Course Code: 19MMT506A

Course Title: Services Marketing

Course Leader:

Prof H N Nagesha
E-mail: hnagesha.ms.mc@msruas.ac.in

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Unit 7
Promoting Services

• The Role of Marketing Communications

• Challenges of Marketing Communications
• Marketing Communications Planning
• The Marketing Communications Mix
• Integrated Marketing Communication

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
• Marketers explain and promote the value proposition
their firm is offering
• It is a promise of what customers can expect
• Most visible or audible of marketing activities
• Used intelligently in conjunction with other
marketing efforts

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
• Communication is used to convey to customer:
– Service firm’s existence
– What firm has to offer them
– Value proposition of each of its products
– How to use them to best advantage

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 The Role of Marketing Communications
• Communication include:
– Media advertising
– Public relations
– Professional salespeople

• Also firm can communicate through:

– The location and atmosphere of a service delivery facility
– Corporate design (consistent use of colors and graphics)
– Appearance and behavior of employees
– Design of a website
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
• Specific roles performed by marketing communications:
1. Position and differentiate the service
2. Promote the contribution of service personnel and backstage
operations
3. Add value through communication content
4. Facilitate customer involvement in service production
5. Stimulate or dampen demand to match capacity

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
1. Position and differentiate the service

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
2. Promote the contribution of service personnel and
backstage operations:
• In high-contact services, frontline personnel are central to
service delivery
• Their services are more tangible and more personalized
• Starbucks: publicity materials and web pages display service
personnel behind the scenes, how coffee beans are
cultivated, harvested, and produced-highlighting its use of
the finest and freshest
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
3. Add value through communication content: Include:
– Information and advice about what service options
are available
– Where and when these services are available
– How much they cost
– Specific features, functions, and service benefits

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
4. Facilitate customer involvement in service production
• Customers are actively involved in service production
• They need training to help them perform well
– Sales promotions as incentives to encourage customers
– Dentists show their patients videos of surgical procedures
before the surgery
– Price discounts

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Role of Marketing Communications
5. Stimulate or dampen demand to match capacity:
– Advertising and sales promotions can help to change the
timing of customer use and help to match demand with the
available capacity at a given time
– Low demand outside peak periods – offer discounts
– Wednesday Bazaar

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 Challenges of Services Communications
Problems of Intangibility:
• Services are performances rather than objects
• Difficult to communicate to customers the benefits of
services
• More difficult when services does not involve
tangible actions to customers or their possessions

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Challenges of Services Communications
Intangibility creates four problems:
1. Abstractness
2. Generality
3. Non-searchability
4. Mental impalpability

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Challenges of Services Communications
• Abstractness:
– Abstract concepts such as financial security, expert advice, or
safe transportation

• Generality:
– Refers class of objects, persons, or events - airline seats, flight
attendants, and cabin service
– To communicate what makes a specific offering distinctly
different from—and superior to—competing offerings

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Challenges of Services Communications
• Non-searchability:
– Intangibles cannot be searched or inspected before they are
purchased
– Ex: working with the trainers, surgeon expertise

• Mental impalpability:
– Difficult for consumers/new prospects to understand
the experience of using and likely benefits of services

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Overcoming the Challenges Intangibility
• Tangible cues:
– Business schools feature successful alumni to communicate
benefits of its education tangible
– In terms of career advancement and salary increases

• Metaphors:
– To emphasize key points of difference relative to competing
alternatives
– Insurance companies - “You’re in Good Hands”

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Overcoming the Challenges Intangibility

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Checklist for marketing communications planning (“5 Ws”)
1. Who is our target audience?
2. What do we need to communicate and achieve?
3. How should we communicate this?
4. Where should we communicate this?
5. When do the communications need to take place?

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Defining the Target Audience:
 Target audiences are-
1. Prospects: Audiences not known. Usually traditional
communication mix used
2. Users: Cost-effective channels used to reach existing users,
cross- or up-selling efforts by frontline employees, point-of-
sale promotions
3. Employees: secondary audience for communication
campaigns
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Specifying Communication Objectives:
– Create memorable images of companies and their brands
– Build awareness and interest in an unfamiliar service or brand
– Compare a service favorably with competitors’ offerings
– Build preference by communicating the strengths and benefits of a specific brand
– (Re)position a service relative to competitive offerings
– Reduce uncertainty and perceived risk by providing useful information and advice
– Provide reassurance, such as by promoting service guarantees
– Encourage trial by offering promotional incentives
– Familiarize customers with service processes in advance of use
– Teach customers how to use a service to their best advantage
– Stimulate demand in low-demand periods and shift demand during peak periods
– Recognize and reward valued customers

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 The Marketing Communications Mix for Services

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 The Marketing Communications Mix for Services

Sources of Messages Received by a Target Audience

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Traditional Marketing Channels:
Advertising:
• An array of paid advertising media is available
– Broadcast - TV and radio
– Print magazines and newspapers
– Movie theaters
– Outdoor media - posters, billboards, electronic message boards, buses,…

