Marketing group work project - Essay Example

Content 0 Introduction 2.0 Manchester Museums’ loyalty schemes and marketing 2 Product 2.2 Price 2 2.3 Place & Promotion 4 2.4 Participate 5 2.5 Physical Evidence 6 2.6 Process Management 7 3.0 SWOT Analysis 8 3.1 Strengths 8 Manchester Museum does not charge any entrance fee. It is therefore open to all public without any restrictions. Thus, the museum is decent and affordable venue for family outings. The museum provides a convenient place for learning and leisure. The museum is located in an area that is famous for its hotels and entertainment venues.

This makes it a one-stop since any visitor will find just about any service they require. The museum also organizes weekly Family Day activities. Each day has a specific theme and, that dictates various activities to be done that particular day (Gray, A. 2012). The children exercise friendliness and politeness as they actively participate in the activities. In the process, their creativity is enhanced. The museum also organizes for schools, colleges, and organizations. This has enabled the museum to build a solid relationship with all members of the society.

There is also an elevator serving each floor and members of staff are friendly and readily available to attend to the visitors. Presence of the narrators makes each visit an interactive process full of learning experiences. The museum also has a Coin Museum, which assist visitors to understanding monetary history of their country. 9 3.2 Weaknesses 9 Although the Manchester museum has some positive attributes, it has faults in some segments of its management. Some visitors have raised concern that the museum has inadequate lighting hence interfering with children interaction.

The children are not able to concentrate well because some things especially exhibits are not very clear. The facility can only be accessed through public transport or by bicycles. This is not convenient since public transport operates on fixed schedule hence, inconvenience to most visitors. Thus, inadequate transport facilities interfere with people’s ability to visit the museum. 10 3.3 Opportunities 10 The museum is a not-for-profit establishment. However it would gain immensely if it establishes supportive facilities such as a cafe, a bookshop, and/or a souvenir store were set up within the premises.

Visitors will visit these premises to purchase their respective products and services. This will attract more visitors and produce revenue required for maintenance and face-lifting of the establishment. It has also been suggested that visitors should view specimen and illustrations via multimedia technology to make the experience more realistic and understand the historical and evolutionary processes better. The museum can also begin offering free bus rides in major cities for convenience of the visitors.

This will attract more visitors since they will be assured of convenient access and free bus rides. It is also felt that the tickets can be transformed into postcards. Once the tickets have been checked at the entrance, the visitors can then make their suggestions and recommendations on the postcards and mail them to the museum for consideration. In order to build a strong image and awareness, the museum may choose to promote its activities in magazines and television programs. This will raise awareness amongst a wide range of clientele and enhance an increase in the number of visitors streaming in the facility.

Having an online museum is also another noble idea that can be pursued. This will involve having exhibits and text description of each pavilion accompanied by the narrator’s commentary. The online visitors will be able to watch the clips at their own discretion and interact effectively with the customer service staff. This is a convenient way of imparting knowledge since online visitor who study the clips often refer to them over and recommend their friends. They will then be able to enquire from the customer service areas in case they need to have more information or clarity.

Such strategies will increase visitors and revenue to the museum. 11 3.4 Threats 12 The museum could be deprived of some of the most cherished animal species due to their rarity. Moreover extinct animal species, have minimal significance to the museum since most visitors do not appreciate fossils on display. It is suggested that people should support the museum by sponsoring rare species especially the rare frog. This will add to the number of the rare species specimen in the museum. The museum is also threatened by social trends that have resulted from information technology.

Due to availability of information about animal species on the internet, museums are losing their popularity. 12 4.0 Suggestions 13 The Report of Manchester Museum’s Customer Loyalty Schemes and Marketing 1.0 Introduction According to Ganesh et al (2000), loyalty is a sincere commitment to re-buy a preferred product faithfully after the former patronage. It may apply to issues such as brands, services, experiences, supermarkets, stores, shopping mall, and product (Uncles et al, 2003). Museums are typically non-profitable organizations and they often cover more sophisticated service targets compared with those profitable organizations.

Therefore, it is more challenging for the leader of museums to operate and manage consumer loyalty. This report is a case analysis of the Manchester Museums’ customer loyalty schemes and marketing using theory of 7ps and put forward relative suggestions for better loyalty and trust at the end of this report. 2.0 Manchester Museums’ customer loyalty schemes and marketing 2.1 Product The Manchester Museum is a microcosm of the history of human development. There are historical changes of the continents and the precious relics, as well as a wide range of various stuffed animals, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and other living creatures.

On the various floors, the Egyptian exhibit is fantastic, the bird and insects are beautiful. There are likewise different eclectic styles throughout the museum, which are resources for academic research and teaching (Manchester Museum, n.d). However, some visitors complain that the museum is a little bit dark and poor interaction for children (Tripadvisor, 2012). Ancient Worlds1 Archaeology2 Picture1 Product of Manchester Museum 2.2 Price There are no admission fees for the patron to the Manchester Museum and it is a decent place for a cheap day out with the kids as there are many things to see.

