You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Is service marketing different Is service marketing different from product marketing?
Prahladrai
Prahlad Rai
Marketing products and services can have many similarities as well as differences. Products and services benefit from adding trust and name recognition into the marketing materials, but products can be impulse purchases whereas services need time for delivery. There are several differences between marketing products and services, most of which center on relationship building.
Trust
Entrepreneur magazine says in a service-based business, "you are the product." In other words, you have to sell confidence and trust in yourself, and your ability to perform the services as described. When marketing a service, you need to instill trust and confidence in your abilities because instead of receiving a tangible product in exchange for money, the customer receives a promised result.
Time
Selling a service also means you're selling your time. When you sell a product, there is time invested to create or acquire the product and then it is sold again and again without further time invested. Services by their very nature are time-intensive activities because there is no way to continue providing a service without continuing to invest time performing the service. Time is an important part of marketing a service because if you promise results within a given time frame, you must be certain you're able to deliver while still managing and providing services for others. You must be able to effectively estimate and manage the time needed for providing services to clients.
Deliverability
When you're marketing products, you can give customers a delivery date estimate if they're ordering online or through the mail, and they can walk out the door with the product in hand if they buy it in your brick and mortar store. Services must be created after they're ordered, and delivery times will vary. The challenge with marketing services is being able to convince customers that you can and will deliver quality results within a given period of time. Usually service marketing materials have testimonials and case studies from other satisfied clients, that work to prove you're able to deliver on the promises in your marketing materials.
Wants And Needs
Many products can be marketed in ways that trigger impulse buying. If someone sees a pair of shoes, she can suddenly decide to buy them whether they're needed or not. She may justify the purchase by claiming they needed dress shoes for a special occasion, but in reality she gave in to a want instead. Services are rarely impulse buys, but the marketing materials can help buyers justify the want or need by explaining the benefits the customer will receive from buying the service. A lawn care service for example, can include convenience and free time as part of their marketing materials, to persuade buyers to sign up.
Relationships
Marketing a service-based business relies more on building a relationship than marketing products does. Some relationship building is done with product marketing--particularly branding and name recognition--but it's not as important a part of the overall marketing process for service-based businesses. When services build up trust and reliability with clients, they gain relationships that can continue earning them money for years to come.
Trust
Entrepreneur magazine says in a service-based business, "you are the product." In other words, you have to sell confidence and trust in yourself, and your ability to perform the services as described. When marketing a service, you need to instill trust and confidence in your abilities because instead of receiving a tangible product in exchange for money, the customer receives a promised result.
Time
Selling a service also means you're selling your time. When you sell a product, there is time invested to create or acquire the product and then it is sold again and again without further time invested. Services by their very nature are time-intensive activities because there is no way to continue providing a service without continuing to invest time performing the service. Time is an important part of marketing a service because if you promise results within a given time frame, you must be certain you're able to deliver while still managing and providing services for others. You must be able to effectively estimate and manage the time needed for providing services to clients.
Deliverability
When you're marketing products, you can give customers a delivery date estimate if they're ordering online or through the mail, and they can walk out the door with the product in hand if they buy it in your brick and mortar store. Services must be created after they're ordered, and delivery times will vary. The challenge with marketing services is being able to convince customers that you can and will deliver quality results within a given period of time. Usually service marketing materials have testimonials and case studies from other satisfied clients, that work to prove you're able to deliver on the promises in your marketing materials.
Wants And Needs
Many products can be marketed in ways that trigger impulse buying. If someone sees a pair of shoes, she can suddenly decide to buy them whether they're needed or not. She may justify the purchase by claiming they needed dress shoes for a special occasion, but in reality she gave in to a want instead. Services are rarely impulse buys, but the marketing materials can help buyers justify the want or need by explaining the benefits the customer will receive from buying the service. A lawn care service for example, can include convenience and free time as part of their marketing materials, to persuade buyers to sign up.
Relationships
Marketing a service-based business relies more on building a relationship than marketing products does. Some relationship building is done with product marketing--particularly branding and name recognition--but it's not as important a part of the overall marketing process for service-based businesses. When services build up trust and reliability with clients, they gain relationships that can continue earning them money for years to come.
Prahladrai
Prahlad Rai
Differences between service marketing and product marketing
1. When you are marketing a service, you are really marketing relationship and value. This relationship and value needs to be marketed differently than if you are marketing actual products.
2. Another major difference between marketing services and marketing products is that when a buyer purchases a service, the buyer is purchasing something that is intangible, instead of a tangible product, like a computer or a sprinkler system or a web page.
3. Consumers' concept of a service is often times based on just the reputation of only one single person. Instead of building a reputation based on the quality of a number of different products, a service is built on how well a particular person delivers on a service, such as how well a stock advisor does with your stock portfolio.
4. It is pretty easy to compare the quality of different products. It's easy for you to see if one computer works more quickly than another computer, or if one TV has a better picture than another picture, or if your child can break a toy more easily than another toy. However, it is much more difficult to compare the quality of similar services that are provided.
5. Products are returnable. However, services are not returnable. How to market services
Generally speaking, marketing a product requires what are known as the "4 P's": Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Marketing a service adds three more "P's" to the traditional "4 P's": People, Physical evidence, and Process. Service marketing also includes marketing what is known as the servicescape, which is the aesthetics of your business place: the outside of your business building, the inside of your business building, and the way that the employees look.
1. When you are marketing a service, you are really marketing relationship and value. This relationship and value needs to be marketed differently than if you are marketing actual products.
2. Another major difference between marketing services and marketing products is that when a buyer purchases a service, the buyer is purchasing something that is intangible, instead of a tangible product, like a computer or a sprinkler system or a web page.
3. Consumers' concept of a service is often times based on just the reputation of only one single person. Instead of building a reputation based on the quality of a number of different products, a service is built on how well a particular person delivers on a service, such as how well a stock advisor does with your stock portfolio.
4. It is pretty easy to compare the quality of different products. It's easy for you to see if one computer works more quickly than another computer, or if one TV has a better picture than another picture, or if your child can break a toy more easily than another toy. However, it is much more difficult to compare the quality of similar services that are provided.
5. Products are returnable. However, services are not returnable. How to market services
Generally speaking, marketing a product requires what are known as the "4 P's": Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Marketing a service adds three more "P's" to the traditional "4 P's": People, Physical evidence, and Process. Service marketing also includes marketing what is known as the servicescape, which is the aesthetics of your business place: the outside of your business building, the inside of your business building, and the way that the employees look.