Service Marketing Of Quay And Farmhouse Kings Cross Restaurant In Australia

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Definition of Service Marketing

Service marketing is a specific branch of marketing and it emerged as a different field of study, because unlike marketing of physical goods, services require different strategies for marketing because of its unique characteristics. Service marketing includes two types of services, they are, business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) services, which consist of, tourism and entertainment services, hospitality services, financial services, telecommunication services, health care services, car rental services and trade and professional services (Chathoth et al., 2013).

This report gives an overview and review of the service marketing of Quay and Farmhouse Kings Cross restaurant of Australia. Over the years, they have been able to achieve a reputed position through the deliverance of excellent service along with an exquisite menu and unique ambience.

This report firstly examines in detail service marketing; secondly, it gives an overview of the marketing strategy followed by Quay and Farmhouse Kings Cross in order to achieve customer appreciation by providing excellent service standards.

According to American Marketing Association, services marketing can be defined as a set of  procedures followed by an organisation in order to perform efficiently by developing, communicating and delivering valued services to customers and for forming a long lasting customer relationship, which will in turn benefit the stakeholders and the organisation as a whole (Chathoth et al., 2013). Unlike goods and products, services are usually intangible and cannot be owned by the customer. Moreover, customer satisfaction regarding a service can only be assessed by a follow up research that will reveal the customers experience and satisfaction level with the service provided.

There is a range of characteristics of services and some characteristics may be more specific and important to one category of services than the other. However, there are three basic characteristics related to all services, they are, intangibility, because it is not a thing rather an activity, production and consumption (Chathoth et al., 2013). In some services, production and consumption is a simultaneous process. These three basic characteristics of services make consumer relation and marketing situation of services different from goods producing companies. In case of consumer goods, the customer’s opinion of the product mainly depends on the traditional marketing mix activities of the organisation, which includes, price, place and promotion. On the other hand, the situation is very different for the service consumers, because in case of services, production and consumption, has no connection with each other. However, the consumer do gets involved in the production process of services. The buyer-seller interactions during the simultaneous production and consumption process, determines the consumer’s opinion of the service provided and his or her future association with the service firm (Chathoth et al., 2013).

Identification and Summary of Service Characteristics

The concept of marketing a service is different from that of products. Service marketing is mainly based on the 7Ps of marketing, that is product, price, place , promotion, people, process and physical evidence (Kar 2017). It is one of the most popular frameworks that helps in the formulation and implementation of service marketing.

• Product – is the main offerings that satisfy the needs of the customers. The features of the product should be such that it is able to hold its superiority over its substitutes available in the market.
• Price- has a considerable influence on the satisfaction level of the service consumers. Higher price indicates the superior quality of the product or service provided.
• Place- often provides a different aspect of utility to the customer. Selection of services often depends on their place utility. For example, if a service is available easily to a customer then it has high probability of being purchased.
• Promotion- plays a significant role in attracting the attention of the target consumers and in turn leads to service recognition. There are various tools that are used for the promotion services and products.
• People- are an important aspect of service delivery. Efficiency of an employee or a service provider helps in gaining the appreciation of the consumer. Hence, provide proper training should to service providers in order to to please and satisfy the service consumers.
• Processes- are crucial to service delivery. Processes are important in determining that service standards are met with.
• Physical evidence- also influences the customer satisfaction. Physical or exterior appearance of service or product helps in attracting customers.

According to Rathmell, tangibility of services poses a serious challenge in the marketing of services, since it creates a problem in the communication and display of services. Langeard points out that intangibility of services creates problem in detecting and protecting services through patents. In addition to this, Assael suggest that it is difficult to position a service because of the requirement to communicate intangible and vague benefits (Kar 2017). Evaluating service performance and making purchase decision also becomes a matter of difficulty due to the intangibility of services. Some philosophers also points out that since services are perishable they cannot be saved and stored and as a result, service organisations find it difficult to synchronise supply and demand. It is further pointed out since services are inseparable, consumers are also involved in its production and therefore due to the simultaneous process of production and consumption, consumers are often able to detect errors in service specification during the production. According to Carmen and Langeard, due to the presence of the customers in the production of services, it becomes difficult for the service providers to have a full control over the service quality (Kar 2017).

According to Langeard, heterogeneity in service delivery leads to a problem in labour intensive services (Kim, Vogt & Knutson, 2015). There is a problem of consistency of behaviour due to the involvement of different employees with an individual customer. However, the service performance of an individual employee may also differ depending on time and situation. According to Ziethmal and Bitner, selection and evaluation of service is more difficult than goods because services are non-standardised and intangible and because consumption is closely inter-related with production (Kim, Vogt & Knutson, 2015). Due to the characteristics of services, some aspects of service process become more difficult than the purchase of goods. Services are complex compared to goods and customers are required to follow a extensive and complicated series of actions in order to complete the process.

A company adopts communication or promotional strategy in order to achieve its organisational goals through the process of providing information to its target markets, which comprises of the customers, employees and stockholders, regarding the goods and services delivered by the particular organisation (Osborne, Radnor & Nasi, 2013). The term communication mix can be defined as the range of communication tools employed by marketers to deliver the organisation’s communication strategy (Hadjikhani & LaPlaca, 2013). The way marketers are required to combine the four P’s of marketing mix, that is, product, price, place and promotion, in order to develop a marketing program, in the same way, managers of service providing organisations must also choose the right communication tools to impart their messages. The tools of the promotional or communications mix can be divided into five wide categories, advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotions and sponsorship (Grönroos & Gummerus, 2014).

The Seven Ps of Service Marketing

Employing more than one communication tools to deliver the same information (known as integrated marketing communication) or using any one tool consistently increases the potential and existing customer’s chances of being exposed to the company’s message and thus remember it.

