Service Marketing Definition
Marketing has been considered to be an integral business aspect for long. Service marketing is the endorsement of economic activities offered by a company to its consumers, it is considered to be a special sub set of marketing because it focuses on how rendering of services can affect both the customer attitude and the marketing strategy. Service marketing includes building public relations, advancing customer loyalty, developing quality of service, handling relationships and complaint management.
Service Marketing Is Important
The service sector seems to be taking over the world economy, this is because of the growing significance and the immense share of the service sector in most nations. To some extent, the service sector has been regarded as a gauge of a country’s economic advancement.
Economic history illustrates that developing countries have habitually moved from agriculture to industry and finally to the service sector as their core sector of the economy.
Business Unusual
For quite some time, businesses have seemed to be mainly dealing with goods for they seemed to be economically viable. The economical viability of services wasn’t of much interest back in time as it is right now.
There has been the traditional set pattern of business operations which seem to be transforming now that services have been of economical interest. This is where the term business unusual comes in, because the inclusions of services have brought about an alteration in business operations.
Characteristics Of Services In Marketing
There a number of characteristics that distinguish services from goods, they are:
Services are Intangible: Services can’t be touched nor be seen. This poses a challenge to marketers who have to attach a concrete element to a rather intangible product. This is by far the most outstanding characteristic of a service. For example, the services rendered by a cashier are intangible.
Services are Perishable: It is not possible to store services nor can a service that has already been delivered be returned back to the provider. For example, the services offered by a taxi driver can’t be stored for future use.
Services are Variable: Services lack homogeneity. The fact that services are provided by humans means that they can’t be offered in a specified manner at all times. A shop attendant can’t serve two customers in the exact same manner, there has to be at least a trace of variability.
Services are Inseparable from the provider: The services provided by an individual can’t be separated from the provider. The skills that a mason possesses can’t be separated from him.
Importance Of Service Marketing
A service is a special kind of product; this consequently means that its marketing has to be approached differently. The exceptional characteristics of services form the basis on how best to market a product. The following are only a few examples of the importance:
Due to the presence of homogeneity in production, how well a company performs in providing this product is proving to be the determining factor in the minds of most consumers.
Appropriate provision of services by businesses results in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Given that services are intangible the consumers are likely to make their purchasing decisions based on where their loyalty lies.