The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Content Calendar

Content calendars are not just useful for larger brands; they’re a valuable tool for any marketer using content to drive business growth. According to Curata research, 90 percent of marketers now use a content or editorial calendar. And they’re easier to set up and maintain than you think. What is a Content Calendar? A content planner or calendar defines your publishing schedule for weeks or months in advance, giving you a quick overview of your content schedule. Being a shareable resource, it also gives team members clarity about project details and deadlines. Rather than stifling creativity, it will become an ongoing source of content inspiration. Free Actionable Bonus: Looking to elevate your content strategy? Get our our complete guide to creating a content strategy, plus a free content planning template and a list of 30+ places to distribute content Top 10 Benefits of Using a Content Calendar These are just a few benefits of using an editorial calendar: It helps you maintain a consistent content production schedule. It will stimulate new content ideas. It helps your team work more efficiently – together and in isolation. It makes team members more accountable for content production. It enables you to plan for seasonal content, company events, and national events. It’s a flexible framework that allows you to change your content output according to demand. It helps you plan a diverse range of content topics, such as news, opinion pieces, and in-depth content. It helps you deliver a more balanced mix of content formats, such as articles, videos, and social posts. It will help you to maximize your content output. By using analytics alongside a content calendar, you can track specific content stats. How to Create a Content Calendar in 6 Steps Step One: Determine Your Topics Make a list of the broad topics you need to cover. If you’ve already produced content, look at which subjects you haven’t covered. Who are your audience and what do they need to know? When your content addresses their concerns, they’re more likely to engage with your content, share it, and convert into leads and customers. Just remember that what your customers need to know may change as they move through the buyer journey and get closer to making a purchase. Step Two: Determine the Publication Channels How are you going to distribute your content? Each channel is suited to different content types: Your business blog. Ideal for â€Å"how-to† content and sharing insights about your business. Your website. Create landing pages, videos, and gated content to increase your credibility. Frequently updating content on your own platform also maximizes your search engine rankings. Video sharing sites. For explainer videos, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage. Social media networks. Great for promoting new content and building brand awareness. Emails. Here, you can target specific audience segments with newsletters, press releases, surveys, and seasonal content. Step Three: Determine Post Frequency You could try to publish a new blog post every day, but do you have the resources and is this necessary? Plan a realistic publishing schedule that your team can handle. Whatever schedule you’re going to follow, keep it consistent. If you’re not sure, start small with one to three posts a week. Step Four: Create a Spreadsheet For most content marketers, a spreadsheet is sufficient. In order to collaborate with other team members, consider using Google Drive as it has secure cloud storage and backup. Include columns with the following information: Publication date. Author. Working title. Content description. Marketing goals. Publication channels. Keywords for SEO. Any calls-to-action. Notes and resources. Status: draft, complete, published, or hold. If you need something more sophisticated, try the WordPress Editorial Calendar plugin, or free editorial calendars from Constant Content, the Content Marketing Institute, CoSchedule, or HubSpot. Step Five: Start Filling in Your Content Calendar The beauty of a content calendar is its flexibility. Seasonal content is fixed in place, but everything else can be moved around according to your schedule and marketing goals. Come up with as many ideas as possible, but remember to keep it realistic in terms of your resources. The quantity of content will depend on the size of your team; if in doubt, focus on quality over quantity. Remember that you can also repurpose content and approach single topics from different angles. Step Six: Define the Workflow To ensure the content marketing process runs smoothly, give each team member a content strategy guide, including: Your overall marketing goals. An editorial guide, including business tone of voice, suitable content formats, and preferred language. A brief guide on how to use the content calendar and best practices. The name of every team member and who is responsible for each task. Who to approach with questions, and which channel to use for communication. Keep Your Content Strategy on Track Ultimately, an editorial calendar will help you consistently deliver relevant content to the right channels, so that you meet more of your content marketing goals. Whether you create your own content or buy content from freelance writers, start with a basic spreadsheet and let it evolve into a more refined content calendar over time. You’ll soon wonder how you ever lived without one. Do you need quality content to support your content marketing? Constant Content connects you with thousands of professional writers able to create articles, ebooks, product descriptions and other assets to tell your brand story, drive SEO and win sales.

Identifying American Basswood Trees

Identifying American Basswood Trees Tilia is a genus within the Linden family (Tiliacea). This family contains about 30 species of trees that are native throughout most of temperate Northern Hemisphere.  The greatest species diversity of the lindens is found in Asia. It exists only scattered in pockets throughout  Europe and eastern North America. The trees are sometimes  called lime in Britain and linden in parts of Europe and North America. The most common name for the tree in North America is American basswood (Tilia americana),  but there are several varieties with separate names. White basswood (var. heterophylla) is found from Missouri to Alabama. Carolina basswood (var. caroliniana)  is found from Oklahoma to North Carolina and south to Florida. The fast-growing American  basswood  is among the largest trees of eastern and central North America. The tree will often support several trunks off its base, will prolifically sprout from stumps, and is a great seeder. It is an important timber tree in the Great Lakes states. Tilia americana is the northernmost basswood species. Basswood flowers produce an abundance of nectar  from which choice honey is made. In fact, in some parts of its range basswood is known as the bee-tree, and can even be identified by the honey bee traffic.   Basswood Tree Identification Basswoods asymmetrical and lopsided heart-shaped leaf is the largest of all broadleaf trees, nearly as wide as it is long at between 5 and 8 inches. The rich green upper side of the leaf is in contrast to the underleafs paler green to almost-white color. The basswoods  small greenish flowers are uniquely attached and hanging under a pale, leaflike bract. The resulting seeds are in a hard, dry, hairy, nutlike fruit, which is quite visible during the fruiting season. Also, take a close look at the twigs and you will see them zigzag between oval buds with one or two bud scales. This tree should not be confused with the non-native urban basswood called little leaf  linden or Tilia cordata. The leaf of the linden is much smaller than basswood and typically, it is a much smaller tree. Characteristics Leaves: Alternate, broadly ovate, coarsely saw-toothed, notched at the base.Bark: Dark gray and smooth.Fruit: Elliptical nut-like, hard seed.

4th Grade Math Lesson on Factor Trees

4th Grade Math Lesson on Factor Trees Students create a factor tree with numbers between 1 and 100. Grade Level Fourth Grade Duration   One class period, 45 minutes in length Materials blackboard or whiteboardpaper for students to write onIf you prefer a more artistic touch, copies with four evergreen tree shapes per page Key Vocabulary   factor, multiple, prime number, multiply, divide. Objectives In this lesson, students will create factor trees. Standards Met 4.OA.4: Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1-100. Recognize that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1-100 is a multiple of a given one-digit number. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1-100 is prime or composite. Lesson Introduction   Decide ahead of time whether or not you wish to do this as part of a holiday assignment. If you prefer not to connect this to winter and/or the holiday season, skip Step #3 and references to the holiday season. Step-by Step Procedure Discuss learning target- to identify all of the factors of 24 and other numbers between 1 and 100.Review with students the definition of a factor. And why do we need to know the factors of a particular number? As they get older, and have to work more with fractions with like and unlike denominators, factors grow increasingly important.Draw a simple evergreen tree shape at the top of the board. Tell students that one of the best ways to learn about factors is by using a tree shape.Begin with the number 12 at the top of the tree. Ask students what two numbers can be multiplied together to get the number 12. For example, 3 and 4. Underneath the number 12, write 3 x 4. Reinforce with students that they have now found two factors of the number 12.Now let’s examine the number 3. What are the factors of 3? What two numbers can we multiply together to get 3? Students should come up with 3 and 1.Show them on the board that if we put down the factors 3 and 1, then we would be continuing this work forever. When we get to a number where the factors are the number itself and 1, we have a prime number and we are done factoring it. Circle the 3 so that you and your students know that they are done. Draw their attention back to the number 4. What two numbers are factors of 4? (If students volunteer 4 and 1, remind them that we aren’t using the number and itself. Are there any other factors?)Below the number 4, write down 2 x 2.Ask students if there are any other factors to consider with the number 2. Students should agree that these two numbers are â€Å"factored out†, and should be circled as prime numbers.Repeat this with the number 20. If your students seem confident about their factoring abilities, have them come to the board to mark the factors.If it is appropriate to refer to Christmas in your classroom, ask student which number they think has more factors–24 (for Christmas Eve) or 25 (for Christmas Day)? Conduct a factor tree contest with half of the class factoring 24 and the other half factoring 25. Homework/Assessment   Send students home with a tree worksheet or a blank sheet of paper and the following numbers to factor: 10099514036 Evaluation   At the end of math class, give your students a quick Exit Slip as an assessment. Have them pull a half sheet of paper out of a notebook or binder and factor the number 16. Collect those at the end of math class and use that to guide your instruction the next day. If most of your class is successful at factoring 16, make a note to yourself to meet with the small group that is struggling. If many students have trouble with this one, try to provide some alternate activities for the students who understand the concept and reteach the lesson to the larger group.

