Analyzing Enterprises Service Quality Survey

Analyzing Enterprises Service Quality Survey Enterprises Service Quality Survey is attempting to gather very precise information on the value and quality of its service throughout the whole process. The first few questions are very generic and are aiming to source information on the overall experience of dealing with the Enterprise Rent-A-Car. This includes information on customer satisfaction. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is trying to attain valuable information on how customers feel the service could improve and how customers would rate the telephone reservation process. These sorts of questions are unspecific and are the beginning to service quality surveys for any enterprise. As the survey progresses, customers are urged to articulate how long the process of picking up and returning the rental car took. Surely, by doing this, Enterprise Rent-A-Car are trying to attain approximate times so they can average the results out and seek to improve on the results in the coming months and years. Customers are asked to rate sundry questions based on five options: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor and Non Applicable (N/A). Utilising this rating method the firm can obtain a definite level of customer fulfilment and find out where their strengths and weaknesses lie concerning each aspect of the service they provide. One interesting aspect to note about the information Enterprise Rent-A-Car are trying to source is that only one question requires the customer to write out an answer whereas every other option simply requires a ticking of the box in an option such as Good, Fair, Poor etc.. In my opinion, this means that Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a firm simply want polarised answers so to speak. By having to tick options such as Good, Fair and Poor, it becomes apparent straight away if the customer was satisfied with the service or not. If several questions required answers with full sentences, this could lead to numerous problems for Enterprise Rent-A-Car employees who are analysing the su rveys after. One problem is that customers could write out a half-hearted misleading answer with little or no meaning making it extremely difficult for Enterprise Rent-A-Car to attain valuable customer opinions and outlooks on the service. The Service Quality Surveys research objectives are quite simple. The objective of the research is to assess how well they are providing their service to customers. The most important aspect of the survey is that it is being answered by those who have used the service and whose opinion on the service is of huge strategic importance to the company. Question 3: In addition to or instead of the mail survey, what other means could Enterprise use to gather customer satisfaction information? There are numerous other means that Enterprise Rent-A-Car could utilise to gather customer satisfaction information. Observational research involves gathering primary data by observing appropriate people, actions, and situations to gather how satisfied the customer is. Ethnographic research involves sending trained observers to monitor and interact with consumers in their natural environment. Experimental research is best for gathering causal information, through the use of cause-and-effect relationships. Enterprise Rent-A-Car could change the contact method from the currently used mail survey to the other available contact methods: Telephone, Personal (Face to Face) or online (through the use of the Internet). Each one of these contact methods has both benefits and disadvantages with regard to gathering customer satisfaction. Concerning response rate which is of utmost importance, Online and Personal can be classified as good while telephone lags behind and is poor for response rate. If one was to look at cost as a means of differentiating the other contact methods, telephone is obviously the most expensive with also personal contact cost being very poor indeed. Online methods of gathering information seems to be a brilliant way of gathering customer satisfaction information. Firstly it is very cheap once the consumer has an Internet connection. The simplicity of this process is the best alternative to the means being used by Enterprise Rent-A-Car to gather customer satisfaction info rmation. Question 4: What Specific recommendations would you make to Enterprise to improve the response rate and timeliness of feedback from the process? The specific recommendations I would make to Enterprise Rent-A-Car to improve the response rate and timeliness of feedback from the process is to conduct the survey online on their website http://www.enterprise.ie/car_rental/home.do The response rate would be increased ten fold in comparison with the use of the mail survey. Once the survey is completed, the information will be available to Enterprise Rent-A-Car in their database instantaneously. This means busniess decisions can be made quicker, faster and more efficiently. In comparison, while the mail survey has a free postage stamp so it costs the customer nothing to complete, the Internet is such an easier process. There is no need to head down to the post office and send back the survey, once users click the submit button their part of the customer satisfaction process is complete and their feedback is available to Enterprise Rent-A-Car straight away. Enterprise Rent-A-Car could offer customers a discount on their next transaction if they complete the survey in a specific period of time online. They would then have up to date valuable information on the levels of customer satisfaction the users have had with their service. Thus they can use this information and feedback to adapt their business to suit customers. Therefore the timeliness of feedback is improved which improves