Marketing of Service Products in Eco Beach - Case Study Example

Marketing of service products Contents Executive summary 2 Marketing of service product 3 Introduction 3 Price 3 Place 4 Promotion 6 People 7 Product 8 Process 10 Physical evidence 11 Recommendations 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Eco Beach. Eco Beach retreatresortrejuvenate.2011. retrieved from http://www.ecobeach.com.au/media.php accessed on 6th Nov.2011 14 Nargundkar, Rajendra . Services Marketing 2E. London Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. 14 Executive summary The 7ps of marketing have been used for marketing both services and products. However, this report outlines how eco beach resort have utilized the 7ps in provision of its services to both existing and potential customers. The report critically examines each concept by first defining it before elaborating with examples how Eco beach have utilised the same. The report is divided into sections which include introduction, critical examination of the 7ps which makes up the body of this particular report then the recommendations and the conclusion part. Marketing of service product Introduction The 7Ps also referred to as the marketing mix model is applied by marketers in defining the strategies of marketing employed in both services and in products marketing. This marketing mix consists of price, product, place, physical evidence, promotion, process and people Weber and Chon (116). Moreover, marketing managers are in a position to use the 7ps in understanding the existing marketing. This particular report critically examines how Eco Beach utilizes the 7ps in marketing its services. Eco Beach is a first class resort that provides a wide range of services to its customers. Price Price is defined as the specific amount a customer pays for a good or a service. The concept of pricing is a major aspect in the tourism industry. Nonetheless, elements such as regional and seasonal variations impact on the price that a particular service or product can be charged. According to Weber and Chon (116) high percentage of consumers are not in a position to predict the price of a service or a product. Therefore, it is important for the Eco Beach to ensure that pricing strategy matches the expectations of the consumer. Eco Beach uses the customers’ perception pertaining to value of the services to set its prices. Eco Beach has special deals and packages which it uses to attract its customers. For instance the barefoot beach weekend package is exclusively offered by Eco Beach. This particular package consists of 2 days accommodation which is double (Eco Beach). The package further comes with continental breakfast offered on a daily basis in addition to free sunset drinks upon arrival of the guests which is on Friday. On Saturday the company provides live entertainment and a 3 course dinner. Moreover, on Saturday and Sunday Eco Beach provides its guests with an opportunity to hire for free stand up paddleboard and kayak. The offers are varied in relation to the expectations of the customers regarding the services offered by the resort. For instance the garden view Eco tent, ocean view tent, garden view Villa, ocean view Eco villa and the ocean front Eco villa are priced at $ 249, 283,339,452 and 666 respectively (Eco Beach). Furthermore, the organization provides a number of activities which are priced according to the expectations of the customers. Moreover, the Eco Beach has affordable prices for its dining services. Beach dinner is as low as $150 per person. However, there are private weddings which are available upon request by the customers. The prices are approximately $ 110 per person subject to change (Eco Beach).The Eco Beach compares its prices with those of the competitors in order to compete favourable in the tourism sector. Moreover, the resort includes the aspect of discounts in addition to the special rates and packages and this will insure increased demand for their services. Place Place in marketing terms refers to the particular place in which a product is offered or a brought is purchased (Weber and Chon 116). Place can refer to virtual stores available in the internet and also physical store. The Eco Beach has used the virtual stores as its place. In this place the Eco Beach provides an elaborate description of services and products it offers. The internet is used as a location for interaction between the services provided by the eco beach and the potential customers. Through the internet/website the company has managed to distribute its services effectively in addition to providing information regarding the same. The internet elaborates on the accommodation and gives additional information regarding the same that would make the customer to have a variety of options to choose from. From instance under accommodation, the company internet elaborates on the type of accommodations which include the beach houses, the Eco tents, Eco villas and the Broome house. Under the activities docket, the company eco beach gives information on the type of activities that it offers. Just to highlight a few, the activities include, turtle monitoring, yoga, fishing, day tours, and whale watching among others. It further breaks the dining services by elaborating on the breakfast, beverages, dinner and lunches. The internet/website further gives a vivid description for its location for its customers. In this place it gives information on the seasons, wildlife and getting here. The wildlife place includes whales, birds and turtles. The wildlife place if found around and within the Eco Beach and this includes sea snakes, frogs, dugongs, dolphins which are well described in this particular place. The place further provides the customers with in-depth information pertaining to amazing selection of a variety of seashores creatures such as sea stars, crabs and octopi among others (Eco Beach). The website which is the place further provides information pertaining to functions which include weddings, conferences and testimonials among others. There is also a section for eco-chatter, photo gallery and even information regarding booking. The information on booking is more elaborate in that the potential customers are able to do the bookings online (Eco Beach). Written in a simple language and easy to access, the Eco Beach resort uses its website as a place to find all the services it offers. The place is for all potential customers regardless of class, gender and age among others. The company has achieved the goal of informing and educating its potential customers about the services and the products it provides. Promotion