INVESTIGATION OF THE MARKETING MIX AND SERVICE FACTORS AFFECTING THAI CONSUMER PURCHASES AT CAFÉ AMAZON IN THAILAND. In this research, I will concentrate on the dominant domestic brand "Café Amazon", which is available everywhere in Thailand and has gained high popularity and visibility due to its strategic location in all PTT gas stations.
Problem Statement
Cafe Amazon aims to capture its market share by responding to consumer behavior such as entertainment and lifestyle (Pongsiri, 2013) which also offers consumer a meeting place that is natural with greenery and relaxation. This will of course further create an additional brand equity that will indirectly provide Cafe Amazon as a brand you can trust when you think of coffee.
Research Question
Research Objective
Research Scope
Expected benefit
There are many terms that indicate a place where you can buy coffee and other hot drinks, such as a coffee shop, coffee shop, cafe or cafe. The beginnings of the cafe date back to 1645, when the first restaurant was established in Italy.
Literature Review
Marketing Mix
According to Kotler and Armstrong (2010), the price is the amount that customers will have to pay in monetary terms to receive the product they are paying for. The price is also defined as what is charged after the delivery of product to the customer (Ivy, 2008). According to Marshall (2008), this pillar is important as it not only saves the level of convenience and the time that customers will consider when thinking about the product they plan to buy, but there is also the experience in the place where products be bought. .
Considering price-related promotions such as coupons, discounts, collecting and redeeming points, it has a positive influence on the purchase decision (Huang et al, 2013). In addition, Café Amazon also joins some partners like AIS or Toyota to provide some discounts to attract customers to buy coffee.
Service
An affective and cognitive connection with the brand will be built, recognizing similarities of factors such as the quality that can be expected from the brand, the memory of a brand in a certain situation and the emotional connections in a certain time (Kim et al. al. 2008). Even if customers are not familiar with the brand, successful interaction with the salesperson can have a positive effect on the customer (Hoch, 2002). When the customer has ever encountered the salesperson's bad behavior, his perception will be negative even if the salesperson has improved because it does not match the initial expectation.
In this research, we aim to identify what are the motivational factors in the marketing mix or 4Ps and service elements that can influence customers to visit Café Amazon based on direct brand experience, which includes the product itself, the store and the interaction between the seller (place), the price of its product and the perceived value and finally the promotion available that could attract them to stay with the brand. With this research, we can potentially assume that if the factors are met, it can greatly increase or expand the market share of Café Amazon.
Hypothesis
Additionally, Fowler and Bridges (2012) found that salesperson mood directly influenced customer attitude and behavior.
Conceptual Framework
This research is done to understand the actual factors that influence customers to visit Café Amazon and also the relationship of each of the factors that influence each other. Coffee is chosen as the coffee culture in Thailand is a burgeoning industry with so many choices of coffee brands to choose from. For any coffee brands to stay in the market, essential marketing strategies must be implemented to maintain their market.
In order to assess the impact of each factor on Café Amazon, this article will implement a case study methodology. A contingency study can help us understand whether changes in any independent factor can affect another dependent factor (Mcdaniel and Gates, 2013).
Research Methods
Primary data collection
Bryman and Bell (2007) stated that primary data is related to direct observation of information. It can be said that primary data can be obtained for example through interviews or a survey. Given the need for a large sample of coffee consumers, conducting a survey would be an appropriate primary data collection technique for this study.
Secondary data collection
Instrument Development
I go to Café Amazon because the. drink's making process is always right which standardizes in drink taste. Even the price of Amazon's drink is more expensive than this, I will still come back and buy it. Location It is very convenient for me to visit Café Amazon to get drinks. number of branches they provided The decorated theme like "Amazon Jungle" invites me to visit Café Amazon.
Yu and Fang, 2009) Amazon staff have a friendly attitude. good service mind, good courtesy and good welcome. Next time I need to get a cup of drink, I'll go get it from Café Amazon.
