The 4 Ps:
- Price
- Product
- Place
- Promotion
The new 3 Ps:
- Process
- People
- Physical Environment
And then there were 7
People
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This element focuses on the people within a business who come into contact with customers.
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For a physical product, these are likely to be the people involved in the initial selling process and those providing after sales service.
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For a service the people is even more important due to their increased impact on customer satisfaction.
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Recruit the correct people
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Train them properly
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Motivate your staff
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Share with employees the importance of good customer service.
Process
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Do you have to wait long?
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Easy to navigate?
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Order online?
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Quick delivery
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Can you make it easier?
- Enhancing the experience of queuing where necessary, theme park rides may provide some entertainment whilst queuing.
Physical Environment
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The physical premises of a business
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When you first walk in you get an impression.
- the design
- the decor
- signage
- staff uniforms and appearance
- brochures, stationery
- website
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If the physical environment gives a positive impression about the business, then the customer is more likely to use their service. An unattractive reception area, low quality brochure and non-user-friendly website are likely to put customers off.
Worksheet
Physical: The appearance of a physical store, ideally something that reflects the mood of the brand and sets customer expectations of the business.
Process: The interactions and involvement with the customer as they move through the store experience. Somewhere like IKEA is going to have a very different process to a place like McDonalds. IKEA expects you to spend a long time in the store and walk right round the whole place, likely spending a large amount of money. Mcdonalds however focuses on a short, easy experience.
People: The staff that you interact with whilst at the shop and how they reflect the brand image.
Apple and Poundland differ largely in the area of image. Poundland has a very wide range of products and looks to cram as much in as they can and try to get people to buy a larger amount of products so that Poundland can keep their prices low.
Apple looks for a much cleaner experience where the customer looks at possibly getting a single product. However Apple provides experts who can guide you through the whole process. Apple doesn’t need to sell you a product either, as their margins are very high and prices are in the hundreds of pounds.
Most important 3 Ps:
- Price → People always want to save money
- Promotion → Good promotion keeps the brand in people’s minds
- People → Friendly staff will greatly increases the chance of a sale
McDonald’s:
The price is fairly low compared to many other restaurants. The place is usually near a high footfall area where there are lots of people present. The promotion is strong, with memorable tunes and branding
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