Enterprise Rent-A-Cars performance and will keep their customers loyal to their service. Marketing Principles Assignment 2 Choose a recent purchase that involved not only yourself but other people in making the decision. What role(s) did you play in the process? What roles did other people play and how did they influence your choice? Recently, the home computer in the family house broke and so a new desktop computer was needed for everyone in the family to use. My father asked the whole family to do a bit of research into the best available computers and that we would agree between us on the best available option to suit everyone. We were given that we had a budget of 800 to spend replacing a home computer that had finally worn down after five years of constant use. Each one of the family scoured various magazines, catalogues as well as visiting stores such as Currys and PC World to check the computer market for the best suitable fit for us. I played a key role in the choosing of a computer for the family as I was viewed among the family as the most technically aware person with regards to the latest products being unveiled in the business market. My two sisters were quite proficient users of computers but my parents were looking more at the cost and simplicity side of purchasing and utilising the computer. I researched reviews online for each type of computer and noted the opinions of others in my college class who were adept computer users and had a broad knowledge of the market. My sisters played the role of reading over the reviews I had picked out to give a second opinion to me on what they thought of products I had earmarked as being a potential purchase for the family. This role influenced me as it gave me the confidence to follow on from the primary research I had carried out. My father played the role of making sure I was keeping within the budget allotted for the computer. His role influenced me as it was a constant reminder to keep within the money designated to purchase the computer. My mother kept an eye on me to make sure that I was looking out for the best needs of the family and not just my personal needs. Her role influenced me as it re-emphasised to me that the computer was for the whole family and not just my preferences. What type of buying decision behaviour process did you go through? At each stage (need recognition, information search, etc.), outline what activities took place Need Recognition: Directly after the breaking down of the home computer, a close family friend purchased a new desktop computer with all the state of the art specifications. I was aware of the quality of the product but my parents who were oblivious to the latest technologies were thoroughly impressed by the newest technologies such as Bluetooth, Built in Microphone and Webcam, huge Hard Drive space and the simplicity of the User Interface. My father decided that instead of paying to fix the worn down computer, a new computer with all these latest cutting edge technologies would be more suitable. Thus a need for the new computer was triggered in my father by external stimuli, in this case the family friends positive feedback. Information Search: Thus my father urged the family and primarily myself to scout the market for a computer with all the latest technologies. Other than the personal source (family friend) who had been the external stimuli in the first place, I consulted an extremely knowledgeable I.T whizzkid in my course to offer his opinions. As mentioned previously the mass media was used to provide us with information on the products i.e. technology websites, blogs etc. I paid a trip to the local Galway computer superstore PC World and I was given a test run on a few of the latest computers released by the leaders in the personal computer market such as Sony, Toshiba and Samsung. Evaluation of Alternatives: In the computer market there are so many alternatives so each alternative was scrutinised thoroughly. The first choice was to choose between either an Apple Mac or a Personal Computer (PC). I would regard myself as a huge fan of the Apple and very susceptible to their compelling marketing of their products. If I was to choose PC there are so many leading companies with high quality computers to choose from. I decided to categorise the PCs in terms of warranty, look, price and performance. I weighed up which company offered the best post sale support to consumers if problems were to arise. Look was based on the easiness on the eye of the product as well as weight, size etc. Performance was based on user reviews from reputable sources. Purchase Decision: The family had a brief meeting and we decided to all divulge what each of us wanted from the computer (software, applications etc.) My father asked me to inform him of my opinion bearing everything in mind. I informed him that I believed the Apple products were the market leaders in terms of computer performance but that their products would not be suitable for the family and the price budget wasnt enough to purchase one. We decide on a PC with a Microsoft Windows OS platform as it would contain all the MS Office tools which would be of utmost importance to the family. My sister and I concurred that Dell Desktop PCs were receiving outstanding feedback and each computer could be tailored to suit the needs of the family. A Dell Inspiron One 23 with the specifications my father liked was agreed on by the family and purchased over the Internet that day. Post Purchase Decision: The family was incredibly satisfied with the product and has lived up to our expectations. Dell delivered within 3 days and a warranty of a year was given to us to cover us in case of unintentional damage to the computer. What choice criteria did you use? Did they change between drawing up a shortlist and making the final choice? The choice criteria