Elements Of The Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

Marketing mix is the key concept in the marketing task. It is the strategy used to perform marketing functions. Marketing mix according to De Aze is the planned package of elements which will support the organization in reaching its target markets and specific objectives. Marketing mix helps to position the library or information service very firmly in the perceptions of their communities served – the wider community for the public library, academic community for the academic library or the clients and customers for the business or specialist information service. Marketing mix needs more properly to be termed marketing mixes, to encourage librarians and information managers to perceive the value of different marketing mixes for specific market segments or groups of users. These are inter-related, interdependent, and also a combination of many factors.

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Product: As seen in the goods-service continuum, your product can have both tangible and intangible aspects, and is the thing you offer to satisfy your customers’ wants and needs.

Within this element, you need to consider such things as your product range; its quality and design; its features and the benefits it offers; sizing and packaging; and any add-on guarantees and customer service offerings.

Price: Sound pricing decisions are crucial to a successful business and should be considered at both long-term strategic and short-term tactical levels.

Within this element of the mix you should consider list price and discount price; terms and conditions of payment; and the price sensitivity of your market. Worth remembering is the connection of price to your position in the marketing specifically that only one operator in any market can be the cheapest. Jostling between competitors for this position is rarely wise.

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Promotion: This is the element of the marketing mix that most people mean when they talk about ‘marketing’. But jumping straight into decisions about what promotional tools to use without considering their relationship to the rest of the mix can be a sure-fire way to waste money.

There are many different promotional techniques, each with their own strengths but essentially they can be broken down into four broad categories: Advertising; Public Relations; Sales Promotions; and Direct Selling. These techniques are used to communicate the specific benefits of your product to your customers.

Place: Marketers love models that explain the way they work; they love it even more when elements of each model begin with the same letter – hence the use of the word ‘Place’ to describe distribution channels.

Your choice of such channels is important, as is the variety of channels you use. For example, a common issue for businesses beginning to trade on-line is how that will affect their off-line business, for example selling directly through the web could alienate retail outlets that have been the mainstay of your business in the past.

People: The impact that your people can have on your marketing cannot be underestimated. At its most obvious, this element covers your front line sales and customer service staff who will have a direct impact on how your product is perceived.

You need to consider the knowledge and skills of your staff; their motivation and investment in supporting your brand. Any element of the marketing mix will also have its impact on other elements of your business, but the people element is one where the importance of regarding marketing as an integral part of the way you do business is crystal clear.

Process: The process part of the mix is about being ‘easy to do business with’. If you’ve ever become frustrated at call centers that can’t answer your questions, or annoyed when you can’t buy something in a shop because the computerized till doesn’t recognize that it exists, even when you can see it on the shelves, you’ll know how important this element can be.

The more ‘high contact’ your product, and the more intangible, the more important it is to get your processes right. Remember to look at this from your customers’ point of view. The process problems that are most annoying to a customer are those that are designed for the provider’s convenience, not the customer.

Physical Evidence: When you sell tangible goods, you can offer your customer the chance to ‘try before they buy’, or at least see, touch or smell. With services, unless you offer a free trial, your customer will often be buying on trust. And to help them do so you need to provide as much evidence of the quality you will be providing as possible.

So physical evidence refers to all the tangible, visible touch points that your customer will encounter before they buy, from your reception area and signage, to your staff’s clothing and they images you include in you corporate brochure.

7ps service marketing mix in mc Donald’s

After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 P’s used by McDonald’s are:

Product

 Product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. Product includes certain aspects such as packaging, guarantee, looks etc. This includes both the tangible and the non tangible aspects of the product and service.

McDonald’s has intentionally kept its product depth and product width limited. McDonald’s studied the behaviour of the Indian customer and provided a totally different menu as compared to its International offering. It dropped ham, beef and mutton burgers from the menu. India is the only country where McDonald’s serve vegetarian menu. Even the sauce and cheese used in India are 100% vegetarian. McDonald’s continuously innovates its products according to the changing preferences and tastes of its customers. The recente xample is the introduction of the Chicken Maharaja Mac. McDonald’s bring with it a globally reputed brand, world class food quality and excellent customer specific product features.

