Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Club Med

Introduction

Brands have to position and reposition themselves over time to stay relevant in the market and to serve their customers in the best manner possible. The sea flourishes because it has waves, and ponds decay because they are still. Club Med or Club Mediterranee is one such company that has understood the importance of change. Club Med has changed the entire operations as well as the service from time to time to serve the customer better while keeping intact the core value of the brand, i.e., to keep their customers entirely happy when they are with Club Med.

In this article, we will be diving deep into the birth and growth trajectory of Club Med and the excellent marketing and brand positioning initiatives of Club Med.

Image − Club Med logo

The Birth and Growth Trajectory of Club Med

Club Med, or Club Mediterranee, is a company founded in 1950. Club Med is of French origin, and the founding members of Club Med are Getard Biltz and Gilbert Trigano. The goal of Club Med is to provide its customers with innovative, all-inclusive, and happy holidays.

The goal has always been to provide the customer with happiness and delight. The latest slogan of Club Med is "What is your idea of happiness". The brand has evolved from being the provider of holiday homes in villages and helping customers connect with nature and socialize with people to getting involved in the rat race of providing customers with luxurious holiday experiences at the prices they want to pay. Currently, Club Med works on a “pay at will” marketing concept.

Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Club Med

Holiday Home Marketing Concept

Club Med as a brand was made to provide customers with a happy trip experience. This was the main goal of Club Med. Club Med used to find different secluded locations all around the world, and the customer had to pay the money upfront while booking. After the booking had been done, customers were free from the worry of money and could easily focus their time on socialization and connecting with nature (both of which are missing in our daily lives). Club Med also had innovative approaches to attract more customers.

For example, when guests used to arrive at the holiday homes, they were provided with necklaces; the beads of the necklace could be used by the guest to get drinks, and food was always served on big tables, providing the customers with an opportunity to interact with other people. Along with this, Club Med also had a dedicated section for the kids, where there were more than 10 physical activity programs that the kids could get themselves enrolled in.

Repositioning of the Brand

The brand has been doing exceptionally well in its starting phase, or growth phase. However, Club Med faced a lot of challenges in 1980. In the years 1980–1990, Club Med faced a lot of competition from other travel and tourism brands that were providing customers with lower travel packages than Club Med. The concept of a “holiday home” was also deceiving because of the other tractive offers from the competition. Along with this, Club Med faced the economic crisis of 1993 resulting from the Gulf War and the events of September 2001.

Club Med understood that their previous positioning of the brand as well as their innovative techniques would not work. Club Med repositioned the entire brand image as well as its services. To compete with the standard as well as the luxury trip providers, Club Med came up with a trident system. There were tridents on Club Med’s menu, and the higher the one moves, the more luxurious his experience is going to be with Club Med.

The five tested hotels or packages of Club Med were in competition with Singapore's Banyan Tree (the branch has 30 hotels and 60 spas all over the world). The luxury villas of Club Med were in competition with Mauritius Company Beachcomber (9 hotels, resorts, and luxury villas); the four tried-and-true hotels of Club Med are in competition with Swiss Movenpick (the brand has 69 hotels in 29 countries); and more.

Enhancing the Customer Experience

The customer experience that Club Med as a brand used to offer can be divided into two categories.

In the first category, it would be the holiday home experience by Club Med in the 1980s and before the Gulf War. Here, the customer can stop worrying about money and its associated problems and just focus on connecting with nature and settling with people.

On the other hand, the experience that the Trident system of Club Med provided was one of luxury hotel prices that were paid at will. For the five trident hotels of Club Med or the luxury villas of Club Med, Club Med had a team of more than 1500 people from across 100 nationalities, ranging from cooks, butlers, housecleaners, and others.

Customers were known as "Gentle Members," while the staff was known as "Gentle Organizers." This ensures that the customers can afford the highest amount of luxury and still get a comfortable stay. Many luxury villas allowed the customers to have their own personal sea or would have water wildlife on the floor. The experiences that Club Med used to provide to its customers were driven by their needs during that time. The focus of Club Med as a brand is to provide the customer with the best services and the best tourism experience.

Employee Training

Club Med very well understood the importance of servers in the hospitality industry. Club Med can provide customers with the best products and hotel rooms, but if the servers are not dedicated, happy, or the right fit, the entire experience will be ruined. Hence, in France, the company opened a training center where they would train the staff and then hire the best ones for the different hotels.

Conclusion

Today, Club Med has more than 80 resorts in more than 30 different countries. The tobacco industry has faced huge blows in the past and even in the era of pandemics, but the company has made its way through them. Club Med is thriving even in this competitive business environment because it understands that customers always want innovative solutions. They want to go on a backpacking trip, which they would want to do at their own pace but still have the chance to experience the authenticity of the place.

Club Med works in the hospitality industry, and the reason why Club Med is still successful is that it serves its customers in the best way possible and does not miss out on any opportunity to bring in innovations in its servings or way of operation.