The word promotion is derived from the
Latin word meaning ‘to move forward’. In services marketing mix, promotion is
the fourth P. Many service businesses do not spend much on promotional
activities. For example, advertising agencies do not advertise-for themselves.
Marketing Research companies rarely advertise (in India). The reasons may be...
- For many service products, the target market may be a narrow
segment
- Many service providers rely on word of mouth
Many services also need trials. Service
provider needs a critical mass of early birds to try your service product
in the initial stages. For this, an objective-based promotion plan is a must.
In today’s jargon, it could be termed an Integrated Marketing Communication
plan.
Role of Marketing Communications
Marketing communications in services
not only establishing brand image and equity through customer oriented
positioning and differentiation but also performs several tasks:
Service Differentiation
Due to service characteristics, customers
may have difficulty distinguishing one firm from another. However, service firm
may promote the tangible clues related to service performance. There are performances
attributes lend themselves better to advertising than others. For example,
Indigo Airlines promoting on the attributes like no delays, low fares and more
connectivity. Service firms also need to illustrate equipment, procedures,
employee activities that take place backstage. For example an airliner may advertise with information
on acquisition on a new aircraft.
People Differentiation
Frontline personnel are central to
service delivery in high-contact services. These are the ones who make the
service more tangible and personalized. Advertisement with people creates a
very good impact on customer’s psychology. Many firms show customers work
performed behind the scenes to ensure good delivery. Like restaurants showing
kitchen.
Such advertisements also enhance trust, highlight expertise and
commitment of employees. But these advertisements must be realistic as these messages
help set customers’ expectations. Service
personnel should be informed about the content of new advertising campaigns or
brochures before launch.
Customer Role
Customer Role
In services where customers are
actively involved in service production; they need training to perform well,
the service provider show service delivery in action. For example, dentists
show patients videos of surgical procedures before surgery.
Demand Management
Demand Management
Live service performances are time-specific
and can’t be stored for resale at a later date. Advertising and sales
promotions can change timing of customer use. Some examples of such strategies:
- Firm may advertise less to reducing usage during peak demand periods
- Stimulating demand during off-peak period with heavy advertisement and discounts.
Overcoming Problems of Intangibility
Generality
This refers to the items that comprise
a class of objects, persons, or events. For example, airline seat, flight attendant
and cabin services. Service firm’s use this as strong point of difference and
design their value proposition around it. Many attractions and hotel provide 360 degree view of the facility on their website to help customer overcome this problem.
Abstractness
Most service products are abstract like
financial security, wellness, and life-time experience. There is no one-to-one
correspondence with physical objects. To overcome this problem, firms may show processes,
testimonials and experience through videos.
Non-searchability
Services cannot be searched or
inspected before purchase. Though physical facilities may be known in advance
but the actual service experience can only be experience. Many service
providers like medical practioners, restaurants and hotels display the credential
to help customer overcome the perceived risk.
Mental impalpability
Customers find it hard to grasp
benefits of complex, multi-dimensional new offerings. A lot of visuals and
brochures help in such cases.
Overcoming Problems of Intangibility
To overcome intangibility the firm should use tangible cues in advertising. They are also seen using metaphors to communicate benefits of service offerings, like SIDBI – “Giving a helping hand”
Objectives of Promotion in Services
Customer Education
The biggest objective of promotion is to
create wide (100% or close) awareness about a service. Service promotions also
aim to convert a certain percentage of the aware consumers into buyers of the
service brand. Promotions can build strong brand equity.
They can also be used to create awareness
about an unknown service product. For example, ICICI bank offers quick and easy
individual tax payment facility.
Promotions also aim to inform customer
about the individual benefits that they can look forward from a service.
Useful information and awareness can
also reduce customer perceived risk.
Customer education can also be imparted
by giving demonstrations.
Competition
Companies can place its product
positioning favourably with competitors offerings. Advertisement and other promotional tolls
also help firms reposition them relative to competition.
They can build preference by communicating strengths and benefits
advertisement and sales promotional programs. For example, Drunkin’ donuts had
this campaign where they asked respondent to taste and compare the coffee with
Starbucks.
Other Promotional Objective
Promotion also help consumer form expectations and provide assurance to customers. For example, B-school advertise their rankings and placement data to assure good future to it's students.
Promotions
also help consumer decide or change the timing of customer demand for the service.
Lastly, loyalty programs, contests and discounts can reward and
retain loyal customers.
Service Promotion Mix
The service marketers have to decide
between personal form of communication and non-personal form of communication. With
the use of technology and digitalization of customer information, the marketers
can target large number of customers through personal channels like emails. Though
the promotional program originates from service provider, the importance of
word of mouth cannot be ignored by the service marketers. Also apart from
conventional promotion, a huge amount of promotion happens through production
of service itself. Hence the role and important of frontline staff and their
interaction with the customer is very important. Many service firms treat training
of frontline employees as a part of the promotions only. The role of customer in the production of
services can also be crucial.
Advertising
Advertising is any paid form of
non-personal presentation about services through an appropriate medium like television,
radio, magazines, newspapers and internet. It is the most dominant and
persuasive form of marketing communications since ages. The service providers
use advertising to show the processes, equipment and other important service
features.
Advertisement though and effective for most service product, it is an
expensive form of communication and may get unnoticed due to clutter. It is a non-personal form of communication and hence may not be suitable for many customers.
Personal Selling
Personal Selling is done through presentation of services in
conversation with one or more prospective purchasers. It is most preferable for
small firms as it is more personal than advertising and aims at maintaining
long term relationships with customers. This is also very useful for services
where there is a constant need for customer counselling, education and consultation.
For example, banking and other financial services.
Other cost effective form of personal selling is telemarketing.
Publicity
It is defined as non-personal stimulation of demand for a service by obtaining
commercially significant news / presentation about it in any medium not paid by
the service provider.
Press releases, testimonials from celebrities, and hosting or sponsorship are important form of publicity. 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.
Sales Promotion
Marketing
activities other than the above that stimulates customer purchasing and use and
enhance dealer effectiveness. Competitions, coupons and discounts are very
common in service promotions. For example, SAS International Hotels—if a hotel
had vacant rooms; guests older 65 years old could get a discount equivalent to
their years.
When a guest announced his age as 102 and asked to be paid 2% of the
room rate in return for staying the night, he received it—and got a game of tennis with the general
manager!
Direct Marketing
A very personal mode of communication
use mails, telephones and other direct channels. In permission marketing model,
the firm reach out to only those customers who have allowed the communication
through emails and sms.
The choice of promotion mic tool, however depends upon number of internal and external factors:
- Different sources of messages that a customer receives
- Selection criteria for the promotion
- Overall marketing objectives
- Nature of the service
- Characteristics of target consumers
- Nature and attitudes of intermediaries
- Competitors
- Cost effectiveness
- Integration with other marketing elements
- Requirements for effective implementation
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