Marketing services can be slightly more complex than marketing products for four key reasons…

• Intangibility

As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, services cannot be seen, or touched.  So, you have to market them in a slightly different way and try to incorporate some tangibility into your promotional methods.  For example customer testimonials, brochures and guarantees that reassure the customer of the quality of service you offer.

• Inseparability

Services are produced and consumed simultaneously, for example a haircut.  The service provider is therefore crucial in the marketing process and can make the difference between a one-off sale and long-term repeat business.  You therefore need strategies for selecting, training and rewarding staff to ensure customers receive great service that will bring them back again, and again.

• Variability

Because services are delivered by people, standards will vary between different personalities.  It’s therefore difficult to standardise what is delivered.  This again highlights the importance of your team and their selection, training and incentives.  It also raises a question of systems and equipment to reduce differences in the service provided.

• Perishability

Services cannot be stored – if a hotel room is not filled one night, that bed-night cannot be sold again tomorrow.  This increases the importance of matching supply and demand closely, to maximise profits.  You can use prices as one way of controlling demand, but we would recommend having a number of strategies to deal with this issue.

This post hopefully gives you some areas to consider if you are marketing services.  It’s slightly more challenging, but the solutions can provide some fantastic returns.  I hope it helps your business.