Process Management and Marketing for Orchid Firms

The concept of marketing as processes is well documented in the service literature but is equally relevant for marketing physical products, including orchids where there are service components due to their perishability and quality requirements. Marketing as processes emphasizes relationship building by offering a holistic package of solutions to customers, rather than simply selling bare products and leaving customers to figure out accompanying issues during the process. Also noted in literature and successful firms, process management is a 'perspective', not a set of tools, of doing business that requires conscious handling of every firm-customer interface throughout the business relationship. The marketing process perspective originated from Nordic countries where an 'experience economy', as apposed to an 'ordinary economy' was first and greatly appreciated and made explicit as a research area. The spread of experience economy is very uneven across countries, with more outcomes among developed countries. In less developed countries, it might be more difficult for firms to adopt a marketing process perspective where firm resources were often depleted for short-term survival. This study discusses the management and marketing by several orchid firms in Taiwan. Marketing practices by Taiwan firms are useful to look at because Taiwan had remarkable economic performances and yet could be considered between an experienced economy and an ordinary economy. This study uses four very different cases in Taiwan to elucidate how the management and marketing of orchid should be viewed as a holistic process to create values for customers. In-depth interviews were conducted with owners or managers for all the firms involved in this study. Depending on whether value is created for customers, there are both positive lessons learned from the cases presented in this study. Results from the case studies also provide elaboration for firms wishing to maintain long-term sustainability in the orchid industry, particularly in developing and newly developed economies.