Group Assignment 1.

0 Introduction Service

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Service is a perspective on value creation rather than a category of market offerings. (Edvardsson et al., 2005, p. 118). According to Shostack (1977, p. 79) Services are often inextricably entwined with their human representatives. In many fields a person is perceived to be the service. Gronroos (1978, p. 598) holds a similar position: The performance of the personnel is considered to a great extent to shape the service that is offered. Shostack claimed that the central managerial practices of previous academic marketing research, such as the marketing mix, fostered the customer orientation of products but not people which made it inappropriate for services (Gronroos, 1982). Based on this premise of the centrality of the human resources for service marketing practice Shostack and Gronroos drew the conclusion that academic marketing research needed to turn its focus towards the human resources organizations employ. Shostack (1977, p. 79) wrote: [. . .] the potential power of more deliberately controlling or structuring [the human resource] element is clear [. . .] .The point is that service marketers should be charged with tactics and strategy in this area, and must consider it a management responsibility (emphasis added).

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Group Assignment Popular Bookstore

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Popular Holdings, commonly called Popular, is a Singapore-based company that publishes, distributes, and retails books for the local education market. It has subsidiaries in countries such as Canada, the People's Republic of China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the financial year 2011, it had a turnover of S$522.4 million. The first Popular Bookstore was set up in 1936 by Chou Sing Chu in North Bridge Road, focusing on retailing Chinese books and stationery. In March 2006, Popular Holdings was the main organiser of BookFest@Singapore, the first Chinese-language book fair ever held outside of China. In May 2006, Popular Holdings staged the inaugural BookFest@Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. It is a platform for established publishers to showcase their latest publications and renowned authors to meet and interact with the readers. The inaugural BookFest@Hong Kong was organized in 2008. By 2009, the annual BookFest has become a major event of the book industries in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Established in January 1984, POPULAR Book Company (M) Sdn Bhd has become a household name in Malaysia and has now grown to more than 60 stores nationwide. It is recognized and listed by the Malaysian Book of Records, as the largest bookstore chain in Malaysia, with over 600,000 square feet of retail space. There are currently a total of 65 POPULAR outlets located nationwide. POPULAR Book Company (M) Sdn Bhd is 100% managed by Malaysians and is strongly positioned as a bilingual bookstore. POPULAR sells a wide variety of fiction, non-fiction and general interest books in English, Chinese and Malay languages, as well as school textbooks and revision books. In addition, it also offers a large selection of magazines, stationery, multi-media products, gift items and CDs. It is a one-stop center for all schooling needs and for book-lovers from all walks of life. Its 4 mega stores in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru offer a conducive and relaxing ambience for a whole new reading and browsing experience for all book-lovers, young and old alike. In addition to retailing, POPULAR Book Company (M) Sdn Bhd has 3 other core businesses: book distribution, publishing and e-learning. POPULAR is continuously re-inventing it to become a customercentric and dynamic retailer of the new millennium.

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Group Assignment 2.0 Marketing mix Product

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labour or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prdce(re) '(to) lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced. Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things produced". For sure the core products of Popular Bookstore are books. Popular bookstore sells variety of books for their customer. Different customers are looking for different type of books. Even though Popular Bookstore achieved high volume of sales, but they could be more alert on the demand of their customers. Popular Bookstore must make faster movement to reorder books that sold out. Taking Twilight story book as example, Twilight is a box office movie and hit high volume of sales. Some customers prefer to read the story book but due to the intensive buying among the customers, this story book sold out quiet fast. But, customers have to wait for quite some time for restock. Packaging for all books is required to maintain the quality of the books. Wrapping with plastic could be one of the solutions to avoid the damages of the books. It is necessary because there are chances that the books damages during the delivery. Every product is subject to a lifecycle including a growth phase followed by an eventual period of decline as the product approaches market saturation. To retain its competitiveness in the market, product differentiation is required and is one of the strategies to differentiate a product from its competitors. Popular must have their own strategies to compete with other bookstore. Promotion Promotion represents all of the communications that a Popular Bookstore may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. Advertising covers any communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts through print media and billboards. Public relations are where the communication is not directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or trade fairs and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal communication about the bookstore by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an important role in word of mouth and Public Relations. Promotion helps this bookstore to achieve high sales volume. Sales during students holiday do help Popular gain profit. Popular should launch a reading program whereby students can gain knowledge from it. Furthermore, it helps students to fully utilize their school holiday break. Parents see their children reading surely will buy for their children books. 3|Page

