Marketing Strategy of Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon - Assignment Example

Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Saloon Outline and explain the services marketing mix variables of integrated service management. How have Cutting Edge Hair & Beauty Salon addressed each of these issues It is irrefutable that all businesses are profit seeking entities. In order to fulfil this goal of maximising owner's equity, business organisations launch strategies to capture their target markets. An essential part of this strategy is the creation of a marketing mix which takes into account the value desired by customers. A marketing mix, according to Kotler (2002) is "the set of controllable tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market." According to this definition, a company's marketing mix is an integral part of the business strategy as its focus on the generation of revenue and profit which is the lifeblood of a business organization. Thus, companies should focus on establishing and implementing an efficient marketing needs which considers the needs of its various customers. Companies provide either tangible or intangible products to their clientele. Tangible offerings are often classified as goods while intangible ones are services. In coming up with an efficient marketing mix, the nature of a company's products should be taken into account. Goods require the identification of four Ps which go into the marketing mix. These essential elements are product, price, place, and promotion. Services, however, are very much different from tangible products as they have four special characteristics: intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability. Thus, these also necessitate the application of an extended marketing mix which further incorporates people, physical evidence, and process to the four Ps (The Services Marketing Mix n.d.). This section will briefly outline and define these essential concepts is developing a marketing mix. For further clarification, the discussed elements will be applied to the operation and marketing activities of Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon. Product. Often, the main starting point for a business organization is the process of defining what it wants to offer in order to satisfy customers' needs. It is irrefutable that as companies are becoming increasingly more customer-centric and market driven. Instead of looking at the capabilities of a business organisation, it first opts to deeply consider its target market, locating their unsatisfied needs and preferences. From here, the company develops solutions and offer them to the customers as their products. As competition heats up in the global market, companies are further differentiating their products to their competitors. Nowadays, it is notable how market players differentiate their products from the common offering. In the hospitality industry, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is not just giving customers a place to stay but the Ritz-Carlton experience which "enlivens the senses, instills well being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests." The service offered by the Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon is fully and directly expressed in its mission statement: "It is our goal to provide superior hairdressing in an efficient, profitable manner within the confines of a caring, quality environment." However, we can see that the company is far from a typical player in the same industry as it continuously tries to impart excellent service. The saloon can be seen to offer high-end luxurious service. These efforts, which will be discussed below, help the company in improving its overall product image. Price. The price of a company's product is often dependent on its chosen pricing strategy as well as the image that it wants to project in the industry. As companies incur costs from their operations, it is important that they also charge their customers an amount for their services. Prices often determine whether the company pursues more for less or more for more strategies. High prices may enhance the image of a service offered to the elite market. On the other hand, lower prices for better services attracts price sensitive market as these impart higher value to them. As a saloon for the medium to high-end customers, Cutting Edge Nair and Beauty Salon prices are relatively higher than the industry average. Also, the company's prices reflect the expertise of the provider. We can see that the prices charged for the service of Jon is higher than that of Karen and Carley. Promotion. Promotional activities of a business organisation encompasses their decision on advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and atmospherics1. In fact, promotion includes all the ways that a company tells its market its services and how it markets and sells to them. Promotional strategies should always go hand in hand with other aspects in the marketing mix. For example, a company which wishes to capture technologically savvy individuals will not choose to market their services using radio advertisements. Instead they turn to media channels which these people are likely to utilize such as emails, internets, and magazines featuring new gadgets. It should be noted that public relation (PR) is also included in promotion. In capturing customers, Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon solely rely on positive word of mouth. This tool is very effective and somehow less costly by the company. As the satisfaction of customers determines the intensity of promotion for the firm, it continues to enhance its service quality. Place. Place also denotes the place where a company extends its service. For products, these include physical distribution channels like stalls, kiosks, and bookstores are utilized. With the commercialisation of internet, companies are now changing their business models to dotcoms. However, since services feature the inseparability of the service provider and the buyer, service firms are constrained in operating in physical channels. As the case noted, Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon invests so much in finding a place to create a "service environment" which reflects his own set of values. This included finding an architect to design a building with lots of space and light, hiring Interiors Salon to design the interiors, and purchasing furniture from Kiela Collection. People. Due to the inseparability feature of services, the quality of the service provider is very important in imparting excellent service. A company can enhance the performance of its people by setting up definite measures on how to gauge their performance. Standards are often put in place in improving service quality. Part of Cutting Hair Edge and Beauty Salon's effort to develop its people is orienting them with the definite procedures set by the company. It can also be noted that John efficiently communicates with his employees the organizational goals and standards. He also gave his service providers the opportunities to update their skills by sending them to significant classes and workshops. Physical Evidence. In assessing the quality of a service, everything about a company is included. Physical evidence refers to the "environment where the service is facilitated" as well as "any tangible goods that facilitate the performance and communication of the service" (The Services Marketing Mix n.d.). In a service firm, clients often look for tangible evidence which can provide them information on the quality of service that an organisation can deliver. These include equipment, learning materials, and appearance of the facilities and staff. As stated in the case, Cutting Edge Hair and Salon is "both appealing and functional." The salon devotes toys for kids and DVD which educates clients about hairdressing and beauty procedures. This also includes relevant literature which tells customers how to maximize their treatments. The company even provides comfortable leather chairs. The salon is also noted for its state of the art equipment and computerized procedures. The uniform of the staff also added to the physical evidence. Process. In a service firm, the satisfaction of a customer encompasses all his experiences while he is in the premises of the company and all his contact with service providers. Process refers to the procedures, mechanisms, and flow of the activities to where service is acquired. With this, companies should be consistent with the quality of its service from consumer's enquiry from the time the client walks out of its premises. The entire service process in the salon can be seen as excellent. Before the schedule, service providers see to it that clients have been called, checking and updating them for possible delays. The company also monitors the performance of its employees by giving them standards. 2. What supplementary services does the salon offer and how do these enhance service delivery In order to differentiate itself from its competitors in the industry, Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon offers supplementary services to its clientele. John's quest of finding where to locate the salon started this quest in providing more services and enhancing the overall customer experience. Cutting Edge Hair and Beauty Salon, as stated above not only provides a simple haircut but added features which enhances the overall experience. From the time a customer steps at the door of the salon, the company offers a range of supplementary services to ensure customer satisfaction. While waiting for their appointments, the customers can relax in the salon's comfortable leather chairs. The customers are also entertained with classical music. They can also opt to have tea or coffee as well as browse the collection of current magazine issues. Recognizing that customers might bring their kids along, the salon also devotes space to a small room with toys where kids can play and wait for their parents. The salon also distributes free DVDs to educate clients on hairdressing and beauty procedures. The management also "had a large window that allowed clients to watch birds eating at feeders that are filled each day." All these supplementary services add to the comfort of the company's service. References Kotler, P. & Armstrong G. (2002), Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall: New York The Marketing Mix (n. d.), Retrieved 03 August 2006, from http://dis.shef.ac.uk/sheila/marketing/mix.htm The Services Marketing Mix (n. d.), Retrieved 03 August 2006, from http://acru.tuke.sk/doc/CME_Present/BB_Marketing.doc Read More