Reputation and talent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reputation and talent - Essay Example The most important sustainable issue therefore to be discussed and explore is that of the reputation and talent management. Issues related with the labor, overtimes, low pays and unhygienic working conditions are some of the issues which constantly spring up in the media regarding Foxconn and which is ultimately hurting the reputation of our clients also. Apple has been focus of the controversy due to Foxconn. To successfully deal with this issue and to ensure that such negative publicity do not occur again, it is to be ensured that a systematic and thorough understanding of the Foxconn’s working environment will be conducted. Since Foxconn works in a particular cultural environment also therefore the emphasis would be placed upon helping the world to understand the actual cultural context within which Foxconn operates and how it is going to address all the related issues. In order to overcome the situation, a complete stakeholders’ analysis will be made to address the issue. Most important stakeholders will be taken into consideration and their views and concerns will be addressed. Especially those of Foxconn’s clients which operate into West and are subject to strict regulatory and ethical challenges regarding their operations and supply chain will be taken into consideration also. After discussions and thorough systematic study of the factors contributing towards the negative reputation of the firm, strategies will be recommended. Based upon the factors identified and the overall requirements of the stakeholders, a through change management plan will be implemented to overcome the management weaknesses and other related issues which are contributing towards this. After successful implementation of the plan, it is expected that the numbers of complaints in this regard will be reduced. Further, the employees will be

Fear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Fear - Essay Example However, I can now attest that my most terrifying experiences of fear began with just one disturbing adventure in house cleaning that I had. At that time fear entered my heart never to leave again. This first fear experienced in early childhood now seems to have permanently scarred my mind with the shock, never to be undone. While it has now been over 30 years, I remember the event as if it were yesterday. Even writing about it now sends a chill thorough me and I can feel my flesh crawl just thinking about it. This all happened when I had just turned 8 years old. There was a cleaning trip to what I had heard was a haunted house. My cousins had been there and talked about it for many weeks prior and I wanted to see it for myself so I volunteered to help my family clean out this spooky old house which they had inherited. It had been closed for several years and was filled with junk, dust, and mold. My parents did not want me to go, they said I was too young for such work and would probably just slow them down. My cousin, Peter, who was only a year older, was already going to go and I thought that it was just unfair of them not to allow me the same experience of exploring this house. I was not really much of a tomboy, but I really wanted to see this place and see if there were ghosts there. So, I grabbed a broom and dustpan and proceeded to the car, my parents shook their heads and gave in to me, since they knew I was headstrong and would sulk for weeks if I did not get my way, a trait I som etime exhibit to this day, much to the chagrin of most of my friends and family. We arrived at the house in the early morning; the sun was casting long shadows from the banana trees that surrounded the property and the shadow of the house itself folded over us as we parked the car. There was a slight mist in the air and a cool chill, my mother was right as usual I should have worn a sweater, but I did not want to get it dirty. The front of the house had a

True Leaders Essay Example for Free

True Leaders Essay If there ever were a great leader in the history of business and management, it would be William Edwards Deming. Deming was a visionary whose concepts of effective business leadership were decades ahead of his time. It was Deming who greatly improved industrial production in the United States during World War Two and later, ironically, in Japan where his genius was given the widespread recognition it deserved. Deming coined the term â€Å"Profound Knowledge Management† which referred to the notion that successful management is based on individuals and to be successful, individuals must always be open to change and never act in a manner that would be deemed inflexible. From this, a manager can act in a leadership role similar to Deming’s leadership module. There is, however, a significant difference between leadership and its cousins supervision and management. Supervision generally refers to the oversight of employees. Management generally refers to the oversight of company and business policy. Leadership refers to the notion that the individuals that comprise the personnel of a given company have faith and confidence in the person who is making the supervisory and managerial directives. Personnel will look up to a manager who exemplifies leadership qualities. Quality leadership will always inspire and never threaten or sanction as is the case in many supervisory or managerial styles. Are true leaders rare? Yes. The reason for this is that leadership involves a great deal of innovation (as was the case with Deming) whereas supervision/management simply requires carrying out directives. Not everyone can lead, but those who can are never forgotten.

A View From the Bridge Essay -- essays research papers

Eddie Carbone is an American-Sicilian man working in Brooklyn. He works as a longshoreman: carrying crates and goods from the ships. He is quite a large man. His job requires him to be strong and a good worker. In other words he is very masculine. He is an ordinary man. He lives with his wife and niece, whom he treats like a daughter, and like all good men should do, he works every day to provide them with enough money to survive on. Eddie is a man’s man. He lives within a close-knit community of Sicilians and is a well respected member of society. Eddie sees himself as a prime example of how a man should act and look. The ending of a view from the bridge is fairly predictable from the beginning as it is hinted at by the narrator Alfieri throughout the first scene until the climax at the end of scene one where it becomes evident to us that a fall is about to occur. Many factors contribute to the tragic downfall of Eddie Carbone. However it is his limited understanding of what it means to be a man that is the most prominent. Eddie’s perception of what it means to be a man is also connected with his views of women. Eddie’s forbidden love for Catherine is also one of the main driving forces behind the tragedy. The downfall of Eddie Carbone may have eventually occurred even without Marco and Rodolpho coming over from Italy as his love for Catherine was unnatural. Marcos strong belief in the Sicilian codes of conduct cause him to fight Eddie. Eddie’s limited understanding of what it means to be a man becomes damaged and challenged during the play, he responds terribly to these and d oesn’t approve when other men do not act as he believes men should. In Alfieri’s opening speech he makes it clear that something bad is about to occur. He says ‘Sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course. This one’s name was Eddie Carbone†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This makes it clear that Eddie too is to follow the fate that something bad, but unstoppable is going to happen. Alfieri, like a narrator in a Greek tragedy, characterizes the chorus in the play and he tells the story and suggests eddies downfall throughout the play. ‘There was a future; there was a trouble that would not go away’. Here Alfieri is explaining that even if Rodolpho and Marco hadn’t arrived, Eddie’s love for Catherine would’ve bought a downfall. Especially seeing as his relationship with Beatrice was becomin... ...ting his name. He says to Marco ‘Now gimme my name!’ Eddie believes that Marco has taken his name. Eddie shouts out to the crowd ‘Maybe he came to apologise to me’. Eddie tries to make the crowd think that it is Marco, who has done wrong by taking Eddie’s name, Marco has damaged Eddie’s pride and Eddie believes he should pay for this. The biggest factor that drives the tragedy is definitely Eddie’s narrowed view of what it means to be a mean. The cousins coming to America only acted as a catalyst for what was bound to happen between the Carbone family as Eddie’s inappropriate love for Catherine would’ve driven them apart eventually. Rodolpho is like a threat to Eddie as he might take Catherine away from him. Eddie not only has stereotypical views on men but on women too. He believes they should look after the house, stay at home and care for their husbands. He sees men as stronger and more authoritative than women. He therefore believes strongly in men having a reputation. This is what finally causes Eddie and Marco to fight, as Eddie wants his name and reputation back. This is how Eddie’s understanding of what it means to be a man leads to his downfall and so drives the tragedy.

