Service Marketing

Service Marketing

Executive summary

The RTA (Road Transport Authority) in collaboration with the police department would introduce the service intended to help the users reserve a parking space before arriving at the intended destination. The reserved parking space would show a red colour over it. Moreover, when the parking space is not in use or booked a green light would appear. High technology would be applied to help RTA compete favourably with the valet parking services offered by the Valtrans Hospitality Services. The services would be directed toward enhancing efficiency in the allocation of the parking spaces. The RTA can develop the service using the funds generated from the parking services as well an allocation from the government. However, RTA would be required to prove the benefits that would be generated from services provided. RTA targets to offer the services to companies, business people, workers, visitors and tourists in different destinations dependent on their varying needs. In future,  RTA has a goal to automate the services in parking. Nevertheless, the current services would involve the employees and police officers on the ground to enhance effectiveness in the provision of the parking service. Moreover, the RTA would ensure integration of the core services and the supplementary. The activities and the plans would be compared with the one outlined in the marketing to detect any deviation.

Business Overview

The RTA is responsible for planning the major transport development projects in Dubai to facilitate the growth of the city in an agreement with the international standards. The vision of the Roads and Transport Authority is to ensure that people are travelling easily and smoothly on all the roads located in Dubai (Government of Dubai, 2015). To attain its vision, some of the responsibilities bestowed on the company include coming up with transport development projects, legislations, and the introduction of transport related services intended to improve the transportation. The RTA has a crucial role in the management of the parking slots available in Dubai to enhance smooth parking and traffic flow. Currently, mparking is the most advanced method used by RTA in the allocation of the parking spaces to the Dubai registered private vehicles. To fulfil the requirements of the clients, the RTA intends to introduce a service where customers can reserve parking spaces before they can arrive at the intended destinations. The programme will be implemented through the collaboration with police in Dubai (Government of Dubai, 2015).

Situation analysis

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

1. The government has more parking spaces managed by the RTA in Dubai. The other privates companies have very few parking spaces.
2. RTA has adequate financial resources currently generated from the parking spaces available.
3. The availability of more unused land along the major roads that can be turned to parking slots.
4. RTA has skilled employees with the capability to respond to the needs of the customers adequately.
5. It is an institution of the government. The employees of the RTA and the police would enhance the effectiveness of the services without incurring the extra cost of hiring security men.
6. The RTA is not purely a non-profit making organisation and has the capability to provide the parking services affordable compared to the other competitors.
7. Almost, the government owns 95% of the parking slots in the central business district.

Weaknesses

1. Lack of the personnel with the adequate knowledge to develop the system necessary to coordinate all the activities required in the provision of the intended service.
2. The government funds the RTA projects. The decisions of the RTA are not wholly independent.
3. RTA has to perform other functions other than the provisions of the parking services, which may bring management problem. The RTA would have trouble in maintaining the quality of the services.

Opportunities

1. The ability to create new parking slots on the spaces not utilised in the major roads in Dubai.
2. Increased usage of the Internet makes the service more favourable to most of the users who browse using their smarts phones.
3. Technology developments would enable RTA to make the system more user-friendly and a depiction of the services quality.

Threats

1. The government controls the spending of ART. The developments of the system necessary for the service would be delayed or hampered by the government-initiated bottlenecks.
2. The security cameras to be installed and the lights necessary to facilitate communication would need huge investments. They need also to be maintained and secured.

Strengths matched to opportunities

1. The RTA can create more revenue from the parking services by facilitating communication and the awareness of the parking slots available in the different places.
2. RTA can create parking services of high quality to increase its competitive advantages against other service providers.

Important attributes

1. The services can be accessed through a phone that is internet enabled.
2. The customers can book for the parking slot for a maximum time as long as he has the capability to pay for the parking slot.
3. The parking slots are available to both public and the private cars.
4. The customer has the capability to pay for the service using mobile money transfer services or the credit cards.
5. The services are easily available to all the private registered vehicles in Dubai.

Determinant attributes

1. After booking for the parking space, the vehicle is assured of the direct online communication with the staff of the RTA. They will give a full description of the parking space as well as a guide to the direction if the customer has difficulty in locating the exact position of the parking slot.
2. After booking for the service, a red light would appear over the parking spot and the vehicle registration number would also be placed at the top.
3. Money is refundable as long as the customer did not utilise the whole of his parking time allocated. The money would be refunded directly immediately the customer moves out of the parking space. For instance, a person has booked for a parking spot for seven hours and only uses seven hours in the parking spot, the amount of the unused time would be reverted to the customer
4. The availability of the parking slots in all the parts in Dubai.
5. RTA will offer huge discounts and affordable services to all. The customer will be provided with a discount of 25% of the normal parking fee if he uses the new service in finding the parking space.

