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Assignment # 1

MKT 725: SERVICES MARKETING

Q.1 Services Marketing is an inevitable development in the field of marketing. Do

you agree with the statement? If yes, then support your answer with emphatic

arguments elucidating the reasons for the growing share of the service sector in all

major economies of the world?

Answer

Services are the activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale or are provided in

connection with the sale of goods.

Certain characteristics distinguish goods from services, they are; intangibility, inseparability,

variability, perishability. The best suitable marketing field is the services marketing. The services

marketing is offering the opportunity to work with seven marketing strategies. Along with the

four traditional ones (product, price, placement and promotion) three more options are available:

people, process and physical evidence. These three strategies are able to provide relevant insights

about the educational product and useful tools to develop successful marketing strategies.

All the 7 Ps have a special place in the marketing mix and each of them is affecting Even that the

framework considers each strategy one at a time, the synergy between each component should be

taken into consideration. Each component is able to enhance or reduce the others effect.

The primary characteristic that distinguishes services from goods is intangibility. Intangibility

refers to the characteristics of not being capable of assessment by customers sense of taste,

touch, sight, smell or hearing. Services such as banking insurance and education cannot be

physically possessed like a tangible goods. Intangible services are more difficult for consumer to

evaluate than tangible goods. For example it is more difficult to evaluate the services provided

by a physician than to evaluate an automobile. Another characteristic of service is the

inseparability or indivisible nature of production and consumption of services. Services like

education are generally produced and consumed at the same time. Due to this nature, the service

provider plays a very important role in delivery of services. For example a dentist is the actual

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service provider and must be physically present along with the consumer when the service is

produced and consumed. In many cases the service provider is the part of service. People

perform most services and people are not always consistent in their performance. Performance

may vary from one individual or service to another within the same organization or in the service

one individual provides from day to day and from customer to customer. Thus services are much

more difficult to standardize than tangible goods. For example, an airline may not give the same

quality of service on each trip, all repair jobs which a mechanic does may be consistent.

Perishability is the characteristic where the service capacity unused in one time period cannot be

stored for use in the future. Services are highly perishable. They cannot be stored, there are no

inventories in the case of a service. For example, in an airline industry the morning flight cannot

be stored for the evening. Generally, services are provided directly to the customers. Rarely

middlemen may be present in case of services marketing. For instance, if a client needs bank

services or hotel services he may directly go to the service provider. Even where indirect

channels are used, such as in the case of insurance services, travel and tours. The channel of

distribution will be restricted to one or two intermediaries. In services marketing there is a need

for personal interaction between the service provider and the customer. Therefore, service

providers can customize the services as per the needs of individual customers. For instance, there

is a need for personal interaction between a doctor and a patient and therefore the doctor will

treat individual patients differently. These characteristics are the reasons of increasing share of

service sector in all major economies of the world.

Q2. What is so distinctive about services marketing that it requires a special

approach, set of concepts, and body of knowledge? Why is it necessary to come up

with 7 Ps separate strategy for services businesses.

Answer

The physical evidence is the first and foremost distinction of the product. A product could be

easily recognized by its physical appearance. Physical evidence strategy is the only one that can

give a shape to all the services either tangible or intangible or educational, therefore it can help

ensuring the customer about the quality of the service. All the physical evidence components

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contribute to the first impression, given that all the other strategies have a small impact on any of

the five forces that the physical evidence is the strategy responsible for a tangible meaning for

the education offer.

All the 7 Ps have a special place in the marketing mix and each of them is affecting the student in

one or several phases of the service consumption. Even that the framework considers each

strategy one at a time, the synergy between each component should be taken into consideration.

Each component is able to enhance or reduce the others effect. Originally developed for the

services market, the 7 Ps framework can be applied in educational marketing as well.

The product strategy is strongly influenced by the service characteristics. More than that, the fact

that the customer can be both the student and the labour market needs a good understanding of

the educational market.The price strategy is the only strategy able to directly influence the revenue of the university. It is

correlated with the funding strategy and it signals the quality of a program.

The placement strategy can make the difference between a regular university and a successful

one. Being able to efficiently deliver the knowledge and, then, to help the graduate to find its

place on the labour market can be the first step to exceed customer expectations.

The promotion strategy is focused on two main segments: the student and the public opinion.

Both categories have different characteristics and, therefore, the strategy should be different for

each of them. The promotion strategy is also responsible for the brand and the reputation of the

university.

The people strategy is the most important addition from services marketing. The people in the

educational sector are the most important assets. This strategy can change the other strategies

according to its resources.

The process strategy plays a major role in delivering a smooth educational service. It has a major

role in the enrolment process, too.

The physical evidence is the only strategy that can give a shape to all the educational service.

Therefore it can help ensuring the customer about the quality of the service. By using the 7 Ps

framework a university will be able to create a coherent marketing mix, able to address its

objectives.

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Q3. Evaluate how effectively the seven Ps have been developed for higher

educational scenario in the article.

Answer

The 7ps framework has been developed and applied in educational marketing. There are certain

special characteristics offer by the 7ps of the educational environment.

The product strategy is strongly influenced by the service characteristics. More than that, the fact

that the customer can be both the student and the labour market needs a good understanding of

the educational market.

The price strategy is the only strategy able to directly influence the revenue of the university. It is

correlated with the funding strategy and it signals the quality of a program.

The placement strategy can make the difference between a regular university and a successful

one. Being able to efficiently deliver the knowledge and, then, to help the graduate to find its

place on the labour market can be the first step to exceed customer expectations.

The promotion strategy is focused on two main segments: the student and the public opinion.

Both categories have different characteristics and, therefore, the strategy should be different for

each of them. The promotion strategy is also responsible for the brand and the reputation of the

university.

The people strategy is the most important addition from services marketing. The people in the

educational sector are the most important assets. This strategy can change the other strategies

according to its resources.

The process strategy plays a major role in delivering a smooth educational service. It has a major

role in the enrolment process, too.

The physical evidence is the only strategy that can give a shape to all the educational service.

Therefore it can help ensuring the customer about the quality of the service. By using the 7 Ps

framework a university will be able to create a coherent marketing mix, able to address its

objectives.