Final report advertising strategies for an e business in hospitality industry

the Vietnamese market because the previous market has been identified and differentiated, so the goal is to expand Marketing activities and increase traffic and IVIVU.com's online revenu

HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND

INFOMATION TECHNOLOGY FACULTY OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION

FINAL REPORT

ADVERTISING STRATEGIES FOR AN E- BUSINESS IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Pham Lé Minh — 22DH484011

Nguyen Thi Quynh Huong — 22DH481101

Nguyễn Đỗ Như Quỳnh - 22DH123692

Course: 233142512206 Instructor: Huynh Nguyén Tuyét Phuong

HCMC, 7/2024

Table of contents Executive Summary c c0 02 0n nh nh Thy Thy ch xin 1.Introduction 2c c0 cee cee cee veeeen se cen seven ere vreveeaeees

2, The COMpaNny 0 cece eee ee ee ee nen nen dene eee bebe ee tne tbe tne een ee ies

2.1.Analysis of the organizafIon”s strafteø1c posIflon

2.2 Determmation of theiIr competIfIV€ SrafCØV 2 cu cào 2.3 Critique of their current marketing mIx

3 Market SeÏecfIlOn Q.20 002cc nh ng nh nh nh ng ke 4 Selection of relevant segmenfation cTIf€T1

4.1 Developmentf oŸ appropr1ate segmenf

4.2 Screening of segment to narrow down the list of appropriate countries

5 Marketing plan have performed in Vietnam

5.1 "Bespoke Journey” - personalized travel experlence

5.2 Utilizing social media marketing strategies for promoting services

6 Conclusion and Recommendations

7 р̀TETC€S Q.00 0000 01 n1 ng nh ng nh nh TH kg tà kh két

8 aN 0) 0163016 10] ct nnn nnn ng nh Hàn hy kh ky ke hy

ll

ll

ll

12

12

14

15

15 19

Marketing is managing customer relationship management (Michael

Kleinaltenkamp et al, 2015) This is almost the answer to the relationship between customers and businesses through any marketing strategy on the e-commerce platform That greatly affects the e-commerce market, especially for 1VIVU i1VIVU.com is an online travel platform owned by Thien Minh Group (TMG), which owns 16 brands in the travel, hotel, online and airline industries and has been in the market for 30 years Launched in 2014, 1VIVU has built an ecosystem that includes all the services tourists need such as package tours, hotels, tours, air tickets, cars, entertainment tickets iVIVU's system includes more than 30,000 hotels and nearly 10,000 entertainment venues and international revenue in 2023 has increased by 50% compared to before the epidemic and is expected to account for 20% of Vietnam's high-end resort tourism market share The product that accounts for the largest proportion of revenue is package travel itineraries To date, the company has served about 600,000 Vietnamese customers traveling domestically and

internationally (Thu Hang,2024) They have achieved the above worthy

achievements with smart, different marketing strategies This report will research about those smart marketing strategies, their marketing selection, mix and the strategies that have been implemented in Vietnam

2 The company

2.1.Analysis of the organization’s strategic position

“Dare to Think, Dare to Do” is the saying of TMG Group in general and Ivivu.com

in particular (IDARE), the value that creates TMG's progress With the vision of becoming Asia's leading comprehensive service provider with the mission of

"Turing every step of the customer's journey into a complete and enjoyable experience" always brings specific benefits to society when TMG operates Ivivu for customers "Ensuring every tourist's journey is satisfied" IVIVU must compete with agoda.com and many other competitors such as Nhu Traveloka or Booking.com in

the Vietnamese market because the previous market has been identified and differentiated, so the goal is to expand Marketing activities and increase traffic and IVIVU.com's online revenue and operating methods face many obstacles, requiring

a marketing strategy to optimize the number of customers and revenue from online sources [VIVU associates with partners such as Hotel Link to easily access and increase online bookings, helping [VIVU increase brand presence in the market and

be the optimal solution for partner hotels, from channel management , online booking and payment engine (link, 2024), [VIVU's advertising strategy mcludes creating rich and attractive content on the website, travel guides, and hotel reviews,

to attract new customers and retain users These efforts help [VIVU maintain its leading position in the domestic tourism industry and also win prestigious awards such as Vietnam's Leading Online Travel Agency for many consecutive years (link, 2024) IVIVU clearly knows its position in the Vietnamese tourism market, they always develop, typically the TravelMate or Team Bonding models are two smart strategies when the company creates unique things to exploit understand the psychological travel needs of online customers when booking tours via social networks Just by satisfying customer needs, [VIVU will develop and the IVIVU stock director believes that with all our experience, efforts, dedication and differences, we are completely confident in standing firm on home turf to best serve customer needs (Ky, 2022) The article about [VIVU affirms that the Board of Directors and alli VIVU.com employees have agreed to build 5 core values: Smile, Trust, Honesty, Responsibility and Solidarity Demonstrating the company's internal capabilities, [VIVU is very steady on its career development path and will carry those good values throughout the future with a team of professional staff and thoughtful customer care the most careful way (IVIVU.com, 2015)

