Strategic Marketing Management at ski centers: the SMMP concept

Purpose – The current study develops a new concept for managing marketing strategy of a specific kind of tourism destinations, namely ski centers. The proposed Strategic Marketing Management Product (SMMP) concept is based upon the modern framework of business sustainability and the “triple-bottom-line” (TBL) responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual in nature based on previous qualitative and quantitative research.

Findings – Previous research findings impose that most ski centers managers do not make any use of environmental and social dimensions of sustainability as key drivers of their marketing strategy. In fact, it seems that lack of an integrated strategic marketing concept is a possible source of that inadequacy. Therefore, SMMP actually bridges the traditional strategic marketing concepts and metrics with the idea of creating and sustaining an eco-efficient micro-economy for the mutual benefit of business units and the local societies as a whole.

Originality/Value – SMMP concept is introduced as a new approach to the well-researched discipline of strategic marketing management. Further discussion and specific case studies could support the SMMP concept and unleash unknown positive repercussions and benefits.