teachthe4ps.com » Service

How should financial services firms adapt a marketing mix for women?

Joe Cannon — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:40:12 +0000

The financial services industry believes it may have identified a new and underserved target market — women. More than a quarter of all the world’s millionaires are women — and that number is growing. In the U.S., women control$8 trillion in assets with that number expected to grow to $20 trillion by 2020. This Wall Street Journal article “Clients from Venus,” (April 30, 2012 – non-subscribers may need to click here) explains how women investors have different needs than men.

The article might have broad interest in an introductory marketing class — as many of your finance and accounting majors might be considering post-college work as financial advisers or in insurance sales The article might stimulate discussion about how financial services firms might better adapt marketing mixes to better meet the needs of this target market. A prime area for discussion could be the sales force — it might be interesting to ask how sales training should be adapted to address this market. Students might also be encouraged to think about how to adapt a website, advertising, and products. This article with some of these questions has been posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Zynga Opens a New Channel

Joe Cannon — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:29:14 +0000

Are you looking for an interesting example to use when you are teaching Place? I like to start my students with with straightforward examples like breakfast cereals where channels might include a manufacturer’s warehouse, a food broker, and a grocery store. I suggest that the same cereal maker might also have a restaurant supply house followed by a restaurant chain.

You might find the concept resonates when you also provide a a “non-traditional” example. Service and high tech firms also have to make channel decisions. So why not show them an example that many can relate to — in the gaming arena. That is why I point out this article on Zynga, which has distributed many of its popular games (Farmville is one of the best known) over Facebook and via smart phones. Now the company is “going direct” with its own website. Read more at “Game Changer for Zynga: No Facebook” (Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2012, non-subscribers may need to click here).

Dilbert on Customer Service

Joe Cannon — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:55:31 +0000

This cartoon might be fun to show when you cover customer service — especially if you want to talk about how reward systems influence employee behavior. In our books we cover customer service with personal selling. We also cover service quality in one of our product chapters and it might work well there, too.

If you want to add this cartoon to your PowerPoints, follow these instructions: 1) place your cursor over the image below, 2) right click, choose “copy image,” then 3) open your the PowerPoint slide where you want the image and place your cursor over the slide, 4) right click and choose “paste,” 5) you can adjust the size to fit.

Jenny Craig Responds to Rising Growing Obesity Problem in France

Joe Cannon — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:03:20 +0000

“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.

“Fun for the Whole Family: The Long Wait in Line”

Joe Cannon — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:37:07 +0000

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.

QuikTrip Shows How Investing in Retail Employees Pays Off (Get HR & Operations majors interested in class)

Joe Cannon — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:38:09 +0000

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.

“Delta Sends Its 11,000 Agents to Charm School”

Joe Cannon — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:54:06 +0000

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.

The latest in sports marketing – Ethnic Heritage nights at NBA games

Joe Cannon — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:41:09 +0000

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.

“How Panera Bread Kept Rising Through the Recession”

Joe Cannon — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:07:53 +0000

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.

“Top 5 Viral Customer Service Complaint Videos”

Joe Cannon — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:06:51 +0000

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.