However, the museum can gain profit from other services such as cafe, bookstore, and souvenir and so on. The surrounding supporting facility is the establishment of a number of dining and entertainment, as well as leisure facilities and activities to offer visitors the one-stop dining, entertainment and leisure services (Manchester Museum, 2012a). Picture2 Free Entry Poster of Manchester Museum 2.3 Place & Promotion Currently, the primary way to get to the museum is by public transport or by bike, which is not convenient.

As far as the promotion, the museum holds weekly Family Day activities. Each Family Day has a specific theme, and will organize various activities around this theme. In these activities, the children cannot only learn to be friendly and polite, but also feel the active participation and creativity. According to Chaplin and Walker (2005), children often develop relationships with brands, which can develop strong links between middle childhood and early adolescence. Furthermore, it regularly arranges events for schools and colleges as well as for adults (Manchester Museum, 2012b).

All the activities matter a lot in building a solid relationship between the visitors and the museum. Picture3 Events of Manchester Museum As Booms and Bitner (1981) added additional 3ps into the traditional 4ps, this research will make a deeper analysis on the other three elements. Picture4 7ps Marketing Matrix 2.4 Participate As Peter and Waterman cited in their book in Search of Excellence (2004), concentrating on what the organizations do for customers is much profitable than what they do to consumers.

In Manchester Museum, there is a lift to each floor, and friendly staffs are available for any questions. Besides, narrator plays a role of spreading knowledge, which allows visitors to understand the historical background of the collection as well as some of the basic characteristics. Especially, visitors can image the legends of these mummies or discuss with the narrator. who makes the process made the narration as an interactive process of absorbing knowledge. 2.5 Physical Evidence As Solomon (2010) argued that people are better-educated and live expectations that are more turbulent.

They are always seeking for information and tending to make their own decisions. Therefore, it is essential to make one to one marketing. In the Coin Museum of the Manchester Museum, physical showcases are provided for the visitors. The instructors there introduce the history and stories of ancient coins for the visitors who are interested in the coins, and assist them in close understanding with the touch of these exhibits. What’s more, the citizens can help support the museum’s rare frogs by sponsoring a frog, which is a further development of physical evidence practice (Gray, A. 2012). Picture 5: Money Gallery 2.

6 Process Management Museum activities process control is in favor of museums continuous improvement. To make it more suitable to offer its services not only to the university but also to the public, the museum has carried out a capital project as well as a staff restructuring. At present, approximately 420,000 items are recorded on its computerized collections management system, while some are at full catalogue level and many are at bulk level (Manchester Museum, 2003). 3.0 SWOT Analysis 3.1 Strengths Manchester Museum does not charge any entrance fee.

It is therefore open to all public without any restrictions. Thus, the museum is decent and affordable venue for family outings. The museum provides a convenient place for learning and leisure. The museum is located in an area that is famous for its hotels and entertainment venues. This makes it a one-stop since any visitor will find just about any service they require. The museum also organizes weekly Family Day activities. Each day has a specific theme and, that dictates various activities to be done that particular day (Gray, A. 2012). The children exercise friendliness and politeness as they actively participate in the activities.

In the process, their creativity is enhanced. The museum also organizes for schools, colleges, and organizations. This has enabled the museum to build a solid relationship with all members of the society. There is also an elevator serving each floor and members of staff are friendly and readily available to attend to the visitors. Presence of the narrators makes each visit an interactive process full of learning experiences. The museum also has a Coin Museum, which assist visitors to understanding monetary history of their country. 3.2 Weaknesses Although the Manchester museum has some positive attributes, it has faults in some segments of its management.

Some visitors have raised concern that the museum has inadequate lighting hence interfering with children interaction. The children are not able to concentrate well because some things especially exhibits are not very clear. The facility can only be accessed through public transport or by bicycles. This is not convenient since public transport operates on fixed schedule hence, inconvenience to most visitors. Thus, inadequate transport facilities interfere with people’s ability to visit the museum. 3.3 Opportunities The museum is a not-for-profit establishment.

However it would gain immensely if it establishes supportive facilities such as a cafe, a bookshop, and/or a souvenir store were set up within the premises. Visitors will visit these premises to purchase their respective products and services. This will attract more visitors and produce revenue required for maintenance and face-lifting of the establishment. It has also been suggested that visitors should view specimen and illustrations via multimedia technology to make the experience more realistic and understand the historical and evolutionary processes better.