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Research Findings
In terms of product, "Drinks from Café Amazon meet my expectations" received the highest mean response (3.42), followed by high quality (3.41), tasty (3.28), standardized taste (3.17) and availability, respectively of desserts (2.44). I like to come and visit Café Amazon because the price of its drinks is not expensive. Considering Table 4.5, after calculating the mean score for each of the place elements, its corresponding grand mean value is 3.91.
In terms of place, respondents rate "Café Amazon is convenient to visit" the highest average score (4.30), followed by the number of Amazon branches (4.23) and the Jungle environment (Store Ambiance) (3.19). In terms of Service, Table 4.7 illustrates the average score for each of the service elements and its corresponding grand mean of 3.09.
Research Discussion
The result is consistent with Mitchell's (2003) study that when comparing two factors, product and service quality, people always worry about quality before considering customer service. This is related to the research of Nasruddin et al. 2015) that product accessibility is a very critical aspect that the company must address. This is consistent with previous studies that the interaction between staff and customers has an impact on customers' purchase decision (Grace and O'Cass, 2004).
The result is also consistent with Sathish and Venkatesakumar's (2011) research, which showed that product quality and staff play a major role in building customers. This research is inconsistent with the previous study of Huang et al. 2013) who reported that the price associated with the promotion such as a discount or collecting or redeeming points has a positive effect on behavioral intentions.
Conclusion
From the data collected for this paper, five potential factors were analyzed, but only four factors could answer the research questions. Product, price, place and service are considered as the possible factors influencing the decision of Thai consumers to buy coffee. Regarding the price, consumers perceive that the price of Café Amazon is now reasonable and that is the reason they visit and buy drinks there.
The promotion factor', however, is not the likely factors influencing the coffee purchase decision of Thai residents. Considering the research results, these are the possible factors that Café Amazon can be ranked as the No.1 favorite coffee brand in Thailand.
Recommendations
Moreover, the second potential factor is 'Product'. People experience that Café Amazon products meet their expectations when it comes to taste, standard and quality. Moreover, people are likely to pay for Café Amazon's drinks due to its convenient location, which is usually inside the PTT gas station. Researchers would recommend Café Amazon to organize a service mind training for baristas and also retrain the service mind and brewing standard coffee once a year to provide the best product and service to the customer.
To encourage baristas and employees to do good work, the company should provide an incentive to someone who delivers high performance without complaints or, for example, has worked at Café Amazon for more than two years. When the staff has good performance and service skills, customers will satisfy, experience, repurchase and will also be Café Amazon's brand loyalty.
Limitations and Suggestion for Future Research
As for the vertical, the researcher suggests that the company should increase the production capacity of the coffee roasting plant from 150 tons to 300 tons as Café Amazon nowadays can only produce half of all roasted coffee beans and the other half bought by others. Furthermore, horizontally, the researcher would suggest Café Amazon to make "ready-to-drink coffee bottles" and sell them at Café Amazon store, department store, supermarket and also convenience store, as it proved that product accessibility is critical to customers' purchase decision. Retrieved August 7, 2016, from http://asiancorrespondent.com/97958/middle-class-india-embraces coffee-culture/. Marketing Research: The Impact of the Internet.
Exploring Marketing Mix and Service Factors of Café-Amazon in Thailand This questionnaire was developed by International Student of Mahidol University to be used for Case Study. All information provided by respondents will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and the information provided will be used for educational purposes only.
Perception and Consumption data
I buy because of the taste of drinks. I go to Café Amazon because the preparation process of the drinks is always good and standardizes the taste of the drink. I visit Café Amazon because it sells a number of desserts together. I feel that the value and quality of the drink from Café Amazon is higher than the price I pay for. Café Amazon to get drinks I go to Café Amazon because of some of the branches they have available. The decorated theme like “Amazon Jungle” invites me to visit Café Amazon.
Amazon's staff has a friendly attitude, good service, good courtesy and welcome I prefer to buy a drink at Café Amazon because of its staff's services.
Demographic 1. What is your gender?