as outlined up above were that we divide the computer into three categories: Warranty: We wanted to review which companies were renowned for having an excellent post-sale service given the problematic nature of technology and in specific computers. Look: My mother wanted the computer to have a pleasant appearance so it would blend into the corner of the living rooms environment. We also wanted it to be very lightweight so it could be transported if it had to be moved. Price: The computer had to stick within the budget allotted of 800 euro; there was no flexibility on this rule. Performance: We wanted the computer to run quickly and efficiently and have plenty of storage for the familys photo albums and software applications. The choice criteria did not alter between originally drawing up a shortlist and when we made our final choice. Marketing Principles Assignment 3 Discuss three alternative price-increase strategies that address these concerns. Increasing prices can be a very sensitive issue and can easily upsets loyal customers so companies must carefully approach how they increase prices. When increasing prices, the company must avoid being alleged as being a price gouger( Kotler Armstrong ,2010). Customers have long and clear memories and they will desert companies that they believe are excessively pricing their products. Competitors will prey on the companys necessity to increase their prices and so can advertise a cheaper price in their persuasive marketing campaigns, simply informing the market that they charge lower. There are three price-increase strategies that can address the concerns of customers fleeing from the company due to excess pricing: Honest Approach: The first method of increasing prices that can address the concerns of customer loss is the honest approach. By maintaining a sense of fairness surrounding the price increases, customers will realise that there are legitimate reasons for the rise in prices and that these increases are because of a necessity not a profit hungry exercise from the upper echelons of the organisation. Company communications should tell the customers exactly why the prices are being raised and thus the customers are not left in the dark as to the reason behind the price increase. Honest is always the best policy is an overused phrase but this may just apply in a competitive business market if the firm wants to keep faithful to their loyal consumers. Low Visibility Price Moves: A good technique of increasing prices is by making low-visibility price moves first. Examples include reducing discounts, ever-increasing minimum order sizes and slowing down the production of low margin products. The company sales force should help business customers find ways to economize. By getting rid of offers such as 33% off etc. the firm will steadily increase the amount of revenue they are earning for each product without displeasing their loyal customers. If the removal of discounts is done subtly, then customers will not notice that the price has increased officially and firms can benefit from this method. Unbundling of Market Offering: By removing features, packaging, or services and separately pricing elements that were formerly part of the offer, firms can increase profits. By unbundling their product offering, they can gain more revenue for each sale of a product. By doing this firms are making consumers pay extra for the excess parts of a product such as packaging. This will not easily upset customers as much as say just increasing their product. Airlines such as Ryanair are using this method of increasing prices. For example, to keep flight fares down, Ryanair are charging separately for services that were once part of the price paid in the flight. Examples include a restriction on the weight of handheld luggage and food served on flights. Thus when you are paying for a flight, it is simply the transport you are paying for with no built in perks. Principles of Marketing Assignment 4 Q.1 ZARA SUPPLY CHAIN Q.3 Zara employs a corporate vertical marketing system. A corporate vertical marketing system can be defined as when a single owner runs organizations at each stage of the marketing channel(Kurtz, McKenzie Snow, 2010) Zara has such an efficient and effective supply chain that it has almost total control of every aspect from raw materials to the consumer purchasing the product at the end. This is directly mentioned in the case study his experience led him to design a system in which he could control every aspect of the supply chain (Kotler Armstrong, 2010). Zara benefits greatly from adopting this system. Firstly, the 300 creative staff that carry out the design, benefit from information sent to them by the shop assistants who can report on the latest fads that are trending as they are directly dealing with the customers on the frontline. With regards to sourcing, as mentioned in the case study by using this type of a VMS that while Zaras rivals outsource nearly all their product to che ap production facilities in Asia, Zara makes 40 percent of its own fabrics and produces more than half its own clothes. Therefore Zara which is located in Northern Spain needs not to rely on slow moving suppliers. This is of huge benefit and speeds up the process from raw materials to retailing meaning Zara can produce two or three times as many items as its competitors. Zara carries such business clout that it uses local co-operatives to complete some tasks such as sewing meaning that these materials are sent back quickly to the factory where they are moved onto the next stage in the supply chain. It has huge control of its packaging and distribution service by adopting this system. The huge warehouse which uses high quality machinery is so efficient that the packaging process which can be of concern to other firms in this sector of the market is