The concept of promotion in marketing refers to all forms of communication that is used by the market to promote the products or services of a company in the market place (Weber and Chon 116). There are four elements of promotion that can be used by a company for marketing purposes. These elements include point of sale, advertising, word of mouth and even public relations. Eco Beach Resort uses promotion to raise its profile in addition to creating awareness of its services in order to increase demand for the same. The company has put in place good promotional services by putting in place efficient public relations. Through organizing events, posting articles on its website and through update website the company has managed to create awareness concerning the products it offers. It relies on the internet as one of its marketing tool. However, the resort should embrace a variety for marketing tools in order to reach out for individuals who are outside the internet (Eco Beach). The resort also uses newsletter and blogs as a marketing tool. Additionally, the resort markets the place which is the website by making it accessible from other social media sites such as facebook and twitter. Eco Beach resort has put in place vigorous marketing strategies apart from using their website as their only marketing tool. They have put in place marketing tools such as word of mouth through the blogs and point of sale. Additionally, they advertise for their special offers and packages in other websites and social media sites such as facebook and twitter. Due to the fact that the website of Eco Beach is well developed and elaborative, the company promotes the website as a way of marketing its services by tagging the link of the website to other prominent websites which deals with tourisms (Eco Beach). People Another important element in the marketing mix is the people (Weber and Chon 116). People are individuals who are either indirectly or directly involved with the consumption of services offered by the tourism sector. Thus, it is important for Eco Beach Company to recruit management, workers, employees and even consumers who are knowledgeable in order to add value to the services they are providing. Eco Beach resort has used this marketing concept appropriately by recruiting only individuals who are qualified and efficient. Due to the fact that the Eco Beach aim is to provide its guests with unforgettable experiences in addition to excellent services, they only recruit staff who are also in a position to provide the same. The staffs at Eco Beach resort are not only enthusiastic and passionate but also professional in all aspects. The employees are provided with on-job training so that they can grow career wise in addition to proving excellent services to the customers of the Eco Beach Resort (Eco Beach). Moreover, the resort encourages its staff by encouraging team work and supporting them to attain and exploit their potentials. The employees of Eco Beach resort are individuals with excellent customer service skills in addition to possessing enthusiastic outlook regarding eco tourism. Additionally, the employees at Eco Beach Resort has excellent work ethics in addition to loving nature an aspect that compliments the element of providing fun for the guests which is one of the key goals of Eco Beach. Finally, the team is friendly and the customers are usually satisfied with the experience they have as a result of the friendliness of the staff (Eco Beach). Management team of the Eco Beach resort is also excellent. The services are fast and customers have access to telephone numbers of the organization. The bookings process is instant and customers can even cancel the bookings already made without any delay. It is important for the Eco Beach resort to continue employing professionals due to the fact that consumers not only make judgements regarding the services offered to them but they also deliver the perception either through word of mouth or through the internet regarding the employees they have interacted with in one way or the other. Eco Beach resort has experienced employees just to mention a few they include commis chef, kitchen staff, bar people, yoga instructors and chef de partie among others (Eco Beach). Drawing from the reviews from the resort’s website, it is evident that guests can easily interact with the employees of the eco beach as they are friendly and ready to serve as per the customers’ requirements. The employees have superb coordination and supportive skills (Eco Beach). Product Product is defined as the good or services accompany offers to its customers (Nargundkar 56). Due to the fact there is competition in the hospitality industry; Eco Beach resort has concentrated on designing its products which in this case are the services it offers to its customers (Eco Beach). The Eco Beach resort has a segment for holiday makers. The objective and goal of Eco Beach resort is to provide services that are of high quality in addition to customised services for instance private dinner which are only provided when a customer requests. Eco Beach resort also offers its services with a sense of fun from the employees. Eco Beach resort also takes advantage of its exciting setting to offer high class accommodation services which include tents facing the ocean or a villa near the ocean (Eco Beach). The services offered are a reflection of a sense of fun. This is because the resort is located in a tourist friendly and lively environment. The accommodation provided by the resort provides the guests with a sense of relaxation. Furthermore, the accommodation services offered y eco beach resort enables the guests to enjoy all the entertainment services it offers. There are also personalised services which include weddings, conferences and workshops. Eco Beach resort utilizes the product strategy in this particular area by providing superior services that not only customised but also meet the demands and the wishes of the customers. These services are offered at competitive prices as compared to other companies offering the same. For instance the resort provides the wedding couple with the opportunity of booking the whole resort. The wedding team of Eco Beach has creative spirit that enables the newly-wed couple are in a position to enjoy their day as they connect with the nature (Eco Beach). Moreover, Eco Beach has a number of events which are spread across the year. For instance there is the barefoot beach weekend, live band, flatback turtles, yoga balance and New Year eve among others. These services are offered at affordable prices compared to other companies that