Point of differences

There are the attributes that make the RTA services superior to other parking services provided in Dubai. The RTA parking services involve the use of an RTA parking application. The use of a mobile application makes the services available to most of the customers. Crucially, the mobile application provides the access to all the empty parking slots. The client would take the parking slots that meet her needs adequately. In other competitors parking services like the Valtrans, customers are not allowed to select a parking space of their choice. The company allocate any of the parking spaces to the customer.

Moreover, the use of advanced technological developments depicts the uniqueness of RTA services. Once the customer has reserved a parking space, a signal would be sent to turn the colour on the parking space from green to red. Another person cannot occupy the already reserved parking space. Moreover, the RTA would ensure that the inconveniences caused have been adequately solved. RTA would allocate a parking space that best fits the customer or refund the amount of money the customer had paid.

Points of Parity

The RTA provides quality-parking services to the customers. Moreover, Valtrans, the major competitor of the RTA, assures the customers the provision of the quality services. The quality is a crucial factor of consideration in promoting the development of the business. Valtrans have already invested in the services intended to make certain that the customer can book for the parking before he can arrive at the destination of his choice. Moreover, the use of the mobile application provides the same capability as the other search for the parking services offered on the internet.

Points of contention

The main point of the disagreement regards the provision of the services and the pricing. The mobile application services intend to improve the experience of the customers visiting various important destinations in Dubai. Nevertheless, some of customer may view the services as an extra cost.

More so, the customers may question on the capability of allocating them another parking space and the refund of the money. Customers argue that the allocation of a new parking space does not meet the intended needs. Some may argue that the refund should be done instantly. Nevertheless, the RTA must confirm that the customer did not use the parking space due to the system failure.

Marketing objectives

To attain the vision of the business in the provision of effective and efficient services to the customers, RTA has set out specific objectives.

1. To provide quality services to the customers by ensuring they can identify the parking slots available before they can arrive at their destinations. It will save the customers time as well as encourage him to find an alternative when all the parking slots have been occupied.
2. To invest in recent technological developments that would facilitate the reduction in the operation costs of the many points that have the parking spaces in Dubai.
3. Increase the number of the parking spaces in the major parts of the roads in Dubai that have not been utilised. The aim of the RTA is to attain at least 90% of the people in Dubai with the parking spaces close to their destination.
4. Promote the operation of the businesses by making certain the availability of the parking spaces at the shops and other businesses located in Dubai.
5. Enhance the traffic flow in Dubai by ensuring that people can move in and out of the parking places without taking much time on the main road.

Competition analysis

The parking spaces are located everywhere in Dubai. Therefore, the services of the facilitating the customer to identify the parking spaces before arriving at their destination should be offered competitively to all the parts in Dubai. The main competitor of the RTA is the Valtrans, the company that provides valet parking services to major companies located in Dubai. The major business targeted by the valet parking services of the Valtrans include hospitals, luxurious hotels, famous malls, international airports, private functions, government agencies among others. The Valtrans is a major competitor since the many customers who visit the business premises where the Valtrans offers the parking services are the same customers that the RTA is targeting.

Valet parking refers to the parking services offered to the business premises such as hotels, malls, airport, and hospital among other businesses to customers instead of the customer finding the parking space for himself (National Research Council, 2009). The services may be offered freely or at a fee dependent on the agreement between the valet and the business premise. The Valtrans has already invested in the service intended to be invested by the RTA. It is vital to recognise that the Valtran is a major competitor in the parking business as well as the services offered to get the parking spaces before a customer can arrive at his destination. The RTA would also compete with the other private companies that offer parking services. Nevertheless, most of the small private companies with the parking spaces does not offer the services of finding the parking spaces before.

The RTA would compete in the several ways with its major competitors. The service would be directly related to the parking services. The customer finding the parking space would be required to pay 15% of the parking fee paid for two hours as the service cost without any extra charge. Moreover, the parking fee of every customer who uses the service in locating a parking space would be reduced by 25%. The quality of the service is an important competitive advantage. First, the person seeking the parking space would be able to see all the empty parking spaces at his intended destination when having an internet enabled phone. Moreover, the RTA would preserve the parking space immediately the customer has paid for it. To locate the parking space easily, the customer would be speaking with RTA customer support directly. More so, the car registration number and a red light would be showed on the parking space.

Target market

Target Market 1

Major businesses such as banks, companies, malls, hospital, restaurants and among others would be the major customers targeted by the RTA service. They would require parking spaces for their customers. The parking spaces in front of the major business premises located in the central business district would be subscribed on the monthly basis. Nevertheless, immediately the business fail to pay the monthly fee, the parking space would be available other people who are seeking the parking. The parking space would be shown as empty on the mobile application. For efficiency, the business premises would be required to meet the deadline set for subscribing the service.