Do Rules Contribute to a persons happiness

Do Rules Contribute to a Persons Happiness? Rules and regulations. The two words which every child and even many adults hate to hear. When thinking of ‘rules' we think of something which stands in the way of our doing something we may want to. We immediately curse the rule, not thinking in what way it may be helping us. We fervently wish that it never existed, without really being able to comprehend what the world would be like without that rule.What we, as humans, fail to understand, is that rules are made primarily to help us. We may find them annoying, aggravating, and even completely pointless, but they generally help us feel safe and so, happy. Think of everything in our day to day life which we take for granted. Driving in a car, we expect people to stop for us at some point when at an intersection, that's because someone made traffic lights. Speed limits are another important rule which many people find extremely annoying.Think about this, f there were no road regulation s, would you feel comfortable driving? To all the people who see driving as the ultimate freedom, would you feel the same way if you were in constant fear of being killed? Of course not! The same goes for rules against murder, thievery, drugs, sexual abuse, the list never ends. It is because of all these rules that we are free to feel comfortable and happy in our lives. All the rules so far have been rules on an international scale, but even If we look at rules in our own souses they serve the same purpose.Personally, I would always get annoyed when my parents didn't let me have as much ‘Junk food' as I wanted. I would through tantrums and say that ‘now is the best time for me to eat Junk, while I'm still young! ‘ Now, when I think about It, I am extremely glad that my parents controlled me. If I had eaten too much, I could have had severe health Issues, which would have stopped me from doing so many things which I love doing today, Like playing sports, eating out and Just generally enjoying life.Today I am thankful for the rules set down by my parents, because they are a major reason for my happiness. Overall, I truly believe that rules and regulations are extremely Important to a persons happiness. They may not all help you out (though more often than not you may not see how they are helping you), but without them your life would not be nearly as enjoyable as It Is. As Sheldon Cooper (from The Big Bang Theory) says, Without rules, our entire world would descend Into Anarchy, and who wants that!

