New Marketing Mix- Physical Evidence Concepts for Your eCommerce Brand

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New Marketing Mix- Physical
Evidence Concepts for Your
eCommerce Brand
New Marketing Mix- Physical Evidence Concepts for Your
eCommerce Brand
Here is our final part of the Marketing Mix series and we discuss here
Physical Evidence.
Physical Evidence is the final element of the three additions to the basic
marketing mix as proposed by Booms and Bitner (1981). Authors define
it by ‘The environment in which the service is delivered and where the
firm and customer interact, and any tangible components that facilitate

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performance or communication of the service’. Retail premises, bank
branches, restaurants, or hotel premises would be good examples of this.
Following are the components of Physical Evidence
Physical Environment
The physical environment is the space by which you are surrounded
when you consume the service. For example, if you want to travel, it is
the aircraft that acts as the physical environment.
The physical environment is made up from its ambient conditions;
spatial layout and functionality; and signs, symbols, and artifacts.
 Ambience
The ambient conditions include temperature, colour, smell and sound,
music and noise. It is a package of these elements which consciously or
subconsciously help you to experience the service. Ambience can be
diverse. For instance, the ambience of a health spa is relaxing and calm
whereas it can be peppy and spirit for a pub. The marketer needs to
match the ambience to the service that is being delivered.
 Spatial Layout
The spatial layout and functionality are the way in which furniture is set
up or machinery spaced out. Functionality is more about how well suited
the environment is to actually accomplish your needs.
 Corporate branding (signs, symbols and artifacts)

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Corporate image and identity are supported by signs, symbols and
artifacts of the business itself. Examples of this would be the recent
branding of Snapdeal which reassures the consumer of its brand
proposition. This is all important to the physical evidence as a
fundamental element of the services marketing mix.
There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of
the below ones:
 Packaging.
 Internet/web pages.
 Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes).
 Brochures.
 Furnishings.
 Signage.
Consistency
To the customer or potential customer, the physical environment has to
feel right and be in line with their expectations. There was a time when
all bank branch staff used to work hidden behind glass screens, dealing
with customers through a small opening. This was inconsistent with the
open and approachable stance that the banks were trying to develop. So
slowly the banks started to move some staff outside into the public area
so they could better interact with customers. The physical environment
then became consistent with other elements of the marketing mix.

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Physical Evidence in the Digital World
We can experience the physical environment in the digital world. It
would be inconsistent to experience a slow and unresponsive website for
a company who are promoting a dynamic and efficient response to
customer enquiries. Poor use of language in digital communications for
an eCommerce brand could also be classed as inconsistent physical
evidence. Inadequate packaging of a product from what we perceive to
be a high quality online retailer might also be seen as an inconsistency in
the physical evidence.
Digital tools and techniques now play an increasingly important role in
providing physical evidence that can either support or detract from the
other elements of the marketing mix. Websites, blogs, social media and
other forms of digital activity are now an important part of the physical
evidence element of the extended marketing mix. For many people, that
is the only type of physical evidence that they will be exposed to. So
marketers pay utmost attention to its image in the Digital Space.

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An Example from eCommerce
Flipkart
Flipkart seeks to distinguish itself with the following Physical Evidence
practices that could leave a lasting impact on customer’s mind.
 The packaging and quality of products- Every product delivered
could be found well sealed, taped and with best maintained
hygiene practices.
 Prompt delivery - Flipkart Assured program delivers the product in
the quickest possible frame of time which speaks about its efficient
delivery service.
 30-day return policy- This Physical Evidence of product return
policy acts in gaining trust for the brand and serves great for its
service marketing purpose.
Likewise, you can find similar practices among other eCommerce
players as well such as Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm to name a few.
Ola
 Every physical part of Ola is part of this “P”. Cool ambience and
comfort from a well charted seating arrangement can be counted as
its Physical Evidence proposition.
 Ola, is installing tablets in its cabs through which customers can
access personalized content such as music, movies, shopping and
more. For the purpose, Ola has partnered with Apple Music, Sony

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LIV to introduce Ola Play where you get a personalized content
and an interactive experience.
 Now customers would also be able to control the air-conditioning
of the car.
Users get reminder before the journey begins and as well as a feedback
option to rate the journey which again speaks of a digitally influenced
strategy.
Conclusion
In services and marketing, Physical Evidence is used to attract the right
segment and target, and to achieve the right positioning, physical
evidence is used. Nowadays, most products are sold through mainly
retail and eCommerce which are itself services within themselves.
Hence, marketers focus on elements (Physical Evidence) which can
make their services better. Please share your views and experiences with
us!
(References: Oxford, Marketingteacher)