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MMK251 Services Marketing

Trimester 1, 2021

Student’s Name

Assignment One

Services Marketing Mix

Word Count: 979

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Introduction

The services marketing mix is one of the most critical frameworks associated with
services marketing. It describes the seven factors which are put into consideration when
marketing services. The seven factors are: The product, price, people, promotion, place, process
and the physical evidence. Process, People and Physical evidence are new elements in the
services marketing mix. Organizations which offer services often use the services marketing mix
in marketing their products. One such organization is EasyJet plc, commonly referred to as
easyJet. This organization is an airline company whose headquarters are based at London’s
Luton Airport (EasyJet.com. Home). EasyJet offers low-cost domestic and international flights
(EasyJet.com, 2021). The company operates in more than 1,000 routes internationally, and has
three affiliate airlines namely EasyJet UK, EasyJet Europe and EasyJet Switzerland
(EasyJet.com. Home). EasyJet has included the new elements of the services marketing mix in
its marketing (Process, People and Physical evidence), an aspect that is critical is satisfying the
organization’s customers.

People

People as an element in the services marketing mix refers to the employees of an

organization who are mandated with selling the product (Othman, et al. 2019). The employees
also design the product, and are critical in the whole process of manufacturing the product.
People, in the context of the services marketing mix, includes everyone that is involved in the
making of the product. All employees of an organization are included in the people category.
Managers and members of the organization’s top management are also part of the people as a
category in the services marketing mix. EasyJet’s services marketing is driven by employees
who market the services offered by the organization.

As an element in the services marketing mix, People also refers to the interaction
between the employees of an organization and the customers (Abdelhady, Fayed, and Fawzy,
2019). This ensures that customers are reliably informed of the services offered by the
organization. EasyJet offers direct interaction between its employees and the customers through
an enhanced social media presence and also providing direct call lines, an aspect which
significantly enhances communication between customers and the organization’s employees.
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People was added as a category in the services marketing mix due to the criticality of the
employees in driving an organization’s sales. The realization that a great brand, amazing social
media presence and having innovative products would be useless if not backed by the right
people also justify the inclusion of this category in the services marketing mix. Employees
represent the customers in the product making process. Including people in the services
marketing mix helps to satisfy the customers by ensuring the product is tried and tested before
being used by the customers. EasyJet’s employees as part of the organization’s service marketing
mix make sure to test the services before use by customers. This aspect helps to ensure that the
organization’s customers access good quality services.

Physical evidence (tangible cues)

Physical evidence is the serviscape or the environment in which an organization delivers

its products to the customers (Kumar, and Almoula, 2020). This element of the service marketing
mix is included due to the realization that the environment in which the organization offers its
services is a critical element of marketing. Physical evidence includes the physical layout of the
service facility, the seating comfort, background music, furnishings and ambience. EasyJet has
made sure that its physical evidence plays a critical role in marketing its product. Sitting bays
and waiting areas where customers wait to be served have all the all hallmarks of a quality
servicescape such as comfortable furnishings and seating comfort, which makes waiting at the
bays worthwhile.

EasyJet has also invested in high quality interior designs of their premises to ensure that
customers enjoy a tangible and unique experience, a factor that significantly enhances customer
experience. The realization that customers’ comfort is an integral part of marketing informed the
inclusion of physical evidence in the services marketing mix as one of its elements. According to
Albers, and Rundshagen (2020), European airlines such as EasyJet have put in place measures to
help curb the Covid-19 pandemic such as providing hand sanitizers and ensuring social
distancing among employees and customers in all their premises, further enhancing customer
experience while ensuring the safety of the of employees and customers.
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Process of Service Production

A product is considered as good as the process used to produce it. The process of
delivering services to numerous customers is crucial because the service provider has to ensure
that the same standard of service is upheld for all customers (Rondini, et al., 2018).To ensure a
similar standard of service for all customers, organizations usually follow specific service
delivery blue prints. The blue prints provide specific details on how the employees of the
organization should go about the process of service delivery. Often, organizations breakdown
their process of service production to include a service script that is followed by all employees in
providing services to customers. EasyJet has an elaborately defined service delivery blueprint to
ensure that all customers are served using the same standard of service. In some instances such
as at the receptions, a service script is followed which includes specific greeting phrases used by
the service staff to further ensure that customers receive the same standard of service.

Conclusion

Process, People and Physical evidence are critical new elements in the services marketing
mix, as they provide a more specific customer focus. The three elements have helped in
expanding the initial four Ps to shift to ensure that marketing focus is maintained on the product
and the customer. The three new elements are necessary due to the high degree of direct contact
between the service providers and their customers such as at EasyJet, as the organization serves
thousands of customers daily. Extending the four Ps by including the three new Ps allows for a
deeper and throrough analysis of the services marketing mix framework.
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References

Abdelhady, M.R.R., Fayed, H.A.K. and Fawzy, N.M., 2019. The Influence of Airlines'
Marketing Mix Elements on Passengers' Purchasing Decision-Making: The Case of FSCs
and LCCs. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Systems, 12(2).

Albers, S. and Rundshagen, V., 2020. European airlines′ strategic responses to the COVID-19
pandemic (January-May, 2020). Journal of air transport management, 87, p.101863.

EasyJet.com. Home. https://corporate.easyjet.com/

EasyJet.com., 2021. https://www.easyjet.com/en

Kumar, S. and Almoula, T.S., 2020. A comparative study of customer service level based on
service marketing mix (7Ps) in selected public and private sector banks in Bhopal, MP,
India, by using mystery shopping as a tool. International Journal of Financial Services
Management, 10(3), pp.239-267.

Othman, B., Harun, A., Rashid, W., Nazeer, S., Kassim, A. and Kadhim, K., 2019. The
influences of service marketing mix on customer loyalty towards Umrah travel agents:
Evidence from Malaysia. Management Science Letters, 9(6), pp.865-876.

Rondini, A., Pezzotta, G., Cavalieri, S., Ouertani, M.Z. and Pirola, F., 2018. Standardizing
delivery processes to support service transformation: A case of a multinational
manufacturing firm. Computers in Industry, 100, pp.115-128.