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UNIT IVSERVICE DELIVERY AND PROMOTION
Positioning of services Designing service delivery System,
Service Channel Pricing of services, methods Service marketing
triangle - Integrated Service marketing communication.
4.1 Positioning of services
Positioning is that a brand is valued by the perception it
carries in the prospect or customer's mind. Positioning allows a
marketer to think about why a customer would want to do business
with them. What do you offer that the other producers don't? What
does a potential client get by doing business with you, that will
serve their needs well? Positioning has three components:
What are your strengths? Your distinctive competencies? What
about your offeringsprovide value to your customers?
Who is your target customer? What about them, makes them an
ideal fit for the value youoffer?
How are you different from your competitors in ways that your
customers and potentialcustomers will value? In other words, what
is your unique selling proposition? Yourcompetitive advantage?
Positioning concepts:
More generally, there are three types of positioning
concepts:
1. Functional positions
Solve problems
Provide benefits to customers
Get favorable perception by investors (stock profile) and
lenders
2. Symbolic positions
Self-image enhancement
Ego identification
Belongingness and social
meaningfulness
Affective fulfillment
3. Experiential positions
Provide sensory stimulation
Provide cognitive stimulation
Developing Positioning Strategies:
Identifying possible competitive advantages
Differentiation can be based on
Products,Services,Channels,People,Image
Product Differentiation
Form- size, shape or physical structure.
Features- supplement to basic function. Performance Quality-the
level at which the products primary characteristics operates.
Conformance Quality- the degree to which all the produced units are
identical and meet the promised specifications. Durability- a
measure of the products expected operating life under natural or
stressful conditions. Reliability- a measure of the probability
that a product will not malfunction within a specified time period.
Reparability- a measure of the ease of fixing a product when it
fails. Style - Quality can be communicated by choosing physical
signs.
Services Differentiation
Ordering ease or Delivery
Installation or Customer training
Customer consulting or Maintenance and repair Personnel
Differentiation
Competence or Courtesy
Credibility or Reliability
Responsiveness or Communication
Channel Differentiation
Coverage or Expertise
Performance Image Differentiation
Image is the way the public perceives the company or its
products.
Identity is the way a company aims to identify or position
itself
Symbols, colors, slogans, atmosphere
Events and employee behavior
The term 'positioning' refers to the consumer's perception of a
product or service in relation to its competitors. You need to ask
yourself, what is the position of the product in the mind of the
consumer?Positioning map:Products or services are 'mapped' together
on a 'positioning map'. This allows them to be compared and
contrasted in relation to each other. This is the main strength of
this tool. Marketers decide upon a competitive position which
enables them to distinguish their own products from the offerings
of their competition (hence the term positioning strategy). The
marketer would draw out the map and decide upon a label for each
axis. They could be price (variable one) and quality (variable
two), or Comfort (variable one) and price (variable two). The
individual products are then mapped out next to each other Any gaps
could be regarded as possible areas for new products.
4.2 Designing service delivery System
The design process is never finished. Modifications or
innovation in the service delivery system should be introduced as
needed. Service delivery system (SDS) - Where the final assembly of
the elements takes place and the product is delivered to the
customer. (Christopher Lovelock)All apparatus physical and
procedural required by front-line and support staff. A SDS should:
Customer friendly Employee friendly and Incorporate a feedback loop
Employee friendly Often service failures are caused by delivery
systems not supporting, or even making it hard for staff to deliver
service. Feedback loop It should be easy to give feedback. Tarp
research less than 5% complaints reach head-office Important to
close-the-loop. Why design the service delivery system? Designing
quality into services: For products >90% quality problems are
designed into the systems that make them. (Demming, 1986, Juran,
1992) Similar problem in services c.>80%. (Edvardsson 1993)
Large costs of poor quality Risk of service terrorists spreading
negative word-of-mouth. Costs of failure compensation, resources
(staff time etc.). Recovery is hard and often not effective.
