MARKETTING ASSIGNMENT NO. 1

(arun kumar, BBA-2nd Year, 4th Semester, 2012UGBB006)PART 1Q-1) What is Marketing?Ans - Marketing Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service. Marketing is also the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.Q-2) What do you understand by service?Ans Service - A type ofeconomic activitythat is intangible, is not stored and does notresultinownership. A service is consumed at thepoint of sale. Services are one of the two key components ofeconomics, the other beinggoods. Example of servicesincludethetransferof goods, such as the postal service delivering mail, and the use of expertise orexperience, such as a personvisiting adoctor.Q-3) What do you understand by goods?Ans Goods - Ineconomics, agoodis a material that satisfies humanwantsand providesutility, for example, to aconsumermaking a purchase. A common distinction is made between 'goods' that aretangible property(also calledgoods) andservices, which are non-physical.Commodities may be used as asynonymfor economic goods but often refer to marketableraw materialsandprimary products. Although in economic theory, all goods are consideredtangible, in reality certain classes of goods, such asinformation, only arein intangibleforms. For example, among other goods anappleis a tangible object, whilenewsbelongs to an intangible class of goods and can be perceived only by means of an instrument such asprint,broadcastorcomputer.Q-4) What is the difference betwwen goods and services?Ans - 1. Goods are tangible but services are intangible.2. The ownership rights of goods are transferable, but there is no ownership involved in services.3. Once goods are produced, their quality remains uniform, but the qulality of service varies step to step (with the change in evironmental conditions)4. Goods may be perishable or non-perishable, but they can be stored for a long time. Serivices cant be stored for a long time and they are only perishable.

Q-5) What is the similarity between goods and services?Ans Similarity between goods and services Factor Considered General principles - As far as the criteria for establishing similarity of goods/services are concerned in greater detail, the Court held in Canon that: ... In assessing the similarity of the goods and services all the relevant factors relating to those goods or services themselves should be taken into account. Those factors include, inter alia, their nature, their and their method of use and whether they are in competition with each other or are complementary. As stated above (under B.I.3.6.1.d), the term end users is an incorrect translation. The correct translation is purpose of use. The term inter alia shows that the enumeration of the above factors by the Court is only indicative. The similarity of goods and services cannot depend on any number of fixed and limited criteria that could be generally determined in advance, with a uniform effect in all cases. There may be other factors in addition to or instead of those mentioned by the Court that may be pertinent for the particular case. Similarity of the goods/services in question must be determined on an objective basis. Objective basis, however, does not mean abstract or intrinsic basis. Rather, it is the commercial perspective that is of paramount importance. The Court held in Canon that in assessing the similarity of goods all the relevant factors relating to those goods themselves should be taken into account.Q-5) What is service marketing?Ans Service Marketing Service Marketing is a sub field ofmarketingwhich covers the marketing of both goods and services. Goods marketing includes the marketing of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and durables. Services marketing typically refers to the marketing of bothbusiness to consumer(B2C) andbusiness to business(B2B) services. Common examples of service marketing are found in telecommunications, air travel, health care, financial services, all types of hospitalityservices,car rentals andprofessional servicesPART 2Q-1) What are the challenges of service industry?Ans - Challenges Rising Incomes

As incomes rise demand for some discretionaryconsumer services increases, for example,foreign holidays.

Changing Structure of Production

The increasing role of producer services in the value added process both in their own rightand through the process of externalisation has led to a greater service input in to theproduction of goods and services provided across borders.

Producer service firms can gain economies of scale and scope by supplying large nationaland international markets.

Globalisation of Economic Activity

The growth and internationalisation of finance, banking, legal, insurance, transport,distribution, and related services results from the growing internationalisation of othersectors of the economy.

Producer service firms have been drawn into internationalisation, as their clients becomeinternational.

The globalisation of certain aspects of culture gives rise to the successfulinternationalisation of personal and recreational services, such as, entertainment andrestaurant services

Changing Government Policies

The privatisation of utilities is increasing scope for the formation of internationalcompanies in these sectors (water, gas, electricand telecommunications).

Deregulation has enabled the formation of international enterprises in some sectors (e.g.financial sectors).

Regional integration is giving rise to larger, and increasingly harmonised, internationalservice markets (e.g. European Union)

The retreat of the state from certain sectors is leading to an increase in the private supplyof services giving scope for the development of large and international firms in thesesectors (e.g. health care, education,prison services).