 

Target Market 2

The other group targeted by RTA would be the owners and workers of the businesses located in Dubai. The business owners and the workers would find the services to find the parking spaces available at their work location before arriving at that place. The parking service to the workers and the business people would be paid for every hour of use. The parking space would show a green colour immediately the worker notifies the customer support of his departure time or the when the time paid for space expires, whichever come first.

Target market 3

The next targeted market is composed of the visitors and tourists to different places in the city.  For the tourists visiting major tourist’s sites provided by the government, there would be designated places where they would be required to find a parking space. The arrangement would enhance effectiveness especially where the visitors or the tourist come from foreign nations and their car are not registered in Dubai.

Service concept

The service is directed towards the people seeking for parking service in Dubai. The services that would be implemented through the collaboration of the police and the RTA intends to help people find the parking slots before they can arrive at the preferred destination. Once the customer has paid for the parking space, it would be reserved. The customer would pay for the parking services using a mobile application. The application would contain the bank details of the client. Once the parking space is reserved, the system would automatically deduct money from his account.  A signal will be sent through the internet and the green light would turn to red and anybody who parks in that space would pay a fine. The vehicle registration number would also appear on the top of the red light.

The service would utilise advanced technology. Immediately, the customer pays for the parking service; the system would turn the colour of the light from green to red. When customers log in into the mobile application, different parking spaces would be available. The customer would book monthly either for businesses, or book per hour as an individual. Details regarding the location, conditions and the requirement would also be available on the mobile application. Moreover, the system would automatically refund the customer if the time spent on the parking were less than that the time paid for by the customer.

The RTA is committed to meet the Dubai people parking needs. The RTA precautionary measures make certain that there would be no failure of the system. Nevertheless, it is incorrect to assume that the system would work 100% accurate without failure. At times, customers would lose their parking slots as a result of the system failure. In such a situation, the RTA would allocate the customers the parking slot that fits them most. If the customer is not contented with the parking space allocated, the RTA guarantees to refund the money paid. If unauthorised person parked in space, the vehicle would be hauled, and the customer would be allowed to take the parking space. Moreover, the RTA would reserve some parking spaces to cater for such inconveniences.

The crucial difference between the service provided by the RTA and the services provided by the Valtrans is the applications of the modern technology such as lights, automatic money refund, direct communication and the pricing. Other companies do not provide the applications mentioned above available on the service that would be provided by the RTA. Moreover, the service provides access to major parking spaces that are operated by the RTA.

The future of the service

The service allowing the customer to reserve a parking spot before they arrive at a specific destination would enhance effectiveness in the provision of the parking services. The RTA predicts a future of the service where the parking would be managed through the internet without involving the employees on the ground to ensure the effectiveness. In the current service, the police would be involved to ensure adherence to the parking regulations. The use of the lights would also enhance the quality of the services provided. Huge investments would be required regarding the capital and human skills to attain the goals set. The RTA would be required to advance the skills of the employees as well as make huge advertisements to inform the clients of the changes that have been done in the provision of the parking services. The RTA must ensure proper management of the change to ensure that employees are fully committed to the developments of the organisation. Also, the RTA would be required to justify the expenditure made to introduce the services in the parking is reasonable.

Marketing mix

The RTA will combine all the 4ps necessary in promoting the introduction of a product in the market. Bowman and Gatignon (2010) stated the main goal of a planner is to introduce the right merchandise in the right marketplace at the precise time and price. The marketing mix summarises the crucial decisions the RTA would make to introduce the service to the customers.  The crucial marketing mix that the RTA would utilise is discussed below.

Product

The service as discussed earlier would facilitate the customers to preserve their parking space before they can arrive at the destination. The provision of the service is very important with the increasing congestions in the central business district. The customers would have the ability to browse and make a decision on where to reserve the parking space dependent on his targeted destination.

Place

The parking services would be offered in Dubai at an affordable price. Due to the increased use of the smartphones, the RTA service would be accessed easily through the internet.

Price

The RTA would make the parking costs affordable by combining the cost of the search services with the parking costs. After the introduction of the service, the parking cost would be reduced by 25%. At the same time, the service cost would be 15% of the cost incurred in parking for two hours.  The current average price charged by the RTA is AED 2 for every hour. Due to the shortages of the parking space in the central business, district the people with the private parking slots charge up to AED 10 per hour. The introduction of the service and increased parking spaces in Dubai would be a great relief to many workers and business people in Dubai.

Promotion

There are various methods available for informing, reminding and persuading the customer to buy the products of the provided by the RTA (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2009). The advertisement will be used in the promotion of the services that would be offered by the RTA. Major advertisements on the existence of the services by the RTA would be made through the Abu Dhabi radio and television stations.