completed seamlessly by Zara. Therefore Zara, by using a corporate vertical marketing system enjoys many benefits and is the dominant fig ure in its market. Q.4 In my opinion, Zara experiences very few disadvantages from employing its fast-fashion distribution system and the advantages of this distribution system easily outweigh and offset by its advantages. The advantages of fast fashion distribution system seem to be endless and this system generally pleases the end user as the variety of products available changes regularly while maintaining high quality. Firstly, personally I would imagine that through my study of microeconomics if because of the short production runs due to the amount of products being made from different raw materials each time with the change in the fashion trends is their cost of production very high. They certainly arent benefitting from economies of scale at the rate they change the type of products they are producing. While it is a huge advantage that they seem to have a change in product every few weeks in comparison with competitors who have shipments arriving at stores only 4-5 times a year, surely the distribu tion costs are exceedingly high. The cost of transporting new finished goods to the retailers every fortnight or so must put huge pressure on the sale of the stock because of the products short life cycle. However all that said, undoubtedly the advantage of this distribution offsets the disadvantages. For example, the figures mentioned in the case study paint a true portrayal of the massive success of this system. In some cases, Zara are launching as many as four times as many products as their competitors. Because, of the rapid nature of their products life cycle, obsolescence of inventory is never a problem. Thus the cost of storing inventories are never a problem nor is the loss of revenue due to having to cut down prices in end of season sales. Therefore, the advantages of fast fashion easily offset the disadvantages. Q.5 Zara adds value for the customer through major logistics functions in many ways. Major logistic functions include warehousing, inventory management, transportation and logistics information management. By barely having the need for warehousing due to the high turnover of stock quickly, customers are receiving the freshest new products without any chance of obsolescence. Also as a result of the efficient transportation system of Zara, it means that the overall price of the product should invariably cheaper for the customer to purchase. Zaras high quality packaging system done by efficient automate machinery means that the chances of products being damaged on arrival is very slim in comparison with some of the logistic functions of its rivals like Gap. Logistics Information Management which keeps tabs on the flow of information with regards to customer data adds value for the customer as there is documentation with the product and a manner of tracing back the product if there is ever a problem. Reference: Kurtz, McKenzie Snow, 2010 http://books.google.ie/books?id=lf7VKtZcJlgCpg=PA403dq=corporate+vertical+marketing+systemhl=enei=HWnlTOKxIsGwhQfYqoX0DAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=corporate%20vertical%20marketing%20systemf=false Principles of Marketing Assignment 5 There are three types of appeals used by marketing professionals when promoting a product or service: Rational Appeals, Emotional Appeals Moral Appeals. I intend to critically evaluate an advertisement that fits into each of these types of appeals using the A.I.D.A model. Rational Appeal: This type of appeal is concerned directly with the self interests of the audiences that are targeted by advertisers. This type of appeal tries to utilise a persons common sense to draw in their viewers. Rational Appeals use logic/reason to convince audiences (Chaudhari Gokhale, 2009). This type of appeal can also be used to try and elevate itself above its competitors by using its quality, performance or dominance over its main rivals. Through these appeals, the audience are made to think and believe that the advertisers product is the best in the market (Trehan Trehan, 2009). I believe an advertisement that expertly uses rational appeal to capture the audiences interest is that of Rolexs Commercial for Wimbledon 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ECS3k9od0NR=1 Evaluation using A.I.D.A Model: Get Attention: From the offset my attention was fixated on the screen with the opening images presented in the advertisement. The nobility of the opening pictures showing the hallowed lawns of the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the image of the arrival of a sporting titan like Roger Federer instantly command the attention of the audience. Rolex cleverly have inserted their product within the first three seconds of the ad along with an up close illustration of Federer who is easily one of the sporting worlds most recognisable figures. Hold Interest: The audiences interest is held because of the slow build up of the advertisement with slow eerie music and the slow paced moving shots of Federer and their product. Suddenly, the advertisement burst into life and a plethora of fast paced action occurs which corresponds with a crescendo in powerful music. Arouse Desire: After a certain point in the advertisement, I became aware of the relationship between the number on the watch and how it directly communicates with the number of Wimbledon titles Federer is seen winning. I think they are trying to associate Federers unbelievable success with their product. I also noticed the Rolex advertisement on the scoreboard as Federer leaps in ecstasy having secured another victory. This almost subliminal style of interest showed me the power of the organisation and its lofty high class status in its market having such a strong connection