7 Promoting Services AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS WIRTZ LOVELOCK

7 Promoting Services AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS WIRTZ LOVELOCK

Learning Objectives 7. 1 Know the 5 Ws of the Integrated Service Communications Model; i. e. , Who, What, How, Where, and When. 7. 2 Be familiar with the three broad target audiences (i. e. , “Who”) for any service communications program. 7. 3 Understand the most common strategic and tactical service communications objectives (“What”). 7. 4 Be familiar with the Services Marketing Communications Funnel and the key objectives in that funnel. Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -2

Learning Objectives 7. 5 Know a few important roles that service marketing communications can assume. 7. 6 Understand the challenges of service communications and know how they can be overcome (“How”). 7. 7 Be familiar with the Services Marketing Communications Mix (“Where”). 7. 8 Know the role of the internet, mobile phones, apps, QR codes, and other electronic media in service marketing communications. Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -3

Learning Objectives 7. 9 Understand the role, benefits, and costs of using intermediaries in distributing services. 7. 10 Know the communications mix elements available via service delivery channels. 7. 11 Know the communications mix elements that originate from outside the firm. 7. 12 Understand when communications should take place (“When”), how budgets for service communications programs may be set, and how these programs may be evaluated. Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -4

Learning Objectives 7. 13 Appreciate ethical and consumer-privacy-related issues in service marketing communications. 7. 14 Understand the role of corporate design in communications. 7. 15 Know the importance of Integrated Marketing Communications to deliver a strong brand identity. Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -5

5 Ws of the Integrated Service Communications Model PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -6

Strategic and tactical service communications objectives PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS • Strategic objectives: o Building a service brand positioning it and its service products against competition o Persuading target customers that their service product offers a better solution for customer needs o Attracting new users and maintaining contact with existing customers Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -7

The challenges of service communications PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Overcoming Problems of Intangibility • • May be difficult to communicate service benefits to customers, especially when intangible Intangibility creates problems: Non-searchability: Cannot be fully searched or inspected before purchase o Abstractness: No one-to-one correspondence with physical objects o Mental impalpability: Customers find it hard to grasp benefits of complex, multidimensional new offerings o Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -8

The Services Marketing Communications Mix PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -9

Traditional Marketing Channels PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Advertising • Build awareness, inform, persuade, and remind • Challenge: How stand out from the crowd? • • Effectiveness remains controversial Research suggests that less than half of all ads generate a positive return on their investment Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -10

Traditional Marketing Channels PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Direct Marketing • • Mailings, recorded telephone messages, faxes, e-mail Potential to send personalized messages to highly targeted microsegments o • Need detailed database of information about customers and prospects Advance in on-demand technologies empower consumers to decide how and when they prefer to be reached, and by whom o e. g. , email spam filters, pop-up blockers, podcasting Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -11

Traditional Marketing Channels PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Sales Promotion • Defined as “Communication that comes with an incentive” • 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 • Interesting sales promotions can generate attention and put firm in favorable light (especially if interesting results publicized) o SAS International Hotels: If a hotel had vacant rooms, guests over 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! Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -12

Traditional Marketing Channels PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Personal Selling • Interpersonal encounters educate customers and promote preferences for particular brand or product • Common in b 2 b and infrequently purchased services • Many b 2 b firms have dedicated salesforce to do personal selling o • • Customer assigned to a designated account manager For services that are bought less often, firm’s representative acts as consultant to help buyers to make selection Face-to-face selling of new products is expensive— telemarketing is lower cost alternative Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -13

Traditional Marketing Channels PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Public Relations • PR/Publicity involves efforts to stimulate positive interest in an organization and its products through third parties o • • e. g. , press conferences, news releases, sponsorships Corporate PR specialists teach senior managers how to present themselves well at public events, especially when faced with hostile questioning Unusual activities can present an opportunity to promote company’s expertise o e. g. , Fed. Ex – safely transported two giant pandas from Chengdu, China, to the National Zoo in Washington, D. C. in a Fed. Ex aircraft renamed Fed. Ex Panda. One Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.

Online/Digital Communication Tools PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Company’s Website • The web is used for a variety of communication tasks o o o • Creating consumer awareness and interest Providing information and consultation Allowing two-way communication with customers through email and chat rooms Encouraging product trial Allowing customers to place orders Measuring effectiveness of advertising or promotional campaigns Innovative companies look for ways to improve the appeal and usefulness of their sites Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -15

Online/Digital Communication Tools PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Online Advertising • Banner advertising Placing advertising banners and buttons on portals such as Yahoo, Netscape and other firms’ websites o Draw online traffic to the advertiser’s own site o Web sites often include advertisements of other related, but non-competing services. o o e. g. , advertisements for financial service providers on Yahoo’s stock quotes page Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -16

Online/Digital Communication Tools PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Online Advertising • Search engine advertising Reverse broadcast network: search engines let advertisers know exactly what consumer wants through their keyword search o Can target relevant messages directly to desired consumers o Several advertising options: o Pay for targeted placement of ads to relevant keyword searches o Sponsor a short text message with a click-through link o Buy top rankings in the display of search results o Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -17

Communications mix elements that originate from outside the firm PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Word of Mouth (WOM) • Recommendations from other customers viewed as more credible • Strategies to stimulate positive WOM: o o o Having satisfied customers providing comments Using other purchasers and knowledgeable individuals as reference Creating exciting promotions that get people talking Offering promotions that encourage customers to persuade their friend to purchase Developing referral incentive schemes Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -18

Communications mix elements that originate from outside the firm PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Blogs, Twitter, and Other Social Media • Blogs: Communications about customer experiences influence opinions of brands and products o Some firm have started to monitor blogs as form of market research and feedback o • Twitter/Instagram: o • Becoming increasingly popular; fastest-growing social networking services Media Coverage: Compares, contrasts service offerings from competing organizations o Advice on “best buys” o Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -19

Corporate design in communications PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS Strategies for Corporate Design • Many service firms employ a unified and distinctive visual appearance for all tangible elements: o • Provide recognition and strengthen brand image: o • e. g. , Logos, uniforms, physical facilities e. g. , BP’s bright green-and yellow service stations Especially useful in competitive markets to stand out from the crowd and be instantly recognizable in different locations: o e. g. Shell’s yellow scallop shell on a red background o Mc. Donald’s “Golden Arches” Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -20

Integrated Marketing Communications PROMOTING SERVICES AND EDUCATING CUSTOMERS • • Different departments look after different aspects of the firm’s market communications Service failures could result from lack of effective coordination among these various departments IMC ties together and reinforces all communications to deliver a strong brand identity. Firms can give ownership of IMC to a single department or by appointing a marketing communications director Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education Ltd. 7 -21