| Unit Learning Outcomes: |
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LO1 Explain the needs and expectations of market segments for products and/or services of a given business organization. LO2 Produce a customer experience map to create business opportunities and optimize customer touch points. LO3 Investigate the impacts of digital technology on customer relationship management. LO4 Apply effective customer experience management within an organizational context to maximise customer engagement. |
| Transferable skills and competencies developed: |
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| Vocational Scenario: |
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Whilst offering the most powerful portfolio in the industry, Marriott International is operating, franchising and licensing hotels, and have residential and time-share properties across the world. Marriott International began as an A&W Root Beer franchise in Washington, D.C., in 1927.
Founders J. Willard and Alice Sheets Marriott got their business started by quenching people’s thirst during the hot summers in Washington, D.C. 30 years later in 1957, they expanded into the lodging business with the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. As of December 31, 2024, the company owned 2,032 company-operated properties with 586,201 rooms, and 7,192 franchised and licensed properties with 1,104,446 rooms. In 2024, Marriott served customers under 30 hotel brands in 144 countries and territories. Aiming to connect people through the power of travel, Marriot International continues to lead and be successful owing to its outstanding talent, digital transformation, sustainability and risk management, by elevating company priorities, core values and Marriott’s unique brand of hospitality around the world. Marriott’s reputation for superior customer service dates to J Willard Marriott’s original goal for His business: “good food and good service at a fair price”, while pursuing to evolve with guests’ needs in mind. As offering customer service is among their top priorities, they always seek to offer wonderful hospitality, using 30 brands ranging over 4 distinctive segments as ‘luxury, premium, select and longer stays’, to say nothing of the abundant benefits customers receive from its loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy’. |
Role:
Your role as a Customer Service Executive at Marriot is crucial in ensuring that guests have a pleasant and seamless experience during their stay. You are responsible for delivering exceptional service to hotel guests by handling inquiries, reservations, complaints, and requests.
Your job is to liaise with the Marketing department to discuss the effectiveness of existing customer touch points and monitor and report on their effectiveness and propose new or improved strategies. You are also responsible for managing and enhancing the overall customer experience to ensure that every interaction a guest has with the business is positive and fulfilling, leading to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
As more businesses are entering the market place and competition is fierce you have been tasked to provide updates on customer engagement and how digital technology enhances the customer experience.
Assignment Activity and guidance
As ‘evolving with guests’ needs in mind’ is at its core values, Marriott International focuses on ensuring a positive customer experience to cultivate satisfied and loyal customers. To assist with this process, your line manager has asked you to produce a report on ‘managing the customer experience. You should include the following details in your report.
You should evaluate a board range of different target customer groups’ needs and expectations in terms of customer engagement for a product or service within Marriott International. This is by explaining the value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target customer groups within Mariott International. You should also explore and review how customer engagement factors determine, drive and influence customer onboarding strategies for different target customer groups.
You should create a detailed customer experience map for Mariott International that charts the customer journey and examines the activities and actions taken at each customer touch point by discussing and analyzing how customer touch points influence the behavior, responses and actions of its customers to enhance customer experience and how they create business opportunities for Mariott International.
You should critically evaluate CRM systems used in Marriott International for acquisition and retention of customers by examining and evaluating how digital technologies employed by Marriott International manage the customer experiences are changing CRM systems to acquire and retain customers effectively.
You should evaluate and review the delivery of customer service strategies and communication, justifying and making valid recommendations for improvement in developing customer experience by illustrating and demonstrating how customer service strategies create and develop the customer the customer experience in a way that meets the needs of the customer and required business standards.