The liberalisation of trade in goods and subsequent growth of such trade has stimulateddemand for trade related services (e.g. transportation, insurance, finance)

Technology Driven Internationalisation

Newtechnologiesaregivingrisetonewservicesthatmaybesuppliedacrossborderseither through electronic communications directly or assisted by such communication(e.g. telecommunication and information services, Internet service providers, Internetshopping).The convergence of media, telecommunication and computer technologies is encouragingthe globalisation of related industries.Technology is increasing the scope for the standardisation of service provision therebyincreasing, and changing the nature of,service sector internationalisation.Technology provides the organisational infrastructure for effective international serviceorganisation.Demand for technology related services is rising both at a national and international level.

Increased Uncertainty

The rapidly changing economic, political, social, cultural, technological, andenvironmental conditions are giving rise to the development of, and increasing demandfor services such as management consultancy, and environmental advisory services.Many of the risks and uncertainties that arise in the modern world can only be addressedmeaningfully at an international level (e.g. pollution)

Q-2) Explain 7Ps of service marketing.Ans 7Ps of marketing are as follows 1. ProductTo begin with, develop the habit of looking at your product as though you were an outside marketing consultant brought in to help your company decide whether or not it's in the right business at this time. Ask critical questions such as, "Is your current product or service, or mix of products and services, appropriate and suitable for the market and the customers of today?"Whenever you're having difficulty selling as much of your products or services as you'd like, you need to develop the habit of assessing your business honestly and asking, "Are these the right products or services for our customers today?"Is there any product or service you're offering today that, knowing what you now know, you would not bring out again today? Compared to your competitors, is your product or service superior in some significant way to anything else available? If so, what is it? If not, could you develop an area of superiority? Should you be offering this product or service at all in the current marketplace?2. PricesThe second P in the formula is price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services you sell to make sure they're still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes you need to lower your prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise your prices. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services doesn't justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. By raising their prices, they may lose a percentage of their customers, but the remaining percentage generates a profit on every sale. Could this be appropriate for you?Sometimes you need to change your terms and conditions of sale. Sometimes, by spreading your price over a series of months or years, you can sell far more than you are today, and the interest you can charge will more than make up for the delay in cash receipts. Sometimes you can combine products and services together with special offers and special promotions. Sometimes you can include free additional items that cost you very little to produce but make your prices appear far more attractive to your customers.In business, as in nature, whenever you experience resistance or frustration in any part of your sales or marketing activities, be open to revisiting that area. Be open to the possibility that your current pricing structure is not ideal for the current market. Be open to the need to revise your prices, if necessary, to remain competitive, to survive and thrive in a fast-changing marketplace.3. PromotionThe third habit in marketing and sales is to think in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways you tell your customers about your products or services and how you then market and sell to them.Small changes in the way you promote and sell your products can lead to dramatic changes in your results. Even small changes in your advertising can lead immediately to higher sales. Experienced copywriters can often increase the response rate from advertising by 500 percent by simply changing the headline on an advertisement.Large and small companies in every industry continually experiment with different ways of advertising, promoting, and selling their products and services. And here is the rule: Whatever method of marketing and sales you're using today will, sooner or later, stop working. Sometimes it will stop working for reasons you know, and sometimes it will be for reasons you don't know. In either case, your methods of marketing and sales will eventually stop working, and you'll have to develop new sales, marketing and advertising approaches, offerings, and strategies.4. PlaceThe fourth P in the marketing mix is the place where your product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact location where the customer meets the salesperson. Sometimes a change in place can lead to a rapid increase in sales.You can sell your product in many different places. Some companies use direct selling, sending their salespeople out to personally meet and talk with the prospect. Some sell by telemarketing. Some sell through catalogs or mail order. Some sell at trade shows or in retail establishments. Some sell in joint ventures with other similar products or services. Some companies use manufacturers' representatives or distributors. Many companies use a combination of one or more of these methods.In each case, the entrepreneur must make the right choice about the very best location or place for the customer to receive essential buying information on the product or service needed to make a buying decision. What is yours? In what way should you change it? Where else could you offer your products or services?5. PackagingThe fifth element in the marketing mix is the packaging. Develop the habit of standing back and looking at every visual element in the packaging of your product or service through the eyes of a critical prospect. Remember, people form their first impression about you within the first 30 seconds of seeing you or some element of your company. Small improvements in the packaging or external appearance of your product or service can often lead to completely different reactions from your customers.With regard to the packaging of your company, your product or service, you should think in terms of everything that the customer sees from the first moment of contact with your company all the way through the purchasing process.Packaging refers to the way your product or service appears from the outside. Packaging also refers to your people and how they dress and groom. It refers to your offices, your waiting rooms, your brochures, your correspondence and every single visual element about your