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Services Marketing




                    Notes
                                          Example: Performance  reports like  annual reports,  project reports by consultants or
                                   even medical reports.

                                   Statements

                                   Slogans, vision and mission statements make a service firm distinctive and successfully convey
                                   its philosophy. They have the same properties as a jingle, and help people to become involved
                                   with the service brand.




                                      Task Consider logos of some Indian airline companies and try to find out the history
                                     behind the logo.

                                   Business Cards

                                   A business card serves multiple purposes. It conveys a strong impression to the customer of the
                                   service firm  of which  the provider  is a  part, by  its design,  print, paper  texture, etc.  When
                                   recycling became politically correct, customers made an evaluation of the service firm based on
                                   the quality of paper. Business cards become a ready reckoner for the customer as a database and
                                   are a form of remembrance advertising.




                                       
                                     Case Study  Kingfisher Airlines: A New Entrant Seeks to Manage
                                     the Firm’s Physical Evidence


                                             ow does one differentiate one’s service in a highly cluttered, “me-too”, competitive
                                             market?  Especially in a service sector undertaking like an  airline, which was
                                     Hnotorious for its intangibility, swift imitation,  and difficulty in evaluation  by
                                     both customers and service providers? How does one communicate the value proposition
                                     to  an audience  becoming increasingly  cynical, demanding, and price-conscious?  How
                                     does one discover an entirely new segment? These thoughts were uppermost in the mind
                                     of Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant liquor baron, as he took the audacious decision to extend
                                     his beer brand Kingfisher to airlines.
                                     The Indian aviation market had been hotting up in the last two years. For quite long, it had
                                     been the  epitome of all the sad aspects  of Indian  service: lack of professionalism, bad
                                     service, and minimal choice for the customer and poor value to boot. With deregulation in
                                     mild dosages since the last decade, the Indian domestic consumer has begun to feel the
                                     comfort of better service delivery and experience. Jet Airways set the standard, while Air
                                     Sahara provided the heat of competition. The battlefield had been strewn with a lot of
                                     carcasses:  Damania Airlines, East West Airlines, NEPC Airlines, ModiLuft, Vayudoot, etc.
                                     Vijay Mallya set up a task force to prepare a feasibility report, and the business analysis
                                     included market analysis and financial analysis. Mallya’s careful research revealed the
                                     first of the gaps: safety. Domestic airlines were notorious for their slipshod operations
                                     and astounding lack of passenger safety. Mallya decided to highlight this aspect in his
                                     offer and communication. His aircraft acquisition was very well thought out; he went in
                                     for three brand new A320 Airbus aircrafts bristling with ultra-modern avionics and fly-
                                                                                                         Contd...




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