 McDonald’s Indian Menu:

Vegetarian

McVeggie

McAlooTikki

Paneer Salsa Wrap

McCurry Pan

Pizza McPuff 

Non vegetarian

Chicken Maharaja Mac

McChicken Burger

Shahi Chicken McCurry

Wrap Chicken Mexican

Fillet-O-Fish

Chicken McNuggets 

Price

 Pricing includes the list price, the discount functions available, the financing options available etc. It should also take into the consideration the probable reaction from the competitor to the pricing strategy. This is the most important part of the marketing mix as this is the only part which generates revenue. All the other three are expenses incurred. The price must take into consideration the appropriate demand-supply equation. McDonald’s came up with a very catchy punch line “Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam”. This was to attract the middle and lower class consumers and the effect can clearly be seen in the consumer base McDonald’s has now. McDonald’s has certain value pricing and bundling strategies such as happy meal, combo meal, family meal and happy price menu to increase overall sales volumes.

Place

 The place mainly consists of the distribution channels. It is important so that the product is available to the customer at the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Nearly 50% of U.S.A is within a 3 minute drive from a McDonald’s outlet. There is a certain degree of fun and happiness that a customer feels each time he dines at McDonald’s. There are certain value propositions that McDonald’s offer to its customers based on their needs. McDonald’s offers hygienic environment, good ambience and great service. Now McDonald’s have also started giving internet facility at their centers and they have been playing music through radio instead of the normal music. There are certain dedicated areas for children where they can play while their parents can have some quality time together.

Promotion

The various promotion channels being used by McDonald’s to effectively communicate the product information are given above. A clear understanding of the customer value helps decide whether the cost of promotion is worth spending. There are three main objectives of advertising for McDonald’s are to make people aware of an item, feel positive about it and remember it. The right message has to be communicated to the right audience through the right media. McDonald’s does its promotion through television, hoardings and bus shelters. They use print ads and the television programmers are also an important marketing medium for promotion. Some of the most famous marketing campaigns of McDonald’s are:      

      “You deserve a break today, so get up and get away- To McDonald’s”

      “Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam”.

      “Food, Folks, and Fun”

“I’m loving it”.

People

 McDonald’s understands the value of both its employees and its customers. It understands the fact that a happy employee can serve well and result in a happy customer. McDonald continuously does Internal Marketing. This is important as it must precede external marketing. This includes hiring, training and motivating able employees. This way they serve customers well and the final result is a happy customer.

The level of importance has changed to be in the following order (the more important people are at the top):

1. Customers

2. Front line employees

3. Middle level managers

4. Front line managers

Processes

 McDonald’s worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local customs and culture. McDonald’s has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences. Keeping in line with this, McDonald’s does not offer any beef or pork items in India. In the last decade it has introduced some vegetarian and non-vegetarian products with local flavors that have appealed to the Indian palate. There have been continuous efforts to enhance variety in the menu by developing more such products. It is completely transparent and visible to the customers, allowing them to judge hygiene standards where the process takes place. The customers are even invited to check the ingredients used in the food.

McDonald’s has also re-engineered its operations repeatedly in its 11 years in India to address the special requirements of a vegetarian menu. Vegetable products are 100% vegetarian, i.e.

They are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils.

Only pure vegetarian oil is used as a cooking medium.

Cheese and sauces are completely vegetarian and egg less.

Separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving.

Food manufacturing transparent to customers across the counter.

Training to the licensees about how to operate the franchise.

Invented the most efficient cooking equipment with use of latest technology.

New methods of food packaging and distribution are followed

Physical evidence

 The physical appearance affects not only the impression outsiders have of a business but also the way that business functions. McDonald’s focuses on clean and hygienic interiors of its out lets at the same time they are attractive. It maintains a proper decorum at its joints. Staff members dress in McDonald’s Dress code with Green shirts, Blue trousers, Black caps and Customized Ronald McDonald’s tie.

