Marketing project
THE BEACH ESSENTIALS Emily Robins & Faith Cali
06/22/20
Trident Technical College Hospitality Marketing, HOS 245, W01
Robins / Cali 1
Table of Contents Executive Summary 2
Key Focus 3
Target Market Details 4 -10
The Marketing Environment 11
Goals and Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13-14
SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15-16
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………18-19
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Executive Summary
The demand for this product is high because the ease of access and convenience is its
largest selling point. A decent beach chair can cost a minimum of $30 and the same goes for a
beach umbrella. Our product offers the ease of a grab, go, and rent “worry free” concept. Not
only does it eliminate unnecessary spending on products that you will not want to lug onto a
plane after your trip or stick in your vehicle for a long ride with your additional luggage that you
likely will not need or use at home. A lot of the tourism in Charleston is centered on its beaches
so it is unlikely that many of our visitors would have a use for these items once their vacation is
over.
The beaches in Charleston do of course have vendors that provide these products, but
they are often booked far in advance, have higher prices, and do not offer multiday use. If a guest
were to purchase rental items on the beach, they not only run the risk of the vendor being sold
out, but they will also have to pay approximately $65.00 for each day they visit the beach.
Our product has an upper hand in this market by offering discounted rates for multi day
rentals, and discounts on additional beach supplies. This essentially makes our location a one-
stop shop for beach supplies for locals and guests alike that are on their way to the beach. The
additional sales in beach extras as well as the extra money made from multiday rentals would be
enough to support the cost of replacing any beach equipment rentals.
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The Beach Essentials
Our product is a seasonal “Beach Essentials” package, available beginning in May until
September of each year. This package offers a beach umbrella and two foldable chair rentals as
well as the option to purchase a Charleston tote bag (with sunscreen included), beach towels and
kid’s sand toys at a discounted price. The price for the “Beach Essentials” package would be
advertised at a price of $65 and would provide the guest with access to the umbrella and chairs
for other days of their stay for only an additional $15 per day. This package would also be
available to any locals living within ten miles of the hotel with a rental day limit of 4 consecutive
days without a room reservation. Any rentals will automatically be eligible for 20% off their
purchase of beach towels, tote bags and toys. “Beach Essentials” will be promoted on Instagram
as well as the company’s website. In addition to these online promotions, there will be lobby and
elevator signage plus hotel room table tents. Outdoors there will signage near the street for
passersby to view since the area sees a lot of traffic. All front desk staff will be responsible for
promoting and upselling the package and accessories. The location would be the Holiday Inn
Express and Suites at 3025 W. Montague Avenue in North Charleston, SC 29406. This location
is not only convenient because it is close to the airport and shopping locations, but it is within 30
minutes of three different Lowcountry beaches! Our target market would of course include all
beach lovers but specifically we are looking to appeal to married couples, households with 3 or
more members as well as persons between 15 and 24 since they frequent the beach more often
than business travelers or those traveling alone.
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Target Market Details
Our first map1 shows an immediate radius of two miles surrounding our location, and the
second2 shows surrounding areas that we’d target and market to as they’re further from the
beaches but must pass our location to get to them while still being within a reasonable marketing
distance. The locations we have chosen are in parts of Dorchester county, Berkeley county and
Charleston county.
We have three target markets. Our first is married couples3, the second is age groups
between 15-244, and the third is households that have three5 or more occupants. Each of these
demographics were chosen as they are the most likely to visit the beach versus those that are
traveling alone or on business and those who are living singularly.
The next two figures will depict the psychographics of both our local6 target markets and
our feeder city7 target markets. Our feeder cities are Columbia, SC; Spartanburg, SC; Greenville,
SC; Atlanta, GA; and Charlotte, NC. We have used the “Average Expenditure for
Entertainment” map as a guide to see the average amount of money spent both locally and in our
feeder cities on activities. Approximately 7.6 million tourists visited Charleston in 2019,
providing about 8 million dollars in economic impact. Of those 7.6 million tourists, they are
beginning to opt for the beaches and breweries instead of plantations and shopping. It has
become the perfect time to promote the things that relate to their interest.