Methods of service design: High quality services do not happen by
accident. A systematic a approach to design is required. There are
two approaches to design that we are going to review:1.
Flowcharting / Service blueprinting - Ideas from product design and
manufacturing (Shostack, Kingman Brundage) 2. Cycle of Service
approach - Ideas based on the differences of products and
services
- Blueprinting Front stage Line of interaction staff and
customer contact Physical evidence / Servicescape Standards Scripts
Customer role Back stage Line of visibility what should the
customer see? Line of internal physical interaction staff-to-staff
contact. Line of internal IT interaction Service customers often
value the process dimensions as much as, if not more than, the
outcome dimensions of service.4.3 Service Channels A definition
commonly admitted in marketing literature is a set of
interdependent institutions and agencies involved with the tasks of
moving anything of value from its point of conception, extraction
or production to the point of consumption
the interface between a provider/distributor and a consumer,
i.e. where the customer interacts with the service firm. The
development of new distribution channels, i.e. new interfaces
between a service firm and its customers, there are now multiple
encounter points. More precisely, in order to get a service, a
customer can use one channel or another.
For example, to reserve a vacation, nowadays, a customer may
either decide to go to a travel agency, phone a call-centre, use an
internet site, or even use an interactive television program.
Service Channel
Service Channel provides facility managers with a single
platform to procure manage and pay for facility maintenance
services from their own network of contractors. By providing a real
time, web-based view of service data across all trades, locations
and contractors, facility managers use Service Channel to drive
significant ROI for their organizations without relinquishing
control to outsourcers or investing in new infrastructure.
Case Analysis:
A Study on retail banking sector, that has undergone a lot of
transformations over the last few years, due to the development of
these new distribution channels. Actually, the emergence of new
channels such as the Internet, most sophisticated call-centres,
mobile services, is profoundly changing the French banking industry
(and to a larger extent, the world banking industry), making it
most interesting to study. Although the branch was the historical
point of contact between a bank and its customers, nowadays
customers can access many banking products and services through the
aforementioned channels, such as bank transfers, checking accounts
consultation, or even to take out a loan, For example: Our data,
coming from a broader research on innovation in services
distribution channels, were collected in a French regional retail
bank (that is part of a national one) between August and December
2001. Its customers are small and medium companies, professions and
craftsmen, and private individuals. According to the theories we
previously resorted to, we naturally focused on the last ones.
According to its marketing director, this bank can be qualified
as an effective follower concerning new distribution channels.
Although many of its French competitors had initialized the
implementation of new distribution channels 2 or 3 years before,
this bank has set its outgoing call-centre in 1998, its incoming
call-centre in 2000; an earlier version of its Internet website had
been launched around 1998, and it had been improved by the time of
our study, but its traffic was still limited by then (this was
supposed to quickly evolve thanks to a large advertising campaign
launched during our study); and, finally, the bank also offers
interactive television services, the use of which is very marginal.
Therefore our study essentially focused on the interactions between
what were then the 3 main distribution channels, i.e. branches, the
outgoing call-centre and the incoming call-centre.
Salespeople working on the outgoing call-centre have to call
either clients of the bank or prospective buyers, in order to sell
them basic products or services (e.g. credit cards, or to convince
the customers to increase the amount of their savings accounts), or
to get appointments for branch advisers. This latter mission is
possible because branch advisers have an electronic timetable
shared with the two call-centres. The incoming call-center is
called by the customers using a taxed phone number. It issupposed
to relieve branch advisers of basic demand from the customers, but
very time consuming and not value adding (fund transfers, check
books orders, purchases and sales on the Stock Exchange,).
Salespeople working on this incoming call-centre may also make
appointments on behalf of branch advisers if they detect a
potential sale during the discussion with the customer (since they
too have an access to branch advisers timetable).