Case-8-Accra-Beach-Hotel Analysis

Mc Donald’s and Subway Services Marketing 2011 Submitted By: Ankit Singh Mc Donald’s and Subway Table of Contents CORE SERVICE AND VARIOUS SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 FACILITATING SERVICES †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 ENHANCING SERVICES †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 0 HARD AND SOFT SERVICE STANDARDS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 CHANNELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 COMMUNICATION MIX †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 SERVICE BLUEPRINTING†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1 SERVICESCAPE †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 SERVICE QUALITY GAP MODEL AND QUALITY DIMENSIONS †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 28 PRICING STRATEGY †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 35 Critical Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 3 Mc Donald’s and Subway Table of Figures Figure 1: SubWay – Flower of Service †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Figure 3: Facilition Services †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Figure 2: McDonald's – Flower of Service †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Figure 4: Communication Mix †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 Figure 5: Role Of Communication Mix †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 Figure 6: McDonald – Go Global Act Local †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 20 Figure 7: Mc Donald's Blueprint †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 Figure 8: Subway-Blueprint †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 22 Figure 9: Service Gap Model†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 28 Figure 10: Characteristics and Evaluation Outcomes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 29 Figure 11: Strategies to influence expectations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 0 Figure 12: McDonald's Pricing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 36 Figure 13: SubWay Pricing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 38 Figure 14 : SubWay & Mc Donald ‘s Pricing Strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 41 4 Mc Donald’s and Subway CORE SERVICE AND VARIOUS SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES SUBWAYSUBWAY has come a long way in India since it opened its first restaurant in India. Young Indians have warmed to the image of the American chain, and made it one of their favorite places to swarm to, and hang out in. Subway has very successfully entered the Indian market and sustained its growth by developing a unique menu to appeal to the Indian taste. If you are a foreigner visiting India, you might be interested in indulging in some of the Indianite treats at Subway — for example, the legendary paneer tikka sandwich. Also, as an Indian you might be interested in some of Subway’s Continental trea ts like the Italian B.M. T. Subway offers a wide variety of submarine sandwiches and salads on its menu. It offers an assortment of vegetarian and non-vegetarian fares. They also cater to the health-conscious customers by providing them with 97% fat free subs. Subway offers a separate specialty menu for breakfast. Apart from subs and salads, they also provide side dishes like cookies, desserts and beverages. Subway allows customization of sandwiches by offering a variety of gourmet breads, different kinds of flavored meat, fresh and exotic vegetables and variety of sauces, both low and high calorie.Following the â€Å"Think Global, Act Local† policy, it offers ingredients specific to the locations; for instance, it offers Halal meat in Hyderabad. MCDONALDS McDonald's is without a doubt the world's largest and fastest growing restaurants in the world, serving food and drink to 38 million customers daily. Right from its inceptions through being multi-billion dollar quick servic e restaurant, hamburgers and fries have always been at the front of McDonald's menu. However, their menu has expanded keeping the taste and the lifestyle of the local customers in mind.Its extensive menu also offers a full range of desserts, hot and cold drinks to cater to everyone. McDonalds underlying strategy for success in the Indian market is- â€Å"Local sourcing is the key for Truly Indian products†. Prior to its launch into India, it invested six years to develop its unique cold chain, 5 Mc Donald’s and Subway enabling customers to enjoy highest quality products, absolutely fresh and at a great value. Keeping the culture of India in mind, McDonalds does not offer any beef or pork items. It has developed a specialty menu unique to the Indian palate with a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian selections.They are also conscious enough to prepare vegetarian food separately and this separation is maintained throughout the various stages of preparation. So much s o that the mayonnaise and the soft serves are also 100% vegetarian and its uses only vegetable oil as a cooking medium in India. They also have an exclusive menu for breakfast. McDonalds also caters to the tastes of the local people. In Hyderabad, they offer â€Å"Halal Meat† for the non-vegetarians which they quite explicitly convey to its customers through a signage.The efficiency with which the staff at Subway and McDonalds serves the customers is enhanced by the range of services that supplement the core service. Following the flower of services approach, the given figure shows the services that support the core service at Subway. FLOWER OF SERVICE FOR SUBWAY Figure 1: SubWay – Flower of Service FLOWER OF SERVICE FOR MCDONALDS 6 Mc Donald’s and Subway Figure 2: McDonald's – Flower of Service These services can be broadly classified as facilitating and enhancing services: †¢Information †¢Ordertaking †¢Billing †¢Payment Facilitating Enhancing Figure 3: Facilition Services Consultation †¢Hospitality †¢Safekeeping †¢Exceptions 7 Mc Donald’s and Subway FACILITATING SERVICES INFORMATION Information to customers at Subway is provided through different ways: Directions: in case of Subway, they provide a signage to direct the customers to the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian counters. Also, both Subway and McDonalds have user-friendly websites wherein customers can log on from any place at any time to locate their nearest stores. Prices: Prices of the different items of food available at both Subway and McDonalds are displayed on a display board. Apart from that it also displays he prices of the other side dishes which the customer might want to buy. Instructions on using core product: Since Subway is a made-to-order restaurant where a customer has full freedom to customize his sandwich, for a first-time customer, there are instruction sheets at both, vegetarian and the non-vegetarian counters t hat instruct the customers on the steps to follow to place an order for a sandwich. It also lists down the variety of ingredients and gourmet breads that it offers to its customers. Notifications: At Subway, they are prompt enough to notify its customers of any technical problems that might bring inconvenience to them.At times, when the toaster is not in working condition, they put up a notice communicating the same. Both Subway and McDonalds also notify the customers of any promotional or â€Å"combo offers† for the day through posters and leaflets. They allow customers to sign up for offers on the net to get regular notifications on current offers and current news on Subway. Conditions for service: At McDonalds, they promise to deliver the order within minute, at particular time slots, else they give a soft-drink free to the customer.This information is very explicitly visible to make sure that no customer misses to notice it. ORDER FULFILMENT 8 Mc Donald’s and Subwa y The order entry methods followed at Subway are: On-site order fulfillment: Here the customers are served immediately as the orders are placed. Once the customer has decided what to eat, that is, a sandwich or a salad, he moves on to the next step where he chooses bread from a variety of gourmet breads for his sandwich. He also decides the size of the sandwich he would like to have, that is, 6-inches or foot-long.In the next step the customer gets the option of adding extra ingredients to his/her sandwich like double layers of meat or extra cheese for better taste. He then chooses the assortment of vegetables he would like to have. The last item on the list of ingredients is the variety of sauces that subway offers. The customer might want to supplement the sub or salad with his choice of drinks. At McDonalds, they follow an on-site order fulfillment method too, where they promise to deliver the orders in a minute, else they give a soft drink free.McDonalds also allows its customer s to enjoy its meals while they are on their move. Through â€Å"McDonalds Drive Thru†, customers enter the â€Å"drivethru†, place their orders and pick then up within minutes. Web-site order placement: McDonalds allows its customers to become members which in turn helps them place orders online. Telephone order placement: Subway also promises an express delivery facility to offices and home which allows customers to place orders through phone. McDonalds provides home delivery service to its customers with no restriction on the minimum order.However, they charge an additional fee of Rs 20/- per order irrespective of its size. BILLING The billing process goes very systematically. A typical customer would start by placing orders looking at the display board. As he makes his order, the amount due is displayed on the machine after each item is entered. Once all the items have been recorded, the billing machine displays the total amount due. The person who is recording als o verbally states the amount due as a confirmation. The invoice is generated and the payment is made.The billing process uses all the four elements, namely 9 Mc Donald’s and Subway Invoice for individual transactions Verbal statements of amount due Machine display of amount due PAYMENT Payment at both Subway and McDonalds is done using the conventional method of payment through cash or card. The customer is allowed to make payment through credit card only above billing of a certain amount. Also, they provide coupons and vouchers through newspaper inserts, which can be redeemed by the customers. ENHANCING SERVICESCONSULTATION The staff at the counter provides customized advice to customers who are visiting both Subway and McDonalds for the first time. They also help customers decide on what orders to place and which combo offers to avail. HOSPITALITY Subway is seen as a place to hangout with friends. Customers, mostly the younger generation go to Subway when they need to sit, eat and drink with their friends. Also, a Subway outlet is usually never jam-packed with customers, hence there is never a queue to enter or place orders. Thus, there is never a need for waiting space.The customers could also sit for as long as they want without being asked to leave. McDonalds offers high quality products at affordable prices which it promises to serve on time. They have a policy of greeting every customer with the traditional â€Å"Welcome to McDonalds, How may I serve you†. A lot of importance is given to the smile during the greeting. Each McDonald’s outlet has a washroom for must. 10 Mc Donald’s and Subway SAFEKEEPING Subway provides the perfect ambience by ensuring that the outlets are clean, the seats are wellspaced out and it allows the customer