26301 UNIT 3 Assignment

8/13/2019 26301 UNIT 3 Assignment

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SERVICES MARKETINGAssignment

1. What are the extended Ps & their im !i"ati#ns $#r Ser%i"e ind str'(

Ans. In the previous article we discussed the characteristics of a service . In this article we look at how

the marketing mix for marketing a service is different to the marketing mix for products. Just like the

marketing mix of a product the service marketing mix comprises of Pr#d "t) Pri"e) P!a"e and

Pr#m#ti#n. How ever as a service is not tangible the marketing mix for a service has three additional

elements: Pe# !e) Pr#"ess and Ph'si"a! E%iden"e.

People

People are an essential ingredient in service provision; recruiting and training the right staff is re uired

to create a competitive advantage. !ustomers make "udgments about service provision and deliver#

based on the people representing #our organi$ation. %his is because people are one of the few elements

of the service that customers can see and interact with. %he praise received b# the volunteers &games

makers' for the (ondon )*+) ,l#mpics and Paral#mpics demonstrates the powerful effect people can

create during service deliver#. -taff re uire appropriate interpersonal skills aptitude and service

knowledge in order to deliver a ualit# service. In the /0 man# organi$ations appl# for the 1Investors in

People1 Accreditation to demonstrate that the# train their staff to prescribed standards and best practices.
http://www.learnmarketing.net/servicemarketing.htmhttp://www.learnmarketing.net/marketingmix.htmhttp://www.learnmarketing.net/servicemarketing.htmhttp://www.learnmarketing.net/marketingmix.htm


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Pr#"ess

%his element of the marketing mix looks at the s#stems used to deliver the service. Imagine #ou walk

into 2urger 0ing and order a 3hopper 4eal and #ou get it delivered within ) minutes. 3hat was the

process that allowed #ou to obtain an efficient service deliver#5 2anks that send out !redit !ards

automaticall# when their customers old one has expired again re uire an efficient process to identif#

expir# dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer lo#alt#

and confidence in the compan#. All services need to be underpinned b# clearl# defined and efficient

processes. %his will avoid confusion and promote a consistent service. In other words processes mean

that ever#bod# knows what to do and how to do it.

Ph#sical 6vidence &Ph#sical 6nvironment'

Ph#sical evidence is about where the service is being delivered from. It is particularl# relevant toretailers operating out of shops. %his element of the marketing mix will distinguish a compan# from its

competitors. Ph#sical evidence can be used to charge a premium price for a service and establish a

positive experience. 7or example all hotels provide a bed to sleep on but one of the things affecting the

price charged is the condition of the room &ph#sical evidence' holding the bed. !ustomers will make

"udgments about the organi$ation based on the ph#sical evidence. 7or example if #ou walk into a

restaurant #ou expect a clean and friendl# environment if the restaurant is smell# or dirt# customers are

likel# to walk out. %his is before the# have even received the service.

S mmar'

%he -ervice 4arketing 4ix involves Product Price Place Promotion People Process and Ph#sical

6vidence. 7irms marketing a service need to get each of these elements correct. %he marketing mix for a

service has additional elements because the characteristics of a service are different to the characteristics

of a product. %he !haracteristics of a service are:

&+' (ack of ownership

&)' Intangibilit#

&8' Inseparabilit#

&9' Perishabilit#

& ' Heterogeneit#.

%o certain extent managing services are more complicated then managing products products can be

standardi$ed to standardi$e a service is more difficult as there it can be affected b# factors outside theservice providers control.


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*. Wh' are the ser%i"e em !#'ees "riti"a! $#r the s ""ess #$ an' ser%i"e #rgani+ati#n(

ANS. It is ver# important to focus on emplo#ees because :

%he# are the service %he# are the organi$ation in the customer s e#es %he# are the brands %he# are the marketers

In man# cases the contact emplo#ee is the service < there is nothing else. 6.g. in most personal and

professional services &like haircutting ph#sical trainers child care cleaning =maintenance etc.' the

contact emplo#ees provide s the entire service single handedl#. %he offering is the emplo#ee. %hus

investing in the emplo#ee to improve the service parallels making a direct investment in the

improvement of a manufactured product.

2ecause contact emplo#ees represent the organi$ation and can directl# influence customer satisfaction

the# perform the role of marketers. %he# ph#sicall# embod# the product and are the walking billboards

from the promotional point of view.

3hether acknowledged or not activel# selling or not service emplo#ees perform marketing functions.

%he# can perform these functions well to the organi$ation s advantage or poorl# to the organi$ation s

detriment.

In toda#>s world services are becoming more and more significant in an# countr#>s econom#. As (ouis

?. @erstner said in )**+ 1-ervices are going to move in this decade to being the front edge of the

industr#1. %his uote comes from the former !6, of a compan# which claims to be the world>s largest

service business in the world I24. %he importance of services in toda#>s world can be further

emphasi$ed b# the fact that services comprised of almost *B of /nited -tates of America>s @ross

Comestic Product in )**8.

