These are the Source Documents You Might Want to Study

This is where your business development begins - not a full MBA at a Business School - but the smart application of the key marketing ideas that have lasted the test of time, in some cases, for over 40 years.  Each of these reference materials outlines powerful business concepts taken from the classic business books.  You don';t need a Business Degree to make money or save money - the answers are here in the source materials.

Marketing Myopia by Theodor Levitt.

Theodore Levitt’s 1960 article “Marketing Myopia” is a business classic that earned its author the nickname “the father of modern marketing”. It is also a beautiful demonstration of the problem solving skills that are crucial in so many areas of life – in business and beyond.

The problem facing Levitt was the same problem that has confronted business after business for hundreds of years: how best to deal with slowing growth and eventual decline. Levitt studied many business empires – the railroads, for instance – that at a certain point simply shrivelled up and shrank to almost nothing. How, he asked, could businesses avoid such failures?

His approach and his solution comprise a concise demonstration of high-level problem solving at its best. Good problem solvers first identify what the problem is, then isolate the best methodology for solving it. And, as Levitt showed, a dose of creative thinking also helps. Levitt’s insight was that falling sales are all about marketing, and marketing is about knowing your real business. The railroads misunderstood their real market: they weren’t selling rail, they were selling transport. If they had understood that, they could have successfully taken advantage of new growth areas – truck haulage, for instance – rather than futilely scrabbling to sell rail to a saturated market.

Levitt Marketingmyopia For Innfill Pdf
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Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter

Michael Porter's generic strategies of Cost Leadership and Differentiation are fundamentally different approaches to achieving competitive advantage. Cost leadership focuses on being the lowest-cost hotel or B&B focused on low pricing.  This appeals to price-sensitive customers.
 
While differentiation (and niche positioning) centers on creating unique services, image, and specialisations that have outstanding value to to the target guests - which in turn creates increased loyalty, improves price positioning and margins, and make the decision to book easier for the target guest profile. 

"I can't say enough about the outstanding service I received from your company. Their team went above and beyond to meet our needs and exceeded our expectations."

Oliver Hartman