to sit back and relax.Their packaging for take always is also ecofriendly and attractive. McDonald's is driven by the philosophy of Quality, Service, and Cleanliness & Value for Money. This transl ates into a commitment to provide customers high quality products, served quickly with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment at an affordable price. This effectively means that the McDonald's menu is priced at a value that the largest segment of the Indian consumers can afford while at the same time ensuring that quality is not sacrificed for value. The packaging at McDonalds for orders ike â€Å"Happy Meals† which most of the times contains â€Å"happy Toys† and other such items are a major attraction for the kids. These Happy Meals have different toys which when collected will form a set. This in turn, attracts children and increases the sales. EXCEPTIONS Subway caters to the needs of the health conscious customers by providing them 75% fat-free subs and salads. Also, Subway has a policy of getting a feedback form filled by its customers. HARD AND SOFT SERVICE STANDARDS MCDONALDS McDonald’s aims to provide 100 percent total customer satisfaction.In orde r to achieve this goal , McDonald’s relies on its operating philosophy based on QSC & V – Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value. McDonald’s believes that customer satisfaction is crucial to the success of the brand and all restaurants must perform to the standards. These standards are used in both company owned and franchised restaurants. QUALITY Hard Standards: 11 Mc Donald’s and Subway Best ingredients: This is achieved by its commitment to sourcing all its requirements from local farmers and suppliers. Before entering India, the company spent six years and Rs. 50 crore to set up its supply chain. In India McDonalds pioneered the cold chain management which helps keep vegetables and processed products safe for a longer time. Potato farming in Gujarat Radhakrishna Foodland (Distribution partner) focused all its resources to meet McDonald's expectation of ‘Cold, Clean and On-time Delivery’. Trikaya Agriculture (Supplier of fresh Iceberg let tuce) uses a cold chain to store and transport lettuce to maintain freshness all year round. Pre-cooling rooms ensure field to 2 degrees in 90 minutes.Dynamix Dairy (Supplier of cheese) has a completely computer controlled automation equipment to supply cheese to McDonald’s. Vista Processed Foods Pvt. Ltd (Supplier of chicken and vegetables) has storage facilities to maintain temperatures as low as -35 degrees to ensure freshness. Preparation Standards: Best quality standardized ingredients ensure standardized preparation standards can be followed. Every product has a fixed procedure of preparation. However, newer McDonald’s stores offer MFY (Made for You) where the product is made only after the order is placed. Other standards: Use FIFO (First in First Out) for all inventories.Reverse osmosis water treatment plant – best technology for water purification at every outlet to provide water. Strict standards for vegetarian products including eggless mayonnaise and eggless icecream. SERVICE Some soft standards followed by McDonald’s staff are Welcome every customer with a smile and are genuinely friendly at all times 12 Mc Donald’s and Subway Deliver consistent standards of hospitality Seize opportunities to interact with customers in a personal and positive way Be well informed about product contents and nutritional information Always appear clean and well groomed.Hard standards Serve fresh and hot Serve within one minute of receiving order or give a free coke. This is implemented in a few outlets and is not applicable during peak hours. Cleanliness and Hygiene The counters, tables, floor area are to be kept clean at all times. All staff required to cover their heads and wear gloves when within preparation area. All these standards are evaluated by mystery shoppers and rated. This is called a RVR Restaurant Visitation Report) which provides a snapshot of the stores performance over a period of a few hours. The stores are graded either A, B, C or F.SUBWAY No information is available on the hard standards followed by the company. Below are some soft standards Subway has laid out. Quality All material, vegetables, sauces, meat and cheese have to be sourced from the supplier certified by Subway. Franchises cannot procure from other non-certified suppliers. All material has to be stored at specified temperatures to ensure freshness. All franchises are required to abide by the Gold Certification standards of Subway. Cleanliness All employees must at all times wear gloves while making a sandwich or handling material.All employees must at all times wear a plastic covering their hair to ensure hygiene. Service The employees should greet the customer with a smile. 13 Mc Donald’s and Subway They should help customers choose combinations to customize their Subway Sandwich by making suggestions. During calls for home delivery, all the requirements of the customer should be attentively noted and followed. CHANNE LS OF SERVICE DELIVERY SUBWAY Subway uses Franchising as its channel of delivery. Subway currently has 35340 restaurants in 98 countries. This is being followed by Subway from its inception.As all franchisers, Subway requires each store to operate by the strict standards of quality, service and cleanliness defined by the company. The Subway franchise ensures that safety measures are taken by all its franchisees to provide quality food. All employees need to use gloves at all stages of food handling. Members of the specialty food franchise have to attend a training course in their local area in order to provide needed information to their employees on this regard. Fresh food stock preparation and temperature regulation helps the fast food franchise to keep up its high standards of hygiene.It is to provide the necessary specifications on the levels of cleanliness to be maintained by franchisees that the Subway franchise initiated â€Å"Gold Standard† policies. However, there ha ve been several problems faced by Subway along the way. Quality standards: There have been several complaints from consumers all over the world regarding quality issues of vegetables, meats and sauces used in Subway sandwiches. Most of these issues arise due to improper storage of materials in the store. Temperature controls aren’t maintained resulting in spoilage and wastage.Legal woes: Subway has faced more legal cases than most other franchises. Franchisees complain that even one slip results in threatening letters from the head office. Or complaints regarding too many stores opening in the nearby areas resulting in cannibalization. 14 Mc Donald’s and Subway Many instances have been cited by franchise holders where Subway has unfairly penalized them. MCDONALDS McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 locations in 118 countries. McDonald’s has several company owned stores, but uses Franchising for both domestic and in ternational expansion.McDonald's India was set up as a 50:50 joint-venture between McDonald's at a global level and regional Indian partners such as Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited in western India, and Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited in northern India. McDonald’s currently has over 220 restaurants in the country. McDonalds doesn’t provide any financial assistance and absentee ownership of finance is not allowed. Also, the financial requirements are quite steep. MFY- In order to implement the MFY (Made for You) option for customers, the franchises are required to upgrade their equipment at their own expense.This caused some problem with maintaining standard service across all outlets. Pricing and menu may also be a point of difficulty for the franchiser and franchisee as prices vary between company owned and franchised stores. Inconsistent standards- There are several instances of poor service or disgruntled customers complaining about the quality of food served. This is because it is difficult to enforce the exact same standards in all franchised stores. 15 Mc Donald’s and Subway COMMUNICATION MIX COMPANY External Marketing Communications Advertising Direct Marketing Sales Promotion Public RelationsInternal Marketing Communications Vertical Horizontal PROVIDERS Interactive Marketing Communications Personal Selling CUSTOMERS Customer Service Centre Service Encounter ServiceScapes Figure 4: Communication Mix The diagram above clearly explains a generic model for communication which is being implemented by services based companies in the world. The communication model is divided into 3 parts as clearly seen above:a) Internal Marketing Communications: It company should manage the information and its flow from company to employees in order to accurately and consistently reach to customers who are hearing and seeing it. ) External Marketing Communications: These are the channels (not under the company’s control) throug h which the company disseminates the information to its customers. These channels provide equal opportunities to all the companies for communication to masses. 16 Mc Donald’s and Subway c) Interactive Marketing Communications: These channels are in direct contact with the customers when it experiences the services in form of servicescapes, service encounters, Customer Service centers and company’s frontend employees.Mc Donalds Extracurricular Crew activities, Free employee meals in the restaurant, MahaBucks Performance-linked pay, Graduate Career Advancement Programme, In House Training Courses Employee of the Month Newspapers, Magazines Television, Radio, Movies Hoardings, Pamphlets, Banners Emails Websites, Banner Ads, M-Commerce Movies Coupons Combo Meals, Corporate Rebates Nickeldon Toys HCL Laptops Every Month press releases, News Yes Children's Day , Birth Days Bollywood Actors Subway Extracurricular Crew activities I N T E R N A L Horizontal Company Policies Ver ticalIn Housing Training, Performance-linked pay Employee of the Month Newspapers, Magazines Television, Radio Hoardings, Pamphlets, Banners, vehicle advertising on Cabs Emails Websites, Banner Ads, M-Commerce Movies Coupons Goodies , Corporate Rebates No No Internal Branding Branding Through Employees Print Broadcast S E R V I C E M A R K E T I N G Advertising Outdoor Direct Mail Internet & Mobile Discount Coupons Rebate E X T E R N A L Sales Promotion Gifts(Toys) Co – Promotional Activities Press Release News Yes World Health Day Sports Persons 17 Public RelationsSponsorship Shows, Exhibitions & Special Events Media Coverage Mc Donald’s and Subway 1. McDonald’s retail outlets to encourage young voters for the Lok Sabha elections. 