The 4 Ps:

  • Price
  • Product
  • Place
  • Promotion

The new 3 Ps:

  • Process
  • People
  • Physical Environment

And then there were 7

People

  • This element focuses on the people within a business who come into contact with customers.

  • For a physical product, these are likely to be the people involved in the initial selling process and those providing after sales service.

  • For a service the people is even more important due to their increased impact on customer satisfaction.

  • Recruit the correct people

  • Train them properly

  • Motivate your staff

  • Share with employees the importance of good customer service.

Process

  • Do you have to wait long?

  • Easy to navigate?

  • Order online?

  • Quick delivery

  • Can you make it easier?

    • Enhancing the experience of queuing where necessary, theme park rides may provide some entertainment whilst queuing.

Physical Environment

  • The physical premises of a business

  • When you first walk in you get an impression.

    • the design
    • the decor
    • signage
    • staff uniforms and appearance
    • brochures, stationery
    • website
  • 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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