So both call-centres were supposed, according to the area
manager, to be complementary to the branches network, and not to
replace it, but this is not an easy thing to achieve: The problem
is to make sure that these interfaces considered as a whole are
complementary, and that they do not cannibalize each other. This is
all the more important that branch advisers (one of them being
quoted thereafter) are afraid of being cannibalized and to lose a
part of their job: The branch adviser fears to be dispossessed, I
would say, not of a part of his power, but of a part of his job,
you know.The advisers perceive differences in new channels use
according to the age of customers. Older people have difficulties
regarding the change: I have many old customers. to require them to
use the phone, thats not really obvious. But advisers feel future
younger customers will change the trend, since they are demanding
for new technologies: new accounts are due to young people, most of
them, and young people, if you cannot offer them powerful and
developed channels of distribution, they will leave.The second
criterion which stems from interviews is life style: it seems to be
a less powerful criterion, since the older people are more
concerned by this segmentation criterion. my customers are rather
traditional, therefore they have many difficulties [with new
channels], except the young people. This bank has many branches in
rural zones, and medium-sized cities, and advisers link that
specific profile with their customers reluctance to use new
distribution channels.
The third emerging criterion is call frequency. This criterion
is linked to emotional and reactions: customers going to or calling
daily their branch adviser do not want to change: I call them my
old women, its affectionate, they wont change. On the contrary,
people coming or calling occasionally, only to get information, are
more willing to use new channels. occasional ones [customers], yes,
they call me less. Therefore that [the incoming call-centre] is
positive.
So, in this context of high customer participation, age seems to
be the main criterion of willingness, and then life style for older
people; moreover a psychological criterion, closely related to
interaction frequency has emerged. Of course, these three criterion
could really be validated with a larger, quantitative study.4.4
PRICING OF SERVICES, METHODS: What is pricing?
Pricing is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix. The other
three aspects are product, promotion, and place. Price is the only
revenue generating element amongst the 4ps, the rest being cost
centers. Pricing Objectives:
When deciding on pricing objectives you must consider: 1) the
overall financial, marketing, and strategic objectives of the
company; 2) the objectives of your product or brand; 3) consumer
price elasticity and price points; and 4) the resources you have
available. The pricing Tripod was Costs, competition and value to
customer.Influencing factors:
During evaluation the following issues should be considered for
pricing evaluation, the steps are Determine solicitation
provisions, Determine total price offered, Evaluate award
combinations and Make award decision. The final price for a product
may be influenced by many factors which can be categorized into two
main groups such as internal factors (When setting price, marketers
must take into consideration several factors which are the result
of company decisions and actions) and External factors (There are a
number of influencing factors which are not controlled by the
company but will impact pricing decisions).
Pricing methods: Cost-Based Pricing
set prices relative to financial costs (problem: defining costs)
Method in which a fixed sum or a percentage of the total cost is
added (as income or profit) to the cost of the product to arrive at
its selling price. Competition-Based Pricing
monitor competitors pricing strategy (especially if service
lacks differentiation) Products have long distinctiveness from
competitor's product. Value-Based - relate price to value perceived
by customer
Value based pricing, or Value optimized pricing is a business
strategy. It sets selling prices on the perceived value to the
customer, rather than on the actual cost of the product, the market
price, competitors prices, or the historical price. The goal of
value-based pricing is to align price with value delivered. Price
for any individual customer can be customized to reflect the
specific value delivered. Examples could include metrics such as
number of users, number of annual transactions, and size of
revenues, cost savings, or other measurements.
Customer-Led
Auctions
Requests for Bids To know your customers attitudes and values
toward prices, product quality, value, and prestige. Some customers
believe a higher price means higher quality. Bargain hunters are
happy with lower prices.
Why Customer-led Services? Growing important of information in
products
Response to threats to traditional business from the explosion
and prevalence of the Internet
Price transparency
Customer mobility and a lack of loyalty
The Long Tail
An opportunity to create competitive advantage from
customer.
