Often product and service marketing is confused among marketers. Product and service marketing may be done from the same company but their attributes and techniques vary from each other. Just like a product marketing mix, service marketing mix also has the classification of the standard 4 P's of marketing called the traditional marketing mix along with the expanded mix consisting of additional 3 P's. Hence in general service marketing mix consists of a total of 7 P's. Unlike the product marketing, the production and the consumption take place in the same time in a service marketing therefore, customer's are always present in the process of service production and development. Many questions raised during the formulation of the service marketing mix can be answered using service blueprint and planning, about which I'll be posting in the next blog.
The first four P's, i.e. product, price, place and promotion come under the traditional marketing mix.
Product, in this case describes the service that is being provided to the customer. The service involves the basic elements that the customer wants and these elements are the "must do's" for the marketers. The basic element involves the fulfillment of physical good features, quality level, accessories, packaging, warranties, branding and the service lines.
Place includes the channel type, intermediaries, exposure, transportation, outlet locations, storage and managing channels. Careful selection of the place and management is a critical factor in the success of the marketing plan. The place should be easily contactable and reachable for the target group of population.
Promotion creates the result of what perception people have got in their minds about the service provided. This promotion is very important in case of a new service launch because this advertising builds the face of the service that is to be provided. In case of already launched services, promotion should be done in such a way that it develops and makes the customer learn more positive advantageous points about your service. By that means, more people would prefer to select your company rather than others in the competitive market. This in marketing terms is called as competitive advantage. The concept of promotion includes promotion blend, sales people (selection, training and incentives), sales promotion, advertising (media and types of ads), internet/web strategy and publicity.
Price is a concept which by the name describes the costing of our service. This is completely based on the brach of target group we are selecting, their affordability and the company standards. this also includes allowances, discounts, offers, flexibility, differentiation and terms.
The above are the four traditional marketing mix that is followed in all the organizations of all times as the basic core elements of control to capture and communicate with the customers. Now with the base of these four P's the next elevating factor is the expanded mix, i.e. the 3 P's.
People are all the human customers participating in the delivery of the service, that the companies intend to provide. In this case for the customer either the person providing the expected delivery or the intangible work done may appear to be a service. To understand more appropriately, in case of services like counselling or consulting the person providing the intended information to the customer is the service himself. Whereas, in conditions like the internet connection or the cable connection the person fixing the connection for the customer is just the service provider and the intangible work done acts as the service to the customers. Hence this variation of service in different cases with different situations of people involvement should be clearly understood. This concept of people can be viewed from two different points as employees and customers which is given in the image below.
Process involves the complete operations and delivery sector a requested service. The notable characteristics in the process are flow of activities, number of steps and the customer involvement. The flow of activities includes standardization and customization whereas the number of steps decides whether the process is simple or complex.
Physical evidence, as the name suggests this involves all the possible tangibility throughout the process of delivery of the intended service. This also involves the place or environment where the customer and the vendor meet regarding the request for the need of the service. All the possible tangible features that promote the service like the brochures, pamphlets, reports, cards, signage, equipment, statements, guarantees, employee uniform and web pages come under physical evidence.
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