Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften Professur für Betriebswirtschaftslehre Brau- und Lebensmittelindustrie ADVANCED TOPICS IN SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION AND MARKETING EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY MARKETING MIX REGARDING THE 4C`S OF FLINKSTER SUMMER TERM 2012 Teaching team: Prof. Dr. Frank-Martin Belz Krystallia Moysidou M.Sc. Submitted by: Alejandro Aznar Argelich Stephanie Leopold Mark-Felix Schütz Submitted on: 12. Juni 2014 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... I List of illustrations ................................................................................................................. II List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................. III 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 2 Processes of Flinkster ..................................................................................................... 2 3 Customer Solution .......................................................................................................... 7 4 Communication ............................................................................................................ 12 5 Convenience ................................................................................................................. 15 5.1 General convenience aspects of car-sharing ........................................................ 15 5.2 Registration and booking process ........................................................................ 16 5.3 Finding, driving and returning the vehicle ........................................................... 17 5.4 e-Flinkster ............................................................................................................ 19 6 Customer Cost .............................................................................................................. 21 6.1 Purchase Costs ..................................................................................................... 21 6.2 Use Costs .............................................................................................................. 23 6.3 Post-Use Costs ..................................................................................................... 27 7 Conclusion and Outlook ............................................................................................... 28 7.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 28 7.2 Future ideas to remedy Flinksters problems ........................................................ 29 List of references ..................................................................................................................... i Additional references ............................................................................................................ iii Eidesstattliche Erklärung ...................................................................................................... iv I List of illustrations Figure 1 Process of using Flinkster (own illustration) ........................................................... 2 Figure 2 Flinkster registration process (own illustration) ...................................................... 3 Figure 3 City districts in Munich (Source: Flinkster Website) .............................................. 4 Figure 4 Booking a car (own illustration) .............................................................................. 5 Figure 5 Process of driving (own illustration) ....................................................................... 6 Figure 6 Flinkster central merketing message (left) and "hidden" financial appeal (right) . 12 Figure 7 Emotional appeal with hidden Zeitgeist appeal (left) Euphoria appeal (right) ..... 13 Figure 8 Sustainable Advertising of Flinkster ..................................................................... 14 Figure 9 The reintegration of the Flinkster brand into DB: Smartphone App Buttons. ...... 14 Figure 10 Exemplary Hourly and Km-based prices of the Flinkster tariff system .............. 24 Figure 11 Comparison of own car costs and Flinkster cost based on usage pattern for germany-wide tariff .............................................................................................................. 27 Figure 12 Comparison of own car costs and Flinkster cost based on usage pattern for local tariff ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 13 QR-Code ............................................................................................................. 29 II List of abbreviations DB Deutsche Bahn EV Electric Vehicle CEV Combustion Engine Vehicle III 1 Introduction The car sharing service provider Flinkster, operated since 2009 by Deutsche Bahn through its subsidiary company DB Rent GmbH, offers an individual and convenient mobility service to individuals and business customers. With Flinkster, Deutsche Bahn supplements its railway services by providing cars for DB customers in order to get to the final destination. With now more than 800 stations in 140 cities in Germany, Flinkster has widened its concept with the aim to bring a unique mobility solution to a broad user base. The Flinkster car sharing model addresses people between 24 and 45 years of age within large and mid-size cities (INTERVIEW 2012). With a fleet of 2.500 cars in urban areas all over the country and a wide range of car types and models available, Flinkster is the biggest car sharing network in Germany. Due to Flinkster`s cooperation with other car sharing service providers in Europe, the round about 190.000 Flinkster customers have access to 2.000 additional cars in Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands (DEUTSCHE BAHN 2012, STATTAUTO 2012, FLINKSTER 2012). Other- wise, users of smaller German car sharing services which are partnering with Flinkster e.g. “STATTAUTO”, “teilAuto”, “book-n-drive”, “einfach mobil carsharing”, and “grünes- auto” have access to cars of the Flinkster car fleet. Our approach facing the “4C`s” as part of the sustainability marketing mix in the case of the mobility service and car sharing provider Flinkster is based on intensive internet search, an interview conducted with the marketing manager of Flinkster, Mr. Oscar Péréz, an monthly cost calculation tool developed by ourselves and hand-on field research including test drives. 1 2 Processes of Flinkster In order to use the Flinkster car sharing network, you generally need to follow three steps. Before you can drive off with a car of your choice, you have to register and book a car online first. The requirement of becoming an eligible member of the Flinkster programm is to hold a valid driver`s license. Customers under 25 years of age have a restrictive choice concerning car categories meaning that they are only allowed to use small and van size cars. In the following, we will evaluate the registration and booking processes of Flinkster in more detail. STEPS TO USE THE FLINKSTER CAR SHARING • Registration process 1 • Booking 2 3 • Driving Before using the Flinkster service, you first need to get registered at Flinkster`s website www.flinkster.de. In order to register, you simply follow three steps. First, you have the choice between a national, local, or business tariff depending on your planned usage frequency and whether you are a private or a business user. Whereas the national tariff fits bestFigure for 1 Processpeople of who using occasionally Flinkster (own wantillustration) to use a car, the local tariff is best for frequent car sharing users leading to a monthly fee and a lower rate per hour used compared to the national tariff, which does not include a monthly subscription fee. For some people, the decision for a specific tariff might rather be difficult as they don`t know right away how frequent they will be using the service. Due to a minimal contract duration of 12 months for the local tariff switching from one tariff to another is difficult or may even have a deterrent effect which may influence customers to turn towards the national tariff right from the 2 beginning. On the other hand, customers can switch into the local tariff if they feel that they are using the service more frequently. After registering with your personal data and billing information (debit or credit card accepted) you will receive your personal access data including a customer ID and password via E-Mail. To obtain your customer ID card and a chip attached to your driver`s license, you need to find and go to a Flinkster sales office, which usually is a DB service center or travel agency located in or close to German train stations or airports. The Flinkster website will assist you with the search for near-by locations. For legitimation purposes you need to bring your driver`s license and passport. REGISTRATION PROCESS • Choose tariff 1 • Register with your personal data and billing 2 information • Search and go to sales office for legititmation 3 and customer ID card pick-up Figure 2 Flinkster registration process (own illustration) Once you are a registered Flinkster user, it only takes three further steps to book a car. You can reserve a car anywhere at any time you like via