2. McDonald’s ties up with Symbiosis Institute Facebook , Twitter C O M M U N I C A T I O N M I X CSR Activity Fit to Hunger Social Media Facebook , Twitter, YouTube Confirmation Calls for Home Delivery Personalisation and Cust omization of Sub. NO Countrywise Website NO Customer Service Personal Selling Sales Executive Tele- Marketing Confirmation Calls for Home Delivery Probing and giving alternatives for better Deals.NO Countrywise Website NO I N T E R A C T I V E Instruction Material Website Brochures Catalog Signage Interriors Servicescapes Mascot Stationary Employee Uniform Remote Encounters Name Boards Kids Zone, Interior Menu Board Ronald Donald Mc Donalds on tissue Paper ,Tray Paper and Sauce Sashes Dress Code Online orders Placing orders on phone At Franchises Name Boards Normal Interiors NO SubWay on Tissue Paper & Tray Paper Dress Code Online orders Placing orders on phone At Franchises Service Encounters Phone Encounters Face to Face 18 Mc Donald’s and Subway Role of the Various Communication MixFigure 5: Role Of Communication Mix 19 Mc Donald’s and Subway Figure 6: McDonald – Go Global Act Local 20 Mc Donald’s and Subway SERVICE BLUEPRINTING Figure 7: Mc Donald's B lueprint 21 Mc Donald’s and Subway 22 Figure 8: Subway-Blueprint Mc Donald’s and Subway SERVICESCAPE It is a well known fact that the environment in which a service is executed is important. They physical environment or the Servicescape provides cues about the quality and character of the service quality and character of the service, cues that consumers look for both before and after buying and that affect their experience of it.Typology of McDonalds and Subway based on variation in form and Use of the Servicescape: Servicescape Usage Complexity of the Servicescape Elaborate McDonalds Subway Interpersonal Service-Both customer and employee MCDONALDS McDonalds recognizes culturally defined expectations in allowing its franchisees around the world tremendous freedom in designing their Servicescape. McDonald’s strategy is to have restaurants worldwide reflect the culture and community in which they are found. Elements of Physical EvidenceFacility Exterior: Exterior Design: McDonalds design exhibits a sense of â€Å"Forever Young† look with bright red and yellow colours appealing to the children and establishing its family restaurant positioning. The building provides a practical, contemporary design that aligns with the McDonald's brand essence while accommodating the latest operational and consumer experience standards. Their mascot Ronald Mcdonald is also present outside each of their restaurants. McDonalds 23 Mc Donald’s and Subway always have all glass restaurants.McDonalds has always clearly identified and managed the various clues that customers use to form the impressions and feeling about their company. In addition to this, McDonalds has separate take away counters in order to save time of their patrons. Signage: All of McDonalds external signage reads as, â€Å"McDonalds-Family restaurant. Also keeping in mind with the local language, all McDonalds restaurant have their name boards in Hindi. McDonalds strongly believes in adhering to the local sentiments and hence none of the outlets in India sell Beef products and every restaurant has this mentioned.Also McDonalds, strongly believes in glass branding for any new products or services they offer. Most of the communication is designed to cater to local tastes and preferences. Parking/Landscape/Surrounding Environment: All McDonald outlets are located are accessible and present everywhere thus capitalizing on brand recognition. Most of the McDonalds have their own restaurants and hence the seating space available is exclusive to McDonald’s patrons. Also McDonalds offers proper parking facilities for its highway restaurants. Facility InteriorAll McDonalds outlet are standardized in terms of layout and have proper in-store branding. The 24 Mc Donald’s and Subway â€Å"Young and Cheerful† design concept is a progressive, youthful, and energetic environment with open views for social interaction. All McDonald outlets are huge with p roper aisles and passages with appropriate signage for seating arena, lavatories, wet floor and food counters. McDonalds has a Made for You food preparation platform. MFY is a unique concept (cooking method) where the food is prepared as the customer places its order.This cooking method has helped McDonald’s further strengthen its food safety, hygiene and quality standards. McDonalds also has illuminated Menu boards that offer a mix of both vegetarian and non vegetarian burgers along with other savories and drinks. McDonalds also has proper queues for placing order and often there is a executive who assists you in order placing. Also McDonalds gives toys for children thus making them wanting to come back. The other visible cues are color, lighting, in-store music, employee uniforms and trays with literary.McDonalds has ample in store lighting and directly in? uences an individual’s perception of the de? nition and quality of the space, in? uencing his or her awareness of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the space. The bright McDonald stores ensure prompt handling and evaluation of products. In all McDonald stores the lighting is perceived as more pleasant than other fast food environments. The color scheme that McDonalds uses exhumes cheerfulness and warmth. Red depicts vibrance, cheerfulness while yellow depicts friendliness and brightness.At McDonalds, music is a positive auditory cue stimulating specific consumer behaviour and emotions. Music appears to influence buyer-seller interaction. There is audio played about the latest offers and products. Also a balance and constant sound creates a pleasant sound environment. All employees at McDonald are provided with uniforms and name badges along with caps with McDonald signature â€Å"M† arch. Employees are also trained with appropriate soft skills to address customers. Every employee or front line executive greets the customer and exchanges pleasantries 25Mc Don ald’s and Subway which makes them happy. McDonalds also has the policy of serving within one minute or they give free redeemable coupons on the next visit. SUBWAY Elements of Physical Evidence Facility Exterior: Subway sandwich restaurants are often simple eat outs using minimal architecture and traditional branding with yellow and white shades. The facility exterior often gives a look of freshness and is located amidst other eateries in food courts of malls or recreation centres. Signage: The signage at every Subway store is uniform as per international standards.The store size is generally small and hence there is no room for enough glass branding. Unlike McDonalds, Subway doesn’t have extensive branding on door panels and windows. Facility Interior: The size of any Subway outlet is small in relation to McDonalds, Also, since Subway outlets are located in multiple eatery zones they do not have an exclusive seating arena for its patrons. However the exclusive Subway s tores has minimal seating arena. The in-store lighting is sufficient however not exclusively bright as seen with McDonalds.The color scheme used in all subways is Green depicting a sense of Freshness. Most of the subway outlets have the aroma of freshly baked cookies that draws one towards it. The employees have a proper uniform and our courteous. Also the person who takes your order is the same one who prepares your Sub thus allowing more time for interaction. Since every Sub is customized as per the customer it takes time. 26 Mc Donald’s and Subway However all the ingredients used are fresh and thus adhere to Subway-Eat Fresh strategy. Roles of ServicescapePackage McDonalds Strong visual metaphors, right from its outlets to the employees to the trays to ketchup cups Well designed outlets with appropriate with signs, appropriate ventilation and proper seating arena The goal of being the customers â€Å"third place† is achieved with comfortable chairs, children play ar ena for customers to interact Red and Yellow colour scheme along with McDonald branding to differentiate from others. Subway Visual metaphors in the form of wrapping paper, beverage cups. Small outlets or kiosk with minimal signs and few seats. More of a restaurant to have a quick bite. FacilitatorSocializer Differentiator Regular branding 27 Mc Donald’s and Subway SERVICE QUALITY GAP MODEL AND QUALITY DIMENSIONS Figure 9: Service Gap Model The five gaps that organizations should measure, manage and minimize: Gap 1 (listening gap) is the distance between what customers expect and what managers think they expect – Clearly survey research is a key way to narrow this gap. Gap 2 (standard and specification gap) is between management perception and the actual specification of the customer experience – Managers need to make sure the organization is defining the level of service they believe is needed. 8 Mc Donald’s and Subway Gap 3 (performance gap) is from the experience specification to the delivery of the experience Managers need to audit the customer experience that their organization currently delivers in order to make sure it lives up to the specification Gap 4 (communication gap) is the gap between the delivery of the customer experience and what is communicated to customers – All too often organizations exaggerate what will be provided to customers, or discuss the best case rather than the likely case, raising customer expectations and harming customer perceptions.Finally, Gap 5 is the gap between a customer's perception of the experience and the customer's expectation of the service – Customers' expectations have been shaped by word of mouth, their personal needs and their own past experiences. Routine transactional surveys after delivering the customer experience are important for an organization to measure customer perceptions of service Service Quality dimensions ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tangibles: Physical evidence of se rvice Reliability: Consistency of performance and dependability Responsiveness: Willingness/readiness of employees to provide service in timely manner Credibility: Trustworthiness, believability, honesty Security: Freedom from danger, risk, doubt Guarantee , Certification Competence: Possession of required skills to perform service Access: Approachability and ease of contact Courtesy: Politeness, respect, consideration, friendliness E Empathy Assurance Figure 10: Characteristics and Evaluation Outcomes 29 Mc Donald’s and Subway Figure 11: Strategies to influence expectations SUBWAYLocation: City Centre Mall, Banjara hills, Hyderabad Mode of service delivery: mainly â€Å"Self Service Model† Number of visit: 3 (to check reliability) In our visit to SUBWAY there we had initial perception about the subway of â€Å"low calorie fast food alternative which is quick and fresh†. Reason for this perception was firstly their tagline â€Å"EAT FRESH† and their comme rcials starring Jared who had lost something like 150 pounds by eating an all-Subwaysandwich diet. Finally we also had in mind that there will be offer of day â€Å"SUB OF THE DAY† with this perception when we visited to SUBWAY there was no disappointment at all.From their nutrition charts we could make out that we can have good low calorie food. This was tangible cue on the counter making us aware that they provide what they convey. But best was, they were also having option of normal full of calorie diets for those who like it that way so in our group no one has to compromise. One of the service facilitator for us their separate VEG and NON VEG counter and their separate preparation counter. *Experience till this place actually reduce the â€Å"communication gap† as we were getting all we expected and it was in level of tolerance service zone so it was a good service.Dimension for service in terms of 30 Mc Donald’s and Subway tangible quality was good as emplo yees were properly dressed, hygienic and clean area, good seating arrangement but in combination with other restaurant and finally good ambience with music. After looking at this entire scenario there was â€Å"assurance† that food delivered will be good and in accordance with expectation. We were quit assured with the quality because of the brand image they have in the market. Finally they replace the food if something goes wrong this also increase assurance from their side which is generally unsaid case for all the restaurants.Now further we went to place our order, here we were having ample of â€Å"tangible