2.2, Determination of their competitive strategy

iVIVU.com's goal of expanding marketing activities, increasing natural traffic and online revenue faces many difficulties The gDayX event at FPT University,

welcoming the presence of members of Google community groups in Vietnam, including Google Business Groups (GBGs), Google Developer Groups (GDGs), and Google Students Ambassador (GSA) Vietnam, representative of 1VIVU.com, and online marketing expert Nguyen Thanh Phuc presented three main steps to take advantage of the strengths of online marketing tools provided by Google That is, using Google tools to attract customers, analyzing data provided by Google, and planning next activities Mr Phuc said that while some businesses using Adwords only focus on using Google tools to attract customers, 1iVIVU.com focuses on exploiting the valuable data sources that Google services provide to create products and marketing plans that target the right audience at the right time and satisfy customer needs Ivivu used Google Ads as a tool to create search advertising campaigns with keywords related to hotel booking services such as "cheap hotel booking” and "hotels in Da Nang” This helps 1VIVU.com appear in the top position when customers search for information Furthermore, 1VIVU promotes its image on social networks Along with that, 1iVIVU also built a digital marketing strategy through Chi Doanh CB/I Digital, a technology and digital marketing company headquartered in New York and Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh In order

to promote natural traffic and increase online revenue for the website ivivu.com, the company focuses on developing strategies through two services: SEO and paid advertising (PPC) For SEO, Chi Doanh (CB/I) builds a comprehensive SEO strategy, helping iVIVU perform advanced on-page SEO, taking advantage of quality content, social media channels, and optimizing the user experience and conversion rates to increase rankings and traffic They also expanded their market size by using new keyword sets targeting both domestic and foreign travel customers In particular, Chi Doanh (CB/T) has built specific local SEO with the purpose of helping 1VIVU.com compete in the local market Website performance and content are optimized for all local keywords to attract the right audience In addition, they have also built an effective link-eaming strategy to strengthen the website's position on the search results page With SEO optimization, 1VIVU

optimizes keywords through research and selects the top keywords that customers are likely to search for She also wntes blogs related to topics such as "Best hotels in Nha Trang" or "Experience traveling to Da Lat” In addition, 1VIVU also focuses on link building, creating high-quality content to exchange links with travel bloggers, and improving the site's credibility Through an SEO campaign to optimize organic search and maximize conversion rates, 1VIVU increased organic search volume by 91% and revenue by 425% in just 9 months

Feb 20, 2014 - Mar 20,2014: @ Visite

Feb 20, 2013- Mar 20,2013: @ Visits

Acquistion

, Visits L New Visits Pages/Visit x — Conversion Rate Ecommerce

86.02% « 24.47% « 425.81% + |[223.66% +

Figure 1 Growth of Organic Search & Revenue within 9 months of iVivu,

Attps://www chidoanh com/du-an/ivivu

In addition to providing systematic SEO (search optimization) services for

iVIVU.com, technology company CB/I also supports 1VIVU in improving the user experience (UX) and integrating all strategies Paid advertising can improve conversion rates and boost business efficiency The paid advertising method that iVIVU used is to use advanced remarketing techniques to improve performance while also using more effective targeting campaigns to increase conversion rates (CR) In the current marketing market, the trend of using influencer marketing to increase revenue 1s increasing 1VIVU can find partners and build affiliate marketing campaigns In addition, to further develop in terms of marketing competition, iVIVU can create an affiliate marketing program so bloggers and YouTubers can

promote iVIVU.com's products and recerve commissions for each order they refer

to

2.3 Critique of their current marketing mix

Ivivu.com's marketing strategy consists of various factors such as products, prices, points of sale, promotion, and customer service The company offers a variety of products, including hotel bookings and tour packages, catering to different preferences and budgets However, there is room for expansion by mtroducing unique travel experiences to differentiate itself from competitors The company regularly offers competitive prices and special offers, attracting price-conscious customers However, the company should strike a balance between pricing strategy and maintaining perceived value

The point of sale operates effectively online, allowing users to book rooms and tours from anywhere Expanding physical presence or local partnerships can improve reach and trust, especially in areas with lower Internet penetration Promotional strategies like email marketing, social media campaigns, and influencer

collaborations can be optimized for targeting and personalization Refining messaging to segmented customer groups can increase engagement and conversion

rates

Ivivu.com focuses on customer service, ensuring prompt resolution of requests and problems Continuous training and development of customer service staff can improve communication quality and customer retention To maintain a harmonious marketing strategy, ivivu.com should enhance product differentiation, optimize pricing strategies, expand physical presence or local partnerships, refine promotional strategies, enhance customer service quality, and ensure the best brand experience across all touchpoints

