Branding service product and

experience

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 What is a Product?
A product is anything that can be
offered to a market for attention,
acquisition, use or consumption that
might satisfy a want or need.
 What is Service
“ A service is any activity or benefit that one
party can offer to another that is essentially
intangible and does not result in the
ownership of anything. Its production may or
may not be tied to a physical product”.
- Kotler and Armstrong
 The continuum of market
offerings
Equipment-based

‘Almost Self-service Pacific cruise

pure’ petrol ‘Almost pure’
physical service
goods
Self-service Personal
groceries training

People-based
Shostack’s Continuum
 Brand
“A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a
combination of them, which is intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller or
group of sellers and to differentiate them
from those of their competitors”.
- American Marketing Association
 Brand Contd…
 A brand is a set of associations that are linked to
a product range, a division, or company.
 These associations help customers understand
- what the brand or company is,
- why it is potentially relevant to them,
- how it is different or similar to other
products/services made by the company,
Very early “trademarks”
China: Ming
bowl C. 1600
AD

Egypt: Ramses II
cartouche on a sun-dried
China: Shang mud and straw brick.
Dynasty 19, 1279 – 1212
dynasty mark,
BC
C1600 BC
 Later trademarks

Edouard Manet: Un
Bar au Folies Bergere,
1882
 “Any sign capable of distinguishing…”

Eg: Invented word

“Xerox” for photocopiers
“Kodak” for cameras
but NOT
“Safemix” for valves to mix hot and cold
and not
“Orlwoola” a misspelling of “all wool”
 “Any sign capable of
distinguishing…”
Eg: A word taken out of context

“Apple” for computers

“Jaguar” for automotives

“Any sign capable of
distinguishing…”
Eg: A symbol or “device"

Or both a word
and a symbol….
 What makes a strong brand ?
 Understand brand meaning and market
appropriate services in an appropriate manner.
 Properly position the brand.
 Provide superior delivery of desired benefits.
 Measure consumer perceptions of value and
develop a pricing strategy accordingly.
 Maintain innovation and relevance for brand.
 Branding Challenges

 Savvy customers
 Increased Competition
 Increased Cost
 Reasons for Branding services

Services
 have a changing level of quality.
 the consumer has to become involved in the
consumption of a service actively.
 they are intangible and not storable.
 Three Levels of Product
• Product: anything that
can be offered for
attention, acquisition,
use, or consumption to
satisfy a need or want

• Service: any activity or

benefit that can be offered
that is intangible and does
not result in the ownership
of anything
• Experiences: are
memorable

10.16
 Product Classifications
• Consumer goods: • Industrial goods:
– Convenience goods – Materials and parts
– Shopping goods – Capital items
– Specialty goods – Supplies and services
– Unsought goods

• Marketable offerings:
– Organizations
– Person marketing
– Place marketing
– Social (ideas) marketing

10.17
 Product and Service Decisions
• Product attributes: • Branding:
– Product quality – Name, term, sign,
– Product features or symbol
– Product style and – Used to identify the
design goods of a seller
– Differentiate from
its competition

10.18
Product and Service Decisions
(continued)
• Packaging: • Labelling:
– Hold the contents – Identify the product
– Protect the product – Weights/measures
– Store, identify, and – Description/instruct
ship the product ions
– Place for labelling – Ingredients
– Used as a – Nutritional
promotional tool information

10.19
 Major Brand Strategy Decisions
• Brand equity:
– Positive differential effect that knowing the brand name has
on customer response to the product or service
– Value of the brand based on awareness, recognition, loyalty
– Used for line and brand extension strategies

10.20
 Major Brand Strategy Decisions
(continued)
• Brand name selection:
– Suggest something about the product’s benefits
– Easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember
– Distinctive
– Extendable
– Ability to be translated into other languages
– Capable of being registered and legally protected

10.21
Major Brand Strategy Decisions (continued)
• Brand sponsorship:
– Manufacturer’s (national) brands
– Private (store) brand
– Issues:
• Slotting fees:
• Profitability of private label to retailers
• Control of shelf space

10.22
Brand Development Strategies

10.23
 Service Characteristics / Implications
• Service: any activity or benefit that one party can
offer to another that is essentially intangible and does
not result in the ownership of anything

10.24
 How to Brand a Service?
PROCESS:
 If a service is non-standardized, a fair degree of
standardization can be achieved in the actual
mechanism and flow of activities through
which a service is delivered .
 Example: Interaction of Bank staff with
customers.
 People
Successful service brands such as
Singapore Airlines, Walt Disney have
shown that training and motivation
can
make service interactions a success.
Roles of service personnel are
rehearsed to achieve a fair degree of
consistency.
 Evidence

 Since a service is essentially intangible, it is

the tangible aspects that reassure a
customer and create a certain amount of
credibility.
 Stages in branding the services

 Information Search
 Evaluation of alternatives
 Purchase and Consumption
 Post-purchase Evaluation
 Information search

 Since services cannot be displayed,

information regarding them is hard to
evaluate.

 Branding can reduce risk associated with

selecting a service by making evaluation easier.
 Evaluation of alternatives

 The evoked set of alternatives in a service is

likely to be smaller because a service is not
readily displayed.

