teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

“France’s Unlikely Import:  Weight Loss Centers” (Bloomberg Businessweek, January 12, 2012) provides an example of a cultural trend – growing obesity in France — and one firm’s adaptation to a new culture.  The article also explains how another U.S. import — fast food (McDonalds and Pizza Hut have experienced growth in the country) helped France put on that extra weight.  Jenny Craig has adapted its approach to French consumer behavior and palette.  I know we just had an example of international product adaptation, but this one differs and covers a service and good.

Marketing managers are increasingly paying attention to the customer’s entire purchase experience.  Scholars of the marketing of services have long studied queues and wait times.  Smart companies are finding ways to improve the wait experience — and you can read about some examples in this Wall Street Journal article “Fun for the Whole Family:  The Long Wait in Line” (August 10, 2011 – non-subscribers may need to click here).  This article could be used when you cover services — or more generally as an example of total customer experience.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

We have mentioned before (skim these posts for more background) how we like to address the challenge of getting non-marketing majors involved in the introductory marketing course.  I like to do it early by showing them now jobs flowing from every major use marketing concepts.

This post over at Harvard’s Working Knowledge site, “HBS Cases:  QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off,” (May 25, 2011) describes how convenience store chain QuikTrip delivers high quality service at low cost.  The case shows how operational and human resource decisions made by QuikTrip result in high quality service and reasonable prices.

The article describes and links to several Harvard Business School cases you could read for even more depth and other examples.  Our text books have a cross-functional chapter where this example could be integrated into class discussion.   The example could also work when you cover quality (we get to that in the product chapters) or retailing.

Over the last decade or more, the airline industry marketing has focused on the four P’s: price, price, price, and price.  The argument was that this was all customers cared about and price wars dominated the industry.  In a price war the low-cost provider wins — so most of the airlines cut back on service.  That is changing now.  Delta Airlines is trying to regain customer loyalty by offering better customer service.  Read all about it in “Delta Sends Its 11,000 Agents to Charm School” (Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2011, non-subscribers may need to click here).

Fits into a discussion of differentiation, customer service, and the service industry.

Many of my students enjoy sports — and examples of creative marketing by sports teams tends to capture their attention.  This article in the Wall Street Journal, “NBA Game Promises to be a Turkey?  Call In the Turks — or the Filipinos,” (January 19, 2011 – non-subscribers may have to click here)  shows some classic target marketing efforts by the National Basketball Association — and they seem to be working.  For example, the Sacramento Kings, one of the worst teams in the league, are drawing big crowds on Jewish Heritage nights in Toronto, Washington, Atlanta, and Boston.  Why?  They have the leagues only Israeli, Omri Casspi.  Teams have give away yarmulkes and provided kosher foods to further appeal to the Jewish fan.

You might want to show this video in class, and then ask your students what other organizations could offer similar special nights?  How could they increase their appeal to such a target market?   This was also posted over at Learn the 4 Ps.

We have reported before on the interesting decisions Panera Bread made about price.  This article, “How Panera Bread Kept Rising Through the Recession” (Bloomberg Businessweek, November 8, 2010) offers more insight on its strategy through an interview with the chain’s Executive Chairman, Ronald Schaich.  By mostly staying the course with its marketing strategy, Panera was further differentiated as its competitors went on cost-cutting sprees.   The example would fit with a discussion of competition, competitive advantage, service, and/or retailing.

When I talk about customer service, I like to share the statistics that suggest consumers share bad experiences with 9 people and good experiences with one.  I also like to tell students that you have to be careful you don’t incite a customer to tell many, many more.  About 10 year ago, Tom Farmer and Shane Atchison vented their frustration with a particular DoubeTree Club Hotel by creating a PowerPoint presentation — “Yours if a Very Bad Hotel.”  The story is true and still one of the best.

In a YouTube world, angry customers can find an even bigger audience, especially if they create a clever customer service video.  Over at MintLife.com, they have collected the “Top 5 Viral Customer Service Complaint Videos” (September 16, 2010) for your viewing pleasure.  We have posted before about “United Breaks Guitars” – but these links give you something else to show in class.  You could generate an interesting discussion about how such videos increase the cost of failed service.

When Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD wanted to promote its emergency services, it developed a campaign that included this billboard.  The smoking billboard (courtesy of a smoke machine behind the billboard) attracted attention, interest, desire — and action.  The first week of the campaign thousands visited the companion website (whyimalive.com) where they could learn more about lives saved by Avera’s staff.  The ad also got the attention of the local fire department — which shut down the smoke after two days.

I like this brand extension.  With growth in services, Tide has found a way to leverage one of its strengths (a well-known and well respected brand name) to take advantage of a great opportunity (growth in services, and lack of organized competition in dry cleaning).  Brilliant methinks!  What do you think?  Check out “P&G Looks to Franchise Tide Dry Cleaning” at Bloomberg Businessweek (September 2, 2010).  Also posted at our Learn the 4 Ps blog for students.

The example could work well when you are teaching strategy planning, branding, services, and franchising.

If you are not familiar with Ryanair’s low-cost business model, this article “Ryanair’s O’Leary: The Duke of Discomfort” (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, September 2, 2010) will bring you up to speed.  The Ryanair example covers a lot of different concepts especially when teaching about costs, pricing, and service.   Also posted at our Learn the 4 Ps blog.