Services marketing
Services marketing is a distinct branch of marketing that focuses on the promotion and sale of services rather than physical products. A service is defined as an activity provided by one party to another in exchange for economic value, and it typically aims to offer benefits that meet customer needs. Unlike goods, services are intangible and consumed at the point of delivery, meaning customers do not own them once utilized. This sector encompasses a wide range of industries, including hospitality, healthcare, finance, and telecommunications.
Effective services marketing involves building strong relationships with customers to encourage repeat business, rather than focusing solely on a single transaction. It places a significant emphasis on service quality, customer experience, and emotional connection, which can be pivotal in competitive markets where products are similar. For instance, in a restaurant, factors such as food quality, ambiance, and staff friendliness all contribute to the overall service experience. With the rise of the services industry as a major economic contributor, the need for specialized marketing strategies has become increasingly recognized, highlighting the importance of customer trust and satisfaction in driving business success.
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Subject Terms
Services marketing
Marketing consists of two major subfields: product marketing and services marketing. In the latter, a service is defined as an activity offered by one party to another in exchange for money or something else of economic value. When customers pay for a service, they expect that service to benefit them in some way, to be done well, and to be completed in a timely manner. Services may be offered to consumers in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing, or they may be offered to other businesses (business to business or B2B marketing). The type of service is wide-ranging, but generally consumers of services are purchasing the skills and expertise of a business or their employees. Examples include hospitality, healthcare, financial, and telecommunications services.
Overview
Until the 1980s, goods and services were not considered separate subfields of marketing. Marketing scholars and practitioners emphasized the selling of products, with services as aids to the production and marketing of those products. As the services industry grew, however, it became a major employer and a significant contributor to nations’ gross domestic products (GDPs). Empirical marketing research followed, and by the mid-1990s services had become a distinct subfield of marketing.
Services marketing must convince potential customers that their services will provide some sort of benefit. Typically, services are intangible experiences that are “consumed,” are no longer owned once used, and are tied to the place in which the business provides them. For example, a ticket to a live theater performance is a tangible object that provides access to an intangible experience at a specific venue. The customer cannot use the ticket to take the performance home, and once it is used (consumed) and/or its specified time of use has expired, the ticket is no longer worth its original value.
Given these parameters, approaches to services marketing must differ from those of product marketing in order to make a sale. The goal of services marketing is not a single sale either, but rather to establish personal relationships that keep customers returning to a business for more. For example, while a restaurant’s main service is food, it is not just the type and quality of the food that successful marketing emphasizes in order to convince customers to return—and to recommend that restaurant to their friends. The price of the food is important, as is the ambiance of the restaurant and the congeniality of the waitstaff.
In the digital age, services may be purchased and consumed virtually. Therefore, services marketing includes the visible online identity of a company or business. Sometimes, that company is solely digital, as in purchasing an online consulting session, website builder, or a virtual workout program. However, some services, like home repair businesses, have an online presence that is used to market their in-person business.
Services marketing is also important for companies that sell goods or services that are for the most part the same. These are called homogenous products or services. In these situations, service quality is key to beating one’s competitors at gaining customers. Once customers trust the seller to provide quality service consistently, they will likely return to that seller in the future. If the service provided a second time is not as good as the first, that customer may switch to a different seller, based on its reputation.
Bibliography
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