Group Assignment Price

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. Price sometimes refers to the quantity of payment requested by a seller of goods or services, rather than the eventual payment amount. This requested amount is often called the asking price or selling price, while the actual payment may be called the transaction price or traded price. Likewise, the bid price or buying price is the quantity of payment offered by a buyer of goods or services, although this meaning is more common in asset or financial markets than in consumer markets. The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product. Hence, Popular bookstore must set suitable price for the books. Popular bookstore must set their price clear enough to avoid customers have any misunderstanding regarding the price. It is happened when Popular bookstore had make mistake on the price of the book and causing misunderstanding with their customer. If the price is too low compared to other store, Popular bookstore might facing loss in their sales volume. Meanwhile, price of the books too high, might cause customers run to other bookstore. Price is important because it gives the customers the determinant of buying the books. Some customers, even though they love the books very much but they tend to not buying the books because of the price is too high. Selling books in affordable price gives the customers willingness to purchase.

Place At the time being, Popular bookstore located in several areas in Sarawak. As in Sarawak does not have many quality bookstores, Popular bookstore should take this chances to win the customers. Meanwhile, online Popular bookstore also should provide satisfaction to their customers. Some areas that might be far from Popular bookstore, it is their job to satisfy their customer by providing their customers favourite books.

Process Process is the buying experience which is becoming more and more important as the public learns to expect better service. A poor process will lead to a poor user experience, and some very negative exposure. Letting people know that you have strong secure customer orientated processes in place is key, buy only when its backed up by the reality of their experience. Through the process, Popular bookstore has offers their customers with several promotion. Such as, give their customers 10% discount if their exceed RM100 of purchasing. How Popular Bookstore deliver their product element will indicate the customer buying power. 4|Page

Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Popular Bookstore should position their product so that can makes the customers will not forget about their services. Besides, loyalty program also has been provided by Popular Bookstore. But, some customer has experienced whereby Popular Bookstore give temporally membership card and promise to give the original membership card by mailing. And what happen was, the customers still have not received the membership card. What Popular Bookstore should do is, they should keep their promises to retain their customers. Fulfils the promises will makes the customers feel they are appreciated by the bookstore.

Physical Environment Physical Environment is the appearance of the Popular Bookstore. Popular Bookstore is quite big but sometimes too crowded. Even though the place is big but customers find that it is not comfortable for them to do shopping because to find a suitable books and read the books need some space. Some books are placed on the floor and makes customers difficult to walk around. The books shelves is fine too but it is too crowded and in messy condition. It makes customers difficult to search for their books. Popular bookstore should be more organize where the services are delivered may have a significant impact upon whether the service was satisfactory. People People are the most important thing is how the front line treated their customers. However, even though the staffs treat their customer well, the service counter is always busy with customers and it makes the counter long queue. Popular Bookstore should make a few counter more because during peak season, customers will wait for quite some time. Productivity and Quality Productivity and Quality of the Popular Bookstore should improve productivity because it is a requisite in cost management; but quality, as defined by the customer, is essential for a service to differentiate itself from other providers. In fact, this bookstore should improve their services in order to retain and gain more customers. Quality must have in this bookstore to differentiate them from other bookstore. Quality is important for customers because customer do their purchasing based on the quality of the books and the bookstore itself.

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

3.0 The new services and the improvement towards the Popular Bookstores

Popular book is providing many products and services such as stationeries, computer things, books, library services, office services and etc. In order to gain more customers and profit, the Popular bookstore should improve their services and create something new to make them more productivity and efficient. Besides, they can make the customers become loyal to their bookstore and create a satisfaction on the customers. Online services For our suggestion to improve the services on the Popular bookstores, we as the owner of the business should evolve the services by providing the purchasing and ordering the books or stationeries through online where it is easy for the customer those are likes to shop through online. Besides that, since us provide the purchasing and ordering through online, the customers can pay the bill immediately as payment services that we are providing in the website. They can use the credit card or debit card. Then, the customers also can print out their bills also through the e-billing. So, when the payment and billing are settled then our bookstores also deliver their order through by the parcel and for those around the town the workers will deliver itself to the customers place. Refurbishment Refurbishment is the process of maintenance or major repair of an item,

either aesthetically or mechanically. Refurbished product such like books are defect from damage and the cover of the books are damage. Some people who love reading books will keep their books in a good condition. Whereby, when the books are get damage or defect they want to repair it so it can be used and read again. Other than that, we can provide the refurbishment for the books are damages. Most of the books always defect on the covering and the bindings. So that, we introduces this services in order to improve Popular bookstores to reach their objectives. This service can gives to the membership and non-membership as a warranty. If the warranty is due date so the customers will be charged on the services and the membership will get a discount for the refurbishment.

