Entrepreneurial marketing and performance of medium size hotel businesses in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The challenge many medium sized hotels have today is how to effectively promote their services, bearing in mind the enormous cost of using traditional media to achieve the desired effects. Thus, marketers may have to embrace Entrepreneurial Marketing which is the practice of marketing with entrepreneurial mind set. Hence, this study examined the impact of Entrepreneurial Marketing on performance of medium-size hotel businesses in Ibadan, Nigeria. The data were collected through questionnaire administered to random sample size of 154 hotels and convenient sample of 2 senior staff from each of selected hotel. The data was analyzed using descriptive, regression and correlation statistical methods. The study concluded that Entrepreneurial Marketing (i.e. Guerrilla and Viral Marketing strategies), as it is related to promotion, have significant impact on and relationship with performance (i.e. sales growth and brand image creation) of Medium-size hotel enterprises in Ibadan, Nigeria. The study recommended that Hotel Entrepreneurs should embrace Guerrilla Marketing because of its direct and positive impact which is cost effective; and that they should embrace Viral Marketing because of its direct and positive impacts which are global reach, high speed contact and twoway communication.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing, Brand Image, Business Performance, Guerrilla Marketing, Viral Marketing