Question

Case study Uber Technologies Inc. is an internationally active online transportation network company with a whopping $63 billion in value. Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp founded Uber in 2009; the brand was originally a simple application designed to request taxi services. The app has evolved to include many more things and has become one of the best-known brands of the 21st century. In 2012, Uber decided to go international and since 2014, they have started providing people with access to carpooling facilities. With the growing popularity, the concept of Uber has been duplicated by various companies around the world. The popular Uber business model is now called uberification. In 2017, Uber has more than 12,000 employees, including customer support and rental agents. However, less than 40% of its total workforce are women. In addition, Uber has created jobs for millions of taxi drivers worldwide. Lyft and Ola are some of Uber’s major competitors in the world. Uber’s growth story is among the most fantastic of this century. The brand has experienced strong growth based on innovation and has gained significant market share over a short period of time. Critical Thinking Questions Present the Uber’s marketing mix 1. Products in Uber’s marketing mix 2. Places in Uber’s Marketing Mix 3. Price in Uber’s marketing mix 4. Promotions in Uber’s marketing mix

Answer 1

Uber is a smartphone app which provides on-demand service to users. It connects willing passengers to taxi cab drivers. Taxi drivers use their own cars when providing taxi service and Uber gets certain % of the fare.

1.Uber Products

• Uber Moto This service allows people to book bike rides and roam around the city at the cheapest rate possible.
• Uber Go: This perhaps is the most widely used Uber service. You can book your own car and travel from one place to another while accessing Wi-Fi.
• Uber Pool: This is the car-pooling facility that lets you travel with other travellers going in the same direction as yours. This is cheaper and helps in reducing the number of cars on a road.
• Uber X: This is where Uber ups the game and makes people love it more than other network-based transportation company. You can actually book expensive cars using Uber X and enjoy access to the best of comfort and style.
• Uber Eats This app allows customer to order food on the go.

2. Places

Uber started in US in 2009. But now it has spread to many countries around the globe.The basic strategy is use of Uber app. With the help of app you can book a ride anywhere at anytime. The five top countries where the ride-hailing giant is the most active are US, Brazil, China, Mexico and India.It dies not have many offices due to online nature of business.

3. Price

Uber follows geographical pricing. The cost of ride is dependent upon base rate, rate for estimated time and distance and the demand for rides in that area. Moreover, Uber pricing strategy can be classified as a dynamic pricing that is based on the basic economic principle of demand and supply. If the demand is high in particular area than the supply of taxi services then price will also be high.

Pricing strategy of Uber

• Economy pricing. A range of Uber services such as Moto, Pool and Go offer no-frills rides for competitive costs.
• Upfront pricing. Customers are quoted estimated costs, before confirming their order.
• Surge pricing. During times of high demand for rides, fares will increase, sometimes multiple times.
• Penetration pricing. When entering new markets, the global taxi technology company sets its prices artificially low in order to gain market share.It is helping people by providing affordable service and that too at a very reasonable cost thus savinh them from high prices being charged by other private modes of transport.
• Discounted Pricing. To its loyal and valueable customers Uber offers discounts in rides as well as free rides also.

Customer can make payments through cash, online tools like Uber Wallet, Paytm, Google pay and also by credit cards etc.

4. Promotion

Uber is using the best promotional techniques to boost its business.Free rides, discounted rides and referral benefits are some of the top methods used by the enterprise for alluring customers. The quality riding experience make the service even more desirable by people.Special discounts are given on special days like Women's day etc.If online payment is made then more discounts are given.The free rides offered has made people addicted to the service. It also uses feedback machanism in which customer rates the driver and the ride on certain parameters. Also if the customer feels that he is overcharged wrongly then he can get refund after bringing the matter to customer care , provided customer is genuine.