with such a prestigious tournament. Obtain Action: The ending to the advertisement would certainly would certainly give me the impetus to purchase a Rolex watch. The closing image of Federer standing as a messiah like figure in front of the jubilant masses and the Rolex punch line A crown for every achievement made me assume that this successful relationship is going to continue and made me want to be part of this esteemed partnership. There is certain majesty to the connection between Rolex and Federer as both are viewed in the public eye to have an air of superiority to them. This is a great example of an advertisement that uses Rational Appeal. Emotional Appeal The Emotional Appeal theme of advertising is an advertising approach where the message seeks to evoke a positive or negative reaction in the consumer (Clemente, 2002). Thus this appeal has a direct connection with the heart and how the person is feeling or will feel after seeing the advertisement. An advertisement that uses Emotional Appeal to gain the audiences approval and loyalty to their product is used by Nokia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Ek8i0ddSQ) Get Attention: The start of this advertisement shows a man and a woman in seemingly distant contrasting environments which captures the audiences concentration straight away. The woman seems to be entrapped within a desolate apartment alone with seemingly no way out due to the dark and persistent nature of the weather. In startling contrast, the man seems to be enjoying the freedom of life exploring a town with his trusty Nokia phone. Hold Interest: The music playing throughout the advertisement seems to have a quite emotional downtrodden tone to it and this is illustrated perfectly as the woman stares out the window of her apartment with sorrowfulness. The advertisement holds our interest as we are wondering what is the connection or relationship between the downtrodden woman and the joyful man. The man is getting his photos taken beside random billboards/signs and suspicion is aroused as to the meaning of this. Of course each of the photos is being taken by a clearly vivid Nokia phone and the random words being taken hold our interest as to whether the sundry words will have an outcome or a destination. Arouse desire: Desire is aroused to purchase the product when it is revealed the outcome of the various photos. The woman receives a multimedia message which maps out to reveal Will you mary me? tugs at the heart strings as the womans previous apparent depression like nature is suddenly cured as she views each of the pictures of the man and the sequence of words. The Nokia phone is of course used as the medium of communication between these distant lovers. Obtain Action: The final scene of this fifty four second commercial sees the man sitting on a park bench impatiently awaiting the outcome of his proposal. As we see him receiving the answer to his proposal and his sudden explosion of unadulterated joy, a bus in the background trundles off screen to reveal the monstrous Nokia logo. This is a brilliant advertisement as Nokia manages to involve itself within the heart warming relationship that has consumed the audience. This advertisement will particularly appeal to amorous women and might just sway them as they purchase their next mobile phone. Moral Appeal This type of appeal as one would imagine is based on morality. These appeals draw attention on what is right (Trehan Trehan, 2009(2). I think a perfect definition on what moral appeal is and what it aims to do is contained in the following quote Use of moral appeal includes attempts to gain compliance by convincing the target audience that it is morally wrong if it doesnt comply (Heath, 1994). Thus the organisations who use this type of appeal are aiming at a large target market considering that if the message is presented correctly in the advertisement itll have a profound effect on the audience. Environmental Defense uses moral appeal in its advertisement quite ably in its attempt to warn of the looming threat of Global Warming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-_LBXWMCAM Get Attention: This advertisement automatically draws the attention of its audience as we see a dark, bleak looking environment beside a set of train tracks with the eerie sound on the environment to be heard in the background. Suddenly, the audience sees a close up shot of a worried looking man who simply utters the phrase Global Warming. Hold Interest: Directly after the utterance of the words Global Warming impending doom and tragedy in the form of a moving train hurtling towards the man who is now seen to be standing in the middle of the train tracks. This instantly worries and alerts the audience and is a perfect example of an advertisement using moral appeal as the audience is suddenly fraught with anxiety as to the mans imminent death. Arouse Desire: As the train trundles along at what seems like increasingly greater speed, the man informs us that the irreversible consequences of this global disaster are 30 years away. The fact that the middle aged man of the age bracket [40-50] enlightens us that he wont be affected as he will be on the cusp of death by the time the real effects are felt throughout the planet is an example of the ignorant view expressed by many throughout the world. This blatantly ignorant statement questions the audiences morals. Obtain Action: After his immoral statement, the man walks of the train tracks and a small child is seen to be split seconds away from taking the brunt force of the train. This a hard hitting advertisement as it calls on our morals in relation to what is going to be done to stop this imminent global disaster. I certainly was forced to think twice about the disastrous outcomes of this global problem being caused by the citizens of humanity.