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Group Assignment Self-Service

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

As we know at Popular bookstores, it is not many payment counter are available and its makes the customers queue so long time and it is waste the time also. To improve this service, we should become more creative where we put a service which called Self-Service. Besides copies of the latest catalogue for the customers to borrow, the store provides pencils and notepads for customers to write down price tag details, like where to pick up the item. And grab a big yellow bag for those smaller items they like. Baskets are also available for use. Then, they can choose, compare and test all the things such like the stationeries to make sure it is okay and good condition. After that, write down their choice of products and where they can pick them up in the store and use the notepads and pencils they find in the store. So, pick up the products by themselves and check the label on the cover of the products to make sure it is right content. On way to the check out, the customers will past through the Self-Service Area where it is the place that customers pick up their products. Selected items need to be picked up in Product Pick-up counter after they have paid for their purchases at the Check Out counter. Just hand the receipt and Sales Order to the counter staff. Love it or exchange it Besides, love it or exchange it means that we offer something special to the customers. Whereby a product that does not give them satisfaction such like the headphones, keyboards and so on they can bring back the products to the bookstores and try a new one. The services for love it or exchange it are available for the products such as computer things which are the certain product that Popular bookstore selling. And the customers have 30 days to try out the products. The customers may exchange their product once within 30days if they do not love it. The product should not found to be damaged or abused because it is the term and condition while this service are providing to the customers.

Provide computers for searching In order to make the customers easy to search the books they want to purchase, the bookstores can provide the computers that allow them to search the books. In order to let the customers easy on it, the proper instruction should be given so they can follow it and get the way to find the books. It can save the times for the customers. They just key in the titles or authors of the books and the number or the signage of the shelves will appear. This service also gives the information either the books still in stock or not. So just go through to the shelves and purchase it. 7|Page

Group Assignment Interactive kiosks

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Interactive kiosks are increasingly common today as consumers, partners, and employees demand access to fast, simple, and convenient self-service options. As POPULAR Bookstore automate their services, kiosk technology helps them meet the demands of this growing market. These customized solutions are built to certified quality standards on premium technology. Professional installation services, training, and field response help them get started quickly and cost effectively. KIOSK is filling increasing consulting demand from customers who need niche leadership capable of bridging their self-service ideas into a manufactured solution, capable of producing a profit. Peak field performance and maximum return on investment are the dual objectives of a KIOSK service plan consultation. KIOSK offers a comprehensive menu of field service options, with response times unsurpassed in the industry. With a network of 3500+ qualified technicians, KIOSK has a proven track record of supporting even the most missioncritical nationwide deployments. Self-service Kiosk Imagine the choices that todays POPULAR Bookstore shopper are confronted with the larger the store, the more complex and difficult the shopping experience. Time-strapped customers must determine which aisle items are located, what is on sale, which coupons are valid, and what recipes can they pull together for their dining needs. To be sure, large grocery store chains have expended significant resources to improve the shopping experience, but the consumer expects more. Beyond shopping convenience, grocery chains are looking for ways to improve sales, reduce operational costs, and boost customer loyalty. Of all the technologies currently available, only self-service kiosks offer the optimal solution. Self-service kiosks provide an excellent solution for delivering coupons or other promotions to customers before they begin shopping. POPULAR Bookstore can position kiosks near the front of the store or the promoted department to maximize customer exposure. Not only does the printed coupon identify the product, but customers save time with informative coupons that show the precise aisle location.

