Service Industries: The Marketing Response

Given the unique and distinguishing features of the service industry, researchers have offered different
models for the marketing of services. In a service firm there are many variables which affect the service
encounter. Services marketing requires not only external marketing but also internal.marketing and
interactive marketing." The three types of marketing form a triangle model which is depicted in Fig. F1
below:

Internal Marketing deals with marketing to employees, that is, motivating them to serve the customers.
External Marketing involves making the services available to consumers. Interactive Marketing relates to
efforts of employees to win customers' loyalty in the process of their interaction with the customers in
delivering the services.

Parasuraman18 suggested the pyramid model of services marketing. (Fig. F2.).

The introduction of technology as a service delivery option adds a whole new dimension to services
marketing. In addition, the various facets of the pyramid imply augmentation of the traditional internal,
external and interactive marketing.