If we talk in Pakistani context we can see that the structure of the Pakistani econom# has changed from a

mainl# agricultural base to a strong service base. Agriculture now onl# accounts for roughl# )*B of the

@CP while the service sector accounts for 8B of the @CP with wholesale and retail trade forming 8*B

of this sector. %his fact also demands that more work should be done on services marketing for proper

growth of the sector.


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Dow that we know about the difference and importance of services we would like to shed some light on

the difference between marketing of products and marketing of services. 4arketing for services is

thought to be different from that of a product b# a lot of experienced marketers. %his was found out b#

@ar# 0nisel# a principal of the consulting firm Johnson -mith and 0nisel# in +EFE when he

interviewed several highGranking marketing executives who had all gone to work in consumer services

industr# after extensive experience in the consumer packaged goods industr#. %here are generall# 9 Psconsidered in packaged goods marketing namel# Product Price Place and Promotion. 2ut when we talk

about services it is believed that there are three additional P>s that should be considered for services

marketing namel# People Process and Ph#sical evidence.

%he fifth P i.e. People include both emplo#ees and customers as customers also pla# an important role in

the service deliver# process. 2ut we are going to focus on emplo#ees as far as this article is concerned.

7rom the above discussion it is obvious that emplo#ees pla# an important role in the services marketing

because of the var# reason that emplo#ees are involved in the process of deliver# of an# service e.g. a

waiter in a restaurant is actuall# the conductor of all the process related to the customers. -o it is of great

importance that he gives the right image to the customer otherwise the customer might never return. -o

those emplo#ees that are a part of service deliver# we can call them customerGcontact service

emplo#ees pla# an absolutel# crucial role in building a repute for an# service.

%he importance of customerGcontact service emplo#ees can be understood because of the following

statements which will also show that wh# emplo#ees ma# be the most valuable asset of a servicesorgani$ation. !ustomerGcontact service emplo#ees are ver# important because:

o %he# are the service

o %he# are the organi$ation in the customer>s e#es

o %he# are the brand

o %he# are marketers

In man# cases in a service there is "ust the emplo#ee and nothing else i.e. emplo#ee is the service e.g.hair cutting ph#sical trainers legal services etc. %his means that the service being offered b# the

business is the emplo#ee. %hus investing in the emplo#ee is same as investing in the manufacture of a

product.

A customerGcontact service emplo#ee ma# reflect the image of the service organi$ation even if he or she

is not directl# providing the re uired service. If #ou enter a hospital ever# emplo#ee that #ou encounter

from the receptionist to the clerk might influence #our opinion about that organi$ation. %hus emplo#ees

sometimes do become the organi$ation in customer>s e#es.


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6mplo#ees also become the brand for a service. A ver# good example can be of a universit# which is

well reputed amongst students. %he ualit# of most universities is "udged b# the caliber of the teachers

that are teaching there. 3hen a student interacts with a professor he has positive emotions about the

universit# onl# when he feels that the teacher is knowledgeable and understanding and has complete

control over his sub"ect. 3e can sa# that one reason among others (/4- is thought to be better than

other universities is due to the perception that its facult# contains more PhCs than an#bod# else hencehaving better educational ualit# than others. %hus an emplo#ee also becomes the brand for a service.

2ecause contact emplo#ees represent the organi$ation and can directl# influence customer satisfaction

the# perform the role of marketers. %he# ph#sicall# embod# the service and are walking billboards from

a promotional point of view. If we are on the road and we see a person sitting on a motorc#cle going to

deliver a free deliver# or to deliver letters or documents #ou can tell from their appearance clothing or

even kind of vehicle that which organi$ation the# belong to. -o even when the service emplo#ees are

"ust doing their dut# the# are acting as marketers for their organi$ation.

Here we would like to refer to 4r. Cennis Harting who sa#s 13hat is the most valuable asset that a

compan# has5 Is it the name customers goodwill ph#sical resources or product line5 %he answer is

that it is none of these. A compan#>s most valuable resource is its> emplo#ees. An# organi$ation will go

onl# as far as the people who are driving it. In fact a compan# is reall# "ust a group of people who

interact for a common purpose. %he# are the ones who make up the organi$ation.1.

He also states that 1It is important that managers and owners begin to reali$e that the emplo#ees are the

most valuable asset an# organi$ation can have. %hose who accept this new business model will structure

their compensation and bonus program to reflect this belief.1

Above discussion onl# points to one thing generall# for ever# business and particularl# for an# services

business emplo#ees are definitel# the most valuable assets. 3e personall# feel that in Pakistan

emplo#ees are still not given the right place and importance. ,ne feels that more and more attention

should be paid to role of emplo#ees in services and investments should be made to improve the mostvaluable asset of services.

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26301 UNIT 3 Assignment