1 2 Mile Immediate Radius 2 Surrounding Target Markets 3 Married Couples Target Market 4 Age Groups Between 15 and 24 5 3+ Occupant Household 6 Psychographics of Local Target Markets 7 Psychographics of Feeder Cities
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Following the psychographics, we have the graphs representing the target markets in our
feeder cities. Again, our target markets are married couples8, age groups 15-249 and households
of three or more people10.
Finally, we have our traffic counts. The first map shows an arrow representing the street
that is directly in front11 of the hotel at 3025 W. Montague Avenue and an arrow representing I-
26 which is most frequently used to visit the beaches in our area. The second map will show all
traffic counts within a two mile radius12, showing those most likely to pass our location and see
our signage outside.
1 –
8 Feeder Cities Married Couples 9 Feeder Cities Age Groups Between 15 and 24 10 Feeder Cities 3+ Occupant Household 11 Traffic Counts Directly In Front of Selling Location 12 Traffic Counts within Two Miles
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The Marketing Environment
Our product was created for the public to enjoy their time at the beach. Because there are
three beaches within a thirty-minute drive of our location, we find that we have the perfect place
to promote and sell our product. The local economy of Charleston has an average of 43 new
residents per day and of those residents, they were forecasted to spend an average of $30,000 in
the Charleston retail market. That market may currently be a little more conservative in their
spending since the start of 2020 began with a viral pandemic, but as of June 2020, people are
beginning to get restless and are venturing back out into the world. It is the perfect time to
promote our product because people are looking for any way to have a “normal” day and enjoy
their free time again.
Most of our competitors are located on the beach or at a beach resort, but will charge
guests top dollar for their products. Not only do we have our items on hand at the hotel, we went
a step up from our competitors by choosing our “home base” that had a bit of distance from the
beaches, but is close enough to interest a large area of locals as well as tourists. This also creates
less direct competition with vendors out on the beach selling the same products. Our items are
reasonably priced and are offered in a way that can be adjusted as time moves on and the world
changes. While we face other vendors that are on the beaches directly, we also are in competition
with places like Walmart, CVS, and Dollar General, who all offer products in our region that are
the same as ours on a seasonal basis. The main difference being that we offer it as package and it
is much more convenient than adding on another stop into a major grocery store before your
beach day.
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We believe having this product sold in the hotel directly instead of out on the beach will
provide a socially acceptable atmosphere for our product. Society is in a day and age where
convenience is key and as previously mentioned, when you are on a vacation or just enjoying a
day off, the last thing you want to do is venture into Walmart to look for supplies you may not
find. In the same respect, beach vendors can be difficult to locate if you are not parked near or
enter the beach areas near where they are. With our location, you can stop in if you are local and
grab your items, and you are on your way. In addition, if you are a guest, it is already at your
fingertips on your way out of the front door.
Since we would be selling our products to both guests and locals, the best way to accept
payments for this product would be to use the property’s PMS system. Any guests could be
charged in their own folio and a house or PM account could be created to accept payments for
any locals wishing to rent Beach Essentials.
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Goals and Objectives
Our goal is to generate at least $300 a month in sales for our product. Given that the
months of May to September are peak season for the hotel industry as well as it being available
for the entirety of the beach season, we find it very likely that this goal is attainable. It would
require only just under five rentals at full price. The Holiday Inn Express typically sells out every
weekend of all 127 rooms during this time frame. If each employee were trained to sell this
product, as well as to upsell the add-ons at the discounted rate, this goal could be attained by
selling at least one rental per week.
Our pricing strategy is competitive. Given that these items are available for rent at the
beach directly, it’s important that we provide our product in not only a convenient way but in a
way that provides more bang for the customer’s buck in a way that they perceive they’re coming
out on top.
The marketing objective in our case would be to not only increase sales as mentioned in
our goal previously, but to obtain new customers by at least 3 local sales a month. Not only does
this contribute to our goal but encourages the staff the promote local, upsell, and will help us
pinpoint which target market is receiving and engaging with the marketing promotions.
Training for staff members would involve one on one practice in proper upselling
techniques, role playing and teaching them how to start conversations that lead to selling the
product. Each member would be knowledgeable about the product, what it includes, any
stipulations regarding renting the items as well as the perks that you would receive when renting.
