marketing plan or clear customer relationship management plan. The customer contacting was not handled as efficiently as it could have been. The study results, marketing ideas and a customer contacting model were presented to the cottage business owners and people closely involved with the business to improve the business processes. The study aimed to find the most suitable solutions for marketing and customer management for the small business offering holiday house accommodation. In this study it was shown that the overall destination marketing and aiming to surpass customers’ expectations are vital for succeeding. This thesis includes a company SWOT-analysis and a brief overview of rural tourism with its challenges and opportunities. The Importance of customer focusing and the main challenges of service marketing are shortly explained.