Page 45 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Services Marketing

Notes will not be able to rate the intangible services without knowing who the service provider is.
Therefore, promotion of the service provider becomes equally important in services.

Example: A bank customer can identify and relate to a service offer in a better way when
the service provider (the bank employees or the brand name) is known.
Another distinguishing factor for promotion of services is that the service personnel and other
customers also participate in the promotion process.

Example: When a customer visits a restaurant or an entertainment park, he makes an
assessment of the service based on the behaviour of the service personnel and the kind of
gathering there.

Therefore, attracting the right crowd and employing the right people is very important for a
service provider. This provides plenty of opportunities for service providers to promote their
services.

Place

In services, place relates to the ease involved in accessing a service. Due to the inseparability of
services, they are produced and consumed at the same place. This inseparability of services
makes it impossible for service providers to produce the service at a place where the costs are
low and sell it at a place where there is a high demand for it. Therefore, there is no distribution
channel for services marketing, or if at all there is one, it is very small.

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Caution Further, place decisions involve the following:

The physical location of the service provider’s outlet. Telecom network companies

for example, are striving to provide their patron stores to improve accessibility to
their services.
The physical appearance and ambience of the place of service offering. The ambience

in a bank makes the waiting customers satisfied or dissatisfied.
The decision to use particular types of intermediaries to offer easy accessibility to

the customers and improve operational efficiency of the organization. For example,
the decision of a theatre owner to sell movie tickets either directly or through
operators like bookmyshow.com.

People

Many service organizations involve their personnel both at the point of frontline delivery and
during the production process that does not involve the final consumer. Thus, the service
personnel have an important role in not only designing the service, but also in delivering it.
Many services involve consumers as co-producers in designing the service offering to suit their
individual preferences. In these cases, the service personnel play an important role in helping
the end consumer present his requirements precisely.

Example: In a salon, the service provider involves the customer also in the service and
asks him various questions to ascertain his desires so that they can give the customers satisfaction.

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