Premium Pricing. - Use a high price where there is uniqueness
about the product or service. Such high prices are charge for
luxuries such as Cunard Cruises, Savoy Hotel rooms, and Concorde
flights.
Penetration Pricing- The price charged for products and services
is set artificially low in order to gain market share. Once this is
achieved, the price is increased. This approach was used by France
Telecom and Sky TV. Economy Pricing- This is a no frills low price.
The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum.
Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti,
etc.
Price Skimming - Charge a high price because you have a
substantial competitive advantage. However, the advantage is not
sustainable. The high price tends to attract new competitors into
the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply.
Manufacturers of digital watches used a skimming approach in the
1970s. Once other manufacturers were tempted into the market and
the watches were produced at a lower unit cost, other marketing
strategies and pricing approaches are implemented.
Psychological Pricing. This approach is used when the marketer
wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather than rational
basis. For example 'price point perspective' 99 cents not one
dollar.Product Line Pricing. Where there is a range of product or
services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the
range.
Optional Product Pricing - Companies will attempt to increase
the amount customer spend once they start to buy. Optional 'extras'
increase the overall price of the product or service. For example
airlines will charge for optional extras such as guaranteeing a
window seat or reserving a row of seats next to each other.
Captive Product Pricing- Where products have complements,
companies will charge a premium price where the consumer is
captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price
and recoup its margin (and more) from the sale of the only design
of blades which fit the razor.
Product Bundle Pricing - Here sellers combine several products
in the same package. This also serves to move old stock. Videos and
CDs are often sold using the bundle approach.
Promotional Pricing - Pricing to promote a product is a very
common application. There are many examples of promotional pricing
including approaches such as BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free).
Geographical Pricing - Geographical pricing is evident where
there are variations in price in different parts of the world. For
example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.
Value Pricing- This approach is used where external factors such
as recession or increased competition force companies to provide
'value' products and services to retain sales e.g. value meals at
McDonalds.
4.5 Service marketing triangleThe Services Marketing Triangle
model focuses upon making and keeping promises to customers and
suggests three structural relationships as the mode by which this
occurs.
Company
Management
Internal Marketing
External Marketing
Enabling the promise setting the promise
Service environment
the service product
Employees Interactive Marketing Customers
Delivering the promise
service delivery
The firm is the management including full-time marketers and
salespeople who give promises to the customers and have to enable
the promise through continuous development and internal marketing
with their employees..
Service marketing involves 3 types of marketing:
1. EXTERNAL MARKETING
2. INTERNAL MARKETING
3. INTERACTIVE MARKETING
1. External Marketing: "Setting the Promise"
Marketing to END-USERS.
Involves pricing strategy, promotional activities, and all
communication with customers.
Performed to capture the attention of the market, and arouse
interest in the service.
2. Internal Marketing: "Enabling the Promise"
Marketing to EMPLOYEES.
Involves training, motivational, and teamwork programs, and all
communication with employees.
Performed to enable employees to perform the service
effectively, and keep up the promise made to the customer.
3. Interactive Marketing: (Moment of Truth, Service
Encounter)
This refers to the decisive moment of interaction between the
front-office employees and customers, i.e. delivery of service.
This step is of utmost importance, because if the employee
falters at this level, all prior efforts made towards establishing
a relationship with the customer, would be wasted.
Three marketing functions are internal marketing, interactive
marketing and external marketing. According to Grnroos the internal
marketing has to be managed by the companys leadership, the
interactive marketing happens between the employees and the clients
and the external marketing is what takes place between the companys
management and the clients. For the service marketing in
knowledge-intensive companies, parts of some other theories, which
are related to service marketing theory, are also important:
relationship marketing18 and corporate culture.
Internal Marketing in the Service Marketing Triangle:
The internal marketing function is the basic prerequisite that
the project workers should fulfill in order to be effective in
their work. According to Grnroos the meaning of internal marketing
is that the management in a hierarchical organization has to
develop, from the top, motivated and customer-conscious employee.