Quay, located in the immensely beautiful Sydney Harbour setting, is one of Australia’s most reputed and renowned restaurants. Peter Gilmore, the world famous chef, is keen on providing it guest with a unique dining experience, with his authentic and exquisite cuisines. The primary aim of Quay is to provide its customers with quintessential Australian cuisine, in a mesmerising harbour setting (quay.com.au). Their professional staffs are adept in providing the guests with genuine hospitality as they thoroughly guide their customer’s dining experience, thus providing customer satisfaction. The staff member of Quay is highly skilled, knowledgeable and full of warmth and thus provides its customer with a friendly environment.

The infrastructure of Quay is capable of hosting various exclusive events and functions, which in turn helps them to attract prospective customers and guests. They have different areas to host various kinds of events ranging from family dinner to sophisticated cocktail party, with a capacity to accommodate around 250 guests. Their diversified service delivery has helped them in gaining customers from different stratus of the society.

The Upper Tower of Quay is Sydney’s most spectacular dining room, offering a panoramic view of the harbour with the city providing a glittering background (quay.com.au). This panoramic glimpse of the harbour also includes the breathtaking view of the historical ferries, luxury liners that is bordered by Sydney Opera House on one side and the Harbour Bridge on the other. This spectacular atmosphere provides the customer with a unique experience along with the taste of an exquisite meal from the top chef of Australia. Whether it is a business lunch, party or an intimate dinner, the Upper Tower lends a high level of quality and style to every kinds of celebration.

The Green Room, located upstairs from the restaurant, has derived its name from the famous Sydney Opera House Green Room, provides a spectacular view of the Sydney Opera House directly across the harbour. This stunning venue opens up to a spacious terrace facing the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Circular Quay on the other side (quay.com.au). The subtle interior of the venue has also been done according with to the view outside and keeping in mind the sophisticated taste of their guests.  Along with this stylish and elegant venue, they also provide their guests with excellent food and wine. The Green Room with its incredible menu and stunning glimpse of the harbour becomes the ultimate destination for wedding receptions and other celebrations that require an extra level of style and elegance. This unique venue also host important events such as, media interviews, press launches, corporate functions, international business meetings and private parties.

Service Marketing Theory

The Quay Restaurant provides world-class food and wine along with exceptional service, that leaves a lasting impression on the customers.  The unique layout of Quay has enabled them to respond to customer demands with greater flexibilities. Their unique combination of spectacular view, exquisite food and wine, along with excellent service from the staff members has ultimately helped them in gaining customer appreciation and approval.

The Farmhouse Kings Cross of Sydney is located in a very cosmopolitan community where people from different stratus of society co-exist. This humble restaurant is able to flourish amongst a mixed environment because of its simple and humble ambience (smudgeeats.com.au). The co-owners Mike Mu Sung and Nicholas Gurney, along with the co-head chef Tristan Rosier of Farmhouse Kings Cross, have attached a new notion to the word ‘restaurant’, since May 2013 (farmhousekingscross.com.au). The restaurant provides its customer with a unique and exceptional experience, which is largely different from the service procedures followed by other restaurants. Unlike other restaurants, their set of menus changes every three weeks, thus providing their customers with different kinds of dishes. Instead of separate dining tables, they have a 20-seater table near the kitchen. These daring moves by the restaurant owners have appealed to the customers who are able to enjoy a cosy and family like atmosphere. Apart from this, the restaurant is open to customers only at two different times per evening and even the wine list is being selected by the chefs. Kings Cross challenges preconceived idea of a restaurant by taking bold steps that have provided their customers with a completely new experience.

In addition to the ambience, they also provide their customers with a very exquisite menu that are being made from the finest seasonal produce. Thus providing the customers with healthy dishes made from fresh vegetables and fruits. They deliver typical and exquisite menu, along with sumptuous and exotic desserts like Roast Fig with toasted marshmallows and others. They also cater to customers dietary requirements when they are notified about it. Their wine list includes licensed Australian and French wines, thus giving their customers a taste of exotic wines along with exceptional food and desserts.

The restaurant has already attracted the attention of gastronomic establishment and has thus won the 2013 Eat Drink Design Awards. A reviewer has described his dining experience at the restaurant, as having a dinner party in a French farmhouse (smudgeeats.com.au). The services provided by the restaurant is unique and exceptional from the convention notion of dinning service provided by other restaurants. Their strength lies in their simplicity and the ability to connect with their customers in a very homely and friendly manner.

Analysis of Service Communication Theory

The communication strategy followed by the restaurants is a crucial for the growth and development of the business. Employees of Quay and Farmhouse Kings Cross restaurant are trained effective communication, which helps them to attract customers and gaining their appreciation. Employees of a restaurant should be aware of the proper code of conduct and manners in order to deal with the diverse customer needs. Politeness, tone of voice, careful attention to the demands of the customers, timely service acts as the primary indicators of skilled and efficient staff members. Apart from this, the ambience and food of the restaurants play a significant role in achieving the appreciation of their customers. Quay and Farmhouse Kings Cross restaurants are two such restaurants, which have succeeded in building a strong reputation through effective communication strategy along with excellent ambience and food.

Conclusion:

Thus, it can be concluded that the efforts made by Quay and Farmhouse Kings Cross are very unique and different from each other. They have employed innovative and customer friendly service marketing strategy as a tool to promote their restaurants on a larger scale and at the same time has provided their customers with facilities and ambience that would allow them to enjoy a unique dining experience. Over the years, they have succeeded in establishing themselves as renowned and reputed names in the field of restaurants.

References:

Chathoth, P., Altinay, L., Harrington, R. J., Okumus, F., & Chan, E. S. (2013). Co-production versus co-creation: A process based continuum in the hotel service context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 32, 11-20.

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