Question

The YMCA in mid-town Atlanta has recently upgraded its facilities, including building a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and children's playground. All locations of the Atlanta "Y" are open from 6:00 am until 11:00 pm, 360 days a year. The children's playground is accessible for members only and is a fenced and secured area. During the weekdays, children under the age of 12 can engage in supervised activities at the playground, for no extra fee. Additionally, there are swimming classes for children of all ages, which is also covered by the monthly membership fee. The swimming pool has been very popular with the professionals who stop by for a swimming workout before or after work. Many of the YMCA locations are very busy all day; however, the midtown "Y" is busier during the early morning and early evenings. At a recent meeting, Malia Monroe, its manager, shared her concerns about getting more people into the "Y" at other times of the day. She asked for ideas from her staff about how to do this. She also said that the city of Atlanta had reduced the "Y"'s funding for the next year by 20%. This would cause a need for the "Y" to either gain additional members or charge more per member for the annual fee. Refer to Scenario 13.1. The fact that the "Y" is open from 6:00 am until 11:00 pm is most directly related to the ____ element of its marketing mix.

Answer 1

Answer:

place or distribution

Explanation:

YMCA provides a service to its members and the community in general. The seven Ps of services marketing mix are:

1. Product: YMCA provides several services, ranging from children's playgrounds, swimming pool, etc.
2. Pricing: currently YMCA charges a monthly fee and they are worried they will need to increase it.
3. Place (or distribution): refers to the physical location of YMCA's facilities and it also refers to their working hours. They are open 360 days per year (all year around) from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
4. Promotion: as an institution, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is extremely well known and really doesn't need a lot of work in promoting their activities.
5. People: YMCA is a well recognized institution that has branches all over the world, and has developed a very strong organizational culture. Besides its song is still catchy.
6. Process: at least for the swimming pool activities, we could consider to be a self-service activity for adults and a nursery for small children.    
7. Physical Evidence: this item is very related to place, but it refers more to the quality of the facilities and in this case YMCA recently upgraded its swimming pool.

Answer 2

Answer:

Place

Explanation:

In the Scenario, the fact that the "Y" is open from 6:00 am until 11:00 pm is most directly related to the place element of its marketing mix.

The elements of the marketing mix, generally referred to as the 4 P's includes Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

The scenario changing hours open for business does not relate to its price, neither has it got anything to do with promotion adverts in the newspaper or other media. It does not also imply changes in product features but means that the place where the product or service can be bought is now more available to customers.