Extended Marketing Mix- Process

Question 1

What does process refer to?

Answer 1

the systems and procedures that are put in place to deliver a product or service to the customer.

Question 2

What are the methods to ensure the ‘process’ element of the marketing mix is successful?

Answer 2

-ensure that outlets and call centres are well staffed
-offer live chat or FAQ services on the businesses website
-empower customer facing staff to make decisions
-regular access processes such as queues or ordering times
-introduced the latest technologies to improve processes
-customer complaints 

Question 3

Ensure that outlets and call centres are well staffed- justify

Answer 3

This avoids customers having to queue for too long, which can put them off returning

Question 4

Offer live chat or FAQ services on the businesses website- justify 

Answer 4

This reduces the number of customers making queries either on the phone or in person

Question 5

Empower customer facing staff to make decisions-justify 

Answer 5

This avoid further waiting as problems or queries do not need to be passed on to management

Question 6

Regularly assess procedures such as queues or ordering times- justify

Answer 6

This helps the business understand where problems lie and allows them to be addressed. Serpentine (zigzag) queues can be introduced to speed up waiting times

Question 7

Introduce the latest technologies to improve processes- justify 

Answer 7

Technology is generally faster than humans and will speed up processes. for example self checkouts in supermarkets and touchscreen ordering in McDonald’s

Question 8

Customer complaints

Answer 8

Organisations must be able to handle complaints effectively and should have a process in place to ensure complaints are handled quickly and efficiently. Customers can be offered:

• warranties and guarantees on products
• a good returns policy