Running head: MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

Marketing Plan for Serenity Tree Restaurant

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MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

Marketing Plan for Serenity Tree Restaurant

Overview
The paper examines the marketing plan and strategies Serenity Tree Restaurant will use to
extend and expand its market in the Sri Lankan market for higher returns, and compete
effectively to gain a higher market share in the hospitality industry. Coming up with and
maintaining operation advantages will help gain a major market share, detailed in the paper
below, allowing extended development of the market and competitive advantage, which will
allow better performance in the existing sector and industry.
Serenity Tree Restaurant is a proposed Sri Lankan hotel being built located in Yala. The new
hotel will be next to Yala National Park with a wide range of amenities, food and services to
offer its clientele. The restaurant will have qualified top of the class chefs with years of
experience working in a competitive high-pressure environment who will prepare whatever
customers order. When visitors get a chance to visit the establishment they will never go to
another hotel while in Sri Lanka. The food will always be fresh with a rich natural taste,
which is a major selling point for the hotel. However, without marketing the hotel might
never do well hence the need for this marketing report to determine steps necessary to help
the restaurant operate at its maximum potential and make more profits. As the hotel is still in
construction stage this is a pre-launch marketing plan to help have good business starting
from its first day.
Target clients
Due to the location and proposed operations of the hotel, the clientele will be the high
spending local clients and international tourists. These are the clients who look and willing to
pay for the proposed amenities of the hotel.

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

Marketing plan pre-launch objectives

1. Use crowd funding
2. Create a Website
3. Create Social Media Accounts/online marketing
4. Develop strategic partnerships
5. Mobile Marketing
6. Ensure your site is SEO (Search Engine Optimized)
7. Have a list of media ready that you wish to contact
8. Inform targeted food bloggers
9. Plan a pre-opening party
10. Develop strategic partnerships
11. Advertise on billboards
12. Advertise in airport taxis
13. Use on board travel magazines and travel magazines
14. Google places
Marketing strategies
Use crowd funding
The form of advertising uses investors in the hotel who can have different ways of getting
their capital back. Crowd funding pools resources together from different investors who want
different paybacks for their contribution. Some people who contribute prefer pay back in
form of food, money and other incentives the hotel might provide. The marketing strategy,
which is an advantage for Serenity Tree, is the fact that the investors will start contributing
money even before the launch of the restaurant. These investors will create a buzz and
increase talks about the restaurant even before it opens. People with extra money to invest
also form a large share of the restaurants target client.
Create a website
A Serenity Tree Website will help the hotel have an existing customer base even before it
opens. The advantage of a website is it is a one stop point where clients can access any
information they will need concerning the restaurant. As the hotel is not yet launched the

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

website will carry information such as the expected opening dates and the activities necessary
to qualify the hotel to fit the class the investors intend.
Create social media accounts/online marketing
Online marketing is the latest and most reaching way of advertising today, which will be a
key focus in our marketing campaign. Online marketing will utilize available platforms such
as Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp among others to show exactly what we have to offer. We will:

Show off what the restaurant has to offer such as telescopes, binoculars, serene eating

environment overlooking animals.

Increase social media presence, which will involve uploading food photos, which is
arguably the very best way to promote a restaurant online. Visual content is in high
demand online these days, and having delicious looking photos on your website and

across various social media outlets is essential for drawing hungry eyes.
Verifying and giving accurate hotel details especially to the online clientele.
Nowadays online business helps boost sales, and help manage the space available,
which could be overwhelmed if even those ordering online are physically in the

establishment.
Provide a sleek online menu, which will not only help with ordering online but also
help clients identify what they expect from the hotel and know if it is available.

Develop strategic partnerships

Partner up with instrumental tools for further market reach such as delivery services. Delivery
services ensure it is possible to facilitate online ordering and delivery to online clients no
matter where they are.
Another strategic partner is the Yala National Park where most of the hotels target market
visit. The Park gets international visitors, and a partnership between the park and the
restaurant will see tour guides advertise the hotel to the tourists.

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

Mobile marketing
Everybody in the world today has a mobile phone hence the consideration of the mode of
marketing as a preferred method. Mobile marketing works with a maintained database of
clients who will be updated regularly on the progress of the hotel, and what will be on offer
when it opens. Text messages, What Sapp messages are the best method to use while mobile
marketing.
Ensure your site is SEO (Search Engine Optimized)
Search Engine Optimization will also be another strategy the plan will emphasize. Search
optimization works by linking the name of the hotel to the hotel website link (will appear
blue, and opens to the website when clicked). No matter where the name of the hotel appears
whether in a travel website, Facebook or Twitter on clicking the name it will direct the user to
the hotel website where they can access any information they need or learn about the hotel
services if they did not know.
Have a list of media ready that you wish to contact
Media houses and mainstream media will have a key role to play to market the
establishment. The targeted media in this case is the national and international media to
ensure as many as possible targeted clients get the message no matter their geographical
position.
Inform targeted food bloggers
Informing and working with food bloggers helps keep the name of the restaurant in many
different platforms.
Plan a pre-opening party

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

A pre-opening party is the best way to open any business especially one in the hospitality
industry. The hotel will be complete by February 2017, and the opening party will be in
the valentine weekend of the same period. Influential artists will be performing on this
day and will attract many people to the event. The hotel will then display the services and
amenities it has to offer making people aware of what to expect when they visit.
Advertise on billboards
Billboards are an efficient way to advertise, as they are strategically located in places
where a large number of people can be able to read them. Due to their big size, the hotel
will also include images of their amenities.
Advertise in airport taxis
These carry international tourists who are a major targeted clientele. Moreover, learning
of the information while in the taxi will make some of them get interested to visit.
Use on board magazines and travel magazines
On board magazines keep travellers busy when travelling for long distances, and this is
always an effective way to advertise. High-end magazines such as Hi magazine help keep
trends among high spending clients, and making the hotel a cool trend in the magazine
will attract the high spending clients.
Google places
Google places give the exact location of the hotel, which is a good marketing tool as
clients will see and know where the hotel is without calling for direction.
Implementation plan

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

By January 2017, we will be doing the advertisements run on dialog cable TV, which will be
peak of the advertisement plan. Dialog on cable TV will cost money. As this will be the first
quarter of the hotel being open an indication of marketing success will be if the hotel served
over 1000 customers in its first four months in business (Varadarajan & Yadav, 2002). The
revenue generated by then will help pay for mainstream advertisement platforms, which help
the restaurant stay in line with the high client expectations.
Listing the hotel in the top five restaurant in the country will boost its ratings. Together with
this, the marketing team will interact with customers, and request their opinion about the
hotel. Online rating reviews from satisfied customers help maintain the five star rating, which
will boost the name of the restaurant in the market, attracting more clients consequently
increasing the sales revenue. However, in any marketing plan there are always a few
challenges as detailed below, but the marketing team will work as in every challenge lies an
opportunity to be better.

References
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2014). Marketing strategy: Text and cases. Mason, OH:
South-Western/Cengage Learning.
Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (2012). Rules to Break and Laws to Follow: How Your Business
Can Beat the Crisis of Short-termism (Vol. 24). John Wiley & Sons.
Reynolds, T. J., & Olson, J. C. (Eds.). (2001). Understanding consumer decision making: The
means-end approach to marketing and advertising strategy. Psychology Press.

MARKETING PLAN FOR SERENITY TREE RESTAURANT

Varadarajan, P. R., & Yadav, M. S. (2002). Marketing strategy and the internet: an organizing
framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30(4), 296-312.
Varadarajan, R. (2010). Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition,
fundamental issues and foundational premises. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 38(2), 119-140.