Marketing Communication in services

Primary Role of the Service Communication Mix

Inform

Persuade

Remind

Provide information to prospective customers regarding

Service options availableCost of serviceService deliverySpecific featuresFunctionsService benefits

Persuade target customers - service offers best solution to meet their

needs & build relationship with them

Help maintain relationships with existing customers Requires comprehensive up-to-date customer

database e-mail, websites, text messages

For example, doctors sending annual checkup reminders to patients

Greeting customers

Communicating Services

OVERCOMING PROBLEMS OF INTANGIBILITY

Difficult to communicate service benefits to customers, especially when intangible

Intangibility creates few problems:Abstractness /Mental impalpability - hard to understand,

non-figurative –think seriously to understand

Generality Difficult to see uniqueness. Items that comprise a class of

objects, persons, or events

Nonsearchability Cannot be searched or inspected before purchase

USING METAPHORS(IMAGES) TO COMMUNICATE VALUE PROPOSITIONS

Tangible metaphors help to communicate benefits of service offerings, for example: LIC of India —“Your Life is safeguarded” Google – “Shows faster search for

results”

Metaphors communicate value propositions more dramatically and emphasize key points of difference

Highlight how service benefits are actually provided (online ticketing)

Ad shows bar traps across office floor “What Did Your Consultants Leave Behind” Draws attention to how AT Kearney differentiates its service through careful work with “entire team” at all levels in client organization, thus making recommendations easier to implement

DHL IMPORT EXPRESS - Use of an easily grasped metaphor Heavily knotted string represents how complex importing can be Straight string represents how easy it would be using DHL’s express

service

Source: Courtesy DHL Express Singapore

HELP CUSTOMERS TO EVALUATE SERVICE OFFERINGS

Customers may have difficulty distinguishing one firm from anotherProvide tangible clues related to service performance

At times, Some performance attributes shown in advertising are for more to them than othersAirlines

Tell carefully about punctuality, safety control systems, Ability of your Pilots, crew, etc., ,

Do not talk too much in advertising

PROMOTE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SERVICE PERSONNEL

Frontline personnel are central to service delivery in high-contact services

Make the service more tangible and personalized

Advertise employees at work

Also, Service personnel should be informed about the content of new advertising campaigns or brochures before launch

SETTING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES

Who is our target audience? - What do we need to communicate and achieve? How should we communicate this? Where should we communicate this? When do communications need to take place?

ING Vysya1 ING Vysya 2

TARGET AUDIENCE: 3 BROAD CATEGORIES

New Prospects

Employ established communication mix because prospects are not known in advance

Users(existing ones)More cost-effective channels

Only to employees - Communication to be only for Internal Marketing

Consider Employees issues…….

- Risk generating cynicism(suspicion) among employees if communication promotes levels of performance that are seen as unrealistic

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX FOR SERVICES

* Denotes communications originating from outside the organization

Word-of-mouth(other customers)

Personal Selling comm.

Selling

Customer service

Training

Advertising

Broadcast

Print

Internet

Outdoor

Direct mail

Sales promotion

Sampling

Coupons

Sign-up rebates

Gifts

Prizepromotions

Telemarketing

Word of mouth

*

Key: * Denotes communications originating from outside the organization

Publicity &public relations

Pressreleases/kits

Websites

Manuals

Brochures

Interactive software

Voice mail

Signage

Interior decor

Vehicles

Equipment

Stationery

UniformsMedia-initiated

coverage*

Marketing Communications Mix for Services

Pressconferences

Sponsorship

Special Events

Trade Shows,exhibitions

Instructionalmanuals & Tech

Corp Brand communication

SOURCES OF MESSAGES RECEIVED BY TARGET AUDIENCE

Messages originating within organization

Messages originating outside organization

Production

channels

Marketingchannels

Front-line staff

Service outlets

AdvertisingSales promotionsDirect marketingPersonal sellingPublic relations

Word of mouth

Media editorial

AUD IENCE

Sources

……….THROUGH PRODUCTION CHANNELS

Developed within organization and transmitted through production channels that deliver the service itself

Customer service from front-line staffShape customer’s perceptionsResponsible for delivering supplementary services such as

providing information, receiving payment, resolving problems, etc.