company. Everything counts. Everything helps or hurts. Everything affects your customer's confidence about dealing with you.When IBM started under the guidance of Thomas J. Watson, Sr., he very early concluded that fully 99 percent of the visual contact a customer would have with his company, at least initially, would be represented by IBM salespeople. Because IBM was selling relatively sophisticated high-tech equipment, Watson knew customers would have to have a high level of confidence in the credibility of the salesperson. He therefore instituted a dress and grooming code that became an inflexible set of rules and regulations within IBM.As a result, every salesperson was required to look like a professional in every respect. Every element of their clothing-including dark suits, dark ties, white shirts, conservative hairstyles, shined shoes, clean fingernails-and every other feature gave off the message of professionalism and competence. One of the highest compliments a person could receive was, "You look like someone from IBM."6. PositioningThe next P is positioning. You should develop the habit of thinking continually about how you are positioned in the hearts and minds of your customers. How do people think and talk about you when you're not present? How do people think and talk about your company? What positioning do you have in your market, in terms of the specific words people use when they describe you and your offerings to others?In the famous book by Al Reis and Jack Trout,Positioning, the authors point out that how you are seen and thought about by your customers is the critical determinant of your success in a competitive marketplace. Attribution theory says that most customers think of you in terms of a single attribute, either positive or negative. Sometimes it's "service." Sometimes it's "excellence." Sometimes it's "quality engineering," as with Mercedes Benz. Sometimes it's "the ultimate driving machine," as with BMW. In every case, how deeply entrenched that attribute is in the minds of your customers and prospective customers determines how readily they'll buy your product or service and how much they'll pay.Develop the habit of thinking about how you could improve your positioning. Begin by determining the position you'd like to have. If you could create the ideal impression in the hearts and minds of your customers, what would it be? What would you have to do in every customer interaction to get your customers to think and talk about in that specific way? What changes do you need to make in the way interact with customers today in order to be seen as the very best choice for your customers of tomorrow?7. PeopleThe final P of the marketing mix is people. Develop the habit of thinking in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are responsible for every element of your sales and marketing strategy and activities.It's amazing how many entrepreneurs and businesspeople will work extremely hard to think through every element of the marketing strategy and the marketing mix, and then pay little attention to the fact that every single decision and policy has to be carried out by a specific person, in a specific way. Your ability to select, recruit, hire and retain the proper people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is more important than everything else put together.In his best-selling book,Good To Great, Jim Collins discovered the most important factor applied by the best companies was that they first of all "got the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus." Once these companies had hired the right people, the second step was to "get the right people in the right seats on the bus."To be successful in business, you must develop the habit of thinking in terms of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility. In many cases, it's not possible to move forward until you can attract and put the right person into the right position. Many of the best business plans ever developed sit on shelves today because the [people who created them] could not find the key people who could execute those plans.Q-3) What is the nature of services?Ans - It is utmost important to explore the distinctive features of services, because recognition of these special characteristics will provide insights for enlightened and innovative management. One reason for the poor quality of service levels across different service industries is that managers often tend to solve service marketing problems with tools and techniques that are essentially meant for tangible products. It happens because of inadequate understanding about the nature of services. As our knowledge of the characteristics of services grows, so does our ability to deal with them from both an economic and marketing perspective. Services have a number of unique characteristics that make them different from products. Some of most commonly accepted characteristics are as follows: (i) Intangibility: The most basic and universally cited characteristic of services is intangibility, because services are performances or actions rather than objects, they cannot be seen, felt, tasted, or touched in the same manner that we can sense tangible goods. For example, when we buy a cake of soap, we can see, feel, smell and use to check its effectiveness in cleaning. But, when we pay fees for a semester in the university, we are paying for the benefits of deriving knowledge, skills and education which is delivered to us by teachers. Teaching is an intangible service. When we travel by a plane, the benefit which we are deriving is a service (transportation) but, it has some tangible aspects such as the particular plane in which we fly (Boeing, Avro, Concorde, etc.) and the food and drink which are served. The broad definition of services implies that intangibility is a key determinant of whether an offering is or is not a service. While this is true, it is also true that very few products are purely tangible or purely intangible. Instead, services tend to be more intangible than manufactured products, and manufactured products tend to be more tangible than services. Intangibility presents several marketing challenges. Services cannot be inventoried, and therefore fluctuations in demand are often difficult to manage. It cannot be patented legally, and new service concepts can, therefore, easily be copied by competitors. It cannot be readily displayed or easily communicated to customers, so quality may be difficult for consumers to assess. The actual costs of a unit of service are hard to determine and the price/quality relationship is complex. (ii) Inseparability: In most cases a service cannot be separated from the person or firm providing it. A service is provided by a person who possesses a particular skill (singer, doctor, etc.), by using equipment to handle a tangible product (dry cleaning) or by allowing access to or use of a physical infrastructure (hotel, train, etc.). Services are typically produced and consumed at the same time. The relationship between production and 4consumption, therefore, dictates