Case Studies in Services Marketing

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts had become a leading player in the luxury resorts and spa market in Asia. As part of its growth strategy, Banyan Tree had launched new brands and brand extensions that included resorts, spas, retail outlets, and even museum shops. Now, the company had to contemplate how to manage its brand portfolio and expand its business while preserving the distinctive identity and strong brand image of Banyan Tree, its flagship brand.

Bossard Asia Pacific, an innovative manufacturer of fastening technology, is facing increasing competition from local and regional players. In a bold move, the CEO of Bossard AP embarks on a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy that requires its employees to embrace the CRM paradigm and become more customer-centric. He now needs to sell the idea of implementing a CRM system to his management team and staff in order to make the strategy work.

The owners of a popular restaurant have conducted a detailed study of its operations, including variations in demand by day of the week and time of day. They wonder how to use the resulting insights to improve profitability.

DHL serves a wide range of customers, from global enterprises to the occasional customer who ships the odd one or two documents a year. To be able to effectively manage such a diverse customer base, DHL implemented a sophisticated customer segmentation cum loyalty management system. The focus of this system is to assess the profitability from its customers, reduce customer churn, and increase DHL's share of shipments.

As it looks to the future, a successful Asian retailer of casual apparel must decide whether to maintain its existing positioning strategy or not. Management wonders what factors will be critical to success and whether the firm's competitive strengths are readily transferable to new international markets.

Radio Mirchi was the most popular private FM radio channel in India with the largest operating network and a presence in seven cities. The case traces the emergence of Radio Mirchi as a leader in the Indian FM radio industry. The case talks about the company's innovative marketing and promotional campaigns. It also describes the Government policies, vis-à-vis FM radio, and their impact on Radio Mirchi and other FM broadcasters. The case finally talks about the new challenges that Radio Mirchi might have to face in the changed environment and the future outlook for the company.

Prego Italian Restaurant needs to decide how to best apply revenue management to improve profitability in both peak and off-peak periods. It is important for the company to consider potentially negative effects of revenue management strategies on customers and on staff, and to manage potential conflicts that may arise.

The case discusses how Indian Airlines Limited (IA), a public sector undertaking (PSU) in India, lost its grip on the market as a result of the increasing competition from the private air carriers. It shows how IA, once a monopoly in the airline industry, was reduced to a mere competitor by the early 2000s, as it was unable to match its service levels with those of private airline companies. The case also looks at the increasing competition being faced by IA from low-cost carriers and other major full-service airline companies in India since the early 2000s. It explains the various measures taken up by IA with a view to fighting the fierce competition from private carriers especially the low-cost carriers. The case further discusses whether these measures are sufficient to take on the increasing competition from private players.