Page 189 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Services Management

Notes This is not an academic or rhetorical question. With India’s economy rapidly transforming
itself to a services-led one and the billions of rupees of investment intended for the new
sectors (financial services, organised retail, media, entertainment and lifestyle), the
imperative to build power brands in services is strong. However, this begs the question
whether service brands should be built the same way as product brands. If not, then what
are the differences between brand-building in products and in services?
A brand is the sum of tangible and intangible values and associations that differentiate it
from other available offerings in the market. Products are made in the factory but brands
are made in the minds of consumers.
The task of product branding is to build intangible values and associations around the
tangible product in order to differentiate it from physically identical products that are
available. Thus, a Nokia-branded cell phone suggests something different to a buyer and
owner than a Samsung-branded cell phone, even if the quality level and feature set of the
two phones are identical. Or detergent powder branded Tide vs. the same powder branded
Wheel signal powerful perceptual differences. Emotional benefits, sensory cues and brand
personality leveraged in advertising are powerful ways to add layers of emotional meaning
and intangible values to the basic product and differentiate it.
Product branding is easier than service branding because it is easier to achieve congruence
between advertising message and product experience.
Since advertising claims are derived from the product itself and product quality is not
variable, what consumers expect from the product based on its advertising is what they
will experience when they buy the product. This congruence means that it is far easier for
product brands to build consumer trust and confidence, the foundation of branding.
On the other hand, services are intangible. They are experienced only at the various points
of delivery, in real time, as they are being delivered. There is also significant variability
in service delivery that a customer experiences even from the same service provider at
various points in time. Perceptions of service differentials are built more through actual
experience than through advertising. Hence the task of branding services is not to add
more intangibility through advertising emotional benefits and brand personality.
On the other hand, the critical task of services branding is to bring tangibility to the
intangible. It is to create markers at each point of service delivery that highlight the brand
differentiators. These markers when noted remembered and talked about by consumers
build perceptual differences between service brands. Thus, the task of service branding is
the very opposite of product branding.
In the Kingfisher vs. Jet instance, the King of Good Times brand concept of Kingfisher has
been translated into a number of tangible differentiators at all stages of service delivery.
From referring to passengers as guests to greeting passengers upon entry to the airport
and carrying their luggage, from the glamorous red uniforms of the stewardesses to the
in-flight entertainment, there are markers to be noted, remembered and discussed.

There is far greater variability in service delivery creating mismatch between advertising
claims and actual service experience. This leads a number of service brands to focus on
broad emotional theme-led communication which doesn’t make any specific claims related
to service quality. As with products, the expectation is that such advertising will build
salience and affinity for the service brand, but the ROI of such investment for a service
brand will certainly be far lower than for a product brand.
While advertising is relevant and can be helpful for service brands, there are many powerful
services brands that have been built with little or no investment in advertising. Starbucks
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