 If a brand has been successful in capturing a

place in consumer’s mind, it is likely to stay
there.
 Purchase and Consumption

 Branding can influence customer’s

experience of a service in terms of both
expectations and perceptions.
 Post-purchase Evaluation

 If a customer is satisfied, he may go to the

same service brand again to cultivate a
more satisfying relationship.
 Service Brand Building

Enriching Brand connotation

 Brand value connotation refers to core part of
brand value which reflects inherent brand
value including the emotional and functional
levels.
 Brand value extension is the extended part of
brand value, indicating the influence and
penetration of inherent brand value.
 Segmenting target markets

 Example (South Korea Telecom): In the course

of implementing brand-based strategies, the
company subdivides all customers into different
groups by age (age groups with a five year span)
and provides personalized and branding services
accordingly.
 Enhancing Brand management
 Brand awareness increase–
primary task in building a telecom brand.
 Brand awareness is to what extent target
customers know the brand name and
corresponding product/service category.
 The higher the brand awareness, the more
familiar the customers are with it.
Influence of Brand Awareness on
customers
 Customer’s instant feelings

 Brand awareness reflects the extent to

which customers identify or remember a
brand, while "reputation" is the customers'
recognition of the brand value.
 Customers' instant feelings are crucial
because in the long run, customers
establish brand reputation perception
based on these instant feelings.
 Brand Connotation
 Brand connotation lies in the culture, personality and
value the brand implies. A brand, once its connotation
is tuned into customer requirements and tastes, will
catch their attention first, then their favor and
affection and, lastly their tendency and loyalty.
- Examples :?
 reinforced by means of extrinsic and visible drivers
 Thousand pieces of the same
tune

 Similar service contents

 Similar target customer groups
 Similar brand names
 Services Branding Models
Aaker’s brand identity model :

Brand as
Product
Brand as
Brand Organisation
Brand as
Person
Brand as
Symbol
 Marketing in Service Industries
• Internal marketing: marketing by a service firm to train
and motivate customer contract employees to provide
customer satisfaction
• Interactive
marketing:
marketing by a service
firm that recognizes
that service quality
depends on the
quality of the buyer-
seller interaction

10.41
 Managing Service Differentiation
• Price competition
• Differentiate offer by:
– Innovative features
– Service delivery
– Images or symbols
– Service quality
– Service recovery
• Service productivity

10.42
 Additional Product Considerations
• Product decisions and social responsibility
– Government regulation
– Food and product safety
– Pricing and advertising
– Labelling, weights, and measures
– Hazardous products
– Product liability
• International product and service
marketing
– Standardization versus local adaptation
– Electrical standards, packaging
– Cultural differences in meaning
10.43
– Barriers to trade
 What is brand equity?

 Brand equity is a set of assets (and liabilities)

linked to a brand name that adds (or
subtracts) the value provided for both
customers and the firm.
 Measuring Services Brand Equity

 Effectiveness
 Internal and external message alignment
 Consumer satisfaction
 Brand reputation
Brand Structure for service
industries
 Marketing a service brand

COMPANY

INTERNAL EXTERNAL
MARKETING MARKETING

EMPLOYEES CUSTOMERS
INTERACTIVE
MARKETING
 4M’s

 Managing egos
 Managing perceptions
 Managing attitudes
 Managing awareness
 Four keys to launch a service brand
strategy that differs from product brand
strategy

 Don't Mass Market To Your Target Market .

 Focus On Relevance Over Differentiation .
 Worry About Growing Revenue, Not Market
Share .
 Help Your People Be Your Brand
 Sins

 Failure to understand the meaning of the

brand
 Failure to live up to the brand promise
 Failure to adequately support the brand
 Failure to adequately control the brand
 Additional Guidelines for services

• Maximise service quality by recognizing the

myriad ways that affect consumer service
perceptions
• Employ a full range of brand elements to
enhance brand recall and signal more tangible
aspects of the brand
• Create and communicate strong organisational
associations
 Guidelines Contd…

 Design corporate communication programs

that augment consumer’s service
encounters and experiences
 Establish a brand heirarchy by creating
distinct family brands or individual brands
as well as meaningful ingredient brands
 Managerial Implications
 Brand-building investment is proved to be
crucial in enhancing the overall brand equity
and gaining competitive advantage in the B2B
service market.
 Service should be always performed in a
professional manner since quality is an
important factor in building a strong brand.
 Manegerial Implication Contd…
 Service providers should ensure they have a right
pricing strategy such that the price they set actually
matches with the quality delivered and the brand
image perceived by customers.
 Service providers should try their best to rank high in
reliability in customers’ mind since customers would
only recommend contractors whom they trust to be
reliable.
 Service providers should maintain a positive halo
effect of customers across all service offerings in order
to fulfill the potential for brand extensions.
Service Product

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Sub brands

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Moving to branding experience

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Moving to branding experience

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Offering a branding experience

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Goods as a source of new services

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Service as a substitute

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 Conclusion
 Branding plays a special role in service
companies because strong brands increase
customers’ trust of the invisible purchase.
 Strong brands enable customers to better
visualise and understand intangible products.
They reduce customers’ perceived monetary,
social, or safety in buying services, which are
difficult to evaluate prior to purchase.
 Strong brands are the surrogates when the
company offers no fabric to touch, no trousers to
try on, no water melons or apples to scrutinise,
no automobiles to test drive”.
The end

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End of this section

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