Core Service

Christopher Lovelock developed the flower of the service. It revealed a collection of the supplementary services that surrounded the core service (Rao, 2007). The core service has been discussed in detail in the plan. Therefore, it is important to consider the supplementary services in detail.

Supplementary services

The services in the eight petals of the flower are classified into facilitating and enhancing supplementary services.

Facilitating Supplementary services

Information

            The information is necessary to help the customer understand the product and make a decision on whether to make a purchase of the product (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2009).  The RTA would provide information on the advertisements made through the Abu Dhabi radio and television. Besides, crucial information related to the conditions and the policies guiding the use of the product would be provided through the notices placed on the website of the company.

Billing

            The services provided by the RTA would be transparent to the consumer. The customer would be asked to confirm that he want to reserve a parking space at given place at a particular time before the transaction is initiated. Moreover, if the customer does not use the whole time he had requested for parking, the system would reverse the money he did not use automatically.

Order taking

The customer would be adequately guided when filling the details required to reserve the parking space. The system would guide the customer by providing the information required.

Payment

The system would allow the customer to make payment easily from all means of payment such as mobile money transfers as well as using the credit card provided. The online payments service would be easy to the customer. Also, space for parking would be protected until when the customer arrives to take the space.

Enhancing supplementary services

Consultation

The RTA would allow the customer to consult the customer service department. The customer service would help the customer to order as well give guidelines on the right paths towards the parking space.

Hospitality

Hospitality makes the customer have an idea that the service has more quality compared to other services offered on the market. Proper and adequate communication would be enhanced. The RTA would allow the customer to enquire any information they need at any time. The customer who stays in a parking space for more than seven hours would not be charged for the eighth hour.

Safekeeping

            It is important to ensure that the car of the customer is safe from theft and damage. The environment where the car is packed should be conducive. The RTA would make plans with the police department to ensure the protection of the parked cars.

Exceptions

            The RTA would allow for the exception when the activities go in a way not expected. For instance, RTA would relax its law during accidents for the cars parked at different stations to save life. Besides, the extension would be allowed to the individuals who did not make to move from the car park on time. More so, RTA would refund any money paid when the customer did not stay in the parking for all the time allocated. However, a 10% of the money refunded would be deducted as a fine.

Implementation plan

Market organisation

The success of the RTA services depends on whether the services have been tailored to the customer needs. To help the RTA meet the needs of the customers, the market for services would be divided into three categories. The three categories are composed of the companies and businesses, business people and workers as well as visitors and employees. The choice and time to reserve the parking space are different for the stakeholders mentioned above.

Time plan and activities

1. On January 1, 2016, create a position of a marketing manager who will be assisted by thirty employees to implement the system.
2. By January 15, assign a team of three members the activity to research and give feedback on the service in the market.
3. By March 1, the team selected should report the analysed results and give the recommendations.
4. By April 31, the plan on the development of the services would be made.
5. By June 31, introduce the services in some parts of the Dubai.
6. By August 1, review the customer satisfaction on the services introduced in the market.
7. By September 1, evaluate the results obtained from the customer survey.
8. By October 1, initiate the promotion activities to create awareness of the services while introducing the service to other parts in Dubai.
9. By December 1, evaluate the performance of the service in the market and make the corrective measures.

Evaluation and Control

After the implementation of the marketing plan, it is important to evaluate whether the objectives has been attained. Moreover, consider whether the services are being provided in agreement with the standards that have been set. To fully evaluate the success of the project, the following monitoring procedures would be applied.

1. The accomplishment of the objectives and the execution of the activities would be compared continuously with the plans made. The comparison would be made on the monthly and quarterly basis. The marketing manager would report the analysed results to the CEO and other committees of the parliament if a need to do that arises.
2. Each team in the marketing department would be responsible for recommending the changes necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the marketing plan.

 

 

References

Bowman, D., & Gatignon, H. (2010). Market response and marketing mix models: Trends and research opportunities. Boston: Now.

Government of Dubai. (2015). Roads and transport authority. Retrieved from, http://dubai.ae/en/Lists/GovernmentDepartments/DispForm.aspx?ID=32&category=Home

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. D. (2009). Essentials of marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.

National Research Council (U.S.)., Airport Cooperative Research Program., United States., & Jacobs Consultancy (Firm). (2009). Guidebook for evaluating airport parking strategies and supporting technologies. Washington, D.C: Transportation Research Board.

Rao, K. R. M. (2007). Services marketing. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India.

Valtrans Hospitality Services. (2015). Valet parking services. Retrieved from, http://www.valtrans.org/valet-parking-services