cue† (physical evidence) which helped us in making the decision, what to order? Further all information about the sub of the day was provided and people were assisting if extra information was required. Finally after billing we went to counter which were situated adjacent to each other to place order. We got customized subs and employees we continuously asking t he way we want from which loaf to what and how much inside that loaf in the same charge. That was a good experience.Finally we had our food and as soon we were finished person came and immediately cleaned the table. *Experience Regarding the tangible cues, were quiet evident as person making sub was wearing gloves and hair cap. Fresh plates were served. All products of papers and plastic were recyclable. Quality of food was good as they were fresh and prepared in front of eyes in accordance to our taste. This actually reduce â€Å"performance gap† as they were pretty good in the employee end. Service delivery was also in time there was no â€Å"standard and specification gap†. Listening gap† was not there as they actually served the food in the way we asked them to prepare and there was no mistake in any of our food. Even each person (employee) was well versed in Hindi, local language and English. â€Å"Empathy† wasn’t that great as they were polite but were in rush as customer were waiting because there were only two person preparing the sub so they have to rush. They were quiet â€Å"responsive† to what were ordering and even when we ask to clean table again it was done immediately. Quiet â€Å"reliable† service as they delivered all aspects equally to all of us and in our every visit.They also asked us to fill the feedback form that was good and person requested to do it. Service gap- Due to lack of loose small denomination money we were not refunded Rs. 10 change even after 45 min when we were going back. They assured that they will do it when we are returning but still it didn’t happen. They don’t provide the timeline in which you will get your order so if there is rush you 31 Mc Donald’s and Subway have to wait long. Even if we have to wait there is no magazine or television which make time cross by ease. Finally common sitting arrangement which make their customer dependent on rush in other restaurant.This can be reflected in low standard GAP and finally to performance gap in case of return of change. This will affect customer faith to their assurance level. Finally there was no operational cues format so disorder of cues was bound to happen. Mc DONALD Location: City Centre Mall (1st floor, Banjara hills, Hyderabad) Mode of service delivery: mainly â€Å"Self Service Model† Number of visit: 3 (to check reliability) In our visit to Mc DONALDS there we had initial perception about the mc Donalds of â€Å"tasty food with fun† and basically reasonable family and friends restaurant.Reason for this perception was firstly their tagline â€Å"I m lovin it† and their adds on different places with packaging and also else were. Finally we also had in mind that it will be not costly at all. When we reach there it was different then subway in many respect firstly, multiple delivery counter and no separate counter for VEG and NON veg. separate sitting spac e and even different private meeting hall. Nice ambience, good music and clean place to enjoy food. There were multiple counters each taking order then and there and no customization. Here look at menu and order whatever you like from the menu.Lot of tangible cues which help in deciding meal and there were lot of complementary priced meals options. It is for the entire segment who seeks value for money apart from quality. *Experience till this place actually reduce the â€Å"communication gap† as we were getting all we expected and it was in level of tolerance service zone so it was a good service. Dimension for service in terms of tangible quality was good as employees were properly dressed, hygienic and clean area, good seating arrangement. After looking at this entire scenario there was â€Å"assurance† that food delivered will be good and in accordance with expectation.We were quit assured with the quality because of the brand image they have in the market. Finally they replace the food if something goes wrong this also increase assurance from their side which is generally unsaid case for all the restaurants. Now further we went to place our order, here we were having ample of â€Å"tangible cue† (physical evidence) which helped us in making the decision, what to order? Further all information about the meals which we generally happy meals were provided and people were assisting if extra information 32Mc Donald’s and Subway was required. Operational line management were there apart from lot of counters and for entertainment they have television ads running around so even peak hours and even waiting was easy. Apart from this they say delivery in 5 min else free which they stick too. That was a good experience. Finally we had our food and as soon we were finished person came and immediately cleaned the table. *Experience Regarding the tangible cues, were quiet evident as person serving at back were wearing gloves and hair cap. Fre sh plates were served.All products of papers and plastic were recyclable. Quality of food was good as they were fresh and prepared in front of eyes at the backend. This actually reduce â€Å"performance gap† as they were pretty good in the employee end. Service delivery was also in time there was no â€Å"standard and specification gap†. â€Å"Listening gap† was not there as they actually served the food in the way we asked and they used to recheck the order before placing them apart this was mechanized function so error was less. Even each person (employee) was well versed in Hindi, local language and English. Empathy† was good as they were polite even while waiting because there were many counters to serve and no customization so efficiency can be maintained even with the speed. They were quiet â€Å"responsive† to what were ordering and even when we ask to clean table again it was done immediately. Quiet â€Å"reliable† service as they del ivered all aspects equally to all of us and in our every visit. Service gap. Yes one of our friends got free coke for not getting food ordered in 5 min this was a performance GAP and free providing increases assurance quality of the Brand.They have good level of responsiveness as they were delivering in time and response to complain was also very quick. 33 Mc Donald’s and Subway Rating on Basis of high low and medium Service quality dimensions (high is good Assurance and low is bad) Tangibility Empathy Responsiveness Reliability Service gap (low is good and high is Listening bad) Communication Performance Standard SUBWAY medium medium high high medium low low medium low Mc DONALDS medium high medium high high low low low low 34 Mc Donald’s and Subway PRICING STRATEGY Pricing is the process of determining what a company will obtain in exchange for its products.Pricing factors include: Manufacturing cost Market place Competition Market condition Quality of product. It is a fundamental aspect of financial modeling and is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix. The other three aspects are product, promotion, and place. Price is the only revenue generating element amongst the four Ps, the rest are cost centers. When deciding on pricing objectives the organization or company must consider: ? The overall marketing, financial and strategic objectives of the company ? The objectives of the product or brand ? Consumer price elasticity and price points ? The resources available with the organization.A well thought out price for a product or service should fulfill three things: ? Achieve the financial goals of the company ? Fit the realities of the marketplace ? Support a product's positioning and be consistent with the other variables in the marketing mix. Pricing strategies are of various types mainly:? Competition – based pricing ? Cost-plus pricing ? Price skimming ? Penetration pricing ? Limit pricing ? Premium pricing ? Target pricing 35 Mc Don ald’s and Subway ? High – low pricing ? Value based pricing MC DONALDS Value Pricing McDonald’s has a unique pricing strategy that falls exclusively on their many product lines.Their Value Meals fall into the category of value pricing. McDonalds has certain value pricing and bundling strategies such as happy meal, combo meal, family meal etc to increase overall sales volumes. For example, you can order a Mc Veggie Value meal that comes with a Mc Veggie burger, medium drink and fries for around Rs99 where the customer can save Rs 39 if he/she bought the food items separately. You can Super Size this meal to get a large drink and large fries for a little more money or you can go with another value meal that might include different items for ifferent price. Figure 12: McDonald's Pricing Also in its promotions, M c D o n a l d ’ s c a m e u p w i t h a v e r y c a t c h y p u n c h l i n e â€Å" A a p k e z a m a n e m e i n , b a a p k e zamane ke daamâ₠¬ . This was to attract the middle and lower class consumers and the effect can clearly be seen in the consumer base McDonalds has now. 36 Mc Donald’s and Subway Promotional Pricing To promote its breakfast menu Mc Donald’s has come up with a new scheme of giving Rs 20 off on its Great Breakfast meal.This kind of promotional pricing is adopted to target new customers, to increase its base of customers and to give a variety in its offerings to its existing customers to help increase volume. SUBWAY Value Pricing Subway tries to create value products by service in terms of quality, ambience, variety, and convenience. By introducing the concept of sub of the day the company tries to satisfy the needs of its present customers by creating a sense of curiosity amongst in the sense they would want to know what sandwich is the sub of the day. 37 Mc Donald’s and SubwayFigure 13: SubWay Pricing Bundling Strategies Subway offers combo offers of a sandwich, potato chips/coo kie and a drink at only Rs. 45 extra for a medium size meal and Rs. 50 for a large size meal. Promotional Pricing To increase its current consumers base and also to attract new customers, Subway has come up with new campaign where with any 6 inch sub and a medium beverage the company is offering another 6 inch sub for free. In September 2011, Subway has introduced a buy one get one free offer on Mondays. This is valid on all its sandwich offerings. 38 Mc Donald’s and Subway 39Mc Donald’s and Subway 40 Mc Donald’s and Subway Figure 14 : SubWay & Mc Donald ‘s Pricing Strategies 41 Mc Donald’s and Subway Critical Analysis MCDONALDS With respect to the services provided by Mc Donalds, the following management issues were observed: 1. McDonalds wishes to rework on its restaurant interiors and match up to those of its self owned restaurants, However the problem that they have encountered is that franchisee owners are unwilling to invest in interior design . 2. McDonald’s has introduced MFY (Made for You) whereby the burgers are made after the order is placed.However, the franchises are required to upgrade their equipment in order to follow this. The franchisees are not willing to incur such expenditure which poses a problem to McDonald’s. 3. We normally observe the customary trend of people queuing outside McDonalds especially during the weekends. This is due to the limited capacity space in the restaurants. This has been a persistent management problem for Mc Donalds. Even though the management at McDonalds has been trying to search for a solution for the same, it fears doing so