Market selection is a crucial factor for e-commerce companies in the tourism and hospitality industry like 1Vivu when creating their strategy Vietnam's stable political environment is a bitter catalyst in job creation and increased consumer spending which are the two essential factors for businesses, including those in the hotel area The economy of Vietnam has been growing at a steady pace and reaching a GDP growth rate of 2.91% in 2020, even during the pandemic (General Statistics Office

of Vietnam, 2021) showed the success of this country This depicts that the political environment is favorable for businesses like iVivu Being a WTO member, Vietnam has the capability of attracting more direct investments from foreign countries to the tourism and hospitality sector, which means 1Vivu can get the share through the increase in competition and thus, the 1Vivu product

GDP growth: "NCIF foresees that in the period of 2021 - 2025, the GDP growth rate

of Vietnam will be near 7%/year, the tendency will be a higher GDP growth of 7.5%

in 2022." This consistent and robust economic growth 1s highly advantageous to the hotel industry as it results in higher domestic and international tourism Inflation control: "The economy is fundamentally stable, striving to be perfect at 3.5 - 4.5%/year." Inflation's low rate 1s the major factor of stability of economics, this gives benefits for the businesses in the hotel sector in addition Income levels are going up due to the increase in the GDP per capita which is expected to be around 4,688 USD in 2025 thereby making Vietnam a part of the group of the upper middle- income countries With the rise in per capita income, a considerable number of Vietnamese citizens will have the money to spend on travel and hotel services, which in turn will foster a local market for 1Vivu

With the huge number of 99 million people among the total populace, which is in Vietnam, the potential customer pool provided by i1Vivu is really big People living

in the cities are more prone to have more extra cash to be spent and to deal with the increasing trend of travel startups and hospitality platforms that carry out their duties through online platforms The majority of Vietnam's population is working, thus making iVivu company advantageous since this group 1s the one that normally travels and takes online services more The health and beauty industry 1s also on the rise which may result in an added demand for traveling and entertainment services that would consequently benefit 1Vivu

Vietnam is showing incredible progress in the digital realm We Are Social and HootSuite mentioned a projected 70.3% intemet use rate in Vietnam for 2021, which

is 2021 There were 71.75 million social media users in Vietnam in January 2021.The government has introduced digital transformation policies such as the National Digital Transformation Program up to 2025 to bring about the digitalization

of the nation The aforementioned elements shall undergird the operational e- business model that 1Vivu is going to introduce to the hospitality sector

Vietnam's natural beauty has become an attractive tourist destination The

Government has been implementing policies to promote sustainable tourism such as the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2020, vision to 2030, in which the conservation of natural resources is the focus

Vietnam's legal framework protects consumers and businesses, including those in the tourism industry There are legal opportunities and risks when developing e- commerce and tourism that 1Vivu can take advantage of to grow further Regarding legal risks, these include consumer protection laws, data privacy laws, taxes, and online marketplace licensing for 1Vivu businesses Meeting those standards 1s necessary to gain customer trust, protect information, including personal

identification numbers, and comply with the law (Vietnam E-Commerce Law,

2018).

Therefore, Vietnam can be considered an attractive country for 1Vivu to target This market gives 1Vivu access to premium services that Vietnamese consumers are pursuing and digital marketing strategies that enable 1Vivu to reach a large market of users

4 Selection of relevant segmentation criteria

4.1 Development of appropriate segment

Focusing on the mid- to high-end consumer segment is a wise and promising step for IVIVU.com, especially in the context of the growing tourism and

accommodation industry This customer group demands the best services available and is willing to spend more money for high-quality travel experiences, so IVIVU.com focuses on this area These hotels provide the entire experience Everything from the luxurious interior and modern amenities to the professional customer support team strives to bring customers the best value possible However, this strategy also has some difficulties First and foremost, [(VIVU.com must establish a strict quality control and evaluation system for its hotel partners to maintain consistent service quality Second, to maintain its position, businesses must constantly innovate and improve service quality

An important point is that [VIVU.com builds an entire travel ecosystem instead of just providing booking services For example, excursions or airport transfers, Competitive advantage and consumer value are increased thanks to this strategic approach [TVIVU.com is moving in a positive direction with a plan to focus on the middle and high-end customer segment with 4-5 star hotel products, which helps IVIVU develop in the present and the future

4,2 Screening of segment to narrow down the list of appropriate countries The success of [VIVU.com in the very competitive online travel industry is largely dependent on choosing the appropriate target markets When growing operations,