Target Market Analysis

A target market is a group of customers a company wants to sell its products or services to, and to whom it directs its marketing efforts (Investopedia, LLC 2016). A target market analysis is detailed background information about the group such as income levels, age, sex, who is the decision makers in the target market, trends, and many other details.

Business Travelers

These travelers are one of the primary markets served by the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. Business travelers a large market for the hotel industry in general – one-third of Americans travel for business reasons (Macke, 2015c). From the Appendix 11 we see that most of the business travelers are male, and they are between the ages of 25-34(Macke, 2015) with an income level of $32,500 and up. They are usually the decision makers and will choose their accommodations. When planning, they will seek out companies with which they have a relationship such as a loyalty program or contract. Bleisure is a growing trend among business travelers in which they aim to incorporate some leisure activity into their trip and might extend their stay to do so. Millennial business travelers are the most likely to prolong a business trip and typically look to meet new people when traveling for business. 30% of individuals traveling on business have added days to a business trip for leisure activities. 35% of business travelers also seek to meet new people on business trips, which further emphasizes how important a wealth of experience is to travelers (Macke, 2015c). As leisure and business travelers are becoming more likely to spend more on trips, they are also seeking out hotels that offer unique experiences. Most luxury consumers find upscale activities when traveling (Rogers, 2014).

Corporates Meeting

This group of people usually work from the same company. When it comes down to a decision, this process is passed on to many different people in the organization. The decision could be made by a male or female event planner, secretary or the financing team. This group usually does business with places that can accommodate their meeting, if they have a contract with a business or if they have past relationship with business. For a corporate meeting, it can be a wanting or need because they want to boost morale and make their employees happy, or it could be a mandatory practice to see how the organization is functioning. The way to market for corporate meetings is by prospecting and introduce the company, survey, cold calls, networks, and professional affiliation .The main issue we face with this group is that they likely already have a partnership with another company.

Upper & Middle-Class Families

These travelers consist of two parents or one with a couple of children. The decision maker of this group usually is the caretaker of the family usually the mother. The mother’s age would be around 35+. Things the mothers look for when searching for a product or service would be the place where kids can have fun, pricing of hotel, packages for family and family friendly places (i.e. Restaurants, parks and others). On Appendix 12, Mintel did a survey of families, and the main thing they all wanted was some daycare for their kids. (Bonetto, 2015) Her income level would be around 32,500 or more. Usual families stay at hotels because they want to stay there because they are probably on vacation. What we can market to this market is through surveys, radio, television, magazines and social media. The main issue with this market is that they are somewhat price sensitive and may spend less when seeking accommodations.

Most business travel is done mostly by men, resulting in accommodations that cater to males more than women that are failing to recognize the female buying power (Macke, 2015c). By catering to things female business travelers consider important such as safety or certain amenities- hotels can easily win the female consumer dollar. Maintaining a routine is also something important to female business travelers. “Women are more likely to find private workspaces, schedule downtime to relax, and keep up an exercise routine while they travel” (Macke, 2015c). Because of this, having certain amenities like Wi-Fi, work space, and a gym can be a great asset when women are selecting their accommodations.

Consumers who travel frequently also rely more on mobile technology than those who don’t travel as much. They want to be more able to book a hotel last minute and use a mobile application on their phones. Having an app or a mobile compatible website is more important than ever to appeal to consistent travelers (Macke, 2015c).