What is the traditional marketing mix? E. J. McCarthy, in 1960, classified the marketing activities into a tool designed to describe the 4 types of choices an organization has to make in order to successfully be engaged in marketing. His classification was a simplification of Borden’s initial 12 component marketing mix.This classification is also … Read more…
Overview of the 4P’s Marketing Mix A key model in marketing is the marketing mix, usually known as the 4P’s (where the 4P’s are product, price, place and promotion). The 4P’s marketing mix model is commonly covered in all marketing textbooks, with some introductory texts also addressing the expanded marketing mix (the 7P’s), which … Read more…
Understanding Benefits and Features Consumers buy product solutions – that is, the benefits of the product or service – for their need/problem. Consumers are generally more interested in meeting their needs and solving their problems, rather than the details of the product features. For example, what do you think consumers would care about more; … Read more…
What is Customer Value? Customer value is a key topic in the study of marketing. But what is meant by customer value? It varies by customer, so let’s look at a few examples of how consumers see value. In each case the consumer’s statement gives some insight into how they assess value. As you … Read more…
What are some possible benefits and costs when determining customer value? A fundamental concept in successful marketing activities is the offering of value to the firm’s target market/s. Benefits are delivered through design aspects and product attributes that provide some advantage or positive outcome for the end-consumer. The more benefits perceived by the consumer, the … Read more…
List of SERVQUAL Questions Below is a table (and a diagram at the bottom) containing the 22 questions originally used to construct the SERVQUAL model. There are several issues to note about the structure of the SERVQUAL questionnaire: About half the questions are posed as a negative question (as highlighted in the below table). … Read more…
What’s the Difference between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction? Although they are interrelated concepts, there is a difference between service quality and customer satisfaction. As discussed further in a separate article on customer satisfaction (CSAT), CSAT is the customer’s evaluation of the product/service relative to the customer’s prior expectations. Service quality, however, is the … Read more…
Is a High Customer Satisfaction Goal Worthwhile? The ongoing pursuit of high customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores may have a negative impact on the firm’s profitability over time. While there are substantial benefits stemming from high CSAT, it is important to balance both the needs of the firm and its customers. Because of the interplay … Read more…
Overtime most customers will be “just” satisfied Many organizations find it frustrating that their customer satisfaction (CSat) scores reach a plateau and it becomes very difficult to achieve real increases in CSat. However, this is caused “naturally” and, overtime, all firms will find that their customer base primarily fits into the “just satisfied” range … Read more…
Is Pursuing High Customer Satisfaction Worthwhile? The relationship between high customer satisfaction, leading to increased customer retention (loyalty), resulting in increased long-term profitability is generally well supported by academic research and commercial practice. But there are situations and industries where this logical relationship may not hold true. Therefore, when reviewing customer satisfaction issues it … Read more…