• Messages delivered through mass media and reinforced by direct

marketing tools - mailings, telemarketing, or email

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Public Relations:
• To stimulate positive interest in an organization and services:
– Send out news releases
– Hold press conferences
– Staging special events
– Sponsoring newsworthy activities put on by third parties

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Direct Marketing:
• Mailings, email, and text messaging, telemarketing

Sales Promotion:
• Communication is attached to an incentive
• Sales promotions usually are specific to a time period, price, or
customer group—sometimes all three
• Ex: samples, coupons, discounts, gifts, and competitions

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Personal Selling:
• Interpersonal encounters to educate customers and promote
preference for a particular brand or product
• Dedicated sales force /agents / distributors
1. Face-to-face
2. Telemarketing

Trade Shows: Predominantly for B2B

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Messages Transmitted through the Internet:
• Own websites: websites are used for-
– Promoting consumer awareness and interest
– Providing information and consultation
– Facilitating two-way communications - email and chat rooms
– Stimulating product trial
– Enabling customers to place orders

• Through online advertising:

1. Banner advertising
2. Search engine advertising

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning
Messages Transmitted through Service Delivery
Channels:
• Messages can be transmitted through:
1. Service outlets - banners, posters, signage, brochures,
video, and audio
2. Frontline employees – During interaction
3. Self-service delivery points – ATMs and Wending machines
4. Customer training

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Marketing Communications Planning

Messages Originating from Outside the Organization:

• Not controlled by the marketer
1. Word of mouth
2. Blogs – Online word of mouth
3. Twitter - social networking and microblogging service
4. Media coverage
• Media coverage of firms and their services stimulated by PR activity
• Broadcasters and publishers may initiate their own coverage

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 Integrating Services Marketing Communication

• Customer receive service information through -

targeted magazines, websites, direct mail, movie
theatre advertising, e-mail, and sales promotion
• Also receive information from servicescapes, customer
service department and employees
• Company should disseminate unified and consistent
messages

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 Services Marketing Triangle
Company
External Marketing
Communication
Internal Marketing Advertising
Vertical Communications Sales Promotion
Horizontal Communications Public Relations
Direct Marketing

Employees Customers
Interactive Marketing
Personal Selling
Customer Service
Center Service Encounters
Servicescapes
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Approaches for Integrating Services Marketing
Communication

2. Manage
Customer
Expectations

Goal:
1. Manage Delivery 3. Improve
Service greater than Customer
Promises or equal to Education
promises

4. Manage
Internal
Marketing
Communication
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 1. Manage Service Promises

• Company should deliver promises made by

salespeople, advertising and service personnel
• Salespeople often sell, particularly new business
services, before their actual availability, without
knowledge of exact date of its availability
• May result in demand and supply variation

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Approaches for Managing Service Promises

MANAGING SERVICE PROMISES

Goal:
Create Coordinate Make Offer Delivery
Effective External Realistic Service greater than
Services Communication Promises Guarantees or equal to
Communications promises

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 2. Manage Customer Expectations

• Marketing should make the offering appealing

enough
• Offer to be viewed by customer as superior to
competing services
• However, firms should not overpromise and are to
make realistic promises only

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Approaches for Managing Customer Expectations

Offer Choices

Create Tiered-Value
Offerings
Communicate Criteria for
Service Effectiveness
Negotiate
Unrealistic
Expectations
Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 3. Improve Customer Education

• Customers should be aware –as how service is

delivered, their role in service delivery, and to
evaluate services
• Survey reveal that about 33% of customer
complaints are related to customer themselves
• Customer’s unawareness may lead to ‘defect’

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Approaches for Improving Customer Education

Teach
Customers
Prepare Confirm Clarify to Avoid
Goal: Performance Expectations
Delivery Customers Peak
for the to Standards after the Sale Demand
greater than Service
or equal to Periods
Process and
promises
Seek low
Periods

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 4. Manage Internal Marketing Communication

• Poor internal communication between service

personnel and marketing personnel results in poor
perception of service quality
HR- Employees: inform and motivate to deliver
Marketing employees communicate to service employees
about the customer expectations
Communication between service personnel of various
departments/outlets to ensure consistency in policies and
procedures
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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Approaches for Managing
Internal Marketing Communications

Goal: Delivery
greater than or
equal to promises

Create Effective
Vertical
Communications

Create Effective
Horizontal
Communications
Align Back
Office Personnel
w/ External Customers
Create
Cross-Functional
Teams

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 References

– Lovelock, Wirtz and Chatterji (2013), Services

Marketing - People, Technology and strategy, 7th
Edition, Pearson Education

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Faculty of Management and Commerce © Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences
 Disclaimer

• All data and content provided in this presentation

are taken from the reference books, internet –
websites and links, for informational purposes only.

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