It refers to all those planned and unplanned activities the firm
carries out to train, motivate and reward its employees so that
they are able and willing to deliver the promise which the external
marketing function communicates to the customers.Another aspect for
the internal marketing function to work is that effective internal
communication is needed. () A major cause of poor perceived service
is the gap between what a firm promises about a service and what it
actually delivers. ()
I understand this in such a way that coordination and internal
communication between the several employees or partners is
required, which often takes place in form of several meetings and
project newsletters.
Interactive marketing in the service marketing triangle:
The Interactive marketing divided into three phases, which merge
into one another. The first phase begins with a first contact, goes
over to the project-phase and ends in after-sales, which hopefully
leads to new first contacts. This division is the basis for the
analysis of the interactive marketing. In the second phase the
actual service delivery takes place, this is where the project is
conducted and the project worker is in contact with the client all
the time. In order to strengthen the relation to the client after
the delivery, relationship marketing is needed.
Word-of-mouth is comments or recommendations that former clients
make about their service experiences to others95. This is a
powerful tool of indirect marketing, much more effective than
advertising and promotion, which is direct marketing96. Closing the
circle again, this implies that word-of-mouth results often from
loyal clients who make recommendations which triggers new first
contacts and maybe also new projects with existing clients.
External marketing in the service marketing triangle:
Marketing communication happens between the firm and its
customers. Tools of this external marketing are mass communication,
brochures, sales and web sites.Anything that communicates to the
customer before service delivery can be viewed as part of this
external marketing function.Traditional marketing is originally
based on the idea that the seller is not the marketer. It considers
market research and product development for an effective strategy
making. The classical role of the marketer is to analyze the market
and provide supporting documents for the decision takers and
strategy makers in the organization.
4.6 Integrated Service marketing communicationA strategy that
carefully integrates all external and internal communication
channels to present a consistent message to customersService
encounters are transactional interactions in which one person
(e.g., a vendor, office clerk, travel agent) provides a service or
good (e.g., a product, an appointment, airline tickets) to another
person.Servicescape: emphasize the impact of the physical
environment in which a service process takes place. The
servicescape includes the facility's exterior (landscape, exterior
design, signage, parking, surrounding environment) and interior
(interior design and decor, equipment, signage, layout, air
quality, temperature and ambiance).It is when the customer
interacts with the service or product for the first time. This
means coordination across: sales and service people print Internet
other forms of tangible communication including the servicescape
How is this done in services? Advertising & sales presentations
service encounters with employees servicescape and other tangibles
Internet and web presence public relations & pricing service
guarantees & customer education
Managing Internal Marketing Communication: Create effective
vertical communications Sell the brand inside the company Create
effective upward communication Create effective horizontal
communications Align back-office and support personnel with
external customers through interaction or measurement Create
cross-functional teams of sales, service, and operations people
when developing new services or engaging in service improvements
Maintain a customer focus throughout all functionsBest Practices
for Closing the Communication Gap (Gap 4):
Employing integrated services marketing communication strategies
around everything and everyone that sends a message or signal.
Manage customer expectations effectively throughout the experience.
Develop mechanisms for internal communication to avoid
over-promising and ensure successful delivery.Integrated marketing
communications campaign involves TV, print, and radio ads. customer
surveys and focus groups about brand awareness number of telephone
inquiries number of website hits and click-throughs number of
shipments by customer segment growth in sales since campaign
inception.Communications and the Services Marketing Triangle
Internal Marketing Vertical Communications Horizontal
Communications
Interactive Marketing Personal Selling Customer Service Center
Service Encounters Servicescapes
External Marketing Communication Advertising Sales Promotion
Public Relations Direct Marketing
Company
Customers
Employees
Source: Parts of model adapted from work by Christian Gronroos
and Phillip Kotler
McGraw-Hill
2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
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