5 steps to make sure your company is diverse and inclusive

5 steps to make sure your company is diverse and inclusive Diversity and inclusivity are major buzz words these days, but for good reason. Culturally, it means embracing differences and understanding that life experience is shared, but varied. Professionally, a diverse employee base can help your organization stay agile and productive, rather than stagnate with the same old ideas and viewpoints.Let’s look at five steps you can take to enrich your diversity hiring initiatives.1. Reconsider what â€Å"diversity† and â€Å"inclusivity† mean to your organization.We all know the textbook definition of diversity pretty well by now- people from a broad range of cultural, gender, or religious backgrounds. But if you’re looking to truly up your diversity factor, it’s time to broaden that definition and think about what it means for your company. Consider other types of diversity: different educational backgrounds, different experience levels, different physical abilities, etc. Hiring for diversity and inclusivity ma y not mean much in the long run if you end up hiring people who technically tick the diversity box because they are in particular racial or ethnic groups, but are in the same educational or experience mold as everyone else in the company. Think about how you can really diversify the perspectives and skill sets in your employee pool.2. Use a committee approach.How do you get more diverse voices in your organization? Start by allowing more diverse voices to help make the decisions. Opening up the process to a committee, instead of putting it all on one person or department, can really help enhance your diversity strategy. If you include team members from various departments or parts of the company, you’re also adding a level of perspective diversity as well. Your committee may also bring fresh ideas about where to look for different kinds of talent, helping you move outside the standard job ad.3. Commit to the process.It’s one thing to say, â€Å"yeah, it’s our s trategy to hire for diversity,† but it’s another to carve out the time and resources to do that, given that both are at such a premium. If you’re prioritizing diverse and inclusive hiring, you need to commit extra time to seek out alternative hiring and marketing methods to recruit that diverse talent. This may mean stepping outside your comfort zone to place ads or do outreach to non-mainstream job boards or resources.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});4. Eliminate as much hiring bias as possible.Just about all of us think that bias is something other people do, and that we never would discriminate against someone for non-professional reasons. But the unfortunate reality is that as, you know, humans, we’re susceptible to all kinds of unconscious biases. Acknowledging that and taking steps to overcome any temptation of bias is the key to any strategic hiring initiative. Studies have found that blind hiring (or eliminating p articular personal details from the hiring process) results in significantly more diverse hires.AI programs can do this at the initial application stage by screening incoming candidates without regard for things like name (which can trigger cultural or gender bias), geographic location, age, or school name. This is also a place where having a committee, or multiple people weighing in during the hiring process, can help, as it creates an open system of checks and balances to limit certain biases- whether they’re conscious or unconscious.5. Broaden your job descriptions.Is everything in your job description an absolute must for the position? If a candidate has two fewer years of experience than the ad calls for, but has other skills, would you consider hiring that person? If someone didn’t have a full B.A., but instead had years of experience doing pretty much the same work, would you consider hiring that person? Your job ads could be turning away qualified applicants fr om the start and you’d never know. Yes, you’ll want to make sure that the ads are reflective of what the position actually demands. But if there are elements that aren’t hard-and-fast requirements, consider leaving them out or making it clear that they’re flexible.A more diverse and inclusive organization tends to be a more productive one, but it also leads to higher employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention. Putting time and resources against this priority and making sure that it’s a solid part of your organizational strategy moving forward will better prepare your company for the needs (and workforce) of the future.

Bronsted Lowry Theory of Acids and Bases

Bronsted Lowry Theory of Acids and Bases   The Brà ¸nsted-Lowry acid-base theory (or Bronsted Lowry theory) identifies strong and weak acids and bases based on whether the species accepts or donates protons or H. According to the theory, an acid and base react with each other, causing the acid to form its conjugate base and the base to form its conjugate acid by exchanging a proton. The theory was proposed independently by Johannes Nicolaus  Brà ¸nsted  and Thomas Martin Lowry in 1923. In essence, Brà ¸nsted-Lowry acid-base theory is a general form of the Arrhenius theory of acids and bases. According to the Arrhenius theory, an Arrhenius acid is one that can increase the hydrogen ion (H) concentration in aqueous solution, while an Arrhenius base is a species that can increase the hydroxide ion (OH-) concentration in water. The Arrhenius theory is limited because it only identifies acid-base reactions in water. The Bronsted-Lowry theory is a more inclusive definition, capable of describing acid-base behavior under a wider range of conditions. Regardless of the solvent, a Bronsted-Lowry acid-base reaction occurs whenever a proton is transferred from one reactant to the other. Key Takeaways: Brà ¸nsted-Lowry Acid-Base Theory According to the Brà ¸nsted-Lowry theory, an acid is a chemical species capable of donating a proton or hydrogen cation.A base, in turn, is able to accept a proton or hydrogen ion in aqueous solution.Johannes Nicolaus  Brà ¸nsted  and Thomas Martin Lowry independently described acids and bases this way in 1923, so the theory usually bears both of their names. Main Points of the Bronsted Lowry Theory A Bronsted-Lowry acid is a chemical species capable of donating a proton or hydrogen cation.A Bronsted-Lowry base is a chemical species capable of accepting a proton. In other words, it is a species that has a lone electron pair available to bond to H.After a Bronsted-Lowry acid donates a proton, it forms its conjugate base. The conjugate acid of a Bronsted-Lowry base forms once it accepts a proton. The conjugate acid-base pair have the same molecular formula as the original acid-base pair, except the acid has one more H compared to the conjugate base.Strong acids and bases are defined as compounds that completely ionize in water or aqueous solution. Weak acids and bases only partially dissociate.According to this theory, water is amphoteric and can act as both a Bronsted-Lowry acid and Bronsted-Lowry base. Example Identifying  Brà ¸nsted-Lowry Acids and Bases Unlike Arrhenius acid and bases, Bronsted-Lowry acids-base pairs can form without a reaction in aqueous solution. For example, ammonia and hydrogen chloride may react to form solid ammonium chloride according to the following reaction: NH3(g) HCl(g) → NH4Cl(s) In this reaction, the Bronsted-Lowry acid is HCl because it donates a hydrogen (proton) to NH3, the Bronsted-Lowry base. Because the reaction does  not occur in water and because neither reactant formed H or OH-, this would not be an acid-base reaction according to the Arrhenius definition. For the reaction between hydrochloric acid and water, its easy to identify the conjugate acid-base pairs: HCl(aq) H2O(l) → H3O Cl-(aq) Hydrochloric acid is the Bronsted-Lowry acid, while water is the Bronsted-Lowry base. The conjugate base for hydrochloric acid is the chloride ion, while the conjugate acid for water is the hydronium ion. Strong and Weak Lowry-Bronsted Acids and Bases When asked to identify whether a chemical reaction involves strong acids or bases or weak ones, it helps to look at the arrow between the reactants and the products. A strong acid or base completely dissociates into its ions, leaving no undissociated ions after the reaction is completed. The arrow typically points from left to right. On the other hand, weak acids and bases dont completely dissociate, so the reaction arrow points both left and right. This indicates a dynamic equilibrium is established in which the weak acid or base and its dissociated form both remain present in the solution. An example if the dissociation of the weak acid acetic acid to form hydronium ions and acetate ions in water: CH3COOH(aq) H2O(l) â‡Å' H3O(aq) CH3COO-(aq) In practice, you might be asked to write a reaction rather than have it given to you. Its a good idea to remember the short list of strong acids and strong bases. Other species capable of proton transfer are weak acids and bases. Some compounds can act as either a weak acid or a weak base, depending on the situation. An example is hydrogen phosphate, HPO42-, which can act as an acid or a base in water. When different reactions are possible, the equilibrium constants and pH are used to determine which way the reaction will proceed.

Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart - Essay Example Kmart has a long history; recently it is trying to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization. Kmart is slowly losing its customers to Wal-Mart. Before being bankrupted Kmart was the second best retailer after Wal-Mart. Both companies used different strategies to outsmart each other. They tried different strategies to woo the customers. After coming out from bankruptcy Kmart found that it has lost most of the customers to Wal-Mart and other retailers like Target. Its total net profit also declined considerably. Target took this opportunity to its full advantage and started aggressive campaigning. Though the think tank of Target knew that most of Kmart's customers would go to Wal-Mart rather than coming to Target's stores, they started slashing the prices of the products and announced heavy discounts on them. They used innovative ideas to woo the customers. To maintain its top position Wal-Mart used to slash the rates so that when customers come to purchase the items would buy other products also. These items were termed as loss leaders. Most of the middle class families are Wal-Mart's customers. Target aimed at upper middle class. Because of this stiff competition between Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Costco, etc., customer has wide range of choices to choose. Customer can buy products at discount rates.