3Ps and theme parks
Application of your knowledge to scenarios is a key skill in ACCA paper P3. It is a key skill in all professional level ACCA papers. In a class at BPP that I was running this week one of the exercises the group attempted was to apply the marketing mix to a service business. There are seven Ps and students tend to be familiar with the first 4 Ps (product, price, place, promotion) applying the marketing mix to products and services. However once the group had developed ideas to implement first 4 Ps to a theme park (such as Disneyland, Legoland or others), we focused on the latter 3 Ps namely physical evidence, processes, and people.
The ideas to group came up with were excellent and as I had just come back from a trip to Legoland in Germany with my family I was able to verify that many of their ideas were in actual fact those tried by the theme park operator. However the 7 Ps model facilitated the students idea generation. I asked the class in advance of the exercise if any of them had ever visited DisneyWorld or Legoland, and none of the class had. Therefore it seems that the model was helpful in generating ideas.
Here are some of their suggestions for the 3 extra Ps:
Physical evidence: give away a free Mickey Mouse (or other branded) toy to kids who visit the theme park more than once. This P3 class at BPP thought the tactic would be helpful because kids love toys, and no doubt the toy will end up on the shelf or somewhere prominent in their bedroom to remind them of the happy days they had at the theme park. As kids see the toy they might remind their parents about how good it would be to visit the theme park again, and they might remind them again and again and again and again and again and again… some of the tactics my children use for persuasion are simple but remarkably effective 
Processes: make sure the internal processes for returning lost kids within the theme park are effective. The students thought this would increase the confidence of parents that they can have a safe and fun day out. This was especially true as I found that within 30 seconds of entering Legoland last week my three year old and five- year old had both disappeared running off to find their favourite attractions. Realising that my wife might be disappointed if I returned home without the rugrats, I felt I ought to do my duty and not only find but also keep hold of the kids. I discovered that Legoland offer a simple armband on which I can write the name of the child and my mobile phone number. These armbands were branded with the theme park logo, and my daughter was so pleased with hers, that she didn’t want to take it off in the evenings and she wore it long after we had left the park. Therefore it seems the process increased my confidence as a customer but also reinforced the brand in the eyes of users.
People: staff around the park should be involved with fostering the family fun atmosphere and also trying to generate extra sales. For example when buying a ticket to enter the park, the class thought that staff may offer “just for an extra €20 you can upgrade your ticket to an annual pass and come as often as you like for the next few months”. On my trip I noted that staff around the park wearing Lego clothing seemed informed that they were one of the main conduits to deliver the image of the company. Therefore customer service was of paramount importance – welcoming the customer (the parents who may be dragging all the clobber required to keep 3 year olds happy) is a good way to make sure that parents will come back. “Thank you for visiting Legoland, we look forward to seeing you again.”
Overall the 7 Ps offer help to students in generating ideas to implement marketing.