Building maintenance and visible cues are provided by the golden arches, the trademarks and the logos in the premises. The delivery scooters also add to the physicality of the company.

7ps service marketing mix in Pizza Hut

After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 P’s used by Pizza Hut are:

PRODUCT

Worldwide and in India, Pizza Hut has come to become synonymous with the ‘best pizzas under one roof’. This is because at Pizza Hut the belief is that every pizza has its own magic, thus making it a destination product which everyone seeks. It is this belief that has ignited the passion to create, innovate and serve the finest product the industry has to offer, while setting standards for others to strive to replicate. Pizza Hut is committed to providing uncompromising product quality, offering customers the highest value for money and giving service that is warm, friendly and personal. A critical factor in Pizza Hut’s success has been its unique dining experience. Crewmembers at Pizza Hut strive each day to provide ‘customer mania’ – the kind of service that ensures that every visit of the customer is a memorable one.

Over the years Pizza Hut has also developed and successfully introduced a range of products especially suited to the Indian palate. These products like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer and the Masala and Tandoori pizzas have been a tremendous success. What has also given Pizza Hut a competitive edge is that in addition to an extensive range of internationally renowned pizzas like The Italian, the proprietary Pan Pizza and Stuffed Crust, in India the menu offers the option of a complete meal. It includes appetizers, a Salad Bar – where the customers can make their own fresh salads, a range of soups, pastas and desserts

PRICE

In the past, Pizza Hut has successfully used the high/low pricing strategy when setting the retail price of its products. The high/low retail pricing strategy allows Pizza Hut to charge a price that is above the competition, but also promote frequent sales to lower the price below them. Both Pizza Hut and the beverage Mountain Dew are Pepsi subsidiaries, bundle pricing will be used.. Pizza Hut will be able to sell two products together at a single price to suggest a good value. Different groups of customers are willing to pay different prices for the same product. Pizza Hut can sell “The Extreme” to the customers who will pay the higher price to be the first to buy and also to the bargain hunters Finally, this strategy will emphasize product and service quality. Pizza Hut sets a high initial price for its products to send a signal to customers that its products are quality and the service is excellent.

PROMOTION

The objectives of promotion are to introduce a new product, stimulate demand, change the short-term behavior of the customers, and encourage repeat or greater usage by current customers. Pizza hut uses many promotional strategies. The main promotion is a coupon to purchase. This promotion is also distributed mainly by mail (VIP members), but also by fliers on college campuses around the country in order to reach the target market. They are using billboards on main stream places to get there customer. They are also distributing door to door brochures to capture more and more customers. Pizza huts also using marketing techniques. These are the strategies Pizza hut is using for its marketing. Pizza huts try’s to attract the younger generation as their main market segment. Apart from this Pizza Hut is using intense marketing strategies they are also giving ads in magazines. Advertising camping will creates awareness of the products in our target markets.

PEOPLE

Here the job design is not the most difficult task to do. Also there is no specific requirement for recruiting process. After talking one of the employees in Pizza Hut, we came to know the criteria of selection. The girl was from west India, she was only 10th passed out. After this we it was confirmed that there is no proper requirement of the educational background. The only factor they were considering on the communication skills, how they communicate with the customers. Since the communication is the most important factor between the customer and employee because the whole process is depended on giving the orders for food. For this the Management conducted the training process for the new employees. The Training is given for total 5 days. Out of 5 days, they have 3 days for kitchen training and other 2 days in the main dining, that is, how to take orders and basically how to communicate with customers and make them happy by their services.

PROCESS

The design of the process of the pizza hut is very efficient .pizza hut do not follow any kind of hierarchy , all the employee is at the same level ,pizza hut has a very prescribe and well known process by adopting various technology software which help them to upgrade their supply management and also manage their crowd of customer efficiently.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The ambience of the pizza hut is good enough to catch up the people .they provide a very good dining experience with high quality of atmosphere in terms of their physical evidence. And pizza hut always try to upgrade with changing environment and modernization is key of success of the pizza hut.