Service marketing:

Case study 1
Sullivan Ford Auto World:
Answer no 1:
Marketing a car:
Marketing a car is buying and selling of a car their advertisement,
promotions, that attracts customer to buy a car to generate profit

It works on marketing mix and it’s an orthodox way.

Marketing a service:
It is based on relationship and value. It is a form of a product that consists of
activities benefits or satisfaction offered for sale and are essentially intangible and
don’t result in ownership of anything.

Difference
Marketing A car Marketing a Service
4ps
It works on marketing mix consists on 4ps It works on marketing mix consists on 7ps
(Price, place, promotion, product) (process ,physical environment ,people)

Product:
Marketing a car is easy. Because the product
can be seen ,touched or can be experienced
Illustrate the features of the products.
Marketing a services cannot be seen. It’s
an intangible products which making it
tough for the customers to imagine what
actually happens
Not illustrate the features of the products.
Quality of product can be easily measured.
In marketing a car customer receive product
Price
Pricing strategy is too important factor in marketing mix and the pricing strategy of the car
service differ from the pricing strategy of marketing a car
Place
Sullivan Ford Auto World is in an excellent
spot, at a suburban highway intersection in a
residential area of the city. This location
provides Auto World with visibility and
proximity to two major markets: motorists
and people.
The process of identifying a market to
promote products with the aim of generating
sales
People and processing
Services are generated and consumed
parallel, as opposed to items (goods), which
can be produced and processed before being
purchased and consumed at a later date.
Quality of service is not measurable
In customer avail value
The service department is situated at the
back of the sales center, allowing
salespeople to refer customers to the
company's service area.
Promotion of services being offered by the
company
In the case of a car service, the technicians
(people) perform the different service tasks
(conditioning of steering and suspension, oil
change, etc.) in an efficient way (process) to
ensure delivery of the qualified service. In
return, the customers pay a price for the
added value by the different things that form
the service such as the skills of the
technicians, the use of specialized
equipment or tools, service time and much
more.
 Ownership

It can be owned and resold to another party. It is neither owned nor transferred to
another party.

It emphasize on the buying and selling It emphasizes on monetary transactions,

prospects of consumer making transaction ,to time and efforts are exchange for labor
take ownership of the product skills.
But ownership of product is not seem
It has Rapid response It has relatively low response

Question no 2:
Compare Sales and service department:

Sales department Service department

It’s a front end process new Ford vehicles and It’s a backend process where
pre-owned or traded vehicles that they Service Department offers servicing for cars that
refurbish in the service department broke-down and/or need parts replacement.
Eye-catching site in convenient location
Extensive advertising and promotions to
attract car buyers
Customers can walk-in
In the front end department it is a high
ceilinged showroom where latest models of
cars, polished to a high sheen, displayed to
attract prospective buyer.
In this department price is not hard predict
At the front end, car salespersons are there to
assist and answer queries of possible
customers that are looking for brand new or
pre-owned vehicles.
Car Sales or the Front–end team is composed
of the Sales Manager, 7 Sales People, the
Office Manager & the Secretary.
High-polished new cars on display
The company invests heavily on promotions
and giving deals to induce buyers.
Customers can examine the cars (and sit in
them if they wish) while they wait for a
salesperson
Same location but service building is greasy and
hidden behind showroom
No mention of advertising, reminders, special
offers to generate service business
Customers must make appointments
The back end is quite the opposite with its
cramped room and walls with peeling paint.
There was no mention of chairs or waiting
lounge, customers stood while waiting for their
work orders.
In this department price is hard to determine
For the back end, service writers and mechanics
assist customers by coming up with estimates or
quotations for services that need to be done on
the vehicles.
The Service Department is composed of the
Service Manager, Parts Supervisor, 9 Mechanics
and 2 service writers.
Modern, well-maintained equipment in service
bays
No promos were mentioned in the case
regarding its service center.
Customers wait in line for service writers; can
look at file-cabinets and listen to telephones
ringing
Answer no 4
I would advise Carol Sullivan to appoint Larry Winters as a new leader. As he can
manage the changed system since he has a great track record in auto mobile sales
industry. He was once a leading sales rep in Auto World. He has strong managerial
capabilities and strong network in the industry. Or she could also hire both
financial and service manager to hold the financial assets and service section. For
more effective motive, she might as well train her sisters to be in the place so that
the profits will still be within the company.

Some other suggestions for her:

• Hire an experienced service management team

• She should get a business partner whom she can trust
• Revamp the service department
• Train the service staff
• Develop a customer oriented service strategy
• Make use of the technology for client records and service writing
• Expand the service delivery system
• Advertising and marketing tools and promotions should be efficiently
used
• Ways of improvement
• Hire well-trained and experienced service management team
• Regain the trust and loyalty of clients by implementing new and
innovative packages
• Enforce the PR department in order to successfully reach the proposed
target markets
• Focus on high quality service assuring reliability of products.

Yaha sy
• Areas needing improvement, especially items rated "bad" or "poor"
• Computerization of customer records
• Physical renovation of the area
• Effort to recruit and train better service workers
• Marketing the service department
• Physical renovation of the facility
• Customers introduced to service department when new cars are
purchased
• Reminders to customers when cars are due for service
• Promotional incentives to bring cars in for service
• Handling service customers