University Case Study: Kiwi Experience - Marketing Principles Analysis

This case study examines the marketing strategies of Kiwi Experience, a New Zealand-based tour company. The analysis begins by outlining the buyer decision process, highlighting the stages customers go through when considering and purchasing Kiwi Experience services, including the identification of a need, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. The study then explores the total product concept, detailing how Kiwi Experience delivers value through service customization, competitive pricing, and unique experiences. It further delves into key marketing components like product quality, cost, price, branding, durability, and substitutability, evaluating their significance in the context of Kiwi Experience. The case study concludes by identifying and ranking the product components of Kiwi Experience, including service, people, experience, place, ideas, and goods, emphasizing the importance of each component in the company's overall success and customer satisfaction. The analysis incorporates academic references to support the marketing principles discussed.

Running Head: KIWI EXPERIENCE 1
Marketing Principles and Practice: A case Study of Kiwi Experience
By
University Affiliation
Date

KIWI EXPERIENCE 2
Marketing focuses on attaining a profitable exchange relationship with customers. The
purchasing decision is usually influenced by a need. Thus the success of any product in the
market depends upon its ability to address the needs of the customer (Hartley & Claycomb,
2013). Also, successful organizations prioritize the customers’ needs over even sales volume
since satisfied customers will remain to be loyal to that particular organization thus guaranteeing
the sustainability of the market. Sales agents and marketing practitioners can influence the
buyer’s decision process through making them to be aware of the need and creating urgency to
satisfy the need (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012).
Task 1
The purchase behavior starts with a customer identifying the existence of a particular
need. The strength of this need determines how quickly or slowly the customer will go through
the buyer decision process and finally end-up buying/ rejecting a product (Valentini, Montaguti,
& Neslin, 2011). In the case of Kiwi Experience product, the need to travel and explore New
Zealand forms the initial stage that customers will go through before they can purchase the Kiwi
Experience services.
The second stage is where the customers look for products that can meet/ satisfy their
needs (Sheth, 2011). In this stage, the customers are not specific about any particular product.
Thus the popularity of the product will determine how quickly the customers will be attracted
towards the product. In the case of Kiwi Experience, there are other tour companies in New
Zealand and thus customers will get attracted to it only if it is well known.
In the third stage, the customers estimate the value of the products that can be considered
in satisfying their needs (Valentini et al., 2011). Here the customers will compare Kiwi

KIWI EXPERIENCE 3
Experience services with the services being offered by other competitors. This analysis is just an
estimate. In the fourth stage, the customers select the products that they perceived to satisfy their
needs. Here Kiwi Experience will be selected based on how the customer perceive its services to
be unique. The higher the level of customer’s expectations the lower the rate of customer
satisfaction.
Task 2
Total product concept incorporates the value that the product delivers to the customer,
constitutes of the product, mode of delivery to customers, the qualities of the product, and the
products costs (Gummesson, 2011). It is this total product that defines how well a product satisfy
the needs of the customers through addressing various consideration which include; the
motivations that motivate the customers to buy a product and those which motivate the producer
to develop the product, the designing of the product in terms of its qualities, and the manner in
which the product is made available to the customers, among others (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick,
2012).
In the case of Kiwi Experience, the total product concept is well addressed as follows;
delivery of value to the customers is achieved through the customization of services to meet the
needs of different customers, one of such customization include the “hop-on-hop-off” options.
Secondly, Kiwi Experience has maintained low prices as a way of maintain their customers since
its main target market is price sensitive. Thirdly, Kiwi Experience creates uniqueness in every
trip by partnering with party service providers to entertain their customers (Kiwi Experience,
2018). Kiwi Experience employs well-trained drivers/guides as a way of ensuring that they
render the best services to their customers and are able to solve problems that may arise during
the trip (Fanning, 2018).

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Task 3
Product quality: it is the collection of product features that enable it to meet the needs of
its consumers (Armstrong, Adam, Denize, & Kotler, 2014). It is essential because it is a major
judgment criteria that customers use to decide whether or not to buy the product.
Product cost: this refers to the cost that will be incurred to produce the product. It is
essential since it determines the pricing of the product. It incorporates the cost of raw materials
and overhead costs of the entire production process (Armstrong et al., 2014).
Price: refers to the amount of money that the product will be sold at in the market. It is
essential since it is also a major factor in the buyers’ decision process especially to price
sensitive customers.
Branding: this refers to creating a unique name or label of the product that differentiates
the products from others in the market. It is essential since it influences how the product will
perform in the market (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010).
Durability: refers to the ability of the product to last for a long period of time. It is
important since it influences customers’ satisfaction with the product.
Substitutability: This refers to how unique a product is and how easy it is to develop
another product which serves the same purpose as the product in discussion. It is important since
it influences the sustainability of the product in the market (Armstrong et al., 2014).

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Task 4
According to Kiwi Experience (2018) the following are the Kiwi experience product
components.
Service: The major services of Kiwi Experience are tour services to New Zealand
destinations and bus tour operations. It is most important since it is the core business of the
company
People: the people who facilitate the service are; the management of Kiwi Experience
which provides the services, the drivers/ guards who drive the customers and guide them all
through the tour, the customers who are the consumers of the service. Ranked second because
without the people the service cannot be successful.
Experience: customers anticipate that they will get like-minded people to have an
adventure with and get to enjoy the sceneries of New Zealand. This is delivered through
customization of trips to achieve the interest of the customers. Ranked third because it influence
customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Place: Kiwi Experience offers its services within New Zealand and takes its customers to
various sites and sceneries within the country as a way of promoting domestic tourism. Ranked
fourth since it is where the people facilitate the service to build experience.
Ideas: the Kiwi experience product does not require the customers to have any knowledge
on how to use it. All that is needed is for the customers to have the spirit of adventure so that
they can enjoy the experience. Ranked fifth since it is less required.

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Goods: Kiwi Experience is a services offering company, therefore, it does not provide
any tangible goods to its customers. It is the least important since it is not part of the core
business of the company.

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References
Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S., & Kotler, P. (2014). Principles of marketing. Pearson
Australia.
Fanning, S. (2018). The Marketing Concept – free marketing textbook. Retrieved from
https://www.themarketingconcept.com
Gummesson, E. (2011). Total relationship marketing. Routledge.
Hartley, R. F., & Claycomb, C. (2013). Marketing mistakes and successes. Wiley.
Hoffman, K. D., & Bateson, J. E. (2010). Services marketing: concepts, strategies, & cases.
Cengage learning.
Jobber, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012). Principles and practice of marketing (No. 7th).
McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kiwi Experience. (2018). Kiwi Experience | New Zealand Hop-on Hop-off Bus Passes.
Retrieved from https://www.kiwiexperience.com/
Sheth, J. N. (Ed.). (2011). Models of buyer behavior: conceptual, quantitative, and empirical.
Marketing Classics Press.
Valentini, S., Montaguti, E., & Neslin, S. A. (2011). Decision process evolution in customer
channel choice. Journal of Marketing, 75(6), 72-86.