MRKT 4003 Module 3 Marketing Mix Decisions Example

Step-Through Frames, a $55 Half Day and a Trailhead Pop-Up: Marketing Mix Decisions for an E-Bike Rental Program for Returning Riders

Student Name

American College of Education

MRKT4003: Introduction to Marketing

Module 3 Assignment

Instructor Name

October 26, 2026

Introduction

The research designed in Module 2 has now been completed. Twelve interviews, 286 survey responses and a two-week advertising test produced three main findings. About a third of respondents rated a half-day e-bike rental this season as likely or very likely, with interest highest among those who had stopped riding within the past ten years. Most respondents considered a half-day price between about $45 and $60 reasonable and began calling it expensive above about $70. And the most motivating message was riding with family and friends again, which also produced the most bookings in the advertising test. The figures are composites prepared for this paper. This paper uses them to set the marketing mix.

Product

The product is not just a bicycle; it is a supported first experience of riding again. The rental fleet will start with ten Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes, which provide motor help only while the rider pedals, because interviewees worried that throttle bikes would feel out of control. All ten will have step-through frames, which are easier to mount for riders with stiff hips or knees, upright seating and wide tires. Each rental includes a fitted helmet, a lock, a phone mount and a printed map of three easy routes. Because the research showed that fear of the unfamiliar was the main barrier, the core product includes a twenty-minute fitting and lesson in the shop's parking lot before every first rental. Interviewees repeatedly described this kind of help as what would make them try, and research on e-bikes notes that safety concerns and unfamiliarity are among the barriers that keep new riders away (Fishman & Cherry, 2016).

Price

Price signals quality as well as cost, and customers judge value by weighing what they receive against everything they give up, including risk and effort (Zeithaml, 1988). Pricing therefore sits in the middle of the range respondents called reasonable. A half-day rental will cost $55, a full day $75 and a weekend $139, with the fitting and lesson included. A couples' half day will cost $95, because the research confirmed that partners decide together and the hesitant partner often needs to try too. Every rental fee will be credited toward an e-bike purchase within sixty days, which turns the rental into a low-risk trial. At $55, the half day is priced to say worth trying, not cheap and not a commitment. Prices for group demo rides will be set at $20 to keep the event accessible.

Place

Place covers where and how customers get the product. Rentals will begin at the shop, where staff can fit and teach. On spring and summer weekends, a pop-up rental station will operate at a trailhead on the Boise River Greenbelt in partnership with a café there, putting e-bikes where the target segment already walks and where the first ride is flat and away from traffic. Online booking with a phone option will serve both locations, since interviewees varied widely in comfort with apps. Home delivery for an added fee will help people who cannot transport an e-bike, a concern raised in several interviews.

Promotion

Promotion will be detailed in Module 4, but the mix decision is its central message and main tools. The lead message is riding with family and friends again, supported by stories from customers in their fifties and sixties. Main tools will be group demo rides, word of mouth encouraged through a bring-a-friend offer, partnerships with the senior center and physical therapy clinic and targeted social media advertising, which performed reasonably in the test. Price promotions will be limited to the couples' rate and the purchase credit, so that the brand is not associated with discounts.

People, Process and Physical Evidence

Because the rental is a service, three more elements matter. People: two staff members will be trained to work with hesitant first-time riders, including how to explain controls slowly and how to recognize when someone needs more practice. Process: booking, fitting, the lesson and return will follow a written checklist so the experience is consistent, and a follow-up call the day after each first rental will ask how it went and mention the purchase credit. Physical evidence: customers judge a service partly by its surroundings, and research on servicescapes has shown that the physical setting shapes both customer and employee behavior (Bitner, 1992). The shop will set aside a calm, uncluttered area for e-bike fittings, away from the busy repair counter, with seating and photos of local riders the segment can identify with.

Checking the Mix for Consistency

A marketing mix works when its elements tell the same story. Here, every element signals a supported, safe, sociable return to cycling. The step-through bikes and lessons reduce fear; the mid-range price and purchase credit reduce risk; the trailhead location and couples' rate support riding with others; the calm fitting area and patient staff reinforce the message. One tension remains: the shop's regular brand appeals to serious riders, and some long-time customers may see the rental program as a departure. The shop will address this by presenting it as a way to welcome people back to cycling, consistent with its long history in the community.

What to Fund First

The shop cannot do everything at once. If the opening budget falls short, the fitting and lesson, the couples' rate and the calm fitting area come first, because the research identified fear and joint decisions as the segment's main barriers and these elements address both at little cost. The trailhead pop-up and home delivery come second, since they extend reach but depend on staff the shop may not have in the first weeks. Paid advertising comes last; word of mouth from satisfied first renters is likely to do more for this segment than ads, and the advertising test showed only moderate response. This order puts money where the research says it will change behavior most.

Risks

Three risks could undermine the mix. Demand may be lower than survey answers suggest, since people often overstate intentions; starting with ten bikes rather than the twelve originally considered limits exposure. Weather may cut weekend demand at the trailhead; the pop-up will run only when the forecast is good. And e-bike technology changes quickly, so rental bikes may lose resale value faster than expected; the shop will plan to sell the fleet after two seasons and buy current models.

Conclusion

The marketing mix for the e-bike rental program follows directly from research on the target segment. The product is a supported first ride on a step-through pedal-assist bike, priced at $55 for a half day with credit toward purchase, available at the shop and a trailhead pop-up and promoted around riding with family and friends. People, process and physical evidence extend the mix to the service experience, and the elements reinforce one another. Module 4 builds the integrated promotion plan in detail.

References

Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299205600205

Fishman, E., & Cherry, C. (2016). E-bikes in the mainstream: Reviewing a decade of research. Transport Reviews, 36(1), 72-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2015.1069907

Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298805200302