Cross-sell additional services

Service outletsPlanned and unintended messages reach customers –

Manage it properly; reg Servicescape

……….THROUGH MARKETING CHANNELS - PERSONAL SELLING

Interpersonal encounters educate customers and promote preferences for particular brand or productCommon in b2bEx: insurance, propertyYou can build relationship & so can create trust among

users.

Face-to-face selling of new products is expensive— telemarketing is lower cost alternative

…….THROUGH MARKETING CHANNELS: TRADE SHOWS

Popular in b2b marketplace

Stimulate extensive media coverage

Opportunity to learn about latest offerings from wide array of suppliersEnvironment is very competitiveCompare and contrast Question company reps

Physical evidence displayed through exhibits, samples, demonstrations

…….THROUGH MARKETING CHANNELS: ADVERTISING

Build awareness, inform, persuade, and remind

Challenge: How does a firm stand out from the crowd?TV, radio broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, Internet,

many physical facilities, transit vehicles—all cluttered with ads

Many e-tailers now using electronic recommendation agents

Research suggests that “less than half of all ads generate a positive return on their investment”

……THROUGH DIRECT MARKETING

Mailings, recorded telephone messages, faxes, e-mail

Potential to send personalized messages to highly targeted microsegmentsNeed detailed database of information about

customers and prospects

…….THROUGH MARKETING CHANNELS: SALES PROMOTION

Defined as “communication attached to an incentive”

Peak & Off-Peak seasons – crucial role

Should be specific to a time period, price, or customer group

Motivates customers to use a specific service sooner, in greater volume with each purchase, or more frequently

MESSAGES THROUGH MARKETING CHANNELS:PUBLIC RELATIONS

PR/publicity involves efforts to stimulate positive interest in an organization

For example, press conferences, news releases, sponsorships

Unusual activities can present an opportunity to promote company’s expertise

For example, FedEx safely transported two giant pandas from Chengdu, China, to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. in a FedEx aircraft renamed FedEx PandaOne

……ORIGINATING FROM OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION

Word of Mouth (WOM)Recommendations from other customers viewed as more credible

Strategies to stimulate positive WOM

Referencing other purchasers and knowledgeable individuals

Creating exciting promotions that get people talking about firm’s great service

Developing referral incentive schemes

Blogs—a new type of online WOM

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET

Can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world Simplest form of international market entry available

“The firm cannot avoid creating interest in its offerings outside its local or national market” - Christian Grönroos

WEBSITE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Contain useful, interesting information for target customers

Facilitate self-service in information gathering

Users expectFast accessEasy navigationRelevant and up to date content

WEBSITE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS Design should address attributes that affect website

“stickiness”Content qualityEase of useSpeed of downloadFrequency of update

Memorable web address helps attract visitors to a siteEnsure that people are aware of/can guess firm’s web

address

EASYJET PAINTS / KESINENI TRAVELS – WEBSITE ADDRESS ON PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING ON INTERNET:BANNER ADVERTISING

Placing advertising banners and buttons on portals such as Yahoo!, Netscape and other firms’ websites

Draw online traffic to the advertiser’s own site

Websites often include advertisements of other related, but noncompeting services

Advertisements for financial service providers on Yahoo!’s stock quotes page

Small messages from Amazon.com on web pages devoted to a specific topic

EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING ON INTERNET:SEARCH ENGINE ADVERTISING

Blogs - www.blogger.com

Google – The New Online Marketing PowerhouseGoogle AdWords—allows businesses to connect with

potential customers at the precise moment when they are looking at related topics; advertisers can display their ads at websites that are part of the Google content network

Google AdSense—In return for displaying relevant Google ads on their websites(CONTEXTUAL), publishers receive a share of advertising revenue generated

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