With the advent of education, healthcare, and software consultancy services, the service sector has secured a prominent position in the nation’s economy. Hence, it is vital for businesses to establish a department dedicated to the marketing of services.
Marketing services is no easy task for organizations. Service marketers must excel in attracting prospective customers to the service organization, leveraging all seven P’s of the service marketing mix.
1. Helps in Building Relationships
Service marketing fosters long-term relationships with target customers. Since service marketers do not have a tangible product to offer, they rely on comprehending the customers’ needs and demands. They strive to satisfy them through relevant service offerings in the most efficient manner.
In this process, trust and loyalty are cultivated among the customers towards the service organization, culminating in long-term relationships. These relationships aid in generating repeated purchases as well as word-of-mouth promotion.
2. Assists in Affecting Customers’ Perception
Several interaction points are designed for our target customers while delivering the services. The overall buying process of the customer is influenced by the cumulative effect of these interaction points. These include the people involved in providing the services, their processes and methodologies, and the surrounding physical evidence. These interaction points play a crucial role in shaping the perception of the target customers.
3. Involves Customers’ Feedback
The marketing approach for services differs significantly from that of tangible products, as consumers play a pivotal role in the marketing process. In this context, customer feedback is sought and analysed to enhance the effectiveness of service marketing.
This approach fosters a healthy relationship with customers, resulting in their loyalty towards the service organization.
4. Helps in Differentiating the Service Organization
Service organisations offering similar services or products to the market can effectively differentiate themselves using the service marketing approach. Service marketing emphasises the unique features of the services provided by an organisation, making it a preferred choice over its competitors.
For instance, service marketing is the reason why people distinguish between Domino’s and Pizza Hut, even though both deliver similar products.
5. Offers Higher Customer Retention
In today’s world of fierce competition, marketers are vying for a limited pool of customers. Consequently, it becomes more crucial to retain existing customers than to attract new ones.
In service marketing, customer needs and feedback are analysed to deliver the desired services. Therefore, by offering customised services, customers are satisfied, leading to higher customer retention.
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