To implement our marketing plan, we will have:
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1) A roadside display/signage available Monday thru Friday between the hours of 3pm
and 6pm during peak traffic hours.
2) Full social media update in the beginning of April with a countdown to the first day
of availability.
3) Table tents in rooms before May 1st.
4) Registered members will receive a newsletter reminder the week before opening of
rentals and an additional reminder halfway thru the season.
5) A raffle drawing each month for a free rental or add on purchase available for use for
the current season or the next. Each raffle will be announced and live streamed on
social media.
6) All staff trained on selling process and information for rentals by the first of the year.
Our marketing costs would be:
a) Table tents: $200
b) Outdoor display: $30.00
c) Online promotions: $20.00 per month (you can select pricing and length of time
promotion is sponsored for a boost in sales on social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
d) Lobby/Elevator signs: $50.00
The success of Beach Essentials will not only be measured by sales and number of social
media engagements but also by the number of customers that inquire and purchase the
product. In addition, the more locals that purchase the product allow us to have more
information on target marketing and in the future can alter where we promote our
products and if we need to expand or scale back on the local front.
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SWOT Analysis
Our strengths include the better prices than our competitors, and our deals for multi day
guests and discounts on other items. Locals love being able to get a discount on local products,
attractions or hotels just for living close by. Location is an additional strength of ours, as it is a
hub to get to and from the beaches, the airport and other local attractions such as Park Circle and
the plantations. The training that will be given to employees that are upselling the product will
provide even more confidence and knowledge to our team to make Beach Essentials successful.
Our major weakness would be the weather. Anyone who lives in or has visited
Charleston knows that the weather can change in an instant. It will be hot and sunny with a nice
breeze then it will be storming within minutes. Bad weather for extended periods would decrease
sales/rentals for the day, possibly even weeks during Hurricane season. Luckily, that would also
mean that our competitors would not be making any sales at that time either. Our product could
be damaged at any time when they are rented out so frequently and then would need to be
replaced which is costly and could set us back when having to order new products. This is
another weakness we had to consider when setting our pricing and creating this plan. When
considering the current state of the country in 2020 with the worries of COVID-19, we also must
consider spending money on having extra product so that items can be rotated and properly
disinfected between uses.
Our long term opportunities revolve around having very few direct competitors within
our immediate area that provide a convenient way to receive our products and having the ability
to adjust to our local market in an immediate way if necessary, instead of over time. Being in the
hub of a popular area, we are quickly able to see how current events effect the market. In
addition, social media engagements and interactions will be monitored to see which locals are
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interested, which area is not as respondent and who is taking advantage of our offers. If there is a
lack of interest in one place, we can move it somewhere else.
Our threats are our competitors that are already on the beaches and providing the same
products directly to our consumers. The success on our product is reliant upon making access to
these products more convenient and more cost effective than our competitors. We are also
threatened during the summertime specifically by chain stores, such as Walmart, who sell similar
items. Again, our product would be more convenient to those who do not wish to lug beach
chairs and umbrellas back home with them after a vacation. An additional threat would be the
potential for any economic downfalls or a worsening pandemic. The country is currently looking
at a coin shortage due to the Coronavirus and the country is currently spending less money out
and less frivolously than they typically would. This could affect our business as people would be
discouraged to venture out but we are hopeful that beaches will remain popular as they are open
and are much cheaper to spend a day at than a theme park or zoo.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, Beach Essentials has the potential to be the number one most convenient
way to rent beach items. At only $65 for two chairs and an umbrella, plus discounts on add-ons
and additional days, it is a deal that cannot be beat! While coming in at a price lower than our
competitors, offering multi day deals and still in line to make a profit while covering any
equipment expenses, the Beach Essentials package is a win-win situation. A reputation like
Charleston’s gives us a head start in earning the trust of our consumers when we show off our
true hospitality.
Charleston has been rated the number one best place to visit in the Carolinas, with our
beaches being listed in the top five things to visit while here. The interest is there, the market is
there, it is time for Beach Essentials to capitalize on that.
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