Introduction
Have you ever looked at two different companies and asked yourself as to why one is having a string of customers and consumers while the other has to chase after them? Much therefore depends on their grasp and utilisation of concepts of service marketing. In the current world, it is almost impossible to sale physical products as they are being replaced by experiences, therefore the knowledge on how to market services is crucial to any organization that wants to survive in the current market. This blog post is your one-stop resource to everything you need to know about service marketing including key characteristics, types of service marketing and the transformative 7Ps marketing mix.
What is Service Marketing defined as?
Service marketing is defined as the process of marketing services for sale as opposed to physical products. As opposed to product communication that deals with tangible items of inventory one may touch or feel, service marketing is all about services, which are perceived or felt experiences. Such things include things like being at a hotel, meeting with a lawyer, or attending a class at a fitness center. It is about making people want it, expressing the value proposition well, and treating them how you would like to be treated. Therefore, the marketing of services focuses on the attainment of high customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as dedication. Lastly, the aim is to develop customer value and attain a favorable service encounter, by which your company becomes unique.
Whereas product marketing concentration is based on physical commodities, the service marketing targets the non-physical components of the service such as skills, contact with the client, and the quality of services. Service marketing is actually a distinct category of the overall marketing discipline. They need to employ different action plans because you are selling events instead of objects.
Key Characteristics of Service Marketing
It is important that you know the nature of your services if you want to market them appropriately. Here are some key traits that set service marketing apart:
• Intangibility: This is a big one. The nature of services is such that they cannot be seen, felt, tasted or even bought before being consumed. You could never be able to test one or a massage or a tax preparation service before buying it. This implies that customers are hugely influenced by other factors such as your reputation and word around the market.
• Inseparability: Unlike goods, many services are organized so that they are produced at the time they are consumed. The relationship of the service provider to the customer is also a very defining aspect in the service industry. Consider a haircut – that is being done right there with the consumer.
• Variability (also known as Heterogeneity): It is considered that the quality of the service could be different because of the performer, time and space. It often turns out that a massage from one therapist differs from a massage from other therapists. This makes it necessary to aim at a certain level of standardization in your processes as a means of providing set standard for servicing.
• Perishability: We are unable to store services and use them at a later date after a customer’s need has been met. A vacant chair in an aeroplane or an unfilled appointment is a wasted chance. Here, as it is with any project, maintaining demand and capacity is important.
• Lack of Ownership: Purchasing a service means that throughout the contract, the product, as well as tangible ownership of it, cannot be claimed by the client. You are customarily paying for a service or for contact with someone who has the knowledge which you lack.
• Customer Participation: Sometimes the customers participate more in the service. The input and presence of the customer can affect the service. For instance, while providing personal training session, the trainer in question needs a client to engage him for the training to have an impact.
• Fluctuating Demand: It is important to understand that part of client base demand may vary depending on the time of the year, trends, and situations. A bar for example has higher demand in the night than in the day during weekdays, and during the weekends, it has more demand in the night compared to the day.
• Pricing Complexity: Pricing is by far the most challenging factor to deal with when addressing service offerings given that it is intangible. Among these factors are the cost, the perceived value and the level of competition.
Types of Service Marketing
The 7Ps of Service Marketing Explained
The next six elements collected under the umbrella of the 7Ps of service marketing are as follows:
To enhance service efforts, the service marketing mix known as the extended marketing mix at times, is composed of 7Ps. These elements help organizations in the formulation of right and effective strategies for management to adopt. It is a framework that must be followed to ensure that businesses come up with a good service marketing strategy that will be efficient in the market. While product marketing often uses the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), service marketing adds three more Ps to reflect the unique nature of services: Successfully executed as the Triple Play of: People, Process and Physical Evidence. Let’s break them down:
- Its services may cover many classes from simple on as yoga, pilates, HIIT and many more.
- Distance education centers provide a course syllabi.
- A cloud-based software provider provides customer relationship management, project management shoes and maintained email as services.
- A fitness center has the objective of making various membership packages to Accustom to different budgets.
- Pay-TV an example of a streaming service that has variable cost structures : owing to difference in subscriptions packages.
- A software company has individual, team and enterprise plans.
- A fitness center may be situated close to residential and business undertakings.
- A cloud-based service should offer a simple to use website or application.
- A streaming service is a service that is available to anyone, anywhere in the world.
- A fitness center might use social media to talk to its clients on how to work out in the gym and also inform them of offers.
- A streaming service employs the use of advertising as a way of getting to the viewers.
- A software company applies different techniques: social networks, content marketing, and email marketing to get new clients.
- Reception and trainers of a fitness center are professional and warm to the clients or members.
- A streaming service has a particularly allocated customer support middle.
- A customer service division of a brand software company should always respond or give assistance to the users.
- A fitness center automates the customer registration and charge.
- A software company should simplify the sign-up and the billing process.
- A streaming service gives a well-organization, intuitive experience.
- A fitness center must have a good infrastructure for the center, the centers must be comfortable and well cleaned.
- A software company can be seen to have colorful, friendly and easily navigable interface and organized branding.
- Login & Bonus. Some streaming service possible has a high-quality stream, frequent stream and lots of quality contents.
That is why, managing mentioned 7Ps businesses will be able to develop a service marketing mix adequate to the screwed customer needs and thus, provide more value.