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Group Assignment Cupon

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Throughout POPULAR Bookstore, coupons provide a ready incentive for lifting consumer purchases. However, with all the interruptions of family and career, few consumers have time to clip coupons. Most staff at the POPULAR Bookstore attempted to solve the coupon challenge by providing coupons and incentives at checkout. Unfortunately, most customers discard or lose the coupons and the store loses the sales opportunity. Now, reflect on the frustration when the customer receives their order only to discover mismatched books or items. Clarity is essential when shoppers place an order. Self-service kiosks allow shoppers to visualize the item or books selection on-screen, choose recipe using a touchscreen, and then verify the order. By using KIOKS self-services, it can reduce the time customers spend in line is a proven way to improve customer satisfaction. Easy-to-use, well-located kiosks encourage customers to use them every time they visit the store and provide a powerful customer loyalty tool. New medium of promotional services In today's publishing environment, all authors used new medium of promotional services whether published traditionally or independently, must undertake the marketing and promotion of their book. This includes social networking, blogging, having a website etc. It may also include virtual book tours or blog tours, book signings, book award programs. There are numerous companies today offering a range of promotional services for every budget with varying programs for different genres etc. Advertisement is one of the crucial keys to the success of POPULAR Bookstore promotional plan. It will literally drive the customers straight to their store to buy their book. Why? Because people trust the media, and an endorsement from the media will mean success for them. The least expensive and most effective ways for POPULAR Bookstore to promote their books are with book reviews, news releases and a limited amount of highly targeted direct mail advertising. Book reviews and news releases result in free (editorial) publicity while direct mail (Postal and email) delivers your sales message directly to potential customers.

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Book reviews are editorial copy that is far less expensive and much more credible than space advertising. For most nonfiction books, there are more than 500 appropriate magazines, newsletters and newspapers columns that should receive review packages. There are two kinds of book reviews: pre-publication reviews are published for the trade wholesalers and bookstores themselves. These reviews tell the trade what is coming so they can order the books before the public reads the post-publication reviews in the popular magazines and newspapers. Publishers Weekly and the others want to receive galleys from POPULAR Compny four months prior to their publication date. The publication date POPULAR select has nothing whatever to do with the date of their book comes off the press or copyright date list in their book. News releases News releases. Editorial matter is believed, advertising is viewed with skepticism. Do not spend money on advertising when POPULAR Company can use the same effort and less money to send off a news release. Meaning, POPULAR Bookstore can follow the review copies with news releases and articles every month to the very same magazines, newsletters and newspapers. Let these opinion-molding editors know what POPULAR Company is doing and why their book has the information their readers need. For lists of appropriate media, visit the reference desk of a large public library and ask to see the periodical directories; there are at least two for magazines and two for newsletters. Direct mail advertising Direct mail advertising provides POPULAR Bookstore with the opportunity to get their complete sales message to a specific potential buyer. But, they must be very selective in their choice of lists and they must direct the message in their cover letter toward the type of person on that list. Beside, Broadcast email (not spam) is even better than direct postal mail. Faster and cheaper, eliminate printing, stuffing and postage while getting a response in just 20 minutes. Assemble email addresses from customers and potential customers and alert them to POPULAR Bookstore books and other products.

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Providing corporate or library off-shelf selection service Providing corporate or library off-shelf selection service. Nowadays, most of the bookstore company have a library at their shop. So that, their customers can read the books before make a desicion to purchase it. For library purchases, just pick the customer selection off the shelves, and POPULAR Bookstore can take care of the invoicing and delivery. Beside that, when they have a library at their shop, their customer child can read a books while waiting their parent find the books that they want. So that, their child cannot boring while waiting for their parent shopping a books at POPULAR store. By doing that, their parent can find a books without interruption ftom their child. By set up the small library at the POPULAR Bookstore, most of their loyal customers and the other customers become more satisfied with their services. It is because they will have a place to read a books before purchase without intrrup the other customers. On the other hand, their customer also does not worried to bring their child to go to the POPULAR Bokstore because they have a place for their child waiting for them. Meaning that their chid will be safe and enjoy read a books that they like. The Multinational Card The multinational card enables for the company and their member institutions to provide a consolidated among themselves and global payment solution to organizations that require a consistent commercial card program in multiple countries. The type of card offers multinational corporations like efficient, cost-effective method of managing and consolidating commercial card programs into a single solution. The company can allows one bank or a lead bank supported by partner banks globally to provide their with a truly global program with standard features (offered by MasterCard), but local customization and support. It is important that POPULAR Bookstore provide their employees with a consistent program that is supported on a global basis. The Multinational card requires that certain minimum features and benefits of their commercial cards that can be supported on a global basis. At the same time, this card also sufficiently flexible to support local customization and support when POPULAR company has specific needs in a certain market. They get the consistency of their need while still respecting the local cultures of customers regional locations.

