7Ps in Service Industries, Success Factors in Service Marketing, Custo Coursework

Essays on 7Ps in Service Industries, Success Factors in Service Marketing, Customers Expectations, Perceptions, and Satisfaction in Service Marketing Coursework The paper â€Å"7Ps in Service Industries, Success Factors in Service Marketing, Customer’s Expectations, Perceptions, and Satisfaction in Service Marketing† is a   cogent example of coursework on marketing. Service marketing is marketing based on relationship value where the service-based business promotes the services provided by the business which are intangible, depends on the reputation of a single person, cannot be returned (the buyer cannot return the service) difficult to compare the quality of similar services provided by other service providers. Whereas in traditional goods-based business the goods are tangible, not depends on the reputation of a single person, can be returned can be compared with other similar types of goods. In this highly competitive environment marketing plays a key role in gaining competitive advantage and organizations are spending heavily on marketing irrespective of whether it is goods based business or service-based business. It is also estimated that almost 50% of the price paid for a commodity goes to the marketing of the product in the US. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/18315578/Service-Marketing)Marketing MixIn the traditional marketing the marketing mix that the firm can use to influence the buyer’s responses are commonly grouped in to four classes, which are referred to as ‘the four Ps’ – product, price, promotion place (or distribution) whereas in service marketing there are an additional 3Ps - people/participants, processes and physical evidence.Examples of 7Ps in Service IndustriesSome of the examples of the 7Ps which are relevant to the service industries are:Product-Customization: e.g. Holidays no longer have to be for the precise seven days a tour company dictates.Price: Prices can be lower because of the e-business techniques automating the process. From customer’s perspectives, prices are easy to compare on the internet (greater transparency) so there is more pre ssure on service providers to be more competitive.Promotion – Websites, Search engine results (influenced by search engine marketing) emails.Place/distribution – Delivery over the internet (e.g. music, software, video)People/participants – Service businesses usually have high person-to-person contact. It is important that these contacts are conducted well as there is often no quality control step that can intervene between employee customer.Processes – In a service business a customer is often exposed to more business processes. For example, a lot of information has to be provided if a customer is buying on-line insurance. The process has to be made of high quality and easy to use. Many people become frustrated with e-commerce sites because a small error is only reported at the end of the process, and then the customer has to start from the beginning again.Physical evidence – Is the website well designed? Does it look good? The website frequently gives potential customers their first impression of the organization.Competence required in service marketingIn marketing a Product the focus is on to make as many sells as possible. The product can be sold to any geographical area in the world and hence broad marketing techniques can be applied to reach the largest possible audience. In a service business, the service provider is marketing himself – his expertise, competence commitment to provide exceptional services. The service technically does not exist until the customer values the service to be provided and is willing to pay for it. Hence, the marketing efforts should be focused on communicating to the customer that the service provided by you is valuable to them.