Description of the New Service

Cartridge World Company offers printing service solutions to both consumers and businesses. It makes printing easy for customers who buy ink and toner or printers. Intangibility is one of the attributes of a service explaining that it has no physical characteristics. The customer cannot feel, test or smell the service rendered by the company, and thus they buy services on trust. With intangibility, customers find it hard to tell in advance, what they will receive (Reitsma, 2011). For instance, the company offers printer installation, repair services, and monitoring. Adequate information through referrals and customers testimonials about the services offered drives consumers to make purchasing decisions.

The characteristic of inseparability implies that the service cannot be separated from the seller. Besides, customers receive and consume the services at the company. The interaction between employees of Cartridge World and the customers makes it possible for the service to be delivered and consumed simultaneously. The company offers expert advice on the use of inkjet and toner cartridges. The interaction offers customers with strong expectations about the services they will receive from the company (Reitsma, 2011). Service variability means that each service provided are unique. The services depend on the company providing it, the place and the time it is delivered. Cartridge World Company has employed qualified personnel to render the services. Therefore, the employees in the company provide fast, efficient printing services. Similarly, they are courteous and helpful

Role of Technology on the Service Provision

The company has a website where customers can order their printer cartridges online. Through the online platform, customers can find friendly and approachable experts who will help them with printing queries. Through the emails, the company has been able to improve customer service by responding to their issues. The state-of-art technology employed by the company has allowed it to deliver inkjets and cartridges that are better for the environment. Customers would like to get an easy and fast means of payment for the services offered; the company resolved the issue by moving from cash only to electronic payment system thus quickening the transaction activities in the company.

Measuring the Quality of Service

Measuring service quality is important for our organization because it will help us identify areas that need improvement and provide services that meet the expectations of the users. Therefore, as a marketing manager, I will measure the quality of services in the following ways. First, I will use the SERVQUAL method and through a survey, I can ask my customers to rate the service the company offers compared to their expectations. The SERVQUAL method identifies the five dimensions of service quality consistently ranked by customers (Mok, Sparks & Kadampully, 2013). The customers will rate the quality of the service in relation to reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness. Moreover, SERVQUAL identifies customer’s potential gap between expectations and perception, and it helps the company to understand them as well as quality improvement.

Second, I will use social media to monitor the perception of my customers about the services the company offers. Social media is an outlet that customers can use to voice their concerns. The company can use Facebook, Twitter and Google Alert accounts to get customers’ feedback about the service quality. The number of complaints received from customers will help the company to evaluate the quality of service delivered (Mok, Sparks & Kadampully, 2013). With a decrease in the number of disgruntled customers, we will assume that the quality of service has increased. Third, I will use mystery shopping method whereby I will hire an undercover customer to test the quality of the service delivered. The undercover agent will observe the performance of my employees, and this will help to provide the company with more insights. Similarly, the undercover agent can use some criteria provided by SERVQUAL.

Globalization Barriers

First, the company might face cultural barriers since different countries have different cultures and varied values. For instance, in some countries, gender equality is a problem. In countries where women are given limited rights, it would be difficult for Cartridge World Company to send a female employee to those countries. Similarly, in nations such as Italy, emotions in negotiation can run high while Japanese show little emotions (Adams, 2013). In such a scenario, if management of Cartridge World Company is not familiar with the culture, it would be difficult to interpret their responses, and this will result to miscommunication.

Second, the company might face the barrier of legal protection. Some nations offer poor legal protection to foreign companies. According to Adams (2013), when conducting business with foreign countries, it is important to be familiar with their laws. In situations when the company cannot protect its intellectual property, ensure fair and effective dispute settlement mechanism; it will endure losses in the market. For instance, in some countries, the laws and courts do not favor foreign exporters making it hard to settle commercial disputes.

Third, the company might face foreign bureaucracy. Some nations have well-established and accepted means of conducting business that most companies might find difficult and dangerous to adopt. The presence of commissions, joint ventures, and silent partners are a necessity in some countries making doing business difficult and potentially illegal. This will give the company an extra task of searching for an advisor knowledgeable with the inner working of such countries. The company will have to know the bureaucratic line-up that will include agencies and understand how to deal with multiple bureaucracies.

Marketing Strategies   

As the marketing manager, I will employ the following strategies to distribute, promote and price the service the company is offering. The organization will use penetration pricing strategy when marketing its service. The strategy entails setting low prices for the services rendered to increase sales and market share (Smith, 2012). After the company has captured the market share, it will increase the price. The initial low price will help the company to enter into new and foreign markets by creating awareness so that they can try a new service the company offers. With distribution, the company will use intensive distribution strategy. The strategy allows the company to offer its services to the majority of its outlets so that customers can access them quickly (Smith, 2012). Promotion as a marketing mix helps the company to disseminate information about the new service to the target markets that include consumers and businesses. The company will use advertising strategy, and this will include the use of the online platform, press, and billboards.

References

Adams, G. F. (2013). Globalization, today and tomorrow. Routledge.

Mok, C., Sparks, B., & Kadampully, J. (2013). Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. Routledge.

Reitsma, R. O. (2011). Innovating mass-customized service: Application of a service perspective lifecycle innovation management (SLIM) model in an ICT-intensive firm in a fast-changing environment. Delft: Eburon.

Smith, T. J. (2012). Pricing strategy: Setting price levels, managing price discounts, & establishing price structures. Mason, Oh: South-Western Cengage Learning.

 
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