The museum can also begin offering free bus rides in major cities for convenience of the visitors. This will attract more visitors since they will be assured of convenient access and free bus rides. It is also felt that the tickets can be transformed into postcards. Once the tickets have been checked at the entrance, the visitors can then make their suggestions and recommendations on the postcards and mail them to the museum for consideration. In order to build a strong image and awareness, the museum may choose to promote its activities in magazines and television programs.

This will raise awareness amongst a wide range of clientele and enhance an increase in the number of visitors streaming in the facility. Having an online museum is also another noble idea that can be pursued. This will involve having exhibits and text description of each pavilion accompanied by the narrator’s commentary. The online visitors will be able to watch the clips at their own discretion and interact effectively with the customer service staff. This is a convenient way of imparting knowledge since online visitor who study the clips often refer to them over and recommend their friends.

They will then be able to enquire from the customer service areas in case they need to have more information or clarity. Such strategies will increase visitors and revenue to the museum. 3.4 Threats The museum could be deprived of some of the most cherished animal species due to their rarity. Moreover extinct animal species, have minimal significance to the museum since most visitors do not appreciate fossils on display. It is suggested that people should support the museum by sponsoring rare species especially the rare frog.

This will add to the number of the rare species specimen in the museum. The museum is also threatened by social trends that have resulted from information technology. Due to availability of information about animal species on the internet, museums are losing their popularity. 4.0 Suggestions As analyzed above, to increase customer loyalty, Manchester Museum has to make an improvement in its product, place, and promotion. Therefore, this report raises some suggestions to increase loyalty and trust.

Initially, the overall atmosphere of the museum should be the cry of the original biology, together with the light, highlighting the overall atmosphere. Additionally, for the galleries such as Ancient World, Birds and Insects, Fossils, it is suggested to show the experience through viewing specimens and illustrations, accompanied by multimedia technology to understand the historical and evolutionary process of life from inorganic to the organic, from simple to complex, from aquatic to terrestrial, from low-level to advance.

Furthermore, the museum can set up free buses in several major sites for the convenience of visitors to reach the Museums. To attract increasing number of visitors, the museum can change the tickets into the form of postcards. Once the visitors have their tickets checked, they can also immediately write whatever they want to say and send out the postcards by the museum's mailbox. Regards to the media of the promotion, it is significant to choose reliable sources to build a strong brand image and brand awareness (Romaniuk, 2003).

National science magazine such as Nature is an excellent choice. Besides, cooperation with national TV programs can also raise the consumer concern and trust. In addition, it is also advised to promote online museum. Accompanied by pictures and text description of each pavilion, and 4D effects demo, along with a professional narrator's commentary, the online visitors can interact with the customer service staff across the board. 5.0 Reference Booms, B.H. & Bitner, M.J. (1981) Marketing strategies, and organization structures for service firms.

Chicago: American Marketing Association, pp.47-51. Ganesh, J., Arnold, M.J., Reynolds, K.E. (2000) Understanding the Customer Base of Service Providers: An Examination of the Differences Between Switchers and Stayers. Journal of Marketing, 64 (3), pp.65-87. Gray, A. (2012) Sponsor a Frog! [Online] December 6 [Accessed 11th December 2012] Available from http://frogblogmanchester.com/ Manchester Museum (2012b) Activities. [Online] [Accessed 10th December 2012] Available from http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/yourvisit/activities/ Manchester Museum (2012a) Your visit.

[Online] [Accessed 10th December 2012] Available from http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/yourvisit/ Manchester Museum, n.d. MAP-there’s much more at The Manchester Museum. [Online] [Accessed 9th December 2012] Available from http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/yourvisit/galleries/F-018-A5Map-for-web.pdf Manchester Museum (2003) Annual Report 2002-2003. [Online] [Accessed 11th December 2012] Available from http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/reportspolicies/fileuploadmax10mb,120806,en.

pdf Peters, T. J & Waterman, R. H. (2004) In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies, New York: Harper Collins. Romaniuk, B. R. (2003) Corporate Giving Directory:Comprehensive Profiles of America's Major Corporate Foundations & Corporate Giving Programs, Stayton: Taft Group. Soloman, M. R (2010) Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being (Global Edition), 9h Edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Tripadvisor (2012) the Manchester Museum. [Online] [Accessed 10th December 2012] Available from http://www.

tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187069-d1460366-Reviews-The_Manchester_Museum-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html#REVIEWS Uncles, M.D., Dowling, G. R., & Hammond, K. (2003) Customer Loyalty and Customer Loyalty Programs. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20(4), pp.294-316. Walker, J. A. & Chaplin, S. (1997) Visual Culture: An Introduction. Manchester: Manchester University Press. 6.0 List of Pictures Picture1 Product of Manchester Museum 2 Picture2 Free Entry Poster of Manchester Museum 3 Picture3 Events of Manchester Museum 4 Picture4 7ps Marketing Matrix 4 Picture5 Money Gallery 5