are in the same industry. Eco Beach provides a number of transfer options that suits all types of travellers and even within their budgets. These transportation options include helicopter, shuttle bus, boat and even private transfer (Eco Beach). Additionally, Eco Beach provides unique elements that will make them to continue staying ahead in the hospitality industry. Their customised products are excellent and they should continue keep up with the standards (Eco Beach). Process Process as a market mix refers to the mechanisms, procedure and activities flow through which services are consumed (Nargundkar 56). In other words it is through the process in which customers are managed. Eco Beach has processes in place which enable the customers to receive and enjoy their prices. The process of eco beach services involves core services, peripheral services, augmentation in addition to the tangible services. First, through the company’s website, potential customers are in a position to book for the services which are confirmed instantly. For instance there is the overnight accommodation which is readily available and the employees execute the process of delivering the keys to the customers upon paying for the same. The weekend special is accompanied with breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to live band entertainment. The augmentation services offered by Eco Beach are advance booking, pay later services and even services guarantees which make them too stand out in the hospitality industry (Eco Beach). Tangible services that are offered by the eco beach include excellent physical appearance and hotel architecture. The hotel has good interior, table ware, personnel clothing all designed with holiday-like appearance in mind. Additionally, Eco Beach provides its guests with conferencing and meeting facilities in addition to secretarial support and communication facilities. From the testimonies given in the company’s website it is evident that the employees of the Eco Beach are not only terrific but also fast in serving the guests and providing them with everything that they need. For instance the Redwave team gave a positive feedback regarding the process of Eco Beach (Eco Beach). Another customer also recommended the resort’s staff for providing him with unforgettable experience in one of the events. Another positive comment came from a couple who commented that eco beach is the best place to wed in as the staff is friendly. All these prove that co beach has an excellent process for service deliver. To quote from one of the previous clients at the eco beach, upon their arrival at the eco beach they were led to a swimming pool in which they had a great afternoon. Afterwards, they were provided with nibbles and drinks. Back to the bar of eco beach there was a marvellous table setting waiting for them (Eco Beach). The iconic resort and the process of delivery make the customers to come aging and again. The efficient services provided by Eco Beach not only create customers confidence but also loyalty. The employees are ready to support, assist and coordinate their customers. Physical evidence Physical evidence in the market mix refers to the place in which the services are being offered (Nargundkar 56). Physical place refers to the elements that enable the customers to draw judgement on the organization in this case the physical evidence for Eco Beach resort is the organization’s website and the physical location of the resorts facilities. Physical evidence of an organization makes the consumers to have either positive or negative perception of an organization. The website portrays an element of professionalism and gives all the required information pertaining to Eco Beach. It does not only describe the services in words but it also uses pictures and testimonials to illustrate what the eco beach resort is in real sense. With exciting design, colours and pictures the website is really welcoming and informative. The resort is set among Kimberley environment and pristine which are untouched. The accommodation has a unique and excellent wild experience. The accommodation facilities include eco tents, the beach houses and eco villas which provides a marvellous ocean view. Moreover, the activities offered by Eco Beach are unique and suits visitors of all kinds and age groups. Eco Beach has excellent fishing charters, whale watching tours, yoga retreats, brome weddings and conference facilities with up to class decor. Eco Beach has prolific fishing grounds in addition to an excellent nature that inspires well-being and the aspect of relaxation (Eco Beach). The outdoor activities are just fantastic and the scenery is simply stunning. The physical facilities of eco beach are environmentally luxurious and friendly. This makes it to be ahead in the hospitality industry by using physical evidences as its competitive advantage. Recommendations The organization should aim at developing the place which is the website into other languages such as French, German and Italy among others. In this manner it will be likely to reach out for people who are not English speakers. On the concept of people, Eco Beach Resort should ensure that the employees have interpersonal skills, service knowledge in this regard knowledge about tourism and hotel industry. In addition to that the resort should ensure that the employees embrace diversity and are able to speak other foreign languages apart from English to ensure that they are in a position to interact with the guests effectively. The employees should also have an appropriate attitude. Finally, it is essential for the eco beach company to tell the world that they value their employees and let the consumers of their services know the same. In addition to telling the public that their employees are well trained to meet the international standards. Conclusion In summary it is evident that Eco Beach utilizes all the seven marketing mix. This enables the Eco Beach to receive positive feedback regarding its services and thus compete favourable in the market with organizations offering the same services. The 7ps have proven to be efficient marketing strategies in marketing services and all them should be incorporated by marketing managers. References Eco Beach. Eco Beach retreatresortrejuvenate.2011. retrieved from http://www.ecobeach.com.au/media.php accessed on 6th Nov.2011 Nargundkar, Rajendra . Services Marketing 2E. London Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. Weber, Karin, and Chon.K.S.Convention tourism: international research and industry perspectives. 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