8Ps of Marketing Mix is used in service marketing in any industry, this fact is also true of air cargo marketing. Air cargo marketing specialists should be aware and in full understanding of the
marketing environmental factors to both anticipate and cope with any
threat in the marketplace and to avail of any opportunities that may exist.
Introduction to Air Cargo Marketing
Air cargo marketing, involve the
provision of the right air cargo service [ that meets customers' needs], at the
right price, at the right place and at the right time, and doing so at a
profit. There are many marketing definitions but I choose the simple one for
you to understand the basic marketing goal.
Before writing an air cargo marketing plan, the marketing specialists should review and discuss many marketing factors called the 8Ps of service marketing mix which is our subject. This article is the first article about the field of my university degree subject [ Marketing and Production Management]. I hope that you find this article informative.
What is the 8ps of marketing ?
The marketing mix is generally a
pre-plan discussion or a set of actions that an air cargo company uses to
promote itself in the market. Usually, the 8Ps of marketing mix
includes eight marketing factors [ Product, Price, Place, Positioning, Promotion,
people, Process, and Physical Evidence].
Now, I will start with the first P
of the marketing mix:
1- Product
Product is anything that can be provided for market attention, acquisition, use, or consumption. Furthermore, it can satisfy customers' needs and wants. Clearly, in the air cargo business the product is a service that will solve the shipping challenge and freight forwarding needs of customers.
What to do?
If you are a marketing specialist, you are going to focus on the
attributes of your air cargo company compared to the attributes offered by a
competing company. You will study Service quality factors as an example:
[ pick-up and delivery on time, flight schedules multiple-choice,
branding of service, and customer services].Then, you can improve your service
quality.
2- Price
Price is a total value that customers exchange for the benefits of
using air cargo services. It impacts the buyer's satisfaction level.
What to do?
Your marketing plan should include different short-term selling
strategies to increase sales. You may use the best short-term selling
strategies [ such as special sale, credit terms, and refunds].
3- Place
The place is the point of selling and support services. To ease
understanding this, air cargo service that you sell should be inconvenience to
the customers (easy access). You need to provide your customers with multiple
sells points such as
- Internet booking
- Office locations
- International shipping
networks
- Warehousing
Usually, in air cargo services, the
marketing mix place includes the places that you ship to. And this
is a very important thing that customer is looking for.
4- Promotion
Promotion is a "communication" process that air cargo
companies communicate their value to the customers. Promoting your service,
that will lead to service(brand) recognitions and further establishes an air
cargo company's position in the marketplace.
To promote air cargo services, you are going to use many promotion
activities such as:
- Sales communication
- Advertising
- Personal selling
- Public relations etc.
How you promote your air cargo
services and where is very important. Technology, the internet, social
media marketing, and digital channel will inform your customers how " up
to date" you are in your management style,
promotional style, and your speed of doing business.
5- Positioning
Positioning refers to how you have
or intended to position your company in the marketplace. You will
answer the question " How your brand is positioned in the customer's
mind?".
Think of this, if your marketing is
working, then the customers would identify with the same position statement
your company projects.
If no marketing, then you may be
considered "too expensive" or "un-caring" or "a
low-cost entity".
6- People
People are an important part of providing services. The fact is,
to achieve your marketing goals, highly trained personnel must be in place
throughout the company to manage every stage of a shipment movement.
A highly qualified team can become the "product" the air cargo company will market to its customers. Without highly trained personnel the money spent on marketing would be wasted.
7- Process
The process as a setting a customer focus, with successful service
planning and implementation. When the processes are tested, upgraded, and
proven, then this too, can become a marketing point of difference.
Without systems and proven processes in place, your well trained,
capable team will not be able to deliver a good quality service.
I recommend using IATA TACT Online and TACT Net Rates which help you preparing a perfect air cargo marketing plan that make you customer happy. It is an operational dashboard where you can find Air Cargo Rules, Tariff and Rates, more than 100 Airlines Flight Schedules , and more.
8- Physical Evidence
Physical evidence means the
appearance of the service, it is the environment of service. It includes the
uniform of staff; the air cargo company has a high level of awards and office
appliances. But these are not more important physical evidence like answering
the question of " is the shipment arrived on time or not?".
In my point of view, these 8Ps of marketing mix not enough
if we apply it to air cargo services.
Why?
Because air cargo security is the main operation factor to
continuously shipping air cargo around the world. If any security breach
happened, it will affect the flow of air cargo and this will affect customer
satisfaction. The ninth marketing factor of air cargo is " Protection
". I will let this for further study by marketing
researchers
Also, the 8Ps of marketing, you need to generate information that will test each of the 8Ps and support your marketing plan. To do that, you need to use the 5Ws marketing grid which used to discuss and question each "P" using the 5Ws :
- How
- What
- When
- Why
- Where
Air cargo marketing is about making
decisions about the type and level of service that the company should offer to
the customer. The first step is making decisions regarding the 8Ps of marketing mix which I already mentioned. Please write your comments.
