Why McDonald's is a top international brand?

Please see "Case Study" section.

What pricing strategies or issues do you take or think when buying services and not products?

"Pricing strategy associated with services is typically more complex than the pricing of tangible goods. As a consumer, what pricing issues do you consider when purchasing services" (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008, p.253)?

Because of the intangibility, it is not easy for consumers to assess or weigh up a service before they really buy and use it. We may ask our friends or search third-party reports and recommendations—therefore, it is the degree or matter of trust between the buyer and service provider. As a service buyer, the key issues of a) perceived value (e.g., customer benefits to costs or time, effort, and money; as good value gives more return for the buck, including satisfaction, quality, prestige, function, and the solution to a matter or question), b) price sensitivity (e.g., the issues of price elasticity, or market situations, such as the number of sellers, economy and market condition or price comparisons between sellers), and c) services after-sales (e.g., the subject of warranty: Does the service seller provide guarantees to buyers, and when, what, where, who and how to manage the service programs?)—all these factors are determining my pricing strategy (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008). In all, I would like to buy or pay a service that I trust (e.g., from my friends, researches or relationship marketing) with a reasonable and market price plus great after-sales services.

The query:  How difficult is it to compare prices among competing services or to determine the complete price of the service before purchase? Price strategy in services is critical (as price could be the only indication to quality prior to purchase) and more difficult, especially when 1) service quality is not easy to assess before to buy it; 2) unknown cost factors; 3) buyers do not understand the service process; 4) new or not a brand names; 5) no service standard or defined units to compare; 6) no same type of service in advertising; 7) the final price or cost of service is not easy to set; and 8) the service is based on yield management system (that give a firm to control capacity and demand with maximum revenue and capacity utilization, such as, hotel or airline booking (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008). The best way to compare prices among competing services or to decide the complete cost of work prior ordering is to get at least three or more estimate quotations (by calling, sending inquiry e-mails, or opening bids and tenders) from firms in the same service and in the same market area with the same contractual guarantees of quality, and same qualification or experience.

The question: What could service providers do to solve these issues? Provide an example. As the above examination, service firms can a) use yield management systems to keep upright, balance, and maintain equilibrium pricing and revenue situations with their need to load and pack unoccupied working hours, time or capacity; and b) control demand by price changes over time and by overbooking capacity that ensure service demand will be steady and even, so that getting less unused capacity or time.  The good example is in our repair and services of storefront business that applying these approaches. As we have a good price strategy and marketing planning, we offer fair and market price in regular weekday working hours (with special discount to some special events, promotions, or conditions to gain market share in this slow and competitive business). However, we charge double prices for after-hour services or special service rates for emergency calls (depend on how far away or working condition). Most of our customers like our pricing systems as they know we provide the best warranty in the trade with parts AND labor both together in our contractual agreements.


How does Web browser business in 2009?

 "Do some background research on one of the following markets (or choose one of your own): wireless phone service, DVD players, and pizza. Which stage of the product life cycle is each of these markets in? What market characteristics lead you to answer as such? Is there evidence that any of these markets are on the verge of moving into the next stage of the life cycle? Explain" (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008, p.22).

The query: Choose one of your own product or service, and which stage of the product life cycle is this market in?  In this case, web browser is the market, specially the company of Mozilla Firefox that will be studying in the following section. There are several major web browsers in the market, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer (the major marketer and player), Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox, Safari (iPod), Opera, and Google Chrome; however, Mozilla Firefox (a free and open source web browser) is the fastest growth web browser in the industry.  The product life cycle of this market right now is in growth stage. When the company released its new system on November 4, 2004, it got about hundred fifty million users download and over ten million regular users in just less than two years without any marketing planning or staffs, and by a word-of-mouth promotion or friends, and referral approaches (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008). As increasing of users in Internet, wireless communication (e.g., cell phone), and iPod (portable media players), web browser market is growing very fast, especially, for marketers: Microsoft Windows system, Firefox and Safari.

As more people use Internet (e.g., the increasing Internet users and populations in North America, China, India, and South America) and it becomes part of people’ daily, living or social tools to do our online shopping, banking, searching jobs, studying, or making friends (e.g., Facebook), collecting information for travelling or business, and playing electronic games or watching online DVD that demanding better online security, fast search engine with less cost.  All these facts and activities are parts of this market characteristic; users demand better web browser services and higher security protection, such as privacy issues on personal and financial data. Also, as more people demand its services in different fields (e.g., education, finance, and transportation, or communication etc.), web browser market in Internet and networking system is in the growth stage of the product life cycle with high demand--until we find another way and new approach or better method with superior way to communicate each other in Internet.

As of now, there is no evidence that this market is on the threshold or limit of moving into the next stage of maturity stage or the decline stage; as we examine in the above, the Internet users or populations worldwide are only entering in the beginning stage. There are lots of challenges and opportunities or new features in all social, economical, political, technical and organizational developments (Microsoft, 2009).

References

Ferrell, O.C., & Hartline, M. D. (2008). Marketing Strategy (4th edition). Mason, Ohio: Thompson South-Western.

Microsoft. (2009). Leveraging technology in the developing world is theme of Microsoft’s second annual ICT for development conference. Retrieved January 17, 2009, from http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/features/2008/sep08/09-23ICT.mspx

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