that production and marketing are highly integrated processes. The telephone company produces telephone service while the telephone user consumes it. A plumber has to be physically present to provide the service, the beautician has to be available to perform the massage. The service provider and the client are often physically present when consumption takes place. Generally, most goods are produced first, then sold and consumed. On the other hand, services are usually sold first and produced and consumed simultaneously. Sasser observed that the firm is unable to store or transport services, that only direct distribution is possible, thereby potentially limiting the number of markets that firm can cover. Apart from the stress laid on right place and right time in case of distributing goods, there is additional importance given to the performance of service in the right way as well. Another outcome of simultaneous production and consumption is that service producers find themselves playing a role as part of the product itself and as an essential ingredient in the service experience for the consumer. Since services often are produced and consumed at the same time, mass production is difficult if not impossible. The quality of service and customer satisfaction will be highly dependent on actions of employees and the interactions between employees and customers. It is not usually possible to gain significant economies of scale through centralization. Usually operations need to be relatively decentralised so that the service can be delivered directly to the consumer at convenient locations. Since the customer is involved in and observes the production process, and thus may affect (positively or negatively) the outcome of the service transaction. (iii) Heterogeneity: Since services are performances, frequently produced by human beings, no two services will be precisely alike. The human element is very much involved in providing and rendering services and this makes standardization a very difficult task to achieve. The doctor who gives us complete attention in one visit may behave a little differently in next visit. The new bank clerk who encashes our cheques may not be as 5efficient as the previous one and we may have to spend more time for the same activity. This is despite the fact that rules and procedures have been laid down to reduce the role of the human element and ensure maximum efficiency. Airlines, banks, hotels, etc. have a large number of standardized procedures. Human contact is minimal in the computerised reservation systems, but when we go to the hotel there will be a person at the reception to hand over the key of the reserved room. The way that person interacts with us will be an important factor in our overall assessment of the service provided by the hotel. The rooms, the food, the facilities may be all perfect, but it is the people interacting with us who make all the difference between a favourable and unfavourable perception of the hotel. Heterogeneity also results because no two customers are precisely alike; each will have unique demands or experience the service in a unique way. Thus, the heterogeneity connected with services is largely the result of human interaction (between and among employees and customers) and all of the vagaries that accompany it. Levitt argues that owing to the industrialisation of services, their production can no longer be viewed as being heterogeneous. Attempts have been made to improve productivity in the service sector by introduction of technology. Uniformity can be achieved by substituting equipment and machinery for labour. Hostage suggested that service firms could also reduce variability by training the service providers in appropriate responses to each customer situation. They can also monitor customer satisfaction through suggestion and complaint system so that poor service can be detected and corrected. Services are heterogeneous across time, organisations, and people and as a result, it is very difficult to ensure consistent service quality. Quality actually depends on many factors that cannot be fully controlled by the service supplier, such as the ability of the consumer to articulate his or her needs, the ability and willingness of personnel to satisfy those needs, the presence (or absence) of other customers, and the level of demand for the service. Because of these complicating factors, the service manager cannot always know for sure that the service is being delivered in a manner consistent with what was originally planned and promoted. iv) Perishability: Perishability refers to the fact that services cannot be saved, stored, resold, or returned. Since services are deeds, performances or acts whose production and consumption takes place simultaneously, they tend to perish in the absence of consumption. Goods can be stored and sold at a later date in the absence of a customer. Services, on the other hand, go waste if they are not consumed. A seat on an airplane or in a restaurant, an hour of a professors time, or telephone line capacity not used cannot be reclaimed and used or resold at a later time. A primary issue that marketers face in relation to service perishability is the inability to hold inventory. Demand forecasting and creative planning for capacity utilisation are, therefore, important and challenging decision areas. The fact that services cannot typically be returned or resold also implies a need for strong recovery strategies when things do go wrong. Kurtz and Boone observed that the utility of most services is short lived; therefore, they cannot be produced ahead of time and stored for periods of peak demand. The perishability of services is not a problem when demand is steady because it is easy to staff for the service in advance. When there are wide fluctuations in demand there should be a highly flexible production system or idle productive capacity. Sasser has described several strategies for producing a better match between demand and supply in a service business. On the demand side, the firm can make use of differential pricing, cultivating non-peak demand and developing complementary services. On the supply side, for effective matching with demand, the firm may hire part time employees to serve peak demand; peak-time efficiency routines can be introduced, facilities for future expansion can be developed, and increased consumer participation can be encouraged. (v) No Transfer of Ownership: When we buy a product, we become its owner-be it a pen, book, shirt, TV or Car. In the case of a service, we may pay for its use, but we never own it. By buying a ticket one can see the evening film show in local cinema theatre; by paying wages one can hire the services of a chauffeur who will drive his car; by paying the required charges we can have a marketing research firm survey into the reasons for our products poor sales performance, etc. In case of a service, the payment is not for purchase, 7but only for the use or access to or for hire of items or facilities; and transfer of ownership does not take place.

