Parking, People, Presence of Mind, and Product – Have the 4 P’s evolved?
Normally, my weekly column is about what I learnt in the week gone by. This time, the contrasting experience that I had two Sundays apart offered me something to think about. When Kotler came up with the notion of a ‘Marketing Mix’, the famous 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) – the world was a simpler place. The foundational elements are necessary but not sufficient to get the mix right. Let me tell you a story of two date nights with my wife.
I know that my wife loves to go to the theatre and watch a movie with me and a tub of popcorn for company. I decided to take the initiative (normally, I tag along) and suggested we head out on Sunday to watch a movie together. After much debate on which movie, what time, and the best theatre to go to, we finally had a plan. An early evening show at the Ambience Mall, Gurugram, to watch ‘The Sheep Detective’. This is where our ordeal began. We came home that night drained and determined never to return to that mall on a Sunday evening.
Let me begin by saying the movie was lovely. The only redeeming feature of our ‘date night’ was the film we both enjoyed. The problems started when I missed the exit from NH8 that leads to the underpass to the mall. That added a full 30 minutes extra as I had to go to the airport to make a U-turn and head back. Finally, we turned into the entrance of the mall and saw a line of snaking cars waiting to get in. A guard came and directed us forward, indicating that there was another parking lot that we could go to. This turned out to be a few kilometres away, and after finally finding a spot, we discovered we had to take a shuttle bus to get to the mall. It’s been a long time since I took a bus to go see a movie.
Anyhow, sweaty, out of breath, and a bit annoyed, we arrived in the mall and found a sea of humanity welcoming us. After squeezing into an elevator packed beyond capacity, we got to the theatre, only to be told we had to go to another floor. Later, we were redirected back to the original floor. Finally, we got in, feeling like we had won a marathon and rushed to the popcorn counter to be greeted with “Caramel popcorn nahi hai, machine karab…” (I finally forced the guy behind the counter to go to another theatre in the same mall and get me my popcorn, but it was a fight).
Oh, I nearly forgot the hall was empty except for the row in front of us that had a screaming child who had no interest in sheep or detectives. After the movie, we could not get a table at most of the restaurants as they were overflowing.
The following Sunday, we headed out to a new Italian place called Mi Piaci (yes, we are being brave) at M3M in Sector 65, Gurugram. The food was fabulous. But what really made the evening work was the journey, which was pleasant. I pulled up outside the mall; there was an app-based valet service that worked like a charm.
We walked into the restaurant and were guided to a table for two, which was not in a very nice spot as it was close to the kitchen and service area. My wife requested the gentleman seating us if we could have one of the tables near the window (which were all 5-seaters). We had made a booking for two, and he could have easily refused as they were seating us as promised at a table for two, but instead he said, “let me see what I can do…” and in minutes he was back and gracious enough to accommodate our request.
The meal itself was delightful, the service superb, the energy of the place was lovely, there was great music, and a very engaging team of people created a memorable experience for us.
The moral of the story for me is that it’s no longer enough to create a great product. The core of both date nights was anchored in a nice movie and a nice meal. The product worked on both occasions. However, one night was a “never again” experience, and the other was a “we should come back here” moment. The original 4 P’s still have a big part to play, but how do you ensure that getting to the product is a good experience?
Also, can the people delivering the product lift the experience? One man said, “Machine karab hai… the other said let me see what I can do…” Taking ownership of the entire experience delivery cycle requires a mindset shift, from “It’s not my job…” to “How can I make this work for my customer?”.
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