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

e-bookstore service To provide a new user experience, POPULAR Bookstore can launch a new cloud-based media service business, while evolving to meet each customers changing needs with a network service and device specifically designed. The first effort that POPULAR Bookstore can be introduced an e-bookstore service to their customers. This new e-bookstore provides an Automatic Scheduled Delivery Service (fee-based service) for periodical publications. The most recent editions of books a customer has subscribed to can be delivered and read by the users e-book readers. In addition, free trial versions of recommended e-book content can also be delivered to the e-book reader, letting their customer immediately purchase the books that they like.

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

3.0 Three stages model of service consumption First of all we must understand how people make decisions about buying or using the service another than that we must consider about experience of service delivery or consumption, and how they evaluate the experiences. A framework depicting how customers move from the pre-purchase stage (in which the recognize their needs, search for and evaluate alternative solutions and make decisions) to a service encounter search (in which they obtain service delivery) and thence a post encounter stage (in which they evaluate service performance against expectations)

Three-Stage Model of Service Consumption

Prepurchase Stage: Search, evaluation of alternatives, decision

Service Encounter Stage: Role in high-contact vs. low-contact delivery

Post-Encounter Stage: Evaluation against expectations, future intentions

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

There is a stage what consumer will always do to make their interest to buy or use product or services they choose. The stage below shoeing what they will face the decision before buying product or service to when they get the product or service that satisfy them

1) Pre-purchase Stage Awareness of Need Information Search Evaluation of alternatives Purchase decision

2) Service Encounter Stage Service encounters range from high to low contact Understanding the Service function System Theatre as metaphor for service delivery (Role & Script theories)

3) Post-purchase Stage Evaluation of service performance Future intentions

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Group Assignment

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

The 3 stages that popular bookstore shop can be made decision from consumer consumption which is the first stages are Pre purchase stages whereby this involves decision making by customer. In this early stage, customer usually will gather information and searching the best solution for them. They need to be careful in making the decision and all alternatives give them different experience. Like a consumer comes to popular bookstore and do research which bookstore can provide more information about what the service they prefer. After find the popular bookstore they will want to find what the books satisfy their need and want, this will make the awareness about what popular bookstore have inside. The next stages (Service Encounter Stage) they may face are service encounter stages whereby in this stages customer already have the experience on the services, but they is two possible think that can be consider which is they satisfy or dissatisfy with the services given by popular bookstore, for example the customer comes and satisfy the services given by popular bookstore because they have many choice and the workers are friendly help them when in the store to find what they want and need. This will create the very good feeling when customers enjoy the services and customer will think next times to use the service next times. The final stages is whereby are post purchase stages, in this stages the customer spread the news about the services that provide by popular bookstore, if they happy with the service they will spread positive word of mouth and they will stick with popular bookstore. If popular bookstore give positive image they will gaining more profit and if the customer dissatisfy with service they will losing the customers.

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Group Assignment Conclusion

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

Popular Bookstore is quite excellent in their business. However, they need to stay ahead and keep improving themselves due to the dynamic of changes in customer demand. As it is shown, even though Popular Bookstore is quite established and a common household name in Malaysia, they do have some loopholes and areas to be improved. To keep ahead in this ever changing world, keep on improving is the key. Development of technology, techniques and process in services could help a lot. In this case, development of services could help a lot because services marketing are the best form of marketing because it contains a lot of intangible and credibility element.

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Group Assignment References

Popular Bookstore

MKT540

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refurbishment_(electronics) 2. http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_MY/customer_service/guide_to_ikea/index.html 3. http://www.popular.com.my/AboutUs.aspx 4. Shostack, G.L. (1977), Breaking free from product marketing, Journal of Marketing, No. 2, pp. 73-80 5. Gronroos, C. (1982), An applied service marketing theory, European Journal of Marketing,Vol. 16 No. 7, pp. 30-41. 6. Edvardsson, B., Gustafsson, A. and Roos, I. (2005), Service portraits in service research: a critical review, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 10721. 7. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_8_P's_of_services_marketing#ixzz1feyjjvst 8. Banting, Peter; Ross, Randolph E.. "SpringerLink - Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Volume 1, Number 1". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2010-11-12. 9. Don E. Schullz, Stanley I. Tannenbaum, Robert F. Lauterborn(1993)Integrated Marketing Communications,NTC Business Books, a division of NTC Publishing Group. 10. Lovelock, C. and Wirtz, J. 2007. Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy. 6th Edition. New Jersey, USA: Pearson International - Pearson/Prentice Hall. 11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business) 12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price 13. http://www.popular.com.my/AboutUs.aspx 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Holdings Vol. 41

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