PART 3Q-1) You are working in a newly started airlines company. You are promoted to the post of senior manager within one year because of your hardwork and intelligence. You are given the challenge to rebuild the promotional campaign of your company. What will be your promotional strategies for the same?Ans My promotional strategies would be 1) Targeting In the Leisure Air Travel Market: It is all about the persons disposable time and disposable income. The airline must ensure that An air-based vacation was selected The holiday is taken at a destination it serves They travel on its flights2) Targeting Importance of Children: Younger baby care facilities as a determining choice Young entertainment availability Older their preferences may be considered Example: Disney Resorts, McDonalds thru pester power (the power children have, by repeated nagging, of influencing their parents to buy advertised or fashionable items).3) Targeting Differences in culture and among countries: Men decide in patriarchal societies Women decide in matriarchal societies (UK) Travel agents importance in the leisure travel: Inexperienced traveler asking for advice Visa questions, etc.4) Market Segmentation The objective of a firms marketing policies should be to meet the needs of its Customers, at a profit . We now have to deal with the problem that in one very real sense, this ideal objective is often unobtainable . Example: car color. 5) Segmentation Variables Journey Purpose: business/leisure/exceptions (pilgrims to Islams holy places) Sub-segments: Holiday and VFR (meals vs no meals) Length of Journey: short vs long-haule Airport experience Inflight experience Country/Culture of Origin of the Traveler Global brand/seamless service in large alliance/comparable products Baggage allowance! Suitable meals/breakfast6) Customer Requirements Business Travelers Surveys: Inflight? Good but limited.What methods? Mail? Email? Phone? Priorities: 1) Frequency and Timings 2) Punctuality 3) Airport Location and Access 4) Seat Accessibility/Ticket Flexibility 5) Frequent Flyer Benefits 6) Airport Service 7) In-Flight Service7) Leisure Segment Demographics difference: good balance b/w males and females (and females live longer) Importance of children Personal incomes Customer requirements: cheap fare Not tax deductible Lower standards for lower fares (pitch)8) Advantage for airlines Do not assume that profitability cannot be reached with only leisure pax due to low yield. Leisure market has many characteristics which allow efficient airlines to meet their customers requirements much more cheaply than it is possible in the business market. They dont need frequent, on-demand service use of larger aircraft lower seat-kilometre cost high load factor cause no last minute availability needs to be offered. 9) Advantage for airlines Difference in peaking patterns and timing: Despite seasonal and costly peak-time resources, it can be spread out throughout the day. Higher annual utilization of the aircraft (4000-4200 hours per year in Europe vs. 2500-2700 when relying on a large number of bus. Pax) Willingness to sacrifice product features for lower fare. What product feature would leisure pax NOT give up10) Advantage for airlines use of larger aircraft to serve the leisure market, and gain the benefits of the lower seat-kilometre costs available from such aircraft. Can operate at higher load factor (90%) This will minimize the difference between available and revenue seat-kilometre costs. Peak time off-peak time utilization