Managing Customer Expectations at Marriott

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Marriott Corporation's approach to transforming services marketing and the strategies employed in the transformation of service intangibles into tangible benefits for customers. The author explains that Marriott's service-based differentiation strategy is based on the tangible aspects of their service including hotel locations, the cleanliness and maintenance of rooms and meeting facilities, and suitability for both business and pleasure travelers. Reliability, responsiveness, assurance and sympathy are the building blocks that Marriott strives for in making the intangible service aspects tangible. Examples are given of Marriott's success in achieving this for business travelers, and recommendations are provided regarding four ways in which Marriott can improve in exceeding customers' expectations in the area of pleasure travel and global business travel.

Table of Contents:
Executive Summary
Background and Introduction
Main Conclusions
Recommendations
Table of Contents
Managing Customer Expectations at Marriott
Background
Nonverbal Communications Are an Essential Part of Brand Building
Social Media and Word-of-Mouth in Pleasure Travel Critical
Transforming Employees into Customers, and Customers Into Employees
Community and Loyalty Programs Critical
Future Trends
Limitations, Conclusions and Recommendations

From the Paper:

"Marriott works very hard to create an internal culture that concentrates on turning their employees into customers by first viewing the employee base as a segment that needs to be continually educated and sold on the unique value proposition of the company. Selling the value of Marriott internally is critical to the continual growth and maturation of the culture. Marriott also looks to recruit, reward and grow their best customers into employees that have multiple tasks, including referring their associates and friends (for which they are rewarded). In addition, Marriott works to create promotion paths for those customers who excel the most by rewarding them with a continual opportunity to win free nights and be even more involved in the development of new properties and services through advisory councils."

Sample of Sources Used:

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• Dean, D & Lang, J (2008). Comparing three signals of service quality. The Journal of Services Marketing, 22(1), 48-58. Retrieved March 9, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1440879401).
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More papers on Managing Customer Expectations at Marriott:

• Book Review # 97832 : "Exceeding Customer Expectations"
• Research Paper # 114012 : "Customer Expectations in the Hospitality Industry: An Evaluation"
• Research